Last month, we previewed an upcoming iPhone game from True Axis called Jet Car Stunts.

Jet Car Stunts was described as "a fun, over the top, 3D driving game, with massive jumps, mid-air hoops, floating platforms, spiral roadways, outlandish maneuvers and impossible environments." Controls are accelerometer based along with mid-air flight controls to nudge the angle of flight or adjust speed with air braking.

We loved the look of the game video, but had some questions about the game's playability from that video alone. We've since had a chance to interview Luke Ryan and Andy Coates of True Axis about their upcoming racer. They also provided this exclusive hands-on video showing their game and controls in action:

TouchArcade: We understand Jet Car Stunts is based on the True Axis Physics SDK. Can you give us a little bit of history on this game engine and the company?

Luke Ryan: The True Axis Physics SDK was a bit of an accidental development. It started back in 2002 as part of a game demo I was developing. The physics engines back then were not good enough, and I already had a few years experience involving lots of physics programming, so I made a much better one. I started getting a few requests to make it commercial. In-between doing contract work for mobile and handheld games, I did all the extra work necessary to commercialise it, which was the reason for the formation of the company, True Axis.

Since then, the physics engine scene has changed unrecognisably. I'd always kept in touch with the mobile gaming scene here in Melbourne and I started to fall back into that. I met my co-owner at True Axis, Andy Coates, while I was helping out at Firemint. In 2008, I decided to take True Axis into independent game development which has always been my dream.

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Empty Clip Studios' rhythm puzzle game Groovin' Blocks, which debuted a year ago as a WiiWare download title and has recently seen retail release on the Wii, will soon be available for download in the App Store.  The iPhone version is a conversion of the larger, Wii retail release.

Groovin' Blocks, which GameSpot calls "a music-based game like no other" (in reference to the Wii release), is, at it's core, a match-three puzzle game.  Now, there's no shortage of match-three puzzlers in the App Store — there are too many to count, really — but what sets Groovin' Blocks apart is its musical / rhythm component.

Each level — and there are over 50 in all — is played to a pumping techno soundtrack with scrolling beat-indicators on either side of the screen.  Block clusters slide onto the playfield in a Tetris-like fashion, and will ultimately come to rest at the bottom of the screen.  A tap on the 'drop' button will quickly drop the piece into place — but if you "hit a beat" (tapping the drop button during a beat of the soundtrack) the blocks will be bigger, brighter, and worth more points.  Hitting consecutive beats without a miss increases your score multiplier — but miss a beat and it drops back to zero.  Hitting the occasional Superbeat, shown brighter in the scrolling beat display, will double your current score multiplier.

Certain blocks contain power-ups that can be collected only if you hit a beat when placing said block.  Power-ups are unleashed when the successfully placed block is destroyed by a match-three scenario.

Empty Clip Studios was kind enough to give us an exclusive preview of the upcoming iPhone title.  We've spent some time with it and find it to be one of the most enjoyable match-three puzzlers in the App Store.  And there's really more to playing the game than screenshots reveal.  iPhone gamers who enjoy a solid puzzle and/or rhythm game should keep an eye on this one.

Have a look at our very brief gameplay video showing action early-on in the game.

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Groovin' Blocks for the iPhone should arrive in the App Store very shortly.

Chillingo also revealed to us another upcoming game today that they described as "Gauntlet on steroids". Gauntlet, of course, being the classic multiplayer Atari arcade game where you hacked and slashed your way through levels. And The Relic sounds like it's going to mimic that gameplay:

You find yourself in the deepest level of a dungeon – you must seek out and destroy the Quinotaur (a 5 horned Dragon). The beast has ruled over 1,000 years and – through the power of The Relic – re-animates the dead and draws power from them.

The game is described as a hack n'slack close-combat multi-player game that can be played by 1 to 4 people. You'll fight against zombies, skeletons, huge spiders and more with 3D graphics and frantic action.

The game is expected for release in November.

With the release of iPhone OS 3.1, developers are now allowed to produce augmented reality (AR) apps for the iPhone. We first covered this technology on the iPhone back in March, when we met with game researcher Blair MacIntyre about his work in the field.

Augmented Reality is described as a combination of real-world and computer-generated data, where computer graphics objects are blended into real footage in real time.

Unfortunately, at the time, the iPhone SDK prevented full exposure to the proper APIs required to implement it. All that changed with iPhone 3.1.

