159 replies to this topic

[prank munkey]

I don't know how many of you own one of these devices, but there's a heap of excellent games available for the platform.

In the spate of top ten lists popping up as we near the end of the first decade of the 21st century, I've spotted a few dedicated to this topic. So I thought here might be a good place to highlight any gems you come across in the vast app store catalogue. I'll start by listing a few of my favourites.




Canabalt

iTunes Store
Play online

I think a lot of us have played it online, but with the addition of leaderboards and the more subtle control the touch interface brings, I've been totally sucked in to the mobile version in a way the browser game didn't inspire.

Evacuation

iTunes Store
Play online

Another one that's available for free online, I've found it to be similarly addictive. Its pixellated, isometric view and the worryingly satisfying squeaks made by the crewmen as they're sucked out into space charmed me from the outset.

Boost 3D

iTunes Store

Somewhat similar to Canabalt in its focus on avoiding obstacles to progress as far as you can before dying, this appeals to whatever bit of me it was that loved zooming upside down over a speed boost pad in F-Zero on the Gamecube. Best use of accelerometer controls I've come across.

Minigore

iTunes Store
Developer website

If you've played Xbox indie title I MAED A GAM3 W1TH ZOMBIES 1N IT!!!1 you'll be at home here. Survive as long as you can against hordes of rampant beasties. What really makes this stand out from the crowd is the slick character design, graphics and soundbites. I can't resist the urge to keep playing, if only to unlock more characters.

Dungeon Hunter

iTunes Store
Developer website

Basically Diablo in your pocket, it's not as long as I'd like, but it's a pretty deep RPG with impressive graphics.

bitFLIP

iTunes Store

An interesting twist on the old tile-swapping puzzler, with a decent soundtrack, but perhaps most importantly it's currently FREE.

Freebies

PewPew
Ramp Champ
Chase The Dot Plus
Traffic Rush



Links

appoftheday.com features an app daily, though they tend to be tools rather than games
app.itize.us is similar, but focuses on indie titles
Top 53 on Gizmodo
10 Sweet iPhone Games on TIGSource
Top 5 iPhone Games of 2009 on FingerGaming
Please release me column on BoingBoing

Edited by prank munkey, 14 January 2010 - 02:08 PM.

[Sketch]

Good thread, but you forget Monkey Island. What a great little port, works great too. Will edit with moar.

[prank munkey]

Good point, I didn't buy it cause I already got it for the 360. It's the only iPhone game PocketGamer have awarded 10/10.

[monkeyman]

The only game you need is Peggle, it's ridiculously addictive and fun.
Civilization Revolution is actually very good as well though the tutorial is poor so requires a fair bit of trial and error to learn things.

I got Scrabble as well which I mostly love bur fuck knows what dictionary it uses, I'm fairly sure it's used acronyms and things....which is dissapointing.

I'd also give minoply a miss, for some reason if you land on a property and don't buy it it gets automatically auctioned...that's not how it's supposed to be; or at least it's never how I played it.

[prank munkey]

ID has a sale on til January 1st, DOOM Classic is $2.99/£1.79, DOOM Resurrection is $1.99/£1.19 and Wolfenstein 3D is 99¢/59p.

[prank munkey]

PopCap has a sale on til January 3rd, Peggle, Chuzzle and Bookworm are $1.99/£1.19.

[monkeyman]

Give Chuzzle a miss; it's a piece of shit. Everyone should have Peggle though, and Bookworm is good if you like word games though.

[MaximumPezcore]

Guys, sorry for the stupid question, but are there any free games for the iPod Nano? That'd be great for trips.

Or is there a way to emulate old games onto the iPod Nano by any chance? That's be even greater!

[prank munkey]

Sorry man I don't know about anything like that

Labyrinth (the game, not the movie unfortunately) is free today in the UK store.

[prank munkey]

Gizmodo's 53 Best iPhone Games.

[monkeyman]

Nice one Prank, got some good games and demos from that list. The chess one is brilliant. Playing online at your own pace/availability is awesome.

[Sketch]

My Touch screen is cracked. Nuts .

[monkeyman]

Ouch. How'd you manage that mang? Got any cover/insurance for it?

[Sketch]

It still works, just can't really see much. I think my something fell off my bedside table thingy onto it and cracked it. It's pretty nasty. And nope, it's 3 years old now and I got it from America so pretty buggered, I'll probably just keep it if it still works fairly well. Good thing I got this PSP, to replace the gaming side of it!

[monkeyman]

True dat dog. Do Playstation minis work with the CFW you have? Played Chains of Olympus yet? Final thoughts in Peace Walker demo?

[Sketch]

Not tried the minis yet, have you played any? Wasn't sure if they were worth it. Yeah, playing Chains of Olympus right now actually, finding it brilliant, the scale of the game and the presentation is great , if this is any indication of what the other God of War games are like, I've been missing out for a long time. As for the Peace Walker demo, I'm torn, it's a great game, but sometimes I can't help but feel they've tried to make it TOO like the console games. Only really thought this because the controls are pretty difficult and with the vast array of stuff to do it can get a little overwhelming when playing on such a small device. Hopefully they will 'portalize' the controls a little before the final release. But yeah, apart from that, great presentation, I know what Kojima was saying when he say MGS5 quality stuff. Only thing that bothered me about it is that one of the cutscenes is done in a graphic style similar to inFamous, but that is just a preference thing I suppose.

[monkeyman]

I think a lot of the cutscenes are like that, they are going to be interactive in tje full game as well apparently. The controls were tweaked and a new control scheme added based on player feedback of the Japanese demo so I'd be surprised if there wasn't more when the full game drops.

CoO is just astounding in terms of scale and how nice it looks and streams.It doesn't have as Many huge bosses as GoW2 but that's not too important as the gane is just gorgeous and fun. GoW1 isn't as good as it, but I'd probably put GoW2 above it. Purely because of the scale of some parts, and it had more finishing moved etc as well.

[prank munkey]

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars has been released for iPhone with no warning for $9.99/£5.99.

It's good but not great. The writing is a bit poor for Rockstar, and the auto-corrected driving takes a bit of getting used to.

Edited by prank munkey, 18 January 2010 - 06:44 AM.

[prank munkey]

I wrote a longer review of Evacuation which will eventually be published on a new student-focused website. I'd appreciate your proof-reading and/or opinions!

[monkeyman]

Looks good to me. I used to love drawing cutaway pictures of bases and stuff, with stickmen and all sorts going on.

Is Chinatown wars any good?