Phase

Phase is a fun little gem for the iPod, available for purchase from, you guessed it, iTunes.  It's a simple, rhythm-based game akin to Flash Flash Revolution.  

To play the game, you add music from your library to the Phase playlist, created upon purchasing the game, and iTunes generates a level for the song based on its BPM.  Then you simply open the game, select your song, and the stage begins.  There are three 
columns down which dots flow indicating which button you will need to press in order to win.

To add a little flavor, a mechanic known as sweep notes are included.  When a sweep note appears
on screen, a cursor appears at the bottom.  You brush your finger back and forth across the click
wheel in order to move the cursor and catch the sweep notes.  Catching them all will result in a higher
Score.

While you can upload any song into your Phase playlist, some of the songs translate pretty sloppily into game levels.  The levels are automatically designed based on the BPM of the song in question.  JET's "Cold Hard Bitch" is just going to be more fun than "Comfortably Numb" by Pink Floyd.  

Art = Bad

The game's art direction is pretty terrible, and the sound is only as good as you make it.  For the
individual player, whether or not you should buy this game boils down to how much you enjoy
rhythm-based games.   It's a solid win for the most creative iPod game out so far.  It's only compatible with the latest iPod models, and has a cost of $5.  If you've got a new iPod, $5 bucks of iTunes gift cash left over from Christmas, and some time on your hands, give it a spin.  I was impressed, perhaps you will be too.

Blue Dragon

It's an RPG.   There's not a whole lot left to say as far as the game's engine rig is concerned.  All classic roleplaying institutions are employed here.   It has turn-based, menu fighting, bad voice acting, a cast of characters that mystically shelter themselves in the protagonists bowels when travelling, dungeon crawling, grinding, and STOP!  

Something amazing has happened here.  The usual Akira Toriyama character design isn't making me want to throw up my colon.  The big heads, haunting eyes, and clashing attire are still abound, but the game's art direction overall shines through.  The environments and their inhabitants are wonderfully creative, and each new place visited offers something new for the senses to digest.

The player's opinion of this game is going to boil down to just how much he or she really likes classic styled RPG's.  Personally I like for my roleplaying games to offer a bit more originality in the gameplay department.  However, the wonderfully creative and colorful art direction has me hooked if only to see what new and fantastic locales and creatures the game with throw at me next.