I’ve never been big on handheld gaming, especially in recent years. This has a lot to do with my work situation and the fact that I’m very much a home body. Given that whenever I’m on the move, I’m typically the one behind the wheel, there simply aren’t many opportunities for me to spend time with handheld gaming device. Factor in the lack of desire to stare at a small screen for extended periods and my preference to lounging on the couch gazing at my 40″ TV screen, and we’re not left with many viable reasons to indulge in handheld gaming.
Then, along came the iPhone
With a focus on instant action, short and fun gameplay sessions, super simple control schemes, and price points that top out at $5-$10, it’s hard to think of a reason not to indulge. There are thousands to choose from, but here are a few of my current favourites…
Canabalt
My interest was piqued when a status update on Facebook read, “I ran 3630m before hitting a wall and tumbling to my death on my iPhone.” Followed by a link to the game’s website which contains a Flash version of the game that is free to play. After spending 10-15 minutes playing in my browser, I jumped to the App store to see how much the iPhone version is – a mere $2.99. This was an absolute no-brainer. Canabalt is possibly the simplest game I’ve played in years, but is perfectly executed with fun and intense gameplay delivered in short bursts, and driven by an amazing soundtrack.
Orbital
Another game I caught wind of via chatter from friends, Orbital is also a one-finger game with simple, yet rewarding gameplay. The visual style is reminiscent of Geometry Wars, with vibrant glowing shapes and beautiful explosions. I believe I paid $1.99 for it a few months back, but it’s available for $.99 at the time of writing. Like Canabalt, Orbital is tied to your Facebook account (Canabalt also supports Twitter), which posts your score each time you best your high score. Also like Canabalt, there is a full Flash version which is free to play in your browser.
Star Wars: Trench Run
I was skeptical when I first read the title of this game – “They made a game based on the trench run alone?” Yes, and no. There is indeed a trench run mode, which has you flying an X-Wing through the trenches of the Death Star. Taking out defense towers, avoiding obstacles, and evading Darth Vader’s crosshair along the way. The original score and sound effects are in tact, so it’s truly an authentic experience. There’s also a dog fight mode, where you’re flying above the Death Star in combat with Tie Fighters, which is a lot of fun. While it’s a short experience overall, that hasn’t stopped me from playing it multiple times and feeling like I got my money’s worth. With a more steep price point of $4.99, it might not be as much of an impulse buy as the others, but it’s still just $5 for a great handheld Star Wars experience.
Honourable Mentions
These aren’t the only games I’ve played, just a few of my favourites. Some others worth checking out; Fieldrunners, iBomber, iFighter, Peggle, Ramp Champ, Tiki Towers, UNO, WordFu, Yahtzee Adventures, and Zen Bound.
What are you playing?
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22 people have had something to contribute so far.
I’ll have to check into those, in need of some new iPhone games. I’ve been playing Spider: The Secret of Bryce Mannor, it’s fun and pretty unique, as well as Dungeon Hunter which is a really polished Diablo-style dungeon game. If you’ve not you should check those out!
Hadn’t heard of Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor before, but it looks really interesting. Love the art style! Have to check that one out for sure. Not much into the dungeon crawlers, so I’ll take a pass on Dungeon Hunter.
I just got an iPhone last week, and already the gaming side has sucked me, I just hope the appeal lasts!
So far I have been playing Flight Control and Harbor Master and one of the Tap Tap games. I just picked up Orbital for 59p thanks to your recommendation, so I’m gonna go check that out now!
Keep the good games coming.
I’ve started using my iPhone as my main portable gaming device. Makes sense. Phone, (very decent) gaming, iPod, videos, RSS, email etc etc all in one unit.
I have way too many games at the moment. I just find it hard to resist. I’m used to £30 – £40 Nintendo DS games so when I see them at 59p etc I see that as a steal. Some of them like the Plus+ games are even free!!
Games I’m playing lately are:
Canabalt
Modern Combat – Sandstorm
iBlast Moki
Meta Squares
Real Racing
Ramp Champ
Geared
Ragdoll Blaster
Jet Car Stunts
RavenSword
Beneath the Steel Sky
(to name a few)
As soon as a game similar to Professor Layton comes out, I’m set!
