Mobile Linebacker puts you in the defense line of football as a linebacker. The developer guys at VIVA! Vision Inc. and VODA digital LLC probably figured that kids nowadays are woosies and should learn to catch some hits. After all, offense is just a matter of having guts; defense is all about being a real man and fighting ’til the end!

The game includes about 20 new plays, and was developed in collaboration with some kings of defense such as Joe Tafoya of the Arizone Cardinals, Chike Okeafor of the San Francisco 49ers and Running Back Kerry Carter of the Seattle Seahawks amongst others.

Today, a new update for the game was released, a reason for us to finally write about this game as it’s unique in the field of sports games for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.

Today Rushing Ninjas by the guys from Frostware Entertainment, the studio known for The Starchildren and Skycat, rushed into Apple’s App Store for iPhone and iPod Touch. This arcade-like game is the perfect way to test your multitasking skills in ninja style. Rushing Ninjas challenges you to get as many ninjas as possible through the screen without having them chopped into tiny pieces by cool but dangerous creatures like evil dragons. The game has Game Center support for all the leader board and achievement whores among you. Rushing Ninjas can be yours for $0.99.

Drop The Chicken is a success, according to the game’s developers. It got number 1 in 14 countries, we can definitely agree that this game is a true success. Sharp Agency released the first major upgrade for this iPhone/iPod Touch game right before the weekend. Their hot update contains cool new features such as the ability to play your own music in the background, it boasts new achievements and the game now supports earlier iOS versions as well. Angry Birds definitely shouldn’t be the only birds taking top positions in the App Store, Drop The Chicken definitely deserves its great rankings as well.

This Summer, BulkyPix will be releasing a colorful new Pacman-like game for iPhone entitled Fruity Jelly. Story of the game? A village filled with sweet jellies has been destroyed, and you of course need to be the hero who saves the day. By eating all the fruit in the mazes, you can help the jellies find peace again. The game will use the gyrosensors of the iPhone or iPad you’re gaming on for the controls. The game will support login through OpenFeint, and will contain achievements for the achievementwhores out there. After its release, Fruit Jelly will be getting new levels and other extra’s through updates.

Ahhh, Reversi; it’s such a simple concept, yet has become so popular. And with Reversi Reloaded, you can now play this classic game on the move with your iPhone or iPad. Before I installed the game, my first concern for it was space – the iPhone does not have a lot to offer in terms of screen space, and when I started my first Reversi game, the squares were indeed quite small. Despite this, however, I had absolutely no trouble selecting the correct boxes… so kudos to Mobivention for making this typical board game work with the iPhone’s limiting factors.

So for those of you who do not understand how Reversi works – it is a strategic game and to win you must have the most coloured pieces showing your colour by the end. It works by placing a new piece in an empty square and turning over all of your opponent’s pieces in a diagonal, vertical and horizontal direction. It’s quite difficult to describe but once you start playing it doesn’t take long at all to get used to, and can actually be surprisingly addictive.

One feature I love on Reversi Reloaded is the ability to change the computer’s difficulty. By default, it is on easy, but you also have the options of medium and hard. Easy is relatively straightforward and you shouldn’t have any trouble beating the computer here. Medium is where it gets more difficult, but hard is where it gets serious. The Othello computer runs a program which can beat anybody at Reversi – it’s simply not possible to beat it. It’s defeated all of the world champions. Luckily, I think Mobivention have been slightly kinder here and I’m sure it is possible to win this game. I’ve been at it for a good 2 hours and haven’t cracked it yet, but I just randomly tap and guess the best places to go. The pros have established techniques and strategies, so it really is up to you whether you simply do this for fun on easy/medium or develop and enhance your reversi skills on hard.

Best of all though: this game is FREE! You can pay to remove the ads, but I don’t see the point because they are quite unobtrusive. You also have the option of paying for more board designs, and at 59p, why not?! But I think the one feature this game is missing is a statistics panel or profile page. It would be really cool to store all of your reversi scores and results and look back at them. An even better idea would be for these to be uploaded to a website where you can compare your stats with other Reversi players. I hope this sort of functionality is looked into, but for now, this game is a great time-passer and actually makes you sit and think.

iPwnGamers Score: 4/5

Like I said, at first I wasn’t sure what this game was going to be about, but I was very quickly surprised. The gist of the game is that Toshi keeps getting herself into altercations with various enemies. The way that you beat them is to keep Toshi dancing. The way you keep her moving to the groove is by solving about 100 3D block physics puzzles. There are various elements throughout that game that you must learn to deal with in specific ways: rubber, wood, stone, ice, and a strange neon green material

I was very skeptical when I played my first level, but there is nothing quite like when you move Toshi, who apparently has forgotten how to walk, from her post to the dance floor. Once there she begins dancing to some variety of Japanese-pop music on a rainbow lit floor. There really is a sense of accomplishment, be it small, upon beating one level, then the next, then the next. I easily played this game straight through the first thirty levels before putting it down on the first day I got it.

