I had the chance today to take a quick look at three upcoming games from EA. Some of them are hotly anticipated, another we hadn’t even heard about before today.

Need for Speed: Shift

This has to be one of the most anticipated games of the season. Well at least for Chris, our editor. He shut himself in a small room with nothing but red bull and Cheetoes and played Need for Speed: Undercover until his thumbs stopped working. I think he’s going to be out of touch for weeks when he get ahold of Need for Speed: Shift.

This game looks fantastic. While the original specs and screens we saw were less than inspiring. But now that the game is done and real, it’s fantastic. Especially so if you have a 3GS as it has some special graphic taking advantage of the better graphics processor on that device.

Shift has everything you expect in a Need for Speed game. There’s multiple events/tracks, multiple game methods, multiple upgradable cars, etc. The different events and cars are, of course, unlockable as you progress through the career mode.

One big feature that Shift has that the previous Need for Speed didn’t have is multiplayer. While it’s only local and 2 player with Bluetooth and 4 player with Wifi, there are 6 different game methods.

Here are a few more images to hold you over. Need for Speed: Shift will be out soon.

Spore: Creatures

EA announced Spore: Creatures for the iPhone a few months ago. But, they were quiet about it after that. Well, until now. While I don’t really think that Spore: Creatures is much different than Spore: Origins, it does take everything up a few notches. There’s just more of everything as this game is meant to pick up where Origins ended.

More creature customization options. Lots more. I’ve been told there are well over a billion different possibilities from the dozens of creature parts, colors, and abilities that you can add.

Included in the game itself are 4 different and distinct game play zones. Each zone has 5 different levels to travel through while evolving your little Spore.

The one thing that is really different with the game play over the previous Spore game is that ability to either fight or socialize. This can change the way the game progresses and how your creature evolves.

Here are a couple more pictures, Spore: Creatures should be out in January.

The Simpsons Arcade

This one came out of left field. The Simpsons Arcade is an old school arcade fighter set in the Simpsons world of Springfield. Developed under the supervision of one of the writers and featuring the voices of all 6 Simpsons voice actors from the series, this promises to be a fun and very funny fighting game.

You control Homer in this game. There’s an on screen joystick and two buttons that let you perform different attack and defense moves.

You progress through 25 levels set in 6 different environments in Springfield. There are of course a bunch of different weapons to use that you can pick up along the way. There are 6 major bosses and 12 mini-bosses. The final boss battle is said to be epic!

As a Simpsons fan, I’m looking forward to this. I was a little worried when I first heard of this. Lets be honest, there have been some less than stellar Simpsons games over the years. But in my short time with the game I found it to be interesting, well made, and really fun. The Simpsons Arcade will be out soon.

Today we got some updates from EA on two highly anticipated franchise games coming to the iPhone. What we still don’t know yet are release dates for either. Though I think it’s safe to say they are trying to get them out in the next couple months in time for Christmas.

Need for Speed: Shift

The latest in this racing franchise from EA is Need for Speed: Shift. This iPhone translation looks like it will be a scaled down translation of the console game. While that’s a little disappointing, the previous in this franchise, Need For Speed Undercover [ our review ] was an absolutely excellent game on the iPhone.

Take a look at these screen shots for a look at the game. Note that I’m fairly sure that these are just mock-ups. They don’t look nearly as crisp as you’d expect for actual screen shots and there are other noticeable inconsistencies.

Unfortunately the specs read a lot like the previous version. 20 different customizable and upgradable cars (NFSU had 20 as well), 3 different racing environments, Tokyo, Chicago, and London (NFSU also had 3), 28 different events (NFSU had 20).

So, what is different?

The main thing is that there will finally be multiplayer. Unfortunately there’s no Internet multiplayer, only Wifi and Bluetooth. In addition I’m sure we’ll see the graphics quality upgraded a little. The previous one was very good for the time, but we expect more now. Take a look at the supplied stats below for more.

RIP IT UP AROUND THE WORLD
Rage on the roads of Chicago, London, and Tokyo in up to 28 Street and Pro racing events.

MATCH YOUR SKILLS AGAINST FRIENDS
Challenge friends to head to head races via Bluetooth multiplayer or WiFi.

MUSCLE OVER PERFORMANCE?
Get behind the wheels of 20 of the fastest, hottest, most powerful cars in the world and blow the doors off your competitors.

UPGRADE AND CUSTOMIZE
Take your ride to another level with Top Speed, Handling, Acceleration, and Nitrous upgrade features.

RACE FOR REWARDS
Earn points and trophies on the circuit for your Aggressiveness and Precision. Be a full-throttle Need For Speed superstar.

NBA Live

Considering the huge number of games in the App Store, over 15,000 at last count, there has yet to be a full 3D basketball game. NBA Live will change that. While we haven’t seen it yet, we’re hoping that it has the depth and great gameplay of EA’s last sports game for the iPhone, Madden 10. Take a look below for the stats, it’s looking good, though multiplayer is noticeably missing from the list.

NOTHING BUT NET. NBA LIVE by EA SPORTSTM delivers the most realistic 5-on-5 action available for iPhone® and iPod touch®!

Tip-off anytime, anywhere, and watch your game come to life in vivid 3D. Even replay your most awesome plays. It’s fun and intuitive enough for the casual gamer, but also delivers the authenticity to meet the demands of the most hardcore basketball fans.

AUTHENTIC TEAMS, REAL STARS, TRUE LEGENDS
With real NBA rosters, you can dominate the game as Dwight Howard and other NBA All-Stars. Or unlock legends and elevate your game with true Hall-of-Famers.

MULTIPLE MODES FOR EVERY KIND OF NBA ACTION
Match up all 30 NBA teams in the new 82-game Season Mode. Play a casual game in Exhibition Mode, or battle all the way to the Finals in the ultra-intense Playoff Mode.

PLAY WITH TOUCHSCREEN CONTROL
Control the game with a virtual analog stick. Use the accelerometer to accurately shoot free-throws. Touch the clip board to pick from a number of offensive plays or to select your defensive strategy.

TAKE IT TO THE RACK WITH A SOLID SOUNDTRACK
Stay in the zone with 15 music tracks from artists like Matt and Kim, Snoop Dogg and Xzibit.

COMMENTARY FROM A BROADCAST LEGEND
Hear legendary announcer Marv Albert accent the action as you rain 3s from downtown.

I make it no secret that my favorite experience playing an iPhone game, ever, was when I played/reviewed Need For Speed: Undercover. At the time, there were a ton of big games that just failed to meet expectations, not delivering on the polish and pizazz that one would expect from a grade A launch title. Need For Speed was different though. The cutscenes had actresses that I recognized, the quality of everything from the videos to the gameplay was of exceptional quality, and the driving controls were just phenomenal. I love Need For Speed: Undercover.

I was skimming @eamobile’s Twitter feed today and found that there are screenshots of the upcoming Need For Speed: Shift posted on their Facebook page. So, from them to me to you, here are some amazing looking screenshots!

More great pics after the break.
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