During GDC, EA Mobile held a press event to display a number of coming titles under their label as well as from Chillingo. In fact, Chillingo co-founder Chris Byatte was on hand, chatting with folks and spreading a bit of wit during demos of the various games.

At the event, I took part in demonstrations of several iOS titles that will shortly be landing in the App Store, from both studios. The following is a brief run-down of the various games from EA Mobile that I spent time with.

Without further ado…

Battleship for iPad

In late 2009, EA Mobile released an iPhone version of the classic naval strategy game Battleship [link] for the iPhone. Next month, a native iPad version of the game will set sail, bringing with it enhanced visuals, detailed cutscene animations, iPhone to iPad WiFi / Bluetooth multiplayer and an exclusive (to iPad) two-player side by side game mode.

Shortly after the April release of Battleship for iPad, an update to the iPhone version will be hitting the App Store.

Max & The Magic Marker

EA Mobile's Max & The Magic Marker, winner of the IGF 2010 D2D Division Award, �is a line-drawing puzzle platformer due later this month for both the iPhone and iPad. The game puts you in control of Max, who must avoid obstacles, contend with enemies, and solve puzzles in an effort to get through 58 levels across three different game worlds to defeat the evil monster bent on wiping out Max's drawings.

The core mechanic of the game is Max's magic marker, which allows you to draw objects on the screen that come to life and fully interact with the game world. From simple single-line bridges to more complex shapes used to crush enemies, the marker's drawings take on full physics properties and allow Max to avoid various roadblocks and get to the collectible golden spheres spread throughout the levels. Ink can be collected along the way to keep the marker flowing, and shapes drawn, once having served their purpose, can be reclaimed for the reuse of their ink.

Max & The Magic Marker was originally a 15-level WiiWare title. The iOS release has split these levels into a larger number of shorter levels that are better suited to gaming on the go.

Liqua Pop

A game that looks quite lickable (well, aside from the bugs…), EA Mobile's upcoming Liqua Pop is a color-matching puzzle game with lovely, fluid graphics and animation. Your task is to match like-color droplets by dragging and merging them together to form a large enough droplet to kick off its elimination timer. A shake to the iPhone will get that done earlier, but sometimes it's best to wait, as the larger a droplet the more points are awarded as it blinks out. Don't clear the droplets fast enough and the screen fills up and it's game over.

The real object of the game is to get your friend Toadie, who lives on the left side of the screen, to the top of his leaf by releasing bugs (seven types in all) from within certain of the aforementioned droplets. With the release of most bugs, Toadie inches upwards, but certain bugs leave behind obstacles that slow down your progress. When Toadie reaches the top, it's on to the next level.

Liqua Pop is certainly one of the most polished color-matching titles I've seen, with its colorful Retina-supporting visuals and convincing animation. Facebook integration allows scores to be shared with friends.

Liqua Pop is set to land in the App Store sometime later this month.

Draw Jump

Draw Jump is a sketch-stylized game of how-high-can-you-go, where you keep little rocket man Cosmo bouncing upward by drawing strategically placed trampolines below him. Cosmo starts out on Earth but, with a bit of savvy sketching, it's out into the cosmos with him, moving upwards through six different environments across 11 levels. There are trees, planets, stars and suns to be seen along the way, as well as sunflower fuel cells to be collected for an energy boost.

The game's visuals are based on Japanese "pop" inspired artwork. Leaderboards along with Facebook and Twitter integration keep you striving for the highest altitude.

Draw Jump will bounce into the App Store in late March or early April for both the iPhone and iPad.

Coconut Dodge

Coming in late March or early April for both iPhone and iPad, the aptly titled Coconut Dodge for iOS is a conversion of the popular PSP / PS3 game to which PSNstores gave a 10/10 rating. The game puts you in touch control of Clawrence the crab who must meander his way through 30 levels of tropical-themed airborne coconut mazes, bouts of beach ball bouncing, and treasure grabbing.

The game features an Arcade mode where score is king, as well as a Maze Master mode that challenges you to intricately maneuver a gauntlet of oncoming obstacles. Leaderboards and Facebook integration are rolled in.