The game is scored in the typical three star format that many of us are used to in a lot of these games. You are given a designated number of balls that it should take you to complete the level and carry Toshi to safety on the dance floor. If you complete the level with fewer balls than necessary you are rewarded with three stars plus. If completed with the exact number you receive three, and it goes down from there for the more attempts you must take. Scoring is then based fully upon those stars earned in gameplay. Scores and other achievements are traced in iOS’s Game Center.

You see a new one of these after every 20 levels...pretty cool

In addition to fun gameplay, the graphics really are pretty good based upon what most of us are used to in these physics puzzle games. You should also keep your ears open for the dialogue coming from Toshi each time she dies or gets another chance. It’s all really quite funny. Overall, I would highly recommend this gaime. Since I received the game less than a week ago, it has provided me with hours of entertainment. I am already in the top 15% of players on Game Center, and I still have about ten levels to go!

In short…get this game…play this game…it’s super good and will be worth your $.99.

Mecapix is a simple concept at its core. Various arrangements of blocks (called Mecas) fall from the top of the screen. The player must draw his or her own block figures (PIXes) at the bottom of the screen to send upwards and combat the falling arrangements. For each block that gets past your defenses, you lose a life. Lose too many lives, and it’s game over. Simple, yes, but Mecapix intensifies the complexity as you progress through the levels.

To start, you cannot simply fire an endless array of blocks upward. A Pix Points counter in the corner of the screen limits the amount of blocks you can draw. Draw too many blocks too quickly, and your firepower will be temporarily disabled. Additionally, the “enemy” block clusters become increasingly more complicated as the game advances, culminating with boss battles at the end of each world.

Thankfully, many of these enemy clusters also have a weakness. Found within many of the large Mecas are power-ups to be used to your advantage. Much of the fun of the game is in discovering these powers and using them to their maximum potential. However, sometimes that maximum potential will not be easily recognizable.

This fact is perhaps the game’s one weakness. The Mecas often come toward you at a frantic pace, and determining the correct method for utilizing the power-ups before you have died a time or seven can be challenging. Like in the best iPhone puzzle games, once you do decipher the patterns and the best way to proceed, you will feel like a genius. I found this degree of difficulty as an incentive to play the game more. That “One more try” mentality was very much present, but for those used to playing more relaxed games, be forewarned that it may take several frustrating deaths before you reach your epiphany.

Overall, Mecapix is a blast to play. The simple, colorful visuals and catchy soundtrack draw you in to its unique puzzle-shooter world. The drawing mechanic is a brilliant use of the iPhone’s touch screen, giving the retro-inspired game a very tactile, modern feel. As mentioned, the game does demand and reward your full attention. Even once you have figured out the best way to survive, it will take several more tries before you can start increasing your high score. With three full worlds and an endurance mode, Mecapix is a great value. If you’re looking for a retro challenge with a modern touch, Mecapix is a fantastic choice.

iPwnGames Score: 4/5

Most good iPhone game developers will only give you their genious goodness if you’re willing to pay a few bucks, but every now and then a good iPhone developer or a quite unknown developer releases an awesome free iPhone game. There are completely free games, and of course the so-called Freemium games that will at some point require a few cents or bucks from you if you want to really get into the game. Actually the App Store has more good Freemium games than 100% free iPhone games, but for all the cheapscapes out there we compiled a list of the best free iPhone games.

