The NBA, via MobiTV, has made available its "League Pass" service to the iPhone via the League Pass Mobile app [iTunes link]. Like the MLB At Bat app [iTunes link], League Pass Mobile allows you to stream live NBA games onto your iPhone -- over 40 live NBA games per week. There's also the ability to view stats from the current game, and look at scores from games across the league. Subscribers can also replay full games up to 48 hours after the game has been played.

I'm a basketball junkie, and a former subscriber of NBA League Pass Broadband, the NBA's desktop version of the service -- former, because I actually just canceled my subscription yesterday. I found the service subjected too many games to blackouts, which often prevented me from watching many games of my beloved world champion Los Angeles Lakers. As a result, I'd often hop on over to my local sports bar to watch the game, which set me back at least US $12 with beer factored in. This year, instead, I'll be sacrificing the comfort of watching games in front of my desktop (and now the potential of watching it on my iPhone) for the peace of mind that the game I want to watch will be available at my local sports bar.

NBA League Pass Mobile is available for US $39.99 in the App Store.

Since my team isn't in the playoffs this year (next season, Knicks fans!), I've had to sate my basketball jones by watching some of the sworn enemies of NYC... shame, too, as this Boston-Chicago series is unbelievable. Four out of six games going to OT? I mean, c'mon. Anyway, just in time for the race to the championship, Freeverse's Flick NBA Basketball is shipping for the iPhone and iPod touch.

The game combines several "All-Star Saturday Night" staples, including a 3-point shootout, H.O.R.S.E, and a long shot competition, along with a pop-a-shot machine and a finger spin mini-game. While the 1.0 build currently on the store is marred by some crashing bugs and overly challenging (at least, to my middle-aged fingers) shooting mechanics, the submitted & soon-to-arrive 1.1 version improves stability and gameplay. There's also a big additional feature coming in the 1.2 update, date TBA: dunking! We've got an exclusive video demo of the dunk UI in the 2nd half of this post.

Of course, the big thrill of Flick NBA is the NBA part -- Freeverse has licensed pro player likenesses and team uniforms, giving players the choice of competing as Chris Paul, Shaquille O'Neal or other pros from all the NBA teams, 30 in total. If you've ever wanted to try your skills on the court as Yao Ming or Dirk Nowitzki, here's your chance. It's not clear if the individual players have unique skill levels, but it's still a thrill to pick your pro and hit the court. The 3D quality, audio and arena graphics are all excellent; it's still a pleasant surprise to see playable 3D on the iPhone screen.

The individual game modes vary in challenge level and enjoyability; in my play testing, I enjoyed the 3-point shooting contest the most, as you can start to get into a 'zone' as you round the ball racks. The 1.0 implementation of H.O.R.S.E. was too difficult to be much fun, but the 1.1 update ratcheted down the shot control speeds a bit and I felt more competitive with my computer opponent (you can also play against a human in Vs. mode). Surprisingly, the pop-a-shot minigame is actually a lot of fun, and the 1.1 update improves the ability to grab balls at the bottom of the ramp without having them collide with other ones rolling back from the basket. The long shot and ball spin minigames were less sticky for me -- the long shot contest is still tough enough to make it frustrating even after a few practice rounds.

For $4.99 in the App Store, Flick NBA Basketball provides a good mix of playability and 'wow, check it out' value. While it's not the head-to-head game sim you might wish for in an NBA title, it's still fun (and more stable with the forthcoming 1.1 update, live in the store as soon as Apple clears it). With the 1.2 and future updates adding dunks and more modes, you'll be getting even more b-ball value for your purchase.

See our screenshot gallery below, and the dunk UI video in the 2nd half of the post.

The Game Developers Conference is on in San Francisco, and game companies are starting to pull out the major announcements on what's coming to the iPhone in the next year. Here's a roundup of all the titles we've heard mentioned already.

• EA announced a huge lineup of ports from their already popular games: everything from Command and Conquer: Red Alert to SSX to FIFA, Madden, and NBA are all coming in some form to the iPhone. They're also working on bringing over the Wolfenstein RPG and Spore Creatures (which was the DS port of Spore), as well as a big list of casual board games (Scrabble is only the beginning), and versions of Need for Speed: Undercover, and Tiger Woods PGA Tour. And most amazing? All of these are due out before the end of the year. Someone's lighting a fire under iPhone developers at EA.
  
• id software announced that they're bringing Wolfenstein 3D Classic to the iPhone in an official form -- that one's already been submitted to the store and should be out soon.

Click the link below to read on.