Stoney Mason
Banned
This thread will be the companion thread to "The Official iPhone/iPod Touch Gaming Thread".
This thread is needed for a couple of reasons. First and Foremost the app store has a large number of gaming apps that reaches into the tens of thousands. With such a jungle users need a little help finding things and the best way to do that is through the collective insight of a community. Navigating the murky mess of the appstore is a bit bewildering at first.
Secondly a lot of news users will buy an idevice and feel a bit lost as to what to pick up with such a large backlog in place.
And finally those two situations above tend to keep derailing the Official Thread and set it into a pattern where it keeps getting reset and repeating itself every few pages with long lists of people recommending things as new users enter the thread and ask what they should buy. So this thread is an attempt to solve that issue a bit and stop the other thread from derailing as often.
This list is what it is. It's just an attempt to catalogue games that fall into the following critera. Games that are exceptional to good or fun apps. Games that are high profile. And games that are popular. There is no magic science to it so people shouldn't be offended if there are some games listed that they don't agree with or a game they want to be listed isn't listed. There are some games I personally really like that I left out and there are games that I'm rather mixed on that I included to try to cover a wide range of taste and opinion. This thread will always be a work in progress and I will update the opening posts as people suggest or comment and as consensus arises as to what people like or don't like.
The initial listing is relatively unimportant as I won't pretend to try to hit every good or excellent game on the app store which is impossible of course anyway. The important bit is that I will update the initial post adding or removing things perhaps on a weekly basis (or some timeframe) based on what comes out and what the people in the thread want listed (Without driving myself crazy of course). Note there is no specific order ranking to the current list meaning it doesn't go from best to worse or represent some order to denote merit. It's just a random listing as I made the master list of games to put in on the first pass.
NOTE: Pictures have a harder time showing up in Internet Explorer or Safari versus Firefox. So if you want to see the pics use Firefox
ACTION/ARCADE
iDracula (Lite) (Video)
Twin Stick shooter that combines the frantic retro gameplay style of Robotron with the aesthetics and upgrades of a Castlevania game.
Assassin's Creed: Altair's Chronicles (Lite) (Video)
Well done port of the DS platformer action title from the Assassin's Creed Universe.
Zombieville USA (Lite) (Video)
Zombie blasting arcade title that plays like a missing arcade title from 80's. Upgrade and buy new weapons as you blast your way through the onslaught.
Heavy Mach (Lite) (Video)
Good action title that controls well once you get a handle on it and have your tank tear through the enemies.
Wolfenstein 3D Classic (Lite) (Video)
Very well done port of the Classic id first person shooter. Even had the involvement of Carmack himself in porting this one over to the iphone.
Car Jack Streets ([URL="http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=323232209&mt=8"]Lite) (Video)[/URL]
There are a few old school takes on the GTA overhead 2-D formula including Payback but CJS is probably the more complete and well realized take on this format.
Hero of Sparta (Lite) (Video)
3-D Hack and Slash that is reminiscent of the adventure action titles that populated the last gen of consoles.
3D Brick Breaker Revolution (Lite) (Video)
3-D take on the Arkanoid formula that is simple yet still plays well.
Dr. Awesome (Video)
Arcade title that combines the classic gameplay of Qix with the art aesthetics of Trauma Center from the consoles into a unique title of its own.
F.A.S.T. (Video)
Dog fighting simulator that is the best current action based one on the market for the iphone. Even includes internet online play.
Galaxy on Fire (Lite) (Video)
3-D space combat trader game. Begins with a preset path for mission and then opens up into free form play as you continue.
Terminator Salvation (Lite) (Video)
One of the better takes on a big formula action arcade license game on the iphone when so many of them are often very poor cash in jobs.
Space Ninja [URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hkC1UjaL-0&fmt=18"](Video)[/URL]
A bullet dodger accelerometer game. Very challenging and a well executed take on the concept. Instead of blasting everything on screen you're trying to avoid everything on screen.
Top Gun (Video)
More a pure arcade on rails game than F.A.S.T. but still a competent and solid rendition of the Afterburner style game.
Metal Gear Solid Touch (Lite) (Video)
It is arguable if Metal Gear Touch is both worth the high price it has always had and a good representation of the Metal Gear universe which has generally been based on stealth gameplay. MGS Touch is a well done re-imagining as a Time Crisis tap to shoot game. It's solid for what it is but if you are expecting a true Metal Gear experience it's probably best to pass.
Amateur Surgeon (Lite) (Video) (Flash)
Well done iphone port of the flash game that brings Trauma Center surgery style gameplay into the mix.
Doom Resurrection (Video)
On Rails interpretation of the Doom universe rather than a free roaming game but a well done one that still manages to convey that Doom feeling of visceral action.
Pinball Dreaming: Pinball Dreams (Lite) (Video)
Nicely done port of the Digital Illusions pinball classic for the Amiga
Must.Eat.Birds. (Video)
A genuinely quirk and charming casual action game that feels a little bit like Missile Command if Missile Command involved catapulting meatballs at falling birds trying to eat your picnic cake. Utterly weird but fun.
RE 4 Mobile Edition (Video)
A mini-sized mobile version that is inspired by the console game. Not the full game but a sort of reworking based on RE 4. Controls take awhile to get use to but it you can get use to them there is an enjoyable game here.
SHMUPS
Isotope: A Space Shooter (Lite) (Video)
One of the absolute best Geometry Wars clones on the iphone as this one actually brings new ideas and modes to the mix including a well done single player rpg like campaign mode.
Blue Attack! (Video)
Good space shooter with an organic simple art style that feels different than the usual GW clones that populate the iphone and provides lots of upgrade options to increase your power as you play. The creator of Blue Attack also puts out the simpler but also quality Blue Defend.
iFighter ([URL="http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=308614334&mt=8"]Lite[/URL]) (Video)
iFighter is a solid and fun airplane shooter that always been priced right and provided the solid gameplay that some of the more expensive shooters fail to deliver.
Siberian Strike (Video)
Shooter reminiscent in some ways of the 19XX series by Capcom. Very nice production values although the game has been reported to be a bit "crashy" by some users.
[URL="http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=315009978&mt=8"]Nano Fighter![/URL] ([URL="http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=320300331&mt=8"]Lite) (Video)[/URL]
Another Geometry Wars clone that is crisp, clean, and has good solid tough gameplay at a cheap price.
2079 (Video)
What can you say, Geometry Wars has been the definitive shooter of the last couple years and has produced an industry for the clones. 2079 takes the formula and follows it but if a game provides compelling solid gamplay like 2079, its tough to complain too much even if the basic concept is derivative.
Dropship ([URL="http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=314296395&mt=8"]Lite[/URL]) (Video)
Fortunately Dropship is a different kind of shooter. Once again another title that plays and feels like a great arcade title from the 80's that you somehow missed. Has a bit of a defender element where you have to pilot a ship to rescue people while fending off attacks. Has a 3-D look and feel even though essentially the game is 2-D. A unique and different and challenging shooter.
Circuit Strike One (Video)
Essentially a psychedelic, trippy reinvention of Asteroids. And another example of a game that has improved quite a bit from where it started with dev support.
Space Invaders Infinity Gene (Video)
Great space shooter. This is how you treat a franchise and bring a new experience to the table that echoes something like Rez but has a style of its own.