Mobile gaming for the iPod, Droid and upcoming Google phones is hot right now, and developers are all jumping on creating apps for the iPod Touch and iPhone. At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, EA Mobile was showing a slew of cool games for mobile devices, including Rock Band, Dragon’s Lair, The Simpsons Arcade, Need for Speed: Shift, Spore Creatures, The Sims 3: World Adventures, Madden 10 and Command and Conquer: Red Alert. I got to play the first three and expect GamersInfo.net will be bringing you reviews on the others in the near future.

Rock Band

The mobile version of Rock Band, doesn’t require you to be musical genius or even adept with the instrumental controllers. You’ll be using your fingers and/or thumbs to hit the chords. Gameplay seems to only have a vertical set-up (you can only look at the game vertically), which I thought was OK. I would like to have the option to tilt my iPod Touch horizontal to have a wider view of what I’m doing, but I’m OK with the vertical play.

Players choose bass, guitar, drums or vocals. Of course, you don’t play instruments, and sadly, you can’t sing into the mic for vocals; you have to use your finger or thumb to follow the chords. I was a bit disappointed I couldn’t belt one out right there on the floor, but I quickly got over it. The vocal screen differs from the other three instruments, which all bear the same style. The difference is vast, but it’s no more than that of the console-based look. The bass, guitar and drums screen look the same as the console versions of Rock Band. The graphics are crisp, and the layout is familiar. I didn’t have a problem catching on to gameplay. The difference between the main three instruments screens is that the chords differ depending on the instrument. So really, gameplay is pretty much the same.

The sound quality is top-notch in this mobile version of Rock Band. The songs all sound as they should. You can choose from 20 songs, and the mobile version really is comparable to the console versions in the types of gameplay available. I quite enjoyed playing it. If you’re a fan of Rock Band, I recommend you get it.

Dragon’s Lair

Dragon’s Lair for the iPod Touch and iPhone seemed like the simplest game to me. There are two control areas (a d-pad and the sword/attack button), and all I had to do was tap the appropriate area when it lit up. That was easier said than done.

I did fine on a couple of areas, but I couldn’t get the timing right. It may have been because I had a bunch of other things to check out at the time, but no matter, I would love to try again. I know I can do better.

But the game is gorgeous. It’s hand-drawn animation from Don Bluth and is adapted from the original Dragon’s Lair game. I felt like I was watching a movie instead of playing a game. It’s basically an interactive story just like the original back in the early 1980s.

I thought the character was humorous, and his actions seemed appropriate. You can play through the story chapter by chapter or skip around. I’d love to play the story through to completion at some point, and I recommend Dragon’s Lair to anyone who likes the old game and/or fantasy or just wants a simple but challenging game to play during their free time.

The Simpsons Arcade

I remember playing side-scroller fighting games as a kid ... particularly Kung Fu on the original Nintendo. There’s just something satisfying about kicking people. The Simpsons Arcade reminded me a bit of this type of game, but it was cooler than those — because you get to play as Homer.

The controls are like that of an arcade game — a joystick on the left and punch and kick buttons on the right. You play as Homer through 25 levels in six environments with minigames, spot-on voices and family power-ups. You’ll run into other characters from the show, too. You’ll most likely have to punch or kick them, which can be good times.

The Simpsons Arcade looked like other Simpsons games; the artwork mimicked that of the show and looked great on the iPod Touch. The sounds all seemed to fit, too. I particularly liked the fact that Homer got health by eating doughnuts.

I didn’t get to play much of The Simpsons Arcade, but I would definitely play it again and would recommend it to any fan of the show.

Although I didn’t get to see all of the mobile games EA Mobile showed at CES or play through much of the ones I did, I know the developers put a lot of time and effort into each. The gameplay for all was fun and simple and what I would expect from an iPod Touch/iPhone app, but the look and quality put into them were outstanding and better than a lot of games I see for the mobile devices. The cost for the apps is a bit more than some, but I think it’s worth it. For more information about EA Mobile’s iPod Touch and iPhone games, visit www.eamobile.com/iphone-games..