Just five short weeks since its launch on July 11th, Apple’s App Store for the iPhone has blossomed to over 1700 Apps. The Apps – some bad, some good – have proven to be a financial windfall for Apple and developers alike [1]. I’ve downloaded a countless number of free and paid apps thanks to iTunes gift cards from family and friends, giving me the necessary tools I need to shorten the otherwise unending El commute each day. While the App Store has everything from navigation helpers to finance monitors, games are by far and away the most popular of the categories; there are over 450 titles currently available for download. So, iPhone owners, are you looking for a way to break the monotony of your morning commute? Here are the best paid and free (as in beer) titles the App Store has to offer – all gutted, reviewed, and stamped with the brand new ‘star’ rating system you’ll be seeing more of in the future.
For iPhone apps, simplicity is the key. Chopper is just about as simple as games get on the iPhone, yet provides a great amount of fun and replay value. The goal is simple – use the three-way accelerometer to pilot your chopper across beautifully rendered 3D (although side-scrolling) levels, pick up hostages and return them safely to the base. On screen bomb and chain-gun buttons allow you to shoot the tanks and other hostiles that pop up along the way – just tap and cap! Unlike many of the accelerometer-based games, the controls are tight and responsive, which give the game a great feel. This game is a definite must-have for any iPhone owner and at $7.99, you are going to get more than your money’s worth.
Don’t be fooled by this game’s Pokemon-esque graphics and cutesy interface – there is great game with a ton of depth in here. Much like Bejeweled, the goal of the game is to rid the screen of all of the creatures before they hit the bottom. To get rid of the creatures, you take “Biggs” (the orange guy at the bottom) and move him by sliding your finger, then tap to suck creatures into your mouth and spit them out into the spot that you want them. The idea is that bigger creatures will eat smaller ones, and after eating enough will explode and take matching creatures nearby with them, thus clearing the board. The depth comes with the different ‘food-chains’ you can make, and also the different power ups that you can get. The touch-screen controls on this game a tad bit wonky; there are times when you can’t tell exactly which column you are eating from because your finger has to be on ‘Biggs’ to move him. I’ve also heard from others that the game has a crashing problem, although I have yet to experience such a thing. I was quite impressed with the hand-painted graphics and surprisingly non-repetitive sounds and music. There are hours upon hours of gameplay that is sure to make your train ride much more appealing.
Enigmo began as a Mac game from the folks at Pangea Software [5], and now has come to the iPhone in a very faithful reproduction. The game itself is very unique, as are the touch-screen controls and gorgeous 3D graphics. The idea of the game is that you have to get the water droplets (or fire and oil depending on how far you are) from one holding tank to the next by using the various tools you are given – it’s your job to create a Rube Goldberg machine to complete each level. The controls are very simple, although a bit inaccurate; it is very important to be accurate when placing things at certain angles, so trying to spin objects to direct droplets becomes a pretty big headache. You can zoom in to try to improve the accuracy of spinning an object but once you zoom out, you often find that the droplets aren’t going anywhere near where you intended them to because you couldn’t watch as your were rotating the object. Aside from that one little quirk, the game has proven to be very entertaining, yet ridiculously difficult. Pick it up if you’re looking for a unique puzzler with an endless amount of never-going-to-beat levels.
Physics’ for the hacked iPhone left off. You draw, drag, drop, tilt, and cut your
way to the finish. Each level presents a new challenge to you, and you must use
the tools you have to finish. In most levels, the basic concept is to get the
water from its current position into a holding tank. The game uses touch-screen
controls to draw objects and also utilizes the accelerometer for ‘pouring’ the
water around the stage. The graphics use a heavy load of CPU to generate the fluid
movements of the liquids and although it looks beautiful and behaves
realistically, it will drain your battery rather quickly. You will also notice
the game doing a lot of chugging when you have a lot of objects on screen which
can make the game very cumbersome. The game’s graphics and music are done much
better than you might expect from a mobile game, and that acts as one of the
redeeming qualities. There is also a ‘free’ mode that let’s you create your own
puzzles, adding to the replay value of the game. This game is a real looker but
when it starts chugging, you might start asking yourself why you bought it.
5. Crash Nitro Kart - $9.99 [7]
Fans of the Crash Bandicoot series for Playstation will be
thrilled to know that crash is back on the iPhone – even more so if they are
fans of the Mario Kart games. Crash Nitro Kart is a very straightforward
arcade-style racing game similar to Mario Kart. You race against other players
using the accelerometer and pick up power ups along the way to either enhance
your abilities or thwart your opponent’s race. The graphics are 3D and done
very well, but you’ll notice slow down – especially when other characters are
on screen. Slow down is a big problem for racing games but it is tolerable in
Crash. The controls are very simple – use the accelerometer to drive, tap the
on-screen button to use a power up. Because the carts are ‘auto-go’ there is no
need to worry about accelerating or braking. If you are a fan of racers, you’ll
love this game…if you have kids you’ll never see your phone again. At the
top-end of the average game pricing, $9.99 isn’t too much to pay for this one.
Best Free: Aurora Feint - $0.00 [8]
Aurora Feint is very similar to Critter Crunch in gameplay,
but differs in theme and depth. You set out to ‘mine’ elements like earth, win,
and fire and then take these elements to build blueprints and gain power-ups. It’s
the typical match-and-destroy fare but holds a rich user experience in terms of
replay and graphical prowess. The music is also worth a mention too – it really
drives the game home. For free, you can’t afford to pass this game up.
Honorable Mention - Super Monkeyball - $9.99 [9]
One of the most talked about titles at launch, Super
Monkeyball nearly lived up to its hype. The graphics and sound are great, but
the game is lacking in its most important area: accelerometer-based controls.
You tilt your way to the goal and tap the screen to jump, but the physics of
your tilting in relation to the ball rolling around the screen just isn’t
accurate enough. Shame on Sega for not taking the time to correct the controls
(perhaps they are too busy trying to revive the Sonic franchise?) For $9.99,
the game is marginal, but definitely worth a look if you get a gift card.
Now more than ever, there is no excuse for being bored on
the CTA [10] if you have an iPhone. Pick up just one of these games, and I’m quite
sure you’ll at least trim the eternity it takes you to get to work. Until next
time!