A class-action lawsuit filed in San Francisco wants to take iPhone game developer Storm8 to task for what it calls "malicious software code." The suit accuses Storm8 of exploiting a backdoor method to retrieve users' phone numbers without their permission in games such as "iMobsters" and "Vampires Live." We reached out to Apple for a comment, and though the representative we spoke wasn't familiar with the case, he did articulate Apple's position on the practice Storm8 has been accused of.

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In an interview with "DOOM" creator and id Software Technical Director John Carmack, he revealed that while he plans on releasing "Quake" for the iPhone, Apple's already done most of the work.

"Work will start on 'Quake Classic'...Apple has an internal version that they ported themselves for development and benchmark testing. So I'll probably get them to spit up what they actually did as a baseline for us. At one point somebody actually submitted it to the App Store, a version that they had made, and we had to have that pulled down."

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John Carmack has finished work on the much-anticipated port of "DOOM" for the iPhone. Dubbed "DOOM Classic," it's available in the App Store for $7, and offers four full episodes from the classic FPS and local multiplayer support over the same WiFi network. I spoke to Carmack regarding the project, his follow-up to "Wolfenstein 3D Classic" on the iPhone.

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"Eliminate," from "Rolando" iPhone developer ng:moco, is definitely blazing some new ground on the platform, offering up a free-to-play 3D FPS in a market that's over-saturated with simple match-3 puzzle games.

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"Eliminate" is a new FPS from ngmoco for the iPhone. The hook, and there are few better, is that the game is free. That's a tall order considering that it features fully 3D graphics and online multiplayer support, both rare commodities on the App Store.

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In this week's iPhone gaming round-up, I'm pulling out two quick recommendations and something to keep an eye out for. Think you can handle it? Good, lets go!

"Hook Champ" ($2.99, Lite Version Available)
Old school to the max, "Hook Champ" features "Bionic Commando"-style swing gameplay at top speed with retro graphics and shotguns. You're basically tasked with swiping the jewels from a variety of underground temples before swinging to freedom. The game's art style is very similar to that of indie mainstay, "Spelunky," featuring an Indiana Jones knock-off as the hero. There's a light RPG element, too, as you can upgrade the hero's rope, weapons and even his rocket boots. Definitely worth the $3 asking price, but there's a Lite version if you're still not convinced.

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Up until this point "Lite" purchases from Apple's App Store needed to be exited in order to go back and purchase a game's fully loaded big brother. A change of policy has shifted those constraints, however, and iPhone and iPod touch gamers can now expect to see in-game buttons that immediately initiate purchases.

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"Rock Band" will come to the iPhone, and EA wants it there by the end of October. After teasing its release yesterday, EA Mobile posted a complete track list and gameplay details this afternoon, along with The Beastie Boys, AFI, Blink-182 and Pixies songs. Including guitar, bass, drums and vocals parts, the App Store release will use the iPhone and iPod touch's Bluetooth capability for up to four-member multiplayer sessions. More details and the track list appear after the jump.

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For a game that requires a single input (be it an elbow, a nose or, more likely, a thumb), "Canabalt" is surprisingly addictive. I've written about it before, when it was in Flash form, but late last week the game released on on the App Store, and since I picked it up I haven't touched anything else on the device. I won't couch it: "Canabalt" should be bought by anyone with an iPhone or iPod Touch.

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Review by Eric Ditzian

Here is today's leisure time pop quiz: Do you enjoy shoveling dirt? Do you ever think to yourself, "Gee, ain't it a ton of fun to tape plastic wrap to a wall?"

If you answered yes to either of these questions, if for some nutty reason you genuinely dig household chores, by all means download "Dexter: The Game" off iTunes, because those are the first two tasks you'll face when you fire up your device and step in to control everyone's favorite TV serial killer. It's a confounding gaming experience that only gets more frustrating as it slugs along and as I kept wishing I'd been asked to review the Showtime series starring the gifted Michel C. Hall rather this game.

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