id Software's Doom Classic finally appeared in the App Store after a lengthy wait. John Carmack, himself, seems to have done most of the work in reviving this classic title for the iPhone. Doom Classic brings four episodes across 36 levels and revamps the control system to a touch-screen friendly system.

Those familiar with the Wolfenstein 3D Classic controls will likely feel at home with the adapted Doom controls but there have been several upgrades to the system. Doom Classic offers 3 different control systems with the option of adding accelerometer strafing. These include:

• 1. Combined single stick for movement and turning
• 2. Left stick movement, Right stick turning
• 3. Left stick movement, Right wheel turning

Each of the controls can be customized further by dragging and dropping them on the screen to the desired location. Notably, the sticks are now "floating" sticks by default that allow more freedom in where you place your fingers down.

The #1 control option offers the benefit of simplicity, with a single stick for movement, though at the sacrifice of pure left/right strafing which is more easily accomplished with the #2 control method. Controls seemed a bit sensitive during my early play with no options to adjust the degree of sensitivity.

The following gameplay video shows the different default methods in action:

Meanwhile, there are a number of control customization options, including the ability to fix the location of the controls (similar to Wolf 3D) or turn the control graphics off completely and just use the left/right sides of the screen. This latter option allows the game to emulate the other first person shooter controls that we've seen in Eliminate and Modern Combat. So far, this has been my favorite combination: #2 with Draw Controls: Off and Auto Use: On (so you don't have to tap on doors to open them), and sensitivity here seems better, but not perfect.

When we spoke to Carmack back in June, he had big plans for the Doom franchise on the iPhone, including adding the ability to purchase in-app content for Doom 2, Ultimate Doom, Final Doom, Master Levels.

This initial release also contains multiplayer, but it is local multiplayer only (WiFi). Competitive internet multiplayer was listed a possibility for a later update when we spoke to Carmack in June.

App Store Link: Doom Classic, $6.99

Following Kolonists' apparent removal from the App Store, Catan [App Store] fans were left without an outlet for their need to build roads and settlements along with gathering various resources on the go– That is, until USM and Exozet Games' recently released official Catan hit the App Store.

Catan for the iPhone is a faithful reproduction of the board game, which was first published in Germany in 1995 and has sold over 15 million copies worldwide since. The game is played with up to four players (or more with expansions not present in the iPhone game) on a board game with 19 hex tiles that randomly go together to create a different layout for each game played.

Players then build settlements, cities, and roads as they gather resources and settle the island. To win the game, you need to have a certain number of victory points on your turn which are earned by meeting various goals within the game. In the iPhone version, victory points are configurable from 8 to 12 along with a few other options to customize gameplay to both make it harder for veteran players and easier for new players.

If this is the first you've heard of Catan, you will be happy to find out that the game has a remarkably full featured tutorial included that covers nearly every aspect of the game. Catan, like most strategic board games can be somewhat intimidating to new players, but the tutorial does an excellent job of starting with the basics and teaching you everything you need to know to be a proficient settler of Catan.

The thread on our forums about the game is filled with great feedback and reviews. INCyr, a fan of the board game, posted a review and thinks its a great game with a few issues keeping it from being perfect. Forum member Farnsworthiness had never played Catan before posted his thoughts and agrees with me on the strengths of the game's tutorials but mentions that the game is a bit of a battery hog.

I've been having a great time with Catan, although I was disappointed with the lack of anything other than hot seat multiplayer. Having spent so much time playing Words With Friends [$2.99 / Free] lately, I really wish more turn-based games adopted a similar push-alert powered asynchronous multiplayer mode.

App Store Link: Catan, $4.99

We first got a look at Sniper Vs Sniper: Online [App Store] back at PAX, and it was clear then that the game had as much potential as their previous online multiplayer title, Homerun Battle 3D [App Store] once it went live and the online community started to grow.

The most succinct way to describe Sniper Vs Sniper is Where's Waldo? with guns. The gameplay involves scanning various buildings with binoculars to scout out enemy snipers, quickly switching to your rifle, and taking them down before they take you down. It's a fast paced hybrid between a sniper shooter and a hidden object game, playable online against other players.

The online component consists of two game modes, 1 on 1 sniper battles and cooperative levels. When playing against another player, you will both be randomly positioned in opposing buildings at the start of each round. As quickly as possible you tilt your phone to move your viewpoint around to find the person you're playing against, who will likely also be looking around with their binoculars. While you're doing this, you will be able to choose from a series of ridiculous taunts which all play different quotes like "What would you like on your tombstone?"

