Increasingly, mobile games developed for smartphones and tablet
computers offer comparable graphics, gameplay and entertainment value as
those found on less portable devices. The best can also be insanely
addictive.
Here are the best games of the year developed for the iPhone, iPad and Android devices.
Jetpack
Joyride appeals to hardcore and casual gamers alike. The one-touch
running game slaps a jetpack on your back and has you dodging things in
your path by flying up and down on the screen. All the while you have
coins to grab and objectives to meet. Jetpack Joyride is filled with
some very funny and fun-to-use power-ups and is addictive in all the
best ways. The art style and effects are simply gorgeous. It also full
of tongue-in-cheek humor and references to other iOS titles, including
main character Barry Steakfires who was introduced in last year’s
shooter game Monster Dash. Jetpack Joyride is one of those games that you just have to keep playing “just one more time,” over and over.
Dead Space is a prequel story to Dead Space 2,
a console video game release from earlier this year. The title, which
arrived to Android devices in December, is just as good as its Xbox 360
and PlayStation 3 counterpart when played on mobile devices. Dead Space
puts you in control of an operative named Vandal, charged with a secret
mission aboard the huge mining space station known as the Sprawl. But it
isn’t long before horrific monsters are tearing through the station and
its human inhabitants, leaving you to fight them off with one of the
four mining tools at your disposal.The third-person shooter game is a
pretty gory survival-horror title, so it’s not for kids. But if you’re
into scary games with decent controls and state-of-the-art graphics and
soundtrack, this is the one for you.
The sequel to what was probably one of the best iOS games of 2010, Infinity Blade II takes everything that was great about the original and adds to it.
The one-on-one sword-fighting gameplay that made the original so fun
has been amped-up with better touch controls and new weapons that
require different strategies. The whole game has been lengthened beyond
the original, with more world to explore and a fleshed-out story to go
with it. What’s more, like its predecessor, Infinity Blade II sets the
bar for graphics, especially on the iPhone 4S and iPad 2.
Another
mobile game that first became a hit on PCs, World of Goo reworks its
mouse-based puzzle gameplay for touchscreen controls. It works great.
The game is all about building structures with gooey little characters,
allowing you to create bridges, towers and other buildings. The goal is
to make your structures reach a pipe at some remote point in the level
to suck up any extra goo balls. Hit the minimum quota, and you win the
level. World of Goo has a delightful art style and a haunting bit of
story going on in the background, but it’s really the well-designed
puzzle levels and tight controls that make it a blast to play.
While
there are many different flavors of racing games to be found in the App
Store, Real Racing 2 HD is the best of the best. The game really makes
use of the iPad 2’s hardware and high definition screen to bring us all a
comprehensive racing experience equivalent to many console titles.
Packed with various cars, tracks, and game modes, there is plenty of
content to enjoy here. The cars and the realistic world they inhabit are
detailed and colorful, and the top-of-the-line production values leave
the competition in the dust. This already-great game was one of the
first to feature the inclusion of AirPlay, courtesy of iOS 5, letting us
enjoy iOS gaming in whole new ways. While Real Racing 2 HD is optimized
for the iPad 2, you can still play it on Apple’s original tablet
computer. Fans can also play the 2010 edition of Real Racing 2 on the iPhone and iPod Touch.
Indie
darling Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery creates a singular
adventure experience on the iOS platform. Mixing beautiful graphics, a
compelling and quirky writing style and haunting music, Sword &
Sworcery has players taking on the role of an adventurer questing for a
legendary book. You’ll wander through dream worlds and fight eternal
monsters in a place where music and visuals are tightly interwoven.
Sword & Sworcery is the sort of title that tries to blur the line
between game and art, and it mostly succeeds while being pretty
beautiful along the way.
Cut the Rope debuted on iOS devices in 2010 before making its way to Android this year. From the people who brought you Angry Birds,
Cut the Rope features simple swipe-based rope cutting, candy, and the
infinitely adorable monster known as Om Nom. The physics/puzzle
combination also has interesting mechanics that consistently keep things
engaging, and the developers released several new level packs
completely for free which have more than doubled the size of the game.
In addition to its debut on Android in 2011, the Cut the Rope: Experiments sequel hit the iTunes App Store this year.
In addition to being the game that officially dethroned Angry Birds
as the No. 1 paid app in the iTunes App Store, Tiny Wings is a simple
and addictive arcade game that is well worth the 99-cent download cost.
Your goal is to see just how far you can fly until the sun goes down. To
do this, you use the hills to help launch your bird in the air. Tapping
the screen will fold your bird's wings and help you down, while letting
go will flap your wings to fly.
Game
developer Zynga is great at taking classic titles and putting social,
mobile twists on them. Hanging with Friends, available as free and
99-cent versions on the iPhone and iPad (also free on Android) is an
update to the classic Hangman game. The game allows you to bring in your
Facebook and Twitter friends, and will allow you to search for friends
based on username if they don’t belong to either network.
Gameloft’s take on the very popular PC strategy title StarCraft II is
StarFront: Collision, a touch-based real-time strategy title that gets
players sending marines, tanks, robots and all kinds of other units to
fight off the armies of their enemies. The game includes a decent-size
single-player campaign in which you get to play the roles of three
different alien races all warring for resources across various planets.
StarFront’s best feature is its robust online multiplayer mode that lets
you take on as many as three other players in a big battle royale, or
team up in a two-on-two skirmish.
Here are the best games of the year developed for the iPhone, iPad and Android devices.