Several developers seem to be working on Augmented Reality applications, with several attempts at games. Chillingo has revealed that they are bringing Toyspring's Arcade Reality AR game to the iPhone. Arcade Reality was first released for the Palm Treo and offers a number of game modes:

• Arcade Reality – the main mode, featuring the first person perspective shooting scored for precision, interleaved with the special "bonus levels"
• Infinite Shooter – simple shooter without sophisticated goals, just kill everything that moves
• Asteroids Mode – 3D version of the well known game. Steering the spaceship feels similar to an RC toy – you must figure out which side is "left" or "right" depending on the current orientation

Video from the Palm Treo version shows the basic gameplay, demonstrating the overlaying of video game graphics on real life surroundings.

Meanwhile, Freeverse has recently released a simple AR app called Fairy Trails [$0.99] which offers a bit of a tech demo, and Yelp recently included an early version as an easter egg.

We'll be interested to see how Arcade Reality actually plays on the iPhone as well as seeing what else the future might hold.

iPhone developers Neptune Interactive and Smells Like Donkey have teamed up to create a casual fighting game inspired by classics like Street Fighter and Karateka.

Readers may remember Neptune Interactive as the creator of 7 Cities [$2.99] while Smells Like Donkey is most famously known for iJiggles [99¢].

Tap Fu is a fighting game that features story and survival game modes along with training and free play. The default control scheme utilizes gestures and taps to move your character around and fight the onslaught of evil ninjas that are attacking you. A virtual D-Pad control scheme is also included.

Meanwhile, the combat in Tap Fu is spiced up by adding a combo system as well as style points that have been seen before in other games, notably the Devil May Cry series. Tap Fu will initially come loaded with the "Ninjas of the SweetTooth Clan" chapter and the developers have plans to implement more content over time. The game also comes with online leaderboards and achievements.

The video shows a very nice look at the combat hands-on:

Tap Fu was recently submitted to the App Store, so assuming no approval delays, it should be available for download inside of two weeks.

David Frampton of Majic Jungle Software has released to us the first gameplay video from his upcoming game Chopper 2. Chopper was one of the original launch titles for the App Store and has been a huge success over the past year. The original Chopper [$2.99 / Free] has sold over 300,000 copies and continues to do well.

Chopper 2 adopts a new 3D look while keeping the basic 2D gameplay. Frampton's goals for the sequel included "realistic and beautiful graphics" alongside approachable gameplay.

Chopper 2 is still in development and will expand on the basic gameplay of the original with many different enemies and mission types, including defending towers from attacking enemies and destroying moving caravans of enemy troops. Here's an early look at the new 3D effects:

Chopper 2 is expected to be available by the end of the year.

We got word from Merdian today that Alive 4 Ever [App Store] had its first major content update submitted to Apple for review. They seem to have listened to some of the criticism that forum members had in the Alive 4 Ever thread and implemented quite a few changes.

Two new game modes are being introduced, "Survival Battle" and "Horde Battle". In survival battle, you try to stay alive as long as you can through endless streams of zombies. If you survive for ten minutes, a special golden Desert Eagle pistol will be awarded. Horde battle has you fighting waves of zombies, and a P90, golden AK-47, and a M4 Super 90 will be rewarded for clearing waves 8, 16, and 24.

Some interface elements have been improved. You can now change the transparency of the dual sticks, and on the scene selection screen a small icon will indicate whether or not you have completed the challenges of that level.

Meridian provided us the following trailer showing the new features of Alive 4 Ever 1.1:

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We really enjoyed Alive 4 Ever in our review, and with the news of this upcoming patch, we highly recommend all fans of dual stick shooters to give the game a try. The 1.1 patch is coming soon, and should be available inside of the next two weeks if all goes well with the approval process.

App Store Link: Alive 4 Ever, 99¢

Luc Bernard has released to TouchArcade the first screenshots and details about his next iPhone game SteamPirates.

SteamPirates is described as a turn based RPG with the following quirky storyline:

The story follows Kat a human who was raised by the Cat Empire. After she found out that she wasn't a cat (she just thought that she didn't have any fur or a tail), she went out to the seas to find herself (it left her deeply traumatised). A few years later once she comes back, the Cat Empire is now ruled by Captain Purrrrrrrkos who is trying to take over the oceans.

Kat must then decide to either stay loyal to the ones that raised her, or join Ze Pug Rebellion.