Once you find your opponent, you need to take your rifle out and shoot them, but there's more to it than that. Both of you have life bars, and the match is over when you run out of life. Like most video games, head shots do more damage so accuracy is key when it comes to actually firing your rifle. Once you damage your opponent, a new round starts and you both get new positions in the buildings.

The catch is, if you shot your opponent in the previous round, they get a hint showing where you are in your building. Winning online matches usually requires being fast enough at scanning the other building to be able to find the other sniper before they (much more easily) find you.

If competing against other players in the 1 on 1 mode isn't your cup of tea, the cooperative mode will pit you and another player against a building loaded with snipers. Whoever shoots more of these AI controlled snipers wins the round. This is also how the single player mode of the game is played, although given how full featured the online component is, single player feels significantly less entertaining in comparison.

Just like Homerun Battle 3D, online play is ranked on global leaderboards and you have a list of friends that you can challenge. There's even a lobby you can chat in between games. Com2Us also deserves some kind of merit badge for being one of the only game developers that includes a toggle in the game's options to disable the intro movie.

Sniper Vs Sniper is such a strange combination of gameplay elements that put together just work. It's part hidden object, part shooter, with a rich online component that is rivaled by few other games on the App Store. If the community takes off like it has with Homerun Battle 3D, I could see myself getting far too involved in competing online in Sniper Vs Sniper.

App Store Link: Sniper Vs Sniper, $4.99

Rhythm games have been a part of gamer culture since Bemani popularized them outside of Japan with Dance Dance Revolution in the late 90's. Since then, the core game concept of DDR has varied widely from things as obscure as shaking maracas in Samba de Amigo on the Dreamcast to emulating a full band in EA's newly released Rock Band [App Store] on the iPhone.

Rock Band allows gamers to choose from playing the guitar, bass guitar, drums, and even singingwhile rocking out to a particular song. In console versions, you use plastic guitar, drum kit, and microphone. On the iPhone and iPod Touch, each of these instruments are played by tapping four areas on the screen to match up with the musical notes coming down the screen.

We extensively previewed the game, and preferred it to the other available rhythm games:

Where Rock Band pulls ahead of the pack of rhythm games on the iPhone is when it comes to overall immersion while you're playing the songs.

Obviously there's only so much immersion that you can achieve when you're pretending to play a guitar by tapping on the screen of your iPhone, but playing the tracks in the iPhone Rock Band works just like its console big brother in that every note you miss causes the music to be interrupted. This seems to add so much more to the game than just tapping along to a song like other similar games on the platform with music that just keeps playing regardless of how poorly you're doing.

Rock Band for the iPhone comes loaded with 20 songs, and additional songs can be purchased in game in packs of two for 99¢. This is not only cheaper than buying the songs themselves from iTunes, but also significantly cheaper than buying them inside of any other iteration of Rock Band.

Also included is four player local bluetooth multiplayer, achievements, Facebook connectivity, and along with both single song game modes and a "World Tour" career mode. Keep in mind, because of the in-game DLC, Rock Band requires the 3.0 OS.

The iPhone version of Rock Band does a great job at emulating some of the feel of the console original, and thanks to the four distinct playable tracks in each song, the game also offers an experience not found in competing games on the App Store. With the cheapest DLC to be found in the Rock Band series, the iPhone version will be hard for fans to pass up. Reactions so far seem positive in the thread our forums, with the main complaints relating to veterans of Rock Band finding the iPhone version to be too easy, along with the somewhat expected complaint regarding the track selection.

App Store Link: Rock Band, $9.99

Rockcat Games' second title, Hook Champ [App Store] was approved and appeared for download last night. Since then, I've spent a good amount of time with the game and have really enjoyed everything about it.

In Hook Champ, you play as an Indiana Jones-like character equipped with a grappling hook trying to escape from various haunted ruins before you're eaten by a ghost. The core gameplay mechanic revolves around using your grappling hook and rope to swing through these ruins as quickly as possible.

The controls are simple and work well, touching the bottom right and left corners makes you run that direction, and tapping the top of the screen throws your rope in that direction. Releasing your finger recalls your rope, and you can immediately tap again to send your grappling hook flying back to the top of the screen to swing again.

