As the first trailer seemed to promise, yes, this is a very impressive game. Graphics and sound are top-notch and the production as a whole befits its price. The main issue with Resurrection is the control scheme: even though other iPhone FPSes have pulled of decent free-movement control systems—including id's own Wolfenstein port—this game is, strictly speaking, on rails.

To be honest, this can be frustrating, especially given how well the environments are rendered. I mean, they're right there, in full, detailed 3D, and you can't explore them. The gameplay's saving grace is accelerometer support, which at least lets you aim and shake off zombies in an intuitive way.

As for the claims that this is a totally new installment in the Doom franchise, they're technically true: the story is fresh, and so are the levels. But aside from the new story meat and new gameplay dynamics, Resurrection borrows liberally from Doom III, looking, sounding and, to an extent, feeling like its 2004 predecessor. Impressive? Sure. Worth $10? If so, then barely. [via Will Smith's Twitter]

The Quake onslaught is in addition to a slew of other id games hitting iPhone: Wolfenstein RPG, Doom 2 RPG and Doom Classic. Interestingly, why he'll be farming out most of the port work, Carmack says he's personally interested in working on some of the stuff made possible by the iPhone 3GS's more advanced hardware: "I certainly want to do this MegaTexture demo for the 3GS stuff, work on that myself."

While there's 40 million current-gen iPhone OS devices out there, I'm totally ready for developers to ditch them so we can see what's really possible on the platform. [Shacknews, Kotaku]

He also goes on to say that it's almost as strong as a PlayStation 2 and an Xbox 1 at launch. Think back to the games you played on the PS2 and Xbox. Now think of the games you're playing on the iPhone. Doesn't quite match up, does it?

It's strange to us that Carmack is throwing out so much hype for Apple, seeing as he's got a love/hate (mostly hate) relationship with the company.

The verdict is also out on whether Apple has a concrete grasp of gaming, the id co-founder said. The company's reception to criticism has also been counterintuitive, which has led to its relationship with id being something akin to a roller-coaster ride.

Apple essentially kisses his ass when they need him to show up for one of Steve Jobs' keynotes, but then throws him the cold shoulder the second he passes judgment, Carmack said.

[Apple Insider]

Previous Carmack coverage

The small team at id means that the company can only work on one game at a time, so they are toying with the idea of pairing up with a publishing partner to get a game running on the iPhone. However, Hollenshead is taking a cautious approach. He explains that games on the iPhone "are going to be competing with all of those other things you can do on the iPhone that are pretty cool" and that "It does raise the bar on what you need to do from a game standpoint."

So, when analyzing statements from Carmack and Hollenshead together, it seems that id Software definitely wants to bring games to the iPhone, but the two leaders have different viewpoints on the situation. Carmack is gung-ho and talking exclusive titles that are a "graphical tour de force" while Hollenshead is cautious and talking about porting titles that are already in development. We will just have to wait and see who gets their way. [Kotaku]

The iPhone, as a device, is in the same generation power-wise as the PS2 or Xbox. The graphics are a little lower but the RAM is a lot higher.

Apparently Carmack is so eager about doing something great for the iPhone that he regrets not having the resources available to have a game available for the launch of the iPhone application store. When he adds that the new title "would be a graphical tour de force" we just can say: move your butt, John, fast. [Forbes]