Beyond the popular favorites of Klondike and Freecell (pictured below), Mondo Solitaire has over 100 other game choices. Games can be selected in a Coverflow interface or by list. Screenshots and a YouTube version of the gameplay are embedded below. Additional screenshots and higher quality videos have been posted at Ambrosia’s site. The game is expected to be available at the App Store launch for $9.99.

As BioWare revealed in a recent MTV interview,

“We look at every platform that comes along. Obviously, something that’s as big a cultural and technical success as the iPhone is something you really got to take a close look at. Certainly, there’s nothing written in stone yet but we’ve got a lot of folks looking at it. It’s intriguing. I think one of the things that we’ll have to see how it shakes out is what type of consumer buys games on it and what type of experience they’re looking for. You want to always mash the consumer experience with what you’re building. We want to understand what people are going to do with it. Who knows. We’re definitely looking at every platform.”

Will we see an iPhone port of Mass Effect in the iTunes App Store before long?  Let’s hope.  But until then, stay tuned…

Gamasutra recently interviewed former EA executive, Neil Young, who plans on forming a new iPhone-focused gaming company. The company will be called Ngmoco.

Young says “It feels to me like the time is right to really innovate, both in terms of the business and the games that can get made for mobile platforms.”

When questioned about the appeal of the iPhone platform, Young talks of the performance of the iPhone being up to par with the PSP. In addition, the iPhone’s set of standard features, including location aware, touchscreen, accelerometers, always on and always connected to a network opens the doors to unique possibilities.

The interview provides some interesting insight into the App Store from a business perspective and the future potential:

We’re at this moment where there’s an opportunity to lead both in terms of the type of software they we make and give to people in mobile phones, specifically, starting with the iPhone. And from a business standpoint, there’s an opportunity to lead in the growth of the industry. And not incremental growth, but dramatic growth. And that’s, from a business standpoint, why I’m excited about the device.

Ngmoco plans on both commissioning both original games as well as funding independent developers. They seem to be taking iPhone development seriously with the goal of leveraging the strength of the platform.

I don’t really think the right path to go down is to immediately start thinking about how to build bigger, better, higher-end, more traditional gaming experiences. Rather, not to obviate or ignore those things, but rather try to take true advantage of what’s in the system. So if you saw a game on the iPhone, you’d say, “Wow, this is only a game that can function on this platform.”

As the YouTube video shows, Rolando looks to be a clever and promising title that has “iPhone” written all over it.  We can’t wait to see this one arrive at the App Store.

Learn more about Handcircus and the work that went into creating Rolando at the company’s blog.

The nefarious Nitrous Oxide has joined forces with evil genius Dr. Cortex and his demented side-kick Ripper Roo, in a plot to beat the Bandicoots into submission once and for all, and at long last clear the way for world domination. In order to lure Crash and his gang out in the open, they stage a Kart tournament. The winners will be crowned “Kings Of Kart Racing For All Eternity”, the losers will be banished from N. Sanity Island.

Join the zany inhabitants of N-Sanity Island as they slip, slide and skid their way around wild tracks set in environments ranging from the Egyptian desert to Outer Space! Dodge rockets, falling meteorites and boulders as you fight for your place at the top of the podium.

Polarbit, the development house responsible for the popular iPhone jailbreak title Raging Thunder, is developing a high-end, 3D version of Vivendi’s Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 2 for the iPhone, to be published by Vivendi.  Pocket Gamer had this to say about an earlier smartphone version of the title,

…Nitro Kart is a massive game with plenty to unlock, which gives you enough of an incentive to want to keep playing. Not only are there four cups to play through - each of which has four tracks - there’s also a Challenge mode where you complete specific tasks, many of them unrelated to racing, in order to collect Wumpas to buy new karts.

These challenges provide loads of variety, and while we struggled with some due to their demanding criteria, they’re a welcome diversion from a straightforward bout of karting.

Given the degree to which the iPhone is the superior gaming platform relative to any other smartphone, it seems this will be a rather solid addition to the iTunes App Store’s games lineup from a developer that’s clearly excited about the platform.

Gameplay is simple and straightforward: tap the screen to start, tilt left and right to steer, tilt forward and back to control speed.  As can be seen from the demonstration video, the graphics are rich, the framerate is fluid, and the music and sound effects aren’t lacking.

Key features, as Polarbit tells it:

• Stunning, console quality graphics
• Twelve beautifully crafted tracks
• The famous Crash Bandicoot cast of characters
• A host of weapons, items and power-ups
• Fully configurable controls

So, thanks to Polarbit, you’ll never need to leave the kart behind…

The WWDC keynote gave us no specific release date for the 2.0 Firmware or the App Store.

Recent comments by Apple reps, however, confirm what was tucked away in the iPhone 3G press release: that the 2.0 Firmware and App Store will be released on July 11th.

Existing iPhone users will also be able to run the 2.0 Firmware that lets them download and run 3rd party applications. A number of apps are in development but announcements have been scarce due to concerns about Non Disclosure Agreements surrounding the iPhone SDK. Stay tuned, however, because on launch day we expect there to be hundreds of announcements from 3rd party developers promoting their wares.

Update: It appears the information was released prematurely, and Gameloft has asked us to take down the information, but needless to say, we can expect some Gameloft games through the App Store in the near future.

Pocket Gamer reports

PopCap VP James Gwertzman, in a recent interview with Pocket Gamer, revealed that the company is very excited about Apple’s mobile device as a gaming platform.

“We love the iPhone,” he says. “I’ve seen some of the stuff we’re working on in our lab, and it’s a terrific gaming device. The screen is beautiful, it’s powerful, and the interface is incredibly intuitive.”

The company is preparing to launch a new (undisclosed) title which Gwertzman describes as their best yet.  We’re anxious to see what the company has in store.  Stay tuned.

David is putting the finishing touches on the iPhone version of Chopper which is no mere port of the Macintosh version, but a complete rewrite that takes full advantage of the iPhone’s accelerometer controls and 3D graphics hardware.

Have a look:

These screenshots are taken from the current, in-development version of Chopper and don’t necessarily reflect the exact look of the final product.  Chopper will be avialable at the launch of the iTunes App Store on July 11.