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Whether you waited in line at your local Apple Store or Best Buy or constantly refreshed UPS.com while staring at your front door, take solace new iPad owners: the hard part is over. Now comes the fun of loading your glorious new tablet with tons of sweet and innovative apps. Regardless of whether you're a hardcore gamer or more the casual sort, the iPad App Store already has tons of great gaming options tailored specifically for the device. We tore into the App Store immediately upon receiving our iPads, and put together a list of 25 launch games worth the time and money of you lucky early adopters.
PopCap's casual smash hit is more than a quick port of the iPhone version -- it's arguably the definitive version of the tower defense-style game, which has also appeared on Mac and PC. Pairing the crisp, hand-drawn visuals of the computer versions with the large, multitouch interface of the iPad makes for a brilliant experience, and knocking back waves of cartoon-stylized zombies with all sorts of ridiculous plant attacks has never been better than in this addicting iteration.
Mirror's Edge began life as a first-person free running adventure game on consoles in late 2008, but this fresh iteration swaps in a side-scrolling perspective, letting you run, jump, slide, and tackle enemies with touches and flicks of the iPad screen. Like its console counterpart, Mirror's Edge is a striking, stylish-looking game, and while the iPad iteration drops the thrilling first-person viewpoint, it's still a lot of fun to scale buildings, run along billboards, and take daring leaps of faith on the iPad.
We love the convenience of the iPhone version of this unofficial Scrabble knockoff, but we'll definitely be reaching for the iPad version whenever it's an option. Words with Friends HD uses the iPad's sharp 9.7-inch display to its advantage, displaying the entire game board and using a stylish popover menu (which seriously resembles the iPhone app) to let you manage multiple matches with ease. We're surprised even a game as simple as this looks so nice on the iPad.
The breakout iPhone hit comes to the iPad on day one, but instead of simply super-sizing everything, developer Firemint opted to give players even more space in which to direct planes towards their rightful destinations. The simplistic visual aesthetic pops on the iPad display, and enhanced multiplayer modes -- including a split-screen option and a local wireless mode compatible with both iPad and iPhone (or iPod Touch) -- make this a stellar port of the addictive original.
Even after pouring hours into the awesome iPhone iteration of Orbital, we're psyched to do it all over again in this super-sized iPad version. Orbital HD finds you firing colored balls onto the screen, and the game lasts as long as you can keep firing balls without any crossing the bottom barrier line. Where the ball lands determines its size on the board, making this a strategic, sometimes heart-pounding little game with a lot of visual flair and bang for the buck. Well, three bucks.
You'll pay a slight premium ($5 more) for the iPad version of this celebrated iPhone tower defense favorite, but in our eyes, it's well worth it for the enhanced artwork (which was already excellent) and ability to see the entire game screen without squinting. Fieldrunners looks stunning in motion on the iPad, and includes all of the maps released for the iPhone iteration. Plus, developer Subatomic Studios says both free and paid add-on content is in the works.
We've seen numerous Geometry Wars knock-offs on iPhone, but now the real deal has appeared on iPad, and the twin-stick Xbox Live Arcade favorite works pretty well on Apple's tablet. In place of the real sticks are virtual ones that appear wherever you place your thumbs, with one for maneuvering your ship and the other for firing at enemies. Other than the control swap, this is pure Geometry Wars glory: frantic gameplay, mesmerizing visuals, and several worthwhile play modes.
Metal Gear Solid Touch ($7.99)
This shooting gallery-style spin-off of the immensely popular Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots on PlayStation 3 gets a nice visual boost on iPad, with a high definition protagonist model and mid-mission stills popping right off the screen. It's not the most essential entry in the beloved action franchise, but it's a solid diversion, and Metal Gear aficionados won't want to miss it in its best form.
Real Racing is arguably the best racer on iPhone, and the upgraded iPad iteration certainly makes a case as tops on the tablet. On iPad, Real Racing HD offers an excellent and immersive driving simulation, complete with sharp visuals and the ability to customize your vehicle with any photo. With 12 tracks, 48 cars, and a robust career mode with 76 events, Real Racing has plenty to keep you busy, plus it has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth multiplayer compatibility with the iPhone version!
Harbor Master takes some flack for being a fairly transparent Flight Control knock-off, and we certainly won't try to dispel that. And though we'd rather play the original inspiration for it, Harbor Master HD does hold one huge advantage on iPad: it's one of the rare launch games that comes without a price tag. Indeed, you can now direct boats in HD without sparring a penny, and Harbor Master's a darn solid game on its own right, so why not give this one a download?
jedoralive
April 17, 2010 at 6:38pm
What? No Settlers of Catan? Not the lame, ugly, confusing, user-UNfriendly version on iphone, but more like the Xbox arcade edition. Very clean UI. The downside to that one is only one player at a time so they don't see your cards.
Hmmm, maybe like - the ipad version could be like the board, and like each person has an iphone for their cards, and then like you could totally ....be right back where you started....Hmmm. At least there's less boxes, but a new shelf is cheaper than an ipad and six iphones.
Ipad seems like the perfect solution to creating board games, without stacks of boxes in your house? Is it big enough for that? Glare? Seems like there's a good evolution to board games waiting to happen with this thing. Still waiting for that evolution though. So far my brain wants to say yes but my heart says no on the ipad.
And yes - I'm on a Mac Pro, but I unfortunately have to live on the boot camp side these days.
MitchyD
April 05, 2010 at 9:11pm
I really, really don't have an interest in the iPad as long as I have my iPhone, but you sound so enthusiastic about it that it's making me want one. As a gaming device, it sounds great. Sadly, it's far too pricey for my blood, especially since I'd only ever use it for games (my iPhone covers the rest of the stuff the Pad handles).
