36 of the best iPhone Games
- November 12, 2009 17:18 PM PST
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We've sifted through the thousands of games currently available in the iTunes App Store, and have settled on these 36 titles to enthusiastically recommend. Some are old, some are new, but all are worth both your time and money.
The huge number of games available in the iTunes App Store can make delving into the games scene for the iPhone and iPod Touch pretty intimidating at first. Although there's only really a year's worth of content, the volume is already far in excess of what's available for either the Nintendo DS or the PSP. So where do you start? Are the recognizable big name franchises from giants like Electronic Arts a safe bet? Or should you explore more of the indie scene? The truth is that there's a lot of great quality stuff available, but you have to know where to look.
To help you out, we've pulled together what we feel are 36 of the best games currently available. Some of them have been available for a while, some of them are updates to previously well-received ideas, and some of them are spectacular new releases that hit the store in the past few weeks. We've played them all though, and we have them on our iPhones. With a market this crowded, few things are more powerful than personal recommendations. One thing to note though, this is not a ranked list. We've simply provided descriptions of our 36 favorites in alphabetical order.
To help you further, we've linked the title of each game to its respective page in the App Store. Simply click on the game name, and iTunes will open at the page where you can buy the product.
- 33rd Division
Craneballs Studios
$0.99
Line-drawing pathfinding games (like Flight Control, which popularized the genre) are probably second only to Tower Defense games in terms of their number in the App store. Whereas most are variations on the "get this kind of vehicle into its appropriate hole" Craneballs? 33rd Division is noticeably different as players control soldiers on a battlefield. The objective is still to direct them to a specific position, but instead of avoiding other objects that must be routed accordingly, here they have to avoid enemy guards patrolling the scene. In a nod to Metal Gear Solid and its ilk, each guard?s field of view is shown, and the goal is to get past them without being seen.
- Asphalt 5
Gameloft
$6.99
Gameloft?s Asphalt series of racing titles has been steadily improving with each subsequent release and the latest iteration, launched on November 2, brings the franchise closer than ever to the quality of the console-based racers that it so clearly aspires to be. Clearly a big-budget product, Asphalt 5 includes 30 desirable licensed cars, 12 beautiful looking tracks with a variety of different surfaces, and eight different game modes including cop chases, duels, and drift contests. There's also six-player multiplayer modes that support local play over Bluetooth and online play using a Wi-Fi connection. As with previous Asphalt racers you tilt the iPhone to steer the car, and the throttle and brake are on-screen touch controls.
- Beneath a Steel Sky: Remastered
Revolution
$4.99
The classic PC point-and-click adventure from 1994 has been tweaked and modified for the iPhone and emerges as a glorious example of great game design and narrative. Produced by Revolution Software (Broken Sword) in partnership with Watchmen co-creator Dave Gibbons, the game explores a dystopian future through a tragic hero unraveling a sinister plot involving a totalitarian regime. It's gripping stuff, told beautifully through motion comic style cut scenes, and wonderfully written dialog.
- Blocked
Joel Rosenberg
$0.99
Blocked is a perfect example of how the simplest games can be some of the most effective. Featuring 100 different hand-drawn levels that require you to slide blocks around a grid in order to remove a specific piece from the puzzle. It's an old concept, but it's a good one, and it's infuriatingly addictive. Definitely a good "quick fix" game.
- Bookworm
PopCap
$2.99
Make words by connecting letters on a board. It?s an oldie, but a goodie and the iPhone version has plenty of extra features (like bonus words to collect) that make things even more interesting. For just $2.99 you'll get an awful lot of gameplay time out of it.
- Canabalt
Semi Secret Software
$2.99
A simple scrolling platform game with a twist; the main character can never stop running, or he dies. Using beautifully rendered black and white 8-bit style graphics, the hero must escape from danger by timing jumps at key moments to ensure that he makes it away from collapsing buildings and toppling towers. If you want to try it out, there's a free Flash version online that you can try here. The real beauty? It?s just a one button game that?s perfect for when you?re on the go./
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- Nov 04 2009 at 11:04:44:AM PST
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How the hell did zenonia not make this list?!
If you guys haven't played it better go download it the game owns
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There are a lot of games that didn't make this list that are also worth checking out - Zenonia is one of them, as is Galaxy on Fire, Soul Trapper, Boulder Dash, MiniGore, Harbor Master, Doodle Jump, Mr. Driller, Inkvaders, Boulderdash, Toki Tori and many more... For this one we wanted to bring a good selection of new and old games and get people talking about possible other recommendations. Hopefully we'll be able to do supplementary lists in future with more and more games. With thousands of games in the App store, everyone has their favorites to share.
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Good list John.
I recommend iFighter ($.99), which is easily one of the best top-down shooters I've ever played. Very high quality game.
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Amazing list, John. If I may, I'd like to toss a few in there for anyone interested.
- Baseball SuperStars 2010: Quirky and fun baseball game, takes me back to my RBI baseball days.
- Cross Light: Best Crossword puzzle app on the iPhone that I've found.
- Zenonia: As mentioned above, a fantastic action RPG. Amazingly deep, well worth the money.
- Labyrinth 3D: If you had a Labyrinth as a kid, this will take you back, and you can't beat the price (free).
- Boogle: The father of many of the word games found on the iPhone. This game keeps a ridiculous amount of stats, and is fantastic if you have 3 minutes to kill.
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Excellent stuff. I'm really hoping that a second list can be very much fueled by you guys. With so much good stuff, "word of mouth" recommendations are the most powerful thing when it comes to iPhone games.
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Great list John. Another good game is Soosiz, which I always describe as a 2D version of Mario Galaxy with adorable characters, easy controls and intuitive physics. Great fun :)
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mclifford82 wrote:
Great list John. Another good game is Soosiz, which I always describe as a 2D version of Mario Galaxy with adorable characters, easy controls and intuitive physics. Great fun :)
A few people mentioned this to me on Twitter (I'm @jwhdavison, also GamePro is now @GamePro) and I've since checked it out and it's really awesome. Will definitely include in the next one of these that we do.
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Great list, can I suggest 'Hook Champ'? Great 'retro' game, pixelated graphics, pretty difficult (especially the levels you unlock after beating the 'game'), and some unlockables as you progress. Including hats.
Thanks for the list Mr. Davison, always love an iPhone game list.
Odd problem with commenting, sorry if this double or triple posts (I hadn't had an account here, followed you from previous gigs)
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Real racing looks incredible. I need to check out this version of Monkey Island too -- that's one game I'll never get tired of replaying.
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Real Racing is incredible - best racing car game by some distance, and auto breaking is optional, and must be turned off to hit the fastest speeds to achieve greatness with it. Many many hours of fun
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