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Top 30 iPad games we'd like to see (photos)

Yes, the iPad can run most iPhone games, but with more screen real estate and a faster processor, the iPad could also make many of them better.

David Carnoy
Executive Editor David Carnoy has been a leading member of CNET's Reviews team since 2000. He covers the gamut of gadgets and is a notable reviewer of mobile accessories and portable audio products, including headphones and speakers. He's also an e-reader and e-publishing expert as well as the author of the novels Knife Music, The Big Exit and Lucidity. All the titles are available as Kindle, iBooks, Nook e-books and audiobooks.
Scott Stein Editor at Large
I started with CNET reviewing laptops in 2009. Now I explore wearable tech, VR/AR, tablets, gaming and future/emerging trends in our changing world. Other obsessions include magic, immersive theater, puzzles, board games, cooking, improv and the New York Jets. My background includes an MFA in theater which I apply to thinking about immersive experiences of the future.
Expertise VR and AR, gaming, metaverse technologies, wearable tech, tablets Credentials
  • Nearly 20 years writing about tech, and over a decade reviewing wearable tech, VR, and AR products and apps
David Carnoy
Scott Stein
tiger_woods_pga_tour_09.jpg
1 of 30 EA Sports

Tiger Woods Golf

Tiger Woods may not be hitting the real links anytime soon, but an iPad version of EA's golf franchise would be able to show off the green in far greater detail.
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2 of 30 Natenai Ariyatrakool

Air Hockey

Virtual air hockey gets more interesting when you move to bigger touch screens. While the iPad isn't table-size, we could see two people playing each other using a single iPad. Ping Pong and tennis could also get a boost when moving to the iPad.
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3 of 30 Gamespot

Civilization

Lots of folks are talking about how real-time strategy games would be well suited for porting to the iPad, making army mobilization as easy as pushing your finger. Big RTS franchises like Age of Empires and Civilization would be a great fit on a larger screen.
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4 of 30 Gamespot

Command and Conquer

Yes, C&C is another RTS, but it's worth highlighting on its own as a more dynamic, action-oriented game with lots of simultaneous action. We'd also like to see Company of Heroes make its way onto the iPad.
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5 of 30 2XL Games

ATV Offroad (and other racing games)

While EA got its Need for Speed plug at launch, several iPhone racing titles should transition nicely over to the iPad. We like what 2XL has done on the iPhone and its racing games should get ported over quickly to the iPad. Jumbo versions of Mario Kart style titles like Shrek Karting should also make the jump.
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6 of 30 RedLynx Ltd

DrawRace

During the iPad launch event, Apple made a big deal about showing an example of a driving game (Need for Speed) on the iPad. But Draw Race, an innovative iPhone game that has you trace the path of your car, would be even more fun on a bigger screen, especially if tracks could be double or triple the size.
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7 of 30 Gamespot

Enigmo (and other puzzlers)

Innovative puzzlers like Enigmo should definitely benefit from a move to a bigger screen, enabling even bigger Rube Goldberg-style kinetic events.
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8 of 30 EA Mobile

Monopoly (and other board games)

Board games like Monopoly, Life, and Trivial Pursuit have done very well on the iPhone. They'll make a nice transition to the iPad along with stuff like Battleship, turning the iPad into a killer app for multiplayer virtual board games. We're still waiting for Risk.
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9 of 30 Zynga

Farmville

Popular Facebook games like Farmville seem primed for the bigger stage of the iPad. Resource management and icons will be much easier to depict on a 9.7-inch screen.
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10 of 30 Subatomic Studios

Field Runners (and other tower defense games)

Field Runners has had a great run on the iPhone. Tower-defense-based games like these are no brainers for the iPad, and an enhanced version feels like a must.
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11 of 30 EA Sports

FIFA 10

Soccer's actually translated pretty well to the iPhone. Being able to see more of the field would obviously help. Same goes for games like NBA Live and Madden, which would also benefit from a larger screen for playcalling.
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12 of 30 Firemint