Bernard doesn't expect the game to come out until the first quarter of 2010 but it will deliver the following features:

• Ship Battles (upgrade your ship and fight with it)
• Ground Battles (normal character battles like in a final fantasy)
• Travel to different weird locations (such as Cat Cove, Neo Orlans, Beaches, Mermaid Lairs)
• Fully Hand Drawn Animated game
• Go on various quests such as saving rockstars from sea eating monsters, getting flowers for dog smelling bars, etc…
• Classic JRPG with Western Influence
• Funny ridiculous storyline

The game is being developed by the same team as Mecho Wars and will again feature an orchestral soundtrack by Sean Beeson. In fact, the main theme has been provided in MP3 format (download) and sounds pretty epic.

The game carries the same distinctive artwork as Bernard's other games:

Additional concept art and animated drawings have been posted in this thread.

Bernard, of course, was responsible for the turn based strategy iPhone game Mecho Wars that has long been promised an online multiplayer update. He reassured us that the long awaited update is set to be submitted within the next few days and it will feature 4 different online modes, push notifications, Open Feint integration and the ability to play up to 20 matches simultaneously.

While EA may have a complete monopoly on NFL games on home consoles, the App Store is wide open for competition between industry giants Gameloft and EA who both have rights to the complete NFL franchise on the iPhone. In what quite obviously is a warning shot across the bow of the U.S.S. Madden battleship, Gameloft sent us these screenshots this afternoon complete with some details on what is coming in the next NFL 2010 [App Store] update that should be live in the next one or two weeks.

The official NFL RSS feed has been integrated in to the main menu, it's also aware of what you set as your favorite team in the options and will show you news about that team along with general NFL headlines. While I don't see too many people launching NFL 2010 to get their football news for the day, it's nice to see games doing more with the internet connectivity of the iPhone than online scoreboards.

Player head shots have been added, along with improvements to both the offensive and defensive in-game AI, along with some difficulty balances adjusting how the game handles interceptions, passes, coverage, and other things like that. There will also be a new playbook with additional basic plays.

The NFL players database has also been updated to add Michael Vick to the Eagles and Bret Favre to the Vikings. This update is a nice turn for Gameloft who historically has not released content updates for their games and instead just focus on updates to improve performance, compatibility, or provide bug fixes. Gameloft seems serious about holding the line on NFL 2010 with the impending release of Madden 10.

This update alone would be substantial enough, but there's also a second update in the works with a release date that has yet to be announced which will add:

• Online, Bluetooth and WiFi Multiplayer modes.
• The ability to upload your best replays to YouTube.
• A special Zombies vs Skeletons match.
• Gameloft LIVE! compatibility.

While it remains to be seen how this battle between the App Store titans of the will resolve, these updates may make a decision to hold off buying until Madden 10 more difficult to stand by.

App Store Link: NFL 2010, $4.99

Monster Ball is a simple turn-based strategy game where you command an army of different sized balls across a hex grid in a survival of the fittest battle where big balls eat smaller balls. To win the match, you must eat your opponent's entire army. The basic gameplay is extremely simple, and almost has a checkers-like feel to it.

Each map starts you out an army of differently sized balls. Two small balls can be combined to a larger ball that can then eat smaller balls, but if any ball eats too much they will explode, leaving you with one less unit on the battlefield.

This basic gameplay is spiced up with various special tiles that do things like split one ball into two, clone a ball into two equal balls, and there are even special weapon tiles that allow you to fire bazookas at the opposing team. In single player you play against an AI opponent across ten different maps (in the current preview version). The single player is decent, but aside from a set of unlockable trophies there isn't much replay value yet. But that's where the online multiplayer comes in.

The really cool part about Monster Ball is that it isn't just an iPhone game, it also is going to be released for the Mac and PC. Packaged with our preview copy of the iPhone version was a pre-release build of the Mac client which played absolutely identical to the iPhone game aside from the differences in user interfaces between clicking with the mouse and tapping with your finger.

These different clients can even play against each other seamlessly in online multiplayer matches. The latency is amazing, and sitting at my computer playing against myself on my phone there is almost no delay between the two screens.

I shot the following video showing an online multiplayer game. The picture in picture is a screen capture from my MacBook Pro playing against the iPhone client both connected to a server in Germany:

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Monster Ball is still in development, but there's no doubt that the cross-platform multiplayer is pretty cool. The ability to play against your friend at home on their computer using you phone sitting on a bus is exactly what I imagined when I first started thinking of the potential of a constantly connected cellular gaming device like the iPhone.

The developers are still hard at work on the game and expect it to launch sometime this fall. For more information on Monster Ball check out the thread in our forums, or the official web site.