It is pretty amazing all the ground an iPhone can cover. I was toting around my cell phone and an iPod Touch for the longest time. Nice to have all of the bases covered with a single device now.
Thanks for the recommendations. I haven’t heard of a many of those, so I’ll have to check them out.
I forgot about Metasquares, and I also recommend it. It’s very addictive and is one of the very rare games that has stayed on my iPhone for over a year.
DoodleJump is just as addictive as Canabalt. MiniGore is pretty decent – good game play and graphics and reminds me a lot of
For more expensive games, there is of course thte point-and-click ports. I have Monkey Island, but haven’t played it much yet. There is also Beneath a Steel Sky which I haven’t got (but is now only £0.59, so I’m totally having it in a second).
Lastly there is Rolando, version one and two. Although I’ve only got the Lite version of the first, it is addictive, relatively easy (so far) and really cute. Makes good use of the iPhone as a gaming platform.
MiniGore looks great, I’ll have to get my hands on it. I tend to sink way too much time into those silly top-down survival games. Will be interesting to see how it plays on the iPhone.
Orbital is by far my most favorite game! (my top score is 97, anyone higher? Don’t worry, I can’t beat that myself…)
Other games currently installed: GeoDefence Swarm, Frenzic, Ramp Champ, FlightControl, Fare City, Canabalt, Enigmo 2, Pocketball, and a beta of Warships.
My highest score on Orbital was a measly 51, but I lost that when I got my iPhone a few weeks back (had an iPod Touch before that). Just getting back into Orbital again lately and slowing getting the hang of it again.
Warship is looking nice! You liking it?
Since you demoed Orbital to Scott and I when we grabbed a beer last month I’ve been playing it constantly. My wife is hooked on it now as well. It’s definitely created some pretty heated competition in our house.
Nice! They really did a great job with that game. Especially with the head-to-head multiplayer modes.
I second trovster’s mention of Doodle Jump – great game!
Also grab:
Ka-Glom – like tetris but way less annoying and more fun and with ‘splosions
Fling – a brain twisting puzzle game with little furry things. super fun.
Topple – like a supercharged version of Jenga with nice graphics/animations
That’s 2 mentions for Doodle Jump, so I’ll have to look into that one.
Enjoying your iPhone, Mr. Erdman? Silly question, I know.
I picked up Metal Gear Solid Touch on sale for $0.99 this week. It might still be available at that price point. I’m enjoying it quite a bit. I also love the pro version of PicGrid, which is just an iphone version of Picross. As a lover of puzzles, it’s a must-have for me.
Have you tried out Eliminate Pro? I would love to see a review of that, its free too
I tried Eliminate Pro on release day, and while I was impressed with it’s depth and sheer quality, I can’t play a game like that on the iPhone. It needs physical thumbsticks and buttons.
It’s always nice to read what iPhone-games other people like. Especcially when they describe what it is.
Already have Canabalt and will try out the Orbital.
My favorites are:
Montezuma – puzzle game (bejeweled, but with powerups… very very addictive)
Westbang – Western shooter, very intuitive, fun and challenging
Big Top 10 – fun nice simple game, defenitly worth a try!
Have played heaps of other iPhone games, some are good, some are less good. But the above are my favorites.
Montezuma looks like the bastard child of Bejewelled and Zuma. Big Top 10 looks totally unique. Thanks for the recommendations.
I would recommend:
> Dungeon Hunter (hack and slash game mixed with RPG – quite addictive – and long)
> Rolando 2 (very fun motion based puzzle game)
> Peggle (you put this in your list and it’s still the most played game on my iPhone)
Unlike yourself, I do have a commute and thought gaming on the iPhone would be perfect solution, but turns out I don’t really play much on it. Instead, find myself using the iPhone for reading Twitter and RSS feeds or watching video podcasts.
Can’t explain why really – but most of the time, it seems like all the other uses of the iPhone outweigh me wanting to play games on it.
Rolando is a game I always forget about. It’s price point is always higher than most, so I never feel the urge to just buy it. But when I sit down with intentions of getting something new, it always slips my mind. Will have to make an effort to get it one of these days.
Your article reminded to get my thoughts down about iPhone gaming.
Wrote this post:
“Why Don’t I Play Games on my iPhone” http://bit.ly/4qQgMz