Paper Toss

Paper Toss has been in the App Store for quite some time, and has always been a 100% free iPhone game. The concept is quite simple and get slightly addictive; you have some balled up paper and need to throw it in the trash bin by sweeping your finger over your touch screen. There’s some cool difficulties in the game like a ventilator that may distort your paper ball’s flight direction. The game has different stages and difficulty levels and can be made ad-free if you pay a dollar to the game’s developer. Download from App Store

Solitaire

There has probably never been a mobile phone that didn’t have some sort of Solitaire game pre-installed on it, well that is why game developers came up with this free Solitaire iPhone game. Don’t expect anything extremely fancy though, Solitaire looks just like the old Solitaire-game on Windows but has a few new features. You can change your game’s background, use Vegas scoring and use your own cards in the game. Download from App Store

Trundle

Trundle! That’s the name of this neat free puzzle adventure game for iPhone and iPod Touch with a really cool silhouette-like graphic style. The game lets you play with blocks by pushing them, using machines and by doing risky tricks. In case you’re really getting into it, you can go to the App Store and buy an extra level for the game. Download from App Store

A Quest of Knights Onrush

Knights Onrush by Chillingo took some precious time from a lot of iPhone-lovers, except of course you cheap ass iPhone-gamers who waited for a free look-a-like version of the game. The wait is over; some developers had the guts to try and make a free equivalent of the game under the name “A Quest of Knights Onrush”. Play as a midget-knight, slaughter enemies, enjoy hours of free entertainment. Download from App Store

Real Racing GTI

Volkswagen’s Real Racing GTI iPhone game starring the latest Golf VI is of course not a game intended to get some bucks from you, Volkswagen just wants you to testdrive its car on your mobile device. This game gives you the chance to cruise around in one of the six cars on the standard track. However, if you really like it you can always decide to purchase the full game from Firemint in the App Store. Download from App Store

Spider: Hornet Smash

Spider: Hornet Smash is actually a Lite version (demo) of the full non-free iPhone game Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor. All iPhone game reviewsites gave that game a whole bunch of love for its awesomeness, and now you can play it for free. In this arcade-style game you’ll be dodging bees and other stingy insects, and connect with friends over the internet with built-in Facebook Connect support and other goodies. Download from App Store

FallDown!

Usually free iPhone games that easily eat your time away are the best, and FallDown! could be the best example of that type of great free iPhone apps. This simple game lets you tilt your iPhone or iPod Touch to guide a ball to the holes in the game. It’s one of the most simple game concepts ever, and this game prooves that it still works. Pay a dollar and you won’t have to be distracted by the advertisements in this game anymore. Download from App Store

Traffic Rush

Traffic Rush is a simple but pretty chaotic car traffic game similar to Firemint’s non-free Flight Control game. You need to make cars stop and accelerate by simply giving them a touch of your finger. It’s your job to make sure that the cars don’t crash, until of course you lose your head and get too much tapping work and the cars crash leading to your game over with hopefully a new high score! So if Flight Control looks like it could be something cool for you but you’re not willing to pass the buck immediately, then definitely check out Traffic Rush! Download from App Store

Depict

A fan of pictionary? Be sure to check out Depict, a pictionary-like iPhone and iPod Touch title offering a few minutes of free fun. It’s a little bit different from the classic pictionary though; in this game you get multiple-choice options to make it a taddy bit easier and to speed things up. Get the full version of the game, and you’ll be able to play online and have access to tons of other good features. Download from App Store

Papi Jump

Papi is a happy, red little bouncing ball who likes to jump in the sky to try to be as high and dry as possible. You need to move your iPhone from left to right to get Papi to jump on the platforms. If you don’t manage to get Papi a platform to jump on, he’ll simply fall down and Papi with the amazing jumping skills will be no more. It’s dead simple, pretty addictive and a hardcore free iPhone game with some ads here and there. This game was actually the predecessor of Doodle Jump, one of the best-selling games in the App Store. Download from App Store

Right after Apple announced new Game Center and its November release, Firemint sent us an email to let you know that it will seamlessly incorporate Apple Game Center features into its hit games Flight Control and Real Racing via the Cloudcell platform. The Game Center features for these games will be available on the supported devices (iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 and iPod touch 3rd and 4th generation), and will also be mirrored on Cloudcell to offer the same features to the non-supported devices. The Game Center features should be introduced right after Game Center is released, updates will of course be free.

Firemint will seamlessly incorporate Apple Game Center features into its hit games Flight Control and Real Racing via its Cloudcell platform. The features will be available on supported devices (iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 and iPod touch 3rd and 4th generation), but will also be mirrored on Cloudcell whenever possible to offer similar functionality on older devices. Features such as achievements and leaderboards will be available in the game itself, on the Cloudcell web site or via Game Center. We hope Game Center features will be available in our games (as free updates) as soon as Game Center is released.