Your time in every level is tracked and uploaded to an online leaderboard, and as you progress through the game you earn coins to buy various upgrades for your character. These upgrades tweak every aspect of the game from making your rope longer to making you run faster and everything in between. There are even superfluous upgrades like football helmets and headbands for your guy to wear.

The whole game is wrapped in wonderfully nostalgic pixelated graphics with chiptune music, and load times on my iPhone 3GS are nonexistent. It's very difficult to find anything about Hook Champ to complain about, although I do suppose the lack of mid-level checkpoints can be irritating on the more difficult levels. Still, all the levels are short enough that you never feel like you've lost that much progress when you die.

Hook Champ is an absolutely fantastic game that all fans of retro styled sidescrollers should own. It's currently on sale for 99¢ this weekend, which only serves to sweeten the deal. The thread on our forums are filled with enthusiastic and overwhelmingly positive impressions of the game, and Lasharor has some excellent tips for newcomers.

App Store Link: Hook Champ, 99¢

While we announced the release of the classic point and click adventure Beneath a Steel Sky for the iPhone, we never took a closer look at the release.

Originally released for the Amiga and DOS in 1994, Beneath a Steel Sky is a graphical adventure set in Australia in a dystopian future. The original game received very high praise at the time of its release and is widely considered to be one of the best adventure games ever created.

The iPhone port of the game has since received rave reviews in our forums. Unlike, LucasArts' Secret of Monkey Island, Beneath a Steel Sky has not been completely re-rendered for the iPhone version, but that's not to say it doesn't have its share of notable improvements.

The iPhone game offers new animated cut scenes, re-sampled voice work and higher quality music. As well, an extensive hint system that will prevent you from getting stuck. Most importantly is that the traditional point-and-click interface has been revamped to the iPhone's touch screen. Rather than controlling a virtual pointer, you can touch and drag your finger across the screen. Items of interest light up with a small blue circle. Tapping on that circle then brings up contextual icons that let you act on that item. An eye, for example. lets you look at the item, while gears allow you to manipulate an item. Meanwhile, inventory items can simply be dragged over to items of interest to activate them. In this regard, the game is a notable improvement over Secret of Monkey Island, and plays much more like a natural iPhone game.

We've recorded some of the animated intro scene as well as basic gameplay elements in this video:

The game's story and dialog remains enjoyable and immersive and the iPhone port does justice to the classic title. While the PC version game has been available for free over the years, the iPhone version is a worthy conversion for fans and newcomers to the series.

App Store Link: Beneath a Steel Sky, $4.99

Glu Mobile's latest release Super K.O. Boxing 2 is a terrific new game that is as intense as it is fun. With its vibrantly colored cartoon animations, Super K.O. Boxing 2 delivers the heavy hitting gameplay that many have been waiting for.

The objective is to win the title belt, but don’t let the cartoon visuals fool you. This is both an exercise in entertainment and futility as you take on 12 unique and eccentric boxers on your climb up the heavyweight ladder. As the K.O. Kid, you’ll need to conquer and win your way through each of the 3 circuits. Win every bout in a circuit to earn a belt and unlock the next circuit to take on a new cast of characters.

Super K.O. Boxing 2 has 3 modes play: Circuit is the story mode where you face the most fearsome and crazy boxers on your way to the world title. Versus mode consists of fights with previously defeated boxers. Finally, Challenge mode unlocks after winning your first circuit and presents specific objectives for winning a bout. Circuit mode is where you will spend most of your time, and you’ll need to show progress here before the other modes are unlocked. Each fight lasts 3 rounds each 3 minutes in length. Aside from the funny physical appearance of the boxers, each has unique attributes and powers that make them formidable opponents.

For example, 15 Cent is a bling-wearing, high strung boxer who can disorient you with his smile, while Chief will counterpunch you relentlessly every time you take a swing. I can’t overstate the humor in Super K.O. Boxing 2. From the strange poses and dances of opponents to the funny text dialogue exchanged between opponents in between rounds, Glu Mobile has done a solid job.

Super K.O. Boxing 2 also seems to get the controls right with two basic control options — Touch Pad and Touch Regions. Unfortunately, in-game documentation is practically non-existant so it may require some trial, error and frustration to get comfortable. Using the touch pad, throwing punches consists of tapping dual buttons to throw left/right punches. Meanwhile, touch regions allows you to tap specific parts on your opponent to throw the corresponding punch. One small hitch with touch regions is that your finger will block part of the screen which can hinder the ability to block and dodge punches in some cases.