Jetpack Joyride (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch: $0.99)
Jetpack
Joyride appeals to hardcore and casual gamers alike. The one-touch
running game slaps a jetpack on your back and has you dodging things in
your path by flying up and down on the screen. All the while you have
coins to grab and objectives to meet. Jetpack Joyride is filled with
some very funny and fun-to-use power-ups and is addictive in all the
best ways. The art style and effects are simply gorgeous. It also full
of tongue-in-cheek humor and references to other iOS titles, including
main character Barry Steakfires who was introduced in last year’s
shooter game Monster Dash. Jetpack Joyride is one of those games that you just have to keep playing “just one more time,” over and over.Dead Space (iPhone, iPod Touch: $0.99, iPad: $9.99, Android: $6.99)
Dead Space is a prequel story to Dead Space 2,
a console video game release from earlier this year. The title, which
arrived to Android devices in December, is just as good as its Xbox 360
and PlayStation 3 counterpart when played on mobile devices. Dead Space
puts you in control of an operative named Vandal, charged with a secret
mission aboard the huge mining space station known as the Sprawl. But it
isn’t long before horrific monsters are tearing through the station and
its human inhabitants, leaving you to fight them off with one of the
four mining tools at your disposal.The third-person shooter game is a
pretty gory survival-horror title, so it’s not for kids. But if you’re
into scary games with decent controls and state-of-the-art graphics and
soundtrack, this is the one for you.Infinity Blade II (iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad: $6.99)
The sequel to what was probably one of the best iOS games of 2010, Infinity Blade II takes everything that was great about the original and adds to it.
The one-on-one sword-fighting gameplay that made the original so fun
has been amped-up with better touch controls and new weapons that
require different strategies. The whole game has been lengthened beyond
the original, with more world to explore and a fleshed-out story to go
with it. What’s more, like its predecessor, Infinity Blade II sets the
bar for graphics, especially on the iPhone 4S and iPad 2.World of Goo (iPhone, iPod Touch: $2.99, iPad: $4.99, Android: $4.99)
Another
mobile game that first became a hit on PCs, World of Goo reworks its
mouse-based puzzle gameplay for touchscreen controls. It works great.
The game is all about building structures with gooey little characters,
allowing you to create bridges, towers and other buildings. The goal is
to make your structures reach a pipe at some remote point in the level
to suck up any extra goo balls. Hit the minimum quota, and you win the
level. World of Goo has a delightful art style and a haunting bit of
story going on in the background, but it’s really the well-designed
puzzle levels and tight controls that make it a blast to play.Real Racing 2 HD (iPad: $6.99)
While
there are many different flavors of racing games to be found in the App
Store, Real Racing 2 HD is the best of the best. The game really makes
use of the iPad 2’s hardware and high definition screen to bring us all a
comprehensive racing experience equivalent to many console titles.
Packed with various cars, tracks, and game modes, there is plenty of
content to enjoy here. The cars and the realistic world they inhabit are
detailed and colorful, and the top-of-the-line production values leave
the competition in the dust. This already-great game was one of the
first to feature the inclusion of AirPlay, courtesy of iOS 5, letting us
enjoy iOS gaming in whole new ways. While Real Racing 2 HD is optimized
for the iPad 2, you can still play it on Apple’s original tablet
computer. Fans can also play the 2010 edition of Real Racing 2 on the iPhone and iPod Touch.Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP (iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad: $4.99)
Indie
darling Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery creates a singular
adventure experience on the iOS platform. Mixing beautiful graphics, a
compelling and quirky writing style and haunting music, Sword &
Sworcery has players taking on the role of an adventurer questing for a
legendary book. You’ll wander through dream worlds and fight eternal
monsters in a place where music and visuals are tightly interwoven.
Sword & Sworcery is the sort of title that tries to blur the line
between game and art, and it mostly succeeds while being pretty
beautiful along the way.Cut the Rope (iPhone, iPod Touch: $0.99, iPad: $1.99, Android: $0.99)
Cut the Rope debuted on iOS devices in 2010 before making its way to Android this year. From the people who brought you Angry Birds,
Cut the Rope features simple swipe-based rope cutting, candy, and the
infinitely adorable monster known as Om Nom. The physics/puzzle
combination also has interesting mechanics that consistently keep things
engaging, and the developers released several new level packs
completely for free which have more than doubled the size of the game.
In addition to its debut on Android in 2011, the Cut the Rope: Experiments sequel hit the iTunes App Store this year.Tiny Wings (iPhone, iPod Touch: $0.99)
In addition to being the game that officially dethroned Angry Birds
as the No. 1 paid app in the iTunes App Store, Tiny Wings is a simple
and addictive arcade game that is well worth the 99-cent download cost.
Your goal is to see just how far you can fly until the sun goes down. To
do this, you use the hills to help launch your bird in the air. Tapping
the screen will fold your bird's wings and help you down, while letting
go will flap your wings to fly.Hanging with Friends (iPhone, iPod Touch: Free and 99 cents, Android: Free)
Game
developer Zynga is great at taking classic titles and putting social,
mobile twists on them. Hanging with Friends, available as free and
99-cent versions on the iPhone and iPad (also free on Android) is an
update to the classic Hangman game. The game allows you to bring in your
Facebook and Twitter friends, and will allow you to search for friends
based on username if they don’t belong to either network.Starfront - Collision (iPhone, iPod Touch: $4.99, iPad: $6.99)
Gameloft’s take on the very popular PC strategy title StarCraft II is
StarFront: Collision, a touch-based real-time strategy title that gets
players sending marines, tanks, robots and all kinds of other units to
fight off the armies of their enemies. The game includes a decent-size
single-player campaign in which you get to play the roles of three
different alien races all warring for resources across various planets.
StarFront’s best feature is its robust online multiplayer mode that lets
you take on as many as three other players in a big battle royale, or
team up in a two-on-two skirmish.
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