Flight Control

A larger screen for a game like Flight Control means opportunities for even more complicated flight paths and level designs, or even multiplayer single-pad gameplay.
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13 of 30 Fish Labs

Galaxy on Fire

Hybrid space sims/shooters that incorporate some real-time strategy elements, would play even better on a bigger screen, maybe even using pop-out control menus.
galcon.jpg
14 of 30 Phil Hassey

Galcon

This tower-defense game would be bigger and even more challenging on the iPad.
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15 of 30 1024 Studios

Missile Defense

There's been a YouTube video going around where some guys are playing Missile Command on a huge touch screen. The iPad's not that big, but Missile Command-style games would be more appealing on a larger screen.
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16 of 30 Gameloft

Oregon Trail

Oregon Trail is decent on the iPhone, but with a larger device you could get more information on the screen and improve gameplay.
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17 of 30 Gamespot

Video pinball

The iPhone has a few video pinball games, but the move to a larger screen would make these types of games much more appealing.
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18 of 30 LucasArts

Secret of Monkey Island

Adventure games like Secret of Monkey Island would certainly benefit from a boost in screen size. They're also ideal for touch-screen play.
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19 of 30 Gamespot

Secret of Bryce Manor

This innovative iPhone adventure game that features a spider as the main character has received a lot of praise. Going bigger would make it that much better.
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20 of 30 Gamespot

Shuffleboard

Shuffleboard games--at least certain ones--play pretty well on the iPhone. But more screen would definitely enhance the experience. This would also be true for bowling, Skee-ball, and carnival games like Ramp Champ (and possibly, after the Olympics, curling).
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21 of 30 EA

Sim City

Sim City obviously would play much better on a larger screen, and the game's complicated data wouldn't be so squished.
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22 of 30 Sega

Super Monkey Ball

Tilt-based games are sometimes hard to control on the iPhone and iPod Touch. While graduating to a large screen wouldn't necessarily make things easier, there's something about Super Monkey Ball that seems like a perfect fit for larger-scale controls.
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23 of 30 EA

Sims 3

The Sims feels a little played out at this point, but the iPhone version still did pretty well--and moving to a bigger screen would be nice.
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24 of 30 Gamespot

Touch Grind

The original version of this cult iPhone/iPod Touch hit used your fingers to pull off tricks--on a big screen, you could even develop a title with multiple boards and two-handed/multiplayer action.
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25 of 30 Amazon

Wooden Labyrinth

There are already several takes on the classic tilting board game on the App Store, but an accelerometer-controlled version on a giant screen could finally be a true recreation of the larger-scale game we played in our basement in the 80s.
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26 of 30 PopCap

Plants vs. Zombies

PopCap's monstrously addictive tower defense variant is already great on the iPhone, but the iPad would be an even better way of matching the feel of the PC/Mac original.
CatanA.jpg
27 of 30 Big Huge Games

Settlers of Catan

Cheap ports of classic strategy games abound in the App Store, but few are multiplayer-friendly. Updating a new version of Klaus Teuber's brilliant board game would allow for a much more board-game-like feel, and a multiplayer mode closer to the one on Xbox Live Arcade.
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28 of 30 QuickHit

Quick Hit Football

While Madden and NFL 2010 already aim to provide console-style football gaming on a handheld, free multiplayer casual games like Quick Hit Football take an armchair-quarterback top-down approach to play calling. Porting this to the iPad would be a perfect way to casually play tablet pigskin.
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29 of 30 Rockstar Games

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars

GTA: Chinatown Wars has been around the block, carrying its retro top-down gaming to the Nintendo DS, PSP and iPhone/iPod Touch. On the iPad, however, one could theoretically keep heads-up maps side by side with the action, or whole new submenus and screens for managing phone calls and e-mails while driving.
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30 of 30 PopCap

Peggle

We'll admit it, we're still completely addicted to Peggle. The iPhone and iPod Touch version is admirable, but it squeezes a lot into a small space. Amping the graphics and animation in a full version would be fantastic.

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