The different types of punches that can be thrown are nicely incorporated so it becomes second nature for the player. Body shots, upper cuts and combinations are all possible in this game and require timing and practice. Most notably, hooks can be thrown through a combination of dodging and swinging at an opponent’s head.

In addition, you have other weapons at your fingertips. Part of your task will be avoiding and dodging punches. The more you’re able to dodge punches and land your own will charge up your Super Punch Energy. This is tracked in the bottom right corner, and once fully charged, you can throw a Mega Punch that will floor your opponent if landed properly. Of course, you don’t need to wait until it’s full charged to use it… it just won’t be as strong. Both you and your opponent have the ability to taunt each other, and this will also build up Super Punch Energy. Of course, you’re more vulnerable in the middle of a taunt.

The gameplay is fast paced and intense, and the AI is well balanced. Both K.O. Kid and the opponent have health gauges that recharge slightly after a knockdown. The initial fights with Big Gip and 15 Cent are relatively easy, but they ratchet up significantly as opposing boxers become adept at dodging, blocking and more importantly, going on the offensive. Challenge mode is even more difficult since you’ll be limited in what you can do within a short period of time. For example, one challenge involves knocking out an opponent in one round without using Dizzying Combos and avoids being hit even once to win. The game can also be frustrating because often after you’ve knocked down an opponent, they get up with a fully charged health gauge. This is where you will either persevere or get pummeled.

All in all, Super K.O. Boxing 2 combines great cartoon visuals with some intense gameplay. I would say that the attitude and personality the devs infused into the game shine though. This is one of those games that delivers the thrill of victory with the agony of defeat all in one well-designed package.

App Store Link: Super KO Boxing 2, $4.99

iChromo's 2.5D flight action title Aera [$2.99] was one of the many new games to recently arrive in the App Store. Aera is a sort-of casual flight simulator / side scroller at heart.  At least, that's how iChromo describes it — but it's a little more side scroller than flight simulator. Granted, that description might be a little hard to picture.  Think Pandemonium! — or closer still, NiGHTS Into Dreams — but in an airplane.

Aera puts you in tilt control of a variety of aircraft across a range of different play challenges.  There's Aerobatic / Solo, which is a run through the hoops and between the floating mines to collect a set number of balls within a time limit, Dog-Fight, which is, well, an aerial dog fight, and Race, which is a pylon to pylon (and back) run against the clock while dodging those pesky mines.  The various challenges can be played in a Campaign mode which features two tutorial levels and 10 missions (three Solo, three Race, 4 Dog-Fights) or a Quick Game mode that varies the challenges based on the difficulty level selected.  There's a no-pressure Free Flight mode, as well. There are two unlockable locations and 3 unlockable planes.

The game features fluid animation and excellent graphics which combine to make a truly enjoyable tilt-centric gaming experience.  And there's lots of tilting.  Left / right tilting controls the plane's atttiude, a jerk forward or back performs a 180-degree roll, and a delicate dance of forward / back jerks files the plane in a blade formation (think of the Duke boys' best moments in the General Lee) which is useful in dogfights, as enemies cannot hit your craft when flying on end. Sensitivity adjustments are offered through the settings panel.

And speaking of dogfights, that's all about weapons, of course.  In dogfight mode, your plane has a forward gun with unlimited ammo as well as a limited amount of heat-seeking missiles that auto-lock if an enemy is well lined-up in your path.  When enemies are destroyed they release slowly falling point bonuses that can be collected to increase score.  But be careful collecting those close to the ground.

The game also features a local Wi-Fi multiplayer mode (with Duel and Capture the Flag modes) which I was not able to test.

[ Full HD version | Low Bandwidth version ]

As far as negatives, there seems to be a freezing bug in the game affecting some players. This forced the following warning from the developer:

IMPORTANT: please unplug your iPhone/iPod from computer when playing Aera, otherwise game can freeze occasionally; this issue is being addressed, will be fixed in the update.

As well, with only 10 distinct levels of progressive difficulty without a global leaderboard, long term playability is a legitimate concern. The game, however, does deliver such a fun and unique experience, that there can still be a lot of joy in replaying the included levels. The developer also indicates that they do plan on rolling out additional levels and locations over time.

Overall, Aera is a beautiful and enjoyable game that lived up to our expectations.