A mega-huge update is coming to Zombie Smash and Zombie Smash HD [$1.99 / HD] a little later this April. Like the developers, I hesitate to call this a standard "update." It's more like a total overhaul with an added second campaign.

For you iPhone 4 owners out there, Game Doctors is adding in new, high-resolution visuals for device's beefier screen. Also, look forward to some new technical wizardry via parallax scrolling effects and even a new soundtrack. Also, if you rock enough, you'll earn some Game Center achievements along the way.

The game's new campaign, Camp Nowhere as its called, adds in 30 additional days to survive against the zombie hordes. I got to see this during a demo session at GDC and came away quite impressed with what it added. That is to say, I dug the new zombies, the new special attacks, and the backgrounds. Here's a shot of the muscle zombie, which was shown to me late yesterday. He's my kind of undead dude:

Of course, the game will also support IAP, so get ready for that money drain. I'm not privy to the balance, so I can't really speak to how much of a necessity micro-DLC will become, but, hey, I'll keep my eyes out for this update when it hits later this April and report back to you.

When I'm not roller blading or lifting weights, I like to pretend like I can understand big words and tackle complex questions. For example: Why is Angry Birds [$.99 / HD / Lite] such a big deal and what in its usability speaks to people in such a profound way? Ah, allow me to start clicking "more" and arranging pages and pages of information. Almost done…

Crap! Someone else beat me to it AND they're not even looking for page hits! But, really, check out Pulze UX's teardown of the Angry Birds user experience. It's a great article filled with spectacular insights into the draw of the title, from its mystery, to its wonky physics, and even its birds.

Let me give you an example. In the following passage author Charles L. Mauro talks about the game's response time to user inputs. He argues that the seconds and seconds of teetering blocks after you make contact is a good thing that adds a certain depth to the experience that otherwise wouldn't be thereif Rovio sped up the tumbling process (or straightened out its physics engine). He also discusses the leisurely firing rate of the birds. From the post:

For example, in Angry Birds, it was possible for the programmers to have made the flight of the birds fast � very fast, but they didn't. Instead they programmed the flight of the angry flock to be leisure pace as they arc across the sky heading for the pigs' glass houses. This slowed response time, combined with a carefully crafted trajectory trace (the flight path of the bird), solves one huge problem for all user interfaces � error correction.

… In Angry Birds game play the pigs also take a long time to expire once their houses are sent to bits. In many play sequences, seconds are consumed as the pigs teeter, slide and roll off planks or are crushed under slow falling debris. This response time of 3-5 seconds, in most user interfaces, brings users to the point of exasperation, but not with Angry Birds.

Neat, right? Mauro also digs into the game's smart taxing on our short-term memory, the game's sound design, and even its visual appeal. If you ever wanted to read something fun about Angry Birds, well, this is it. (Alternatively, if you're a developer and want some insight on why your grandma can play Angry Birds, this offers some insight.) Now, excuse me while I grab my smoking jacket and cigar. I've got some learnin' to do.

About a month ago, we were somewhat surprised by the announcement that the arcade classic Double Dragon would be getting an enhanced iOS remake. I'm a huge fan of the Double Dragon series, both in the arcade and at home with the many console ports and sequels, and to be perfectly honest I wasn't that excited by the news. I didn't really dig the new graphics, and I was definitely not a fan of the virtual controller that took up the bottom third of the screen. I'm all for big name titles coming to iOS, but in this case it seemed that my nostalgia for Double Dragon was poised to get dragged through the mud.

Then last week, Double Dragon [$3.99] quietly snuck into the App Store, and with the madness of GDC coming to an end I've finally had a chance to spend some quality time with the game. Not only was I pleasantly surprised by just how much I enjoyed this new Double Dragon, but I'll even go as far as saying that it's easily my favorite beat-em-up in the App Store. It just goes to show that you really can't ever judge a book by its cover.

Double Dragon on iOS is developed �Brizo Interactive, who are also responsible for the somewhat obscure version of Double Dragon on the Zeebo. The iOS version is loosely based on the Zeebo one, meaning that it has 4 levels that somewhat resemble the arcade originals plus 2 completely new levels unique to the remake. Also, there is a huge assortment of bosses and enemies to unlock in addition to the main characters Billy and Jimmy Lee, making for a whopping total of 26 playable characters.

