Still enjoying the afterglow of just how great Monkey Island 2 Special Edition: LeChuck’s Revenge for iPad [$9.99 / Free] is, I went scouring the App Store for other worthy “HD" versions of favorites of mine on the iPhone. More often than not these games feature little more than higher resolution graphics, but for quite a few of them, the bigger screen size of the iPad makes playing them a lot more fun, especially in instances where the game’s interface felt too crowded or cramped for comfort on the smaller screen. None of these games are universal, which is a little annoying that you have to buy them twice if you’ve already downloaded them on your phone, but I’ve been guilty of re-buying my favorite movies that I already own on DVD in BluRay which is pretty much the same thing.
ORBITAL HD, $2.99 – This is a favorite around my house, and is a great game for showing the iPad off to all those annoying people who can’t help but ask you, “Is that an iPad?" because it looks so cool. The gameplay is simple, and based on the free Flash game Gimme Friction Baby much like a number of other nearly identical games on the App Store. What sets Orbital HD apart is the bright colors, mellow music, and more superfluous particle effects than you can shake a stick at. Orbital looked great on the iPhone, and Orbital HD looks even better on the iPad.
Geared for iPad, $4.99 – This up-scaled version of the original Geared [99¢ / Free] features 150 levels of varying difficulty, the ability to skip to any of them, timers to keep track of how long it takes you to complete levels, and other fun stuff. On the big screen, the various gears are easier to manipulate, and while there isn’t much sense in re-buying the game if you already own it for your iPhone, if this is the first you’ve heard of Geared and own an iPad, it’s really worth checking out.
Galcon Fusion, $7.99 – This game could easily be described as Galcon [$2.99 / Free], but bigger. Fusion on the iPad has all the same gameplay and multiplayer modes that made the original awesome, only bigger, with way more planets to attack and defend. On high difficulty levels, battles get so chaotic they almost require two people playing in order to win.
Charadium for iPad, $4.99 – In Charadium, players take turns in online games drawing and guessing what other people are drawing. More screen real estate has really made Charadium much more fun to play on the iPad. You can actually draw with some level of accuracy, and the new layout with the chat screen below just generally makes the game more fun.
bitFLIP HD, $1.99 – While there are entirely way too many match 3’s on the App Store, and you probably already have at least one on your device, bigFLIP HD is worth checking out. It comes with a great electronic soundtrack and multiple game modes including a two player split screen battle mode that’s a ton of fun if you have another person around who shares a love of matching three similarly colored circles together.
I Dig It HD, $9.99 – The original I Dig It [99¢] along with the sequel I Dig It Expeditions [$2.99 / Free] are two of my favorite iPhone games, and I Dig It HD is even better on the iPad. You can see more of your surroundings, there’s an on-screen mini map that makes navigating your tunnels a lot easier, and there’s even a map editor where you can create, trade, and load your own levels. I Dig It HD is a must have for any fan of the original iPhone games.
Samurai: Way of the Warrior HD, $4.99 – What attracted me to Samurai: Way of the Warrior [$4.99 / Free] for the iPhone was its fantastic art style and graphics combined with excessive amounts of blood. This all looks even better on the iPad, and the various swiping gestures you need to do in order to attack seem to be much easier to perform on a larger device.
CRYSTAL DEFENDERS for iPad, $7.99 – This odd tower defense game by Square Enix has you utilizing familiar Final Fantasy units to attack waves upon waves of enemies. I’ve actually really enjoyed most tower defense games for the iPad, as you can place towers (or in this case, units) much easier and more precisely on the larger screen. Crystal Defenders got a complete graphical overhaul, and as expected, looks even better on the iPad.
Karnival for iPad, $5.99 – The original version of Karnival [$3.99 / Free] left me pleasantly surprised as the gameplay from the Tycoon series of games worked very well with the strange setting of a creepy carnival. The interface of the iPhone version felt a little cramped at times, which has been completely alleviated on the iPad.