App Store Link: Aera, $2.99

Vogster Entertainment's Robocalypse delivers a military strategy game wrapped up in a Saturday morning cartoon. Ported from the Nintendo DS, Robocalypse takes advantage of the touch controls on the iPhone/iPod Touch platform to provide a humorous and engaging experience. While the production values are obvious from the gameplay screen shots, what is really done well is the story and how it’s presented. In Robocalypse, you must defend the world from the evil Demolisher robot and his army of henchmen with your own army of robots.

The big attraction of Robocalypse for many will undoubtedly be the visuals which are well-animated with a good dose of self-deprecating humor. From the robots and structures to the explosions and weapons fire, this is a good looking game. Dialogue bubbles appear throughout where characters spew humorous one-liners, and coupled with the funny cut scenes, you’re bound to chuckle here and there. From an audio standpoint, the game sports occasional voiceovers accentuated by a workmanlike soundtrack.

The interface can look a little strange since the HUD takes up a third of your screen space, though the information provided is more than necessary. The game will automatically orient itself to landscape and portrait modes, and you can swipe the HUD to bring up primary and secondary mission objectives. The primary ones are necessary to complete the mission while the secondary ones provide additional energy and resource boosts.

In the upper left corner is the mini-map showing your location as well as the location of bots. Unexplored areas are blackened out, but you can easily maneuver around through by dragging within the mini-map or in the actual game area. And a graphical summary shows the number and types of bots in the field at any given time as well as available scrap metal and battery power. The status of heroes is located down the left side of the screen and tapping on them will instantly locate them.

The game has a considerable amount of depth with 17 campaign missions and three modes of difficulty—easy, normal and hard. It also includes local Wi-Fi multiplayer and a beta of online multiplayer with 18 multiplayer maps. The single player missions themselves are quite varied in their objectives that can be as straightforward as destroying the enemy’s headquarters and as complex as preventing a certain number or enemy bots from entering an area while also destroying specific structures. We had not tested the multi-player options for this review, although reports indicate that the online multi-player community has already started ramping up.

Before building your armies, know that scrap metal is the foundational resource to accomplish that, which means you’ll need an infrastructure in place. First and foremost is the construction of buildings since this is essential for building up troops and heroes for offensive attacks.

• Headquarters—Base of operations that must be protected at all costs; game is over once destroyed
• Robot Factory—Produces soldiers and medics
• Hero Factory—Produces heroes and can only be built after a Robot Factory is operational
• Workshop—Allows for upgrading soldiers up to 2 times
• Resource Bank—Increase the production of scrap metal
• Radar—Allows views of uncharted areas
• Turret—inflicts major damage on enemies
• Heavy Turret—longer range and inflicts massive damage

As with typical RTS games, there are heroes who bring a little something extra to the warfare table. Robocalypse doesn’t disappoint with 6 unique heroes along with 20 weapons.

• Joe Commando (assault hero)—elite fighter with dual machine guns; more brawn than brains
• Sergeant Payne (leader hero)—born leader with gauntlet gloves that smashes heads
• Spyder Scout (scout hero)—fast mover good at infiltrating installations and uses the Converter Cannon to freeze enemies
• Pyro Assault (assault hero)—fascinated with fires armed with the flamethrower aptly called Melter
• Viper the Sniper (sniper and scout hero)—good at infiltrating and long-range sniper attacks
• Warlord General (leader hero)—strong leader who leads by example through his Chainsaw weapon

The game also includes RPG elements where the heroes abilities can be customized. Through victories and enemy kills, heroes level up and life points can be applied in the areas of toughness, energy, armor and weapons. These are earned through kills and can be used to boost their weapons in between missions. And what would heroes be without an army of robots… the game has four basic bots (Builder, Soldier, Medic, Heavy Soldier), each essential if you’re to succeed.

A slight learning curve comes with the controls especially in terms of managing bot movements. An individual bot can be moved by first tapping on him, and then the desired location, but moving groups can be a unorthodox. In general, bots roam around and behave on their own such as scouting areas, repairing structures or even battling enemies. Two buttons appear at the bottom of the screen: Action and Defense. Action enables you to set a spot where you want as many as 5 troops to move as a team. Defense is used when you want a certain location defended at all costs. You tap on the appropriate button and then tap on the location. The action flags serve as destination points and troops will move into the area where the flag is located. When placed in enemy territory, they will attack. The action flag system isn’t the most intuitive and can be frustrating since troops will occasionally wander off and get killed, but in general, the AI seems to work well with the system.

