Gameloft has shown it's commitment to GT Racing by quickly putting out an update that addresses the draw distance and pop-up issues while adding two new cars, the Bugatti Veyron and a 1992 Celica. It also seems to load a tad faster making GTR the Gran Turismo of the Iphone.

GT Racing: Motor Academy from Gameloft distances itself from the arcade racing of their Asphalt series of games and enters GT territory dominated by Firemint’s Real Racing and EA’s recent Need for Speed Shift. One might question weather another GT racer is needed but the market for racing games seems endless and Motor Academy offers some outstanding features not found in the other top racers.

When surrounded by hordes of axe-wielding Orcs, giant Trolls and undead skeletons all thirsty for a piece of your flesh, what’s a girl to do? Display all her womanly assets to titillate and distract so she can get in a few unanswered hacks with her massive sword. After all, all’s fair in love and war. So Tehra, the half-blooded heroine of Tehra: Dark Warrior from StormBASIC, slips into her skimpiest G-string bikini and sets out into the dark world of Sistar.

I have a weakness for underwater 3D games.  Perhaps it’s a desire to be submerged in a foreign world or an urge to return to the womb.  Mission: Deep Sea by Hiccup Studios and Chillingo is the latest undersea adventure to wet my appetite and it creates a convincing underwater world for you to explore on your Iphone.

The newest addition to EA’s Need For Speed garage, NFS Shift, distinguishes itself from the arcade racing of NFS Undercover by providing more of a simulation type experience with an emphasis on the correct braking and proper racing line rather than spectacular collisions, cops or storyline.

Avatar by Gameloft is a platform/fighter that rises above that simple classification and conveys a wide-eyed sense of wonder by it’s beauty, graphical splendor and brilliant overall design to offer a game that you’re compelled to finish just to see what’s around the next corner.

Gameloft never tries to reinvent the wheel.  What they do, and they do it very well, is to bring inspired clones or ports of successful games from other platforms onto the Idevice.  In N.O.V.A. they deliver a striking Halo inspired FPS that should appeal to that large fan base.

Driver was brutally difficult back in 1999 even with a dual analog controller on a large screen and although Gameloft has lightened the difficulty with an easy mode for the Iphone, it’s still a rough ride especially with the super springy suspension and less than ideal controls you’re given.  But before you drive off the bridge or worse yet throw your Iphone across the room in frustration, here are some driving tips that might help you lose the heat.

In order to clean house at the end of the year I’ve decided to give quick reviews on two noteworthy games that were released in the last month amid the Christmas rush: Labyrinth 2 by Illusion Labs and Jet Car Stunts by True Axis.   Sometimes a quick play is just what you need to get you through the day and Labyrinth 2 fills that need perfectly.  Jet Car Stunts is a unique racer that pits you against some colorful block tracks in time trials and a stunt mode without making you contend with other racers, upgrades or involving you in a long career.

If you played Driver when  it came out for the Playstation and PC in 1999, your memories are probably bittersweet.  While the physics, pre-GTA open world driving and crazy cops-on-crank made for some fond memories, the difficulty was legendary and sent many a frustrated gamer in search of the latest cheat codes.  Gameloft has ported a complete version of this gaming classic to the Iphone with decreased difficulty and upgraded graphics to give mobile gamers the most fun you can have driving without getting busted.