Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X. by Gameloft let’s Iphone flight jockeys take to the skies in an exciting high altitude thrill ride through 13 long and involving air/ground combat missions that’ll keep you on the edge of your seat.  You’ll get to fly 26 advanced aircraft over real world GeoEye imaged locations from Rio to Washington while being challenged to use all the high-tech weaponry, targeting and flying skills at your disposal to succeed.  You won’t want to eject from this cockpit.

Call of Duty World at War - Zombies by Activision and Treyarch packs more intensity, gore, tension and body parts into one level than I’d ever thought I’d see on a mobile phone.  COD Zombies traps you in a thoroughly convincing 2-story Nazi bunker called Nacht der Untoten lifted directly from the zombie mode of the console blockbuster Call of Duty - World at War and lets you have at it with an onslaught of zombies on your handheld whenever and wherever the mood strikes.

2009 was a watershed year for 3D gaming on the Iphone.  After hinting at its capabilities in 2008, the Iphone exploded with brilliant and immersive 3D games in every category to establish itself as a legitimate gaming platform for on the go entertainment.  The Iphone demonstrated a remarkable ability to handle everything the best developers in the world could throw at it in terms of gorgeous 3D graphics, animation, open game worlds, multiplayer connectivity, tilt and touch controls and fast paced action.  Although I expect some huge releases in the final weeks of the year, these are my choices for the games that have set the bar for 3D gaming on the Iphone as we head into 2010.

Ravensword: The Fallen King by Human Powered Games and Crescent Moon is an action/role-playing game that creates an attractive, large and immersive medieval fantasy world for you to explore in either first person or third person on your Iphone.  That in itself is an achievement that deserves praise.  But does the action and the role playing measure up to the remarkable 3D environment?

If you’ve enjoyed the previous editions of Gameloft’s arcade racing Asphalt series you’ll be glad to know nothing has changed.  Lots of exotic cars and motorcycles to unlock from Lotus’ to Lamborghini’s and Ducati’s along with 12 good looking locations with 4 different types of races at each locale.  While some may wish for a little wrinkle in the formula, the motto “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” has served Gameloft well for 5 editions.  Unfortunately, they’ve added one new wrinkle that very well could of been left out.

EA Sports has brought some nice sports titles to the Iphone this year in Tiger Woods, Madden and FIFA.  Now they bring their game onto the hardwood with the fully licensed and well-presented NBA Live 10 where the mobile gamer can pick-up-and-play a single  game, season or playoff with any of the 30 NBA teams and their up-to-date rosters.

Real Racing has found an off-road partner for simulating racing on the Iphone in 2xl’s ATV Offroad.  This showpiece dirt racer drops you into the driver’s seat of an ATV with an unbelievable first-person view that has to be experienced to be appreciated.

Red Bull X-Fighters is a fabulously entertaining title from Xendex.  While this game has nothing to do with bulls or fighting it has everything to do with flat out fun and awesome visuals as you perform radical motocycle stunts at dizzying heights above roaring crowds while a gorgeous 3D camera pans and zooms to catch every stunning move and painful crash as your rag doll body gets thrashed by each improper landing.  It’s both beautiful and gruesome.

In Derek Jeter Real Baseball one of the Iphone’s hottest hitters takes a swing at simulating baseball  on the I device with one of their signature franchises.  Gameloft, in the mist of an MVP season, is no rookie to mobile baseball as they’ve been putting out versions of Derek Jeter in java for years so it’s assumed they know baseball.

Dungeon Hunter is a gorgeous, long and deep character building dungeon crawler from Gameloft who appears to be on a determined campaign to dominate every gaming genre on the Iphone by the end of the year.