You know I'm not a fan of proof of concept stuff. It's just no use to you, as the consumer, to be exposed to mechanics that might not make it into the final build of an iOS game (if the game makes it out at all). But in talking with Cale Force Logic this morning at GDC in San Francisco, I got a strong vibe in, at least, the direction of their upcoming game Pocket Aces that I'd like to share.

Cale Force thinks there's a market out there of older gamers with the cash for games, but not the time required to really dig into them. So, their games will cater to this audience.�Pocket Aces, at least for right now, does demonstrate how they will.

Pocket Aces is, basically, a card game with casino hub worlds. The game's basic narrative supports this hub structure: you'll play as a detective investigating the death of a New Orleans councilman, and your travels will have you rolling around in a variety of casinos. What triggers progress is the card play. I saw Blackjack in action and poker will be included, too.

But how does it cater to this audience of dudes with limited time? Getting into card games is super snappy � while purposeful or not, Cale Force didn't incorporate any elaborate dealing animations into the game and there's no UI to speak of; click, deal, hit or stay, and get your card. If you've played other games with card games bolted on to them, like, say,�Red Dead Redemption, you know how dragged down the card action can get when developers pile on supplemental animations and nonsense elements.

Pocket Aces, as a whole, is a little like Epic Citadel [Free] (it uses the UDK, actually). It's first-person and you'll rove around environments in full 3D with the same basic movement mechanics. The effects I saw were rough and the same for the visuals, so this is definitely a wait-and-see kind of project.

Blanket statements are usually reserved for the uninformed, but I can safely say that I haven't liked a single boxing game in the App Store up to this point. Some of them have admirable qualities, but the vast majority either make me long for Super Punch Out or Fight Night on the PS3. It turns out that all I was waiting for was EA's masterful Fight Night Champion [$4.99].

What makes Fight Night Champion so satisfying is that it never strays too far from its console roots, but at the same time does a great job embracing the touch screen technology for combat and the accelerometer for movement. Like the console, the control system in Fight Night Champion works by splitting the control system into quadrants. Where on the console you pop the stick up to do a high jab, here you just have to tap the upper half of the screen. The same goes for the low right hook, where all you have to do is swipe from right to left on the lower half of the screen. Every punch, grab, and hold, from the simple bob-and-weave to each boxers signature punch is done via easy to follow gesture controls, and once you get a round or two in you'll be ready to punch with the big boys.

In addition to the slick fighting, Fight Night Champion comes loaded with 20 boxing legends, from Mohammed Ali to Manny Pacquiao, and also lets you create your own boxing fantasy in the Legacy Mode. I don't know about you, but taking down the amateur hour fighters in record speed with my ripped heavyweight doppelganger sporting American flag shoes ranks right up there with fried PBJ's and Thin Mint cookies. Hop on a multiplayer match over bluetooth or local WiFi and you'll find yourself in iOS gaming bliss… which I guess would taste something like an A1 Thick 'n Hearty Burger.

As killer as the game is though, there's always room for improvement. My first complaint (and this seems to be echoed frequently in the forum) is that the parrying system is unnecessarily hard. I've nailed a few counters in my play, but my fights tend to become brawls with very little blocking (not that I play any different on the console version). I would also love to see the Legacy Mode flushed out a bit with some interactive training sessions and maybe a cutscene or two, or perhaps a pre-fight Rocky montage to really pump me up.

The bottom line is that if you are a boxing fan, and especially a Fight Night fan, Fight Night Champion is a must have app. The controls are outstanding, the boxer selection will please any boxing fan, and the ability to create your own boxer and start your own career is gold. If you ever find me in a restaurant or airport and want to take me on in a bluetooth match, you're on. As Drago would say, "I must break you."

During GDC this week, I met with developer Booyah! to check out their upcoming game Nightclub City DJ Rivals. DJ Rivals is a hodgepodge of many different gaming ideas, but essentially it boils down to a rhythm-based game with RPG elements. Booyah! has previously brought the casual social game MyTown [Free] to iOS and are responsible for the mega popular Nightclub City game on Facebook, which DJ Rivals is loosely associated with.

Typically, I'm not really a fan of casual social games or Facebook gaming in general, so it would be very easy to dismiss DJ Rivals because of that. But one of the great things about an event like GDC is that I was able to sit down face to face with Booyah! and actually try out the game myself, and was really surprised by how much I enjoyed it.

In DJ Rivals you will choose locations throughout a city to partake in rhythm-based battles against rival DJs. These locations can be culled from Google Maps information and will actually populate the buildings in the city with the actual locations, which I thought was a fun touch.

Each location will have drone DJs which you can battle to level up your character and earn money. You can then purchase a ton of different items like new DJ tables, clothing items, and special moves. You can also become the "House DJ" at a location by continually winning battles there, much in the same way you become the "Mayor" of a place on Foursquare. Other players can then challenge you for House DJ and will battle a ghost of your character that contains all the stats and moves you've accumulated, and you can battle and take over House DJ status from other players as well.

The actual battle mechanics are quite fun in DJ Rivals. You will unlock 50 moves over the course of the roughly 30 quest storyline, and can equip 3 of these moves at a time. Choosing a move will trigger a rhythm-based sequence where you tap to the beat on two lanes of notes and scratch a record when prompted. How well you do during this sequence determines the damage you will deal for that particular turn in the battle. This continues until you or your opponent's life bar is depleted.

With all the different elements in Nightclub City DJ Rivals, there should be plenty to do for people who enjoy leveling up and building a character, collecting tons of items, and playing rhythm-based battle sequences. I really liked being able to import real life locations from anywhere in the world into the game, and thought the battling mechanics were really fun.

While I might normally have glossed over DJ Rivals as just another casual social game, after actually playing it I'm actually looking forward to putting some time into it when it launches next week on March 10th.