The action can be intense and rather addicting. The game seems to have a balanced AI with a fair share of attacks on your camp thrown in for good measure. Exploration is also encouraged since secret upgrades are hidden throughout. Specific controls points are located throughout both for your side and that of the enemy. These locations can be captured and in some cases, unlock hidden mission objectives.

Overall, Robocalypse brings a refreshing take to the iPhone RTS category. While the action flag system takes some practice mixed in with a bit of frustration, Robocalypse is an entertaining and humorous game that any strategy gamer should check out. The inclusion of multiple difficulty levels (easy, medium, hard) as well as online multiplayer should also give the game plenty of long term play.

App Store Link: Robocalypse, $4.99

It's hard to describe the Madden series of games as a franchise anymore, they've been around so long it seems that a more appropriate way to describe the games would be the "Madden dynasty." The first Madden game appeared on the Apple II all the way back in 1989, it wasn't until Madden '94 that the real NFL teams were included, and sports gamers would have to wait another year until the real players were added. When you look back at the 20 years these games have been around, constantly improving each year, it's no surprise that Madden NFL 10 [App Store] is as good as it is.

Madden NFL 10 was one of the titles we previewed at PAX and spent some time with EA who highlighted the many features from the game.

First and foremost, Madden NFL 10 includes all of the NFL players, teams, and stadiums. Around 2000 players are in the game in addition to 200 free agents, and all of these players can be freely traded between teams. Whether you want to follow the real NFL trades and move players around based on the official rosters, or just turn your favorite team in to a dream team of the best players, EA says Madden NFL 10's team management can handle it.

Madden NFL 10 was specifically designed by EA's mobile team, which means it plays nicely as an iPhone game. If you get a phone call, need to answer a text message, or quit the game for some other reason, Madden NFL 10 saves the play you were on and reloads right back at the start of the play without any fumbling around with menus, intros, etc. EA also says they have really put a lot of emphasis on play time. Every cut scene, non-essential player animation, or instant replay can be skipped simply by tapping the screen. While there is a lot of fluff in the game, it's all quickly and easily skipped.

While behaving as a good iPhone app is nice, there were two other feature that I thought really stood out: Action Control Time and Hot Routes.

Madden's "Action Control Time" seems to work so well it wouldn't surprise me if we see a lot more sports games imitating it:. When you're playing regularly, the game runs at normal speed, and while on offense you have buttons to sprint and spin. With Action Control Time enabled, however, the game slows down, and additional controls appear allowing you to do things like juking to the left or to the right. The ability to slow things down allows for extremely precise player movements and changes the game from being action oriented, to a more tactical experience as you're able to avoid tackles exactly when you need to, as well as make for the clearest path you can see to the end zone instead of just catching the ball, running forward, and mashing spin as many times as you can.

Playing defense in Action Control Time works just as well, and with it enabled you can jump for balls, dive tackle, or even go in for a big hit– A move that has a high risk of missing, but offers a higher chance of the opposing player fumbling. Again, slowing things down allows for a much more precise defensive attack instead of just switching to whatever player is closest to the one with the ball and mashing tackle.

The other cool feature of Madden NFL 10 is "Hot Routes". Before the snap, you can press the Hot Routes button and redraw the path of any of your players with your finger on the screen, you can even make nonsensical zigzags and they will follow your every command. This takes the 300 included plays and lets you customize them any way you want.

Passes are controled by tapping on icons appearing above your receivers heads that range from red to green depending on how open they are. When it's time to kick, the kicking controls work just like swinging in Tiger Woods PGA Tour [App Store]. A kicking interface appears on the right hand side of the screen, you drag your finger down to determine the power, then swipe back up to determine the accuracy of where you aimed. All of the player AI, detailed player attributes, and all the other inner workings are in place to allow you to do things like simulate games when playing in season mode instead of playing through each game yourself. And If you're a football statistics nerd, there are a stupid amount of different statistics being tracked with every play you make in Madden NFL 10.

My brief time with Madden NFL 10 was spent on an iPhone 3GS, though I was assured that they've developed the game to run well across the entire iPhone and iPod Touch family. Madden NFL 10 doesn't require 3.0, although you do need it if you want to access your music from inside the game.

Here's our hands on video with the game from PAX:

We'll have the opportunity to spend more time with the game now that it's been released, but it's overall a really impressive package that we expect football fans will love. EA has also announced that a soon to come update will support "multiplayer". Madden has been launched at $7.99 as a one day sale, and will go up to the full price of $9.99 on Thursday evening.

App Store Link: Madden NFL 10, $7.99 (for one day sale).