So You Just Got an iPhone? A List of Games to Get.
Monday, June 22nd, 2009
We figured with the launch of the iPhone 3G S and the introduction of the $99 iPhone 3G, the number of iPhone users will have grown massively just over this past weekend. As a result, we expect we'll see a number of new visitors looking for the best iPhone and iPod Touch games available in the App Store.
While we compiled a list of some of the best games from 2008 back in December, we haven't done much of a wrap up since.
So, here's list of notable games that have been released in 2009. It should be a great list to catch up on some of the best titles this year. Game titles link directly to the app store. Most review links contain gameplay videos.
Required Reading
It's hard to come up with a must have list for the App Store, but you should be familiar with these titles that seem to have already become App Store classics.
- Fieldrunners ($2.99) - Ok, this one didn't come out in 2009 but thought it needed a mention. The tower defense game that really started it all on the iPhone. (review)
- Flight Control ($0.99) - deceptively simple and addictive game that has hit over 1 million sales (review)
- Doodle Jump ($0.99) - Dead simple and crazy addictive. Jump higher and higher. (review)
- Pocket God ($0.99) - Not really a game, so not one I can blindly recommend but it's got a massive appeal. (review)
- Real Racing ($9.99) - Not yet a true "classic" as it just came out, but widely considered the most technically impressive iPhone racing game. (review)
Cheap Fun
Some solid titles at bargain bin prices.
- Wild West Pinball (Free) - great pinball game that's now free (review)
- Let's Golf ($0.99) - high quality arcade golf game on sale (review)
- Stoneloops! ($0.99) - a high quality luxor/zuma clone (review)
- UniWar ($0.99) - turn based strategy with online multiplayer (review)
- iDracula ($0.99) - survival shooter (review)
- Underworlds ($0.99) - a hack and slash dungeon crawler (review)
- Gemmed! ($0.99) - a match-3 game where the goal is not to match-3 (review)
Other Notables
- Zombieville USA ($1.99) - side scrolling survival shooter. (review)
- F.A.S.T. ($4.99) - dog-fighting game with online multiplayer (review)
- Baseball Slugger ($2.99) - home run derby with online head-to-head(review)
- EDGE ($4.99) - wonderful platformer (review)
- Ragdoll Blaster ($1.99) - physics ragdoll game with a goal (review)
- Isotope ($2.99) - Geometry wars-like shooter with RPG elements (review)
- Monster Pinball ($3.99) - a beautiful pinball experience (review)
- Zenonia ($5.99) - an epic action RPG (review)
- Toki Tori ($4.99) - platform puzzler (review)
- geoDefense ($3.99) - a retro/action tower defense game (review)
- Word Fu ($2.99) - word finding dice game (review)
- Brick Breaker Revolution 3D ($2.99) - brick breaking in 3D (review)
Big Brands
- Peggle ($4.99) - named one of the most addictive games of all time (review)
- Bookworm ($4.99) - popular word finding game (review)
- Wolfenstein 3D ($2.99) - grandfather of first person shooters (review)
- Sims 3 ($9.99) - the latest in the Sims series (review)
- Dance Dance Revolution ($6.99) - one of the original rhythm games (review)
- Puzzle Quest ($7.99) - award winning puzzle adventure game (review)
- Need for Speed ($6.99) - great arcade racer (review)
Retro / Classics
- Saucelifter ($0.99) - Choplifter-inspired retro action shooter (review)
- Vector Tanks ($2.99) - Battlezone in your pocket review
- Rogue Touch ($2.99) - iPhone remake of dungeon crawler Rogue (review)
- Oregon Trail ($4.99) - Yes, dysentery can be fun again (review)
- Pinball Dreams ($4.99) - classic Amiga pinball game (review)
- Myst ($5.99) - the classic adventure game review
Only on iPhone / iPod Touch
Some standout titles that use the iPhone / iPod Touch controls in a unique way that couldn't easily exist on most other platforms.
- Space Ninja ($2.99) - space shooter without the shooting. Dodge your way around enemies in "bullet time". (review)
- Touch Ski 3D ($0.99) - multi-touch skiing (review)
- Sway ($4.99) - multi-touch platformer. A true iPhone original. (review)
- Zen Bound ($4.99) - wind rope around wooden blocks in this beautiful zen-like gaming experience (review)
- Eliss ($2.99) - an amazing multi-touch puzzle game (review)
- Ignite ($1.99) - platformer designed with touch controls in mind. (review)
Be sure to check out our 2008 Holiday "Best Of" list (prices listed in the 2008 article may not be accurate any longer).




One of the most notable of all the gaming genres is the 2D shooter. And while the number of such titles in the App Store is growing, there is a sore lack of true quality offerings available for the iPhone. We recently learned that an upcoming release from Namco's classics catalog will soon give shooter fans something to smile about. Namco's arcade classic
This evening I spoke with several members of Namco's mobile group who shared details of this impending iPhone release.
When I think back to the magical wonder that was the '80s video arcade, certain particular sights and sounds spring to mind as I gaze nostalgically out towards the horizon. I recall the ever-present tinkle of the change machine. I recall the electric glow of all CRTs ablaze with pixellated goodness. I recall the ozone charged smell of electric wonder in the air. And I recall certain key games.
Well, there was no stopping him. Peter Hirschberg has just released Vector Tanks [
In the absence of a cabinet with dual analog sticks, the tank is controlled by way of touch control at the left and right edges of the iPhone's screen; each thumb controls a set of tracks. Both left and right thumbs forward = full speed ahead. Left thumb forward, right thumb back = a quick turn to the right, and so forth. Firing is handled by a tap to the center reticle. The controls work quite well and do a fine job of preserving the unique dual-handed control of the arcade classic.

The
Payback features dozens of vehicles and 11 cities to explore. The player starts off each city on-foot and must get to a payphone to receive mission details. At first, the player's only weapons are his fists, but crates scattered about the cities contain shotguns, grenades and other weapons that aid significantly in wreaking various flavors of havoc upon the cities' inhabitants.
Payback for earlier mobile units won kudos for its relatively complex software 3D rendering engine that pushed the limits of both the Gameboy Advance and the GP2X (neither of which feature 3D graphics hardware). The iPhone version appears to include an enhanced version of the GP2X engine with HDR (high dynamic range) rendering and impressive lighting and shadowing. Not surprisingly, the iPhone version runs at a notably higher framerate than the GP2X outing. Interestingly, it appears that Payback's 3D engine for the iPhone version is not implemented in hardware-assisted OpenGL ES, but utilizes a software-based engine like the GP2X version before it. Is this a big deal? Not really, though true, perspective-correct texture mapping done in hardware would have given the game a bit more graphical polish.
A few hours ago
Metal Gear Solid Touch is an original game in the series that will bring the world and characters of
Dance Dance Revolution S Lite is an iPhone adaptation of the highly popular rhythm and dance game
Silent Hill: The Escape is an iPhone adaptaiton of the popular survival horror series, 
Hideo Kojima said that we'd still have a couple week's worth of speculation on what "A Next Metal Gear Is…", but rumored scans from Famitsu may have spoiled it. It's Metal Gear. For the iPhone.
Namco has recently released I Love Katamari [

















