ipad games

Ads in iPhone/iPad games getting too intrusive?

The other day I downloaded Pik Pok's Flick Kick Field Goal Kickoff for the iPad. The description said something about it being a "free app of the day," so I thought I was getting a paid app for free.

Low and behold, after about 5 minutes of playing the game, a time out was called on the field, and a somewhat surreal video popped up on the screen advertising the Swiffer floor-cleaning system, complete with women in mud suits and Heart's "What About Love" playing in the background. (see the full ad here).

The … Read more

Tilt and race

Editors' take: One of the games used as a showpiece for the iPad's gaming capabilities, Real Racing is an upgraded version of an iPhone game with the same name. More than the other games we tried, Real Racing takes advantage of the iPad's larger size by turning the entire device into a steering wheel.

We've tried the same mechanic on similar iPhone games, and always end up wildly oversteering; we were able to at least stay on the road (mostly) on the iPad version. For a premium iPad game, the graphics are crisp, if a little bland, … Read more

First person shooter

Editors' take: First-person shooters have always been hard to pull off on the iPhone, with its lack of tactile controls. N.O.V.A. was one of the better examples of the genre, however, and it's also one of the first to get a rerendered HD version for the iPad.

The game seems exactly the same to us, although with sharper graphics. The main difference: the iPhone version is $4.99, and this one is $9.99.

Even with the bigger screen, or perhaps because of it, we still feel FPS games are not a natural fit for tablets, … Read more

Planetary action on the iPad

Editors' take: Galcon Fusion ($7.99) is the HD iPad version of Galcon, a strategy game that challenges you to conquer planets in a small section of space, while another player or the computer AI tries to do the same.

Playing the standard game type, you start out with two inhabited planets: one for your fleet and one for your opponent's fleet, with several other unclaimed planets on the board. From there, you try to conquer other planets by touching and dragging from your populated planet to the planet you wish to attack. Win the game by conquering all … Read more

30 best iPad games

Editors' note: This post was updated March 26, 2013, with five new games.

Wondering which games to buy for your iPad? Well, we've taken our best shot at putting together a list of top titles that we feel meet the criteria for a good iPad game.

And just what does make a good iPad game? We debated it for a while and narrowed it down to these five factors:

It's gotta be fun (obviously). Ergonomics (Are the gameplay and control scheme well-suited to the iPad?) Uniqueness (Though many iPad games play well as upconverted, higher-resolution versions of their iPhone predecessors, we respect new, iPad-exclusive games.) Value (Some of the best iPad games currently carry high price tags, but we also tried to include titles we thought were simply a good value.) Showoff quotient (Extra points if the game flat-out looks good, or makes efficient use of the Retina display.)

… Read more

Fun-loving iPad zombies

Editors' take: The iPad's bigger screen real estate lends itself well to tower defense games such as Plants vs. Zombies HD, a $10 game where players attack hordes of zombies.

The iPad-optimized version brings the game nearly up to parity with the versions found on PC and Mac computers, which cost twice as much. This includes the proper top placement (instead of the side) of all the weapons and resources you must work with to defeat your zombie foes, as well as survival mode, which lets players try to stay alive for as long as possible. For many of … Read more

Top 30 iPad games we'd like to see

The iPad may not have a built-in camera, multitasking capabilities, or support for Flash, but it does have a 9.7-inch high-resolution touch screen and a faster processor than an iPhone 3GS. Though most games for the iPhone and iPod Touch should run on the iPad, many developers are rapidly creating updated "HD" versions of their existing games to take advantage of the device's improved resolution and slightly altered layout.

From the first moment the iPad was announced, we started imagining which games could benefit most from going XL Apple-style. Of course, it remains to be seen … Read more

iPhone stealing game market share from Sony, Nintendo

Those who thought Apple's iPhone and iPod Touch would not live up to the promise of being a great mobile gaming platform are in for a big surprise.

Apple sold 19 percent of all portable game software in the U.S. in 2009, up sharply from 5 percent in 2008, according to a new report released by Flurry Analytics on Monday.

It's clear that Apple is taking share from Sony's PlayStation Portable, and to a smaller level, the Nintendo DS. According to Flurry's report, Sony fell from 20 percent in 2008 to 11 percent in 2009, … Read more

Is this how gamers will use Apple's iPad?

I would rather eat someone else's rain gear than play video games for 10 hours a day. But I will defend the right of everyone to play, as long as they aren't getting on my nerves on an airplane.

So while I know that many have focused their enthusiasm for Apple's new iPad on drooling over its potential as a device for consuming books and movies, below is some footage that might make gamers feel somewhat tingly, too.

I was directed to this Warcraft III video by Cody Brown, an NYU Social Entrepreneurship undergraduate and founder of Kommons.com.… Read more