If you’ve got friends with an iOS device, then rejoice! So long as you’re not rocking the left-in-the-dust 3G--or even worse, the first gen iPod touch--you’ve been able to play friends and strangers on Game Center for quite some time. It’s easy to add friends to play with on Game Center, and now iPad owners have finally gotten their turn. We decided to check out some of the iPad’s best Game Center options, focusing primarily on the games that let you play opponents online.

If you’re looking for people to play with, leave your Gamer Center tag in the comments section. As an added bonus, you’ll instantly be entered for a chance to win a Tunebug Vibe – an ultra-portable speaker that utilizes surfacesound technology to blast any music device with a 3.5mm headset jack. Making friends and winning stuff? Now that’s a combination. Scroll down to the bottom for more details.

Nanosaur 2
It’s dinosaurs with friggin’ laser beams.
$0.99 

We covered Nanosaur in an earlier Game Time, and our description then is just as relevant today. We said, “In NanoSaur 2, you race opponents while riding on a Pterodactyl that shoots lasers and has a rocket booster.” Even though that’s pretty much the gist of it, it looks and feels right at home on the iPad. If you only have the coin for a single pilot-fighter game for iPad, this isn’t where you should spend your money. Still, its online games are more fun than you’d think, and the plot is so stupid we can’t help but love it.

Our time online revealed: It’s not always easy to find matches, but when you find them, they work without problems.

Pool Bar – Online Hustle
Take your cues from the hustle.
$0.99

Pool Bar – Online Hustle is a colorful billiards game with excellent controls and an even better online community. If you’re even remotely interested in pool, this is a must have.

Our time online revealed: It’s always easy to find matches, and you can text and voice chat right from within the game.

Cro-Mag Rally
Flinstones on Firestones.
$0.99

Cro-Mag Rally is a universal app that feels like Mario Kart wrapped in a prehistoric skin. Though it's not much to look at, it's more fun than it initially seems. Instead of bananas and shells, your cavemen racers will pick up bones and bottlecaps to use as weapons against the enemies. Be warned: the online population is good. Really good.

Our time online revealed: There are a lot of people playing this game. Finding a match never took more than a minute--unfortunately, online players are limited to one on one matches.

Cribbage HD
More pegs than a tap-dancing Pirate troop.
$2.99

Cribbage might be one of the best board games ever invented. It's accessible enough for anyone to learn, but complex enough to separate rookies from experts--we can’t believe it took us this long to find a suitable iOS option. The fault lies with us: there’s been a smattering of Cribbage apps in the app store for a long time, but we never thought to check until we realized we could play anyone at any time over Game Center.

From the looks of it, Cribbage HD looks to be the best fit for us. Nearly everything is customizable, from the card backs to the table you play on. HD also boasts plus+ support to round up your achievements, which is great because we didn’t have much luck connecting to Game Center on our iPads. We think its probably just a glitch for now, but worst case scenario, we’ll almost definitely see an update soon. 

Our time online revealed: That it doesn’t really do Online. It connects through Bluetooth, which is slightly better than local gameplay. If it weren’t such a polished take on our favorite board game we would have cut it from the list altogether.

Star Battalion HD
 Star Fox would be proud.. or filing for copyright infringement. 
$6.99
 
Gameloft has a made a name for itself by copying the fundamentals of stellar games and giving them fancy-pants iOS treatment. Sure, it sounds pretty sketchy in theory, but with the exception of Sega, we don’t see tons of golden era console games knocking down Apple’s doors to get in the app store. So it’s not so bad when they remake a fan favorite--in this case an obvious rip off of Star Fox--and put it on our iPads.

Star Battalion has everything that makes Star Fox loveable--from the snippy banter to the on-rails piloting. The game utilizes the iPad’s built-in accelerometer to aim, which feels natural if not a bit touchy. As with most Gameloft games, it feels more polished than most app store games and comes stacked with achievements and online co-op. Plus, if you dig the story, you can download a free comic to uncover the stories behind the pilots of Star Battalion. 

Our time online revealed: We had zero luck finding other players on this one. The game gives you the somewhat ill-conceived option of choosing which level you’re trying to play and whether you’d rather play via Gameloft Live or Game Center, (competing online services). The result is a severed online community, where--if anyone is trying to play--you’ll have to match quite a few specifics criteria to join forces. If you want to beat the game with a friend we recommend inviting friends.

Real Racing HD
Hi-Def Racing, for real.
$9.99

Ten bucks for any app might seem like a steep investment, but once you’ve experienced Real Racing HD’s white-knuckle rally racing you won’t have time for buyer’s remorse. Real Racing HD has it all, from great graphics to great gameplay, and enough online modes to keep you busy.

Our time online revealed: Though it’s got plenty of online modes, Auto-Matching was a pain. We suggest competing in leagues or against friends to get your high speed gameplay sorted.

Flight Control HD
Fun, plane and simple.
$4.99

Sure, Flight Control has been out since forever was a baby, but the iPad editons’ addition achievements, most of which are genuinely challenging and creative, and online play means that anyone who hasn’t downloaded this game should consider doing so now. After your first near crash experience, you’ll love (and loathe) this game.

Our time online revealed: It’s fairly easy to get a game going in Flight Control HD, but much more complicated to understand what’s going on. Games sometimes just end, without telling you who won. Also, the other player’s airport and Game Center alias is never revealed. Online works, but we much prefer local play.

Pinball HD
Flip out on Game Center.
$0.99

We’ve loved Pinball HD almost as long as we’ve loved our iPads – and for good reason. No iOS pinball game has felt so authentic, with such captivating tables as Pinball HD. Whether you choose to play the simplistic Western table or the advanced Deep Sea table, you’ll be entranced from your very first ball. The game’s only recently been updated for Game Center and is still lacking some necessities--namely achievements--but the game is still great without them.

Our time online revealed: It's actually kind of hard to find the online mode (tap the top right corner twice) and equally as difficult to find other pinball wizards. But the good news is, there are so many different modes and game types (and Pinball HD is so great) that it’s only a matter of time before this one has a bustling online community.

Our conclusion was as we suspected. Adding friends on Game Center was a blast, and the online element adds an entirely new depth to some already pretty awesome games. Auto-Matching, on the other hand, is trickier - especially if only a small selection of people share your eclectic tastes in apps. Currently Game Center on iPad looks a bit like a ghost town; having only been released a few weeks ago, not everyone – including devs – have really exposed its potential. So if the best option is making friends, then here’s a good place to do it.

Win

Leave your Game Center ID in the comments and if there are any Game Center games for iPad you think the world should know about, let everyone know below. Add this article's author on Game Center, NicFoSho or follow him on twitter for your daily dose of innane ramblings.



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