The gameplay remains true to the Double Dragon series as you travel from left to right through the 6 levels section by section, taking on countless waves of thugs and squaring up against a boss at the end of each level. You can choose to take on the game solo or with a buddy in local Bluetooth co-op multiplayer, which is insanely fun and works like a dream in my experience. There's also a Time Attack mode where you can play any of the 6 levels individually for the highest score and fastest time. All of these modes have associated leaderboards through Game Center, but unfortunately something seems to be screwy with that function as I'm not able to access any of them.

Despite the additional 2 levels over the original Double Dragon, the iOS version won't take long to complete. Brizo compensates for this nicely by adding incentive to play through the game multiple times. There's the 24 extra characters to unlock, and even though their move sets aren't as robust as what Billy and Jimmy have, it's still really fun to play through the game as one of the various henchmen or boss characters. There are also a ton of achievements to earn by completing all sorts of different tasks in the game. Even though the Game Center integration is currently broken, the achievements are also accessible in-game and I've been having a great time trying to get them all.

Given that Double Dragon is a button masher by nature, there have been concerns on how well this will translate to the touch screen. Thankfully the controls here are as good as virtual d-pads and buttons can be, which is to say that there is the occasional misfire but nothing earth-shattering. There's even the option for either a 4 button control scheme or a simplified 3 button setup, which makes the game considerably easier to play but also limits which moves you're able to do. Some players in our forums have complained that the controls are too small, but I personally haven't felt that this is a problem.

What is a problem, however, is the awful looking overlay where the buttons are placed. This overlay takes up a good portion of the screen and can even block enemy positions or pits that lead to instant death. For the most part it stays out of the way, but when the overlay does block the action it can be an incredibly frustrating experience. An alternate overlay or even the option to increase the transparency would be a really welcome addition.

I am firmly a fan of this new Double Dragon and stand corrected by my initial judgment from our first preview. The redone graphics actually look fantastic, giving the game an almost comic book style that retains a retro feel. The controls are more than adequate and the fighting system is fairly deep, with experience earned from playing going towards unlocking an assortment of new moves. Coupled with unlocking new characters and achievements, there's actually quite a bit to do in Double Dragon for such a fundamentally short game.

If the developer can sort out the Game Center and control overlay problems, I really wouldn't have anything to complain about with Double Dragon. If you like beat-em-up arcade games and can deal with the changes from the original Double Dragon, you'll likely find this version a highly enjoyable title. It's currently on an introductory sale of $3.99 but will increase to $7.99 before long, so if you have any interest in the new Double Dragon for iOS then now might be the best time to pick it up.

An interesting trailer just passed through our inbox for an upcoming platforming game called Mos Speedrun. The game is being developed by Physmo, who have previously released Seaglass [99�/HD] in the App Store, and it caught our attention with its focus on completing levels as fast as possible. It appears that just one hit will kill the character known as Mos, and the ghosts from your previous attempts will be running alongside you in the background to give you a means of measuring how well you're doing in your current run (though this feature can be turned off if you choose).

Physmo promises a simple to use two button control scheme for working your way through the initial 20 levels, with additional level packs already planned for updates. Each level will have multiple goals to shoot for too, like strictly finishing as fast as possible, collecting every coin and item, or finding all the hidden skulls spread throughout. There is also the possibility of sharing ghost data online so you can take on your friends' best runs, but this feature won't make it into the initial release.

Mos Speedrun has a really nice 8-bit style and reminds me a bit of one of my other favorite iOS platformers League of Evil [$1.99/Lite]. That game proved that you can have tight controls using virtual buttons and it also had a focus on completing levels as quickly as possible. If Mos Speedrun can offer a similar experience with even just a fraction of the execution of League of Evil, then we may have another winner on our hands. Physmo only hints that Mos Speedrun is close to completion and doesn't offer a solid release date, but we'll keep our eyes peeled for it to hit the App Store hopefully sooner than later.