Dai's Top Ten iPhone Games

I am an avid videogamer and with eight working consoles set up at home one could say without fear of exaggeration that I can't get enough of gaming. But for the life of me, I never imagined I would take smartphone games seriously. They seemed so throw away, with less content than a budgie's leg and graphically I always though more Snakes than Bioshock, so you can imagine the suprise I had when I played my first iPhone game (Rat On A Skateboard) a few weeks ago. On previous mobile phones I largely ignored the games but on getting a smartphone I figured the games would have stepped up their er....game. And you know what? I was right!
Rat On A Skateboard was fun, funky, addictive and in glorious colour (black & white Nokia games anyone?) indeed everything a good game should be. *Adopts Yoda Voice* Excited was I.
The iPhone 3GS and 4S have brilliant games on offer, hell they even have (and this gave me the Bioshock of shocks) Playstation 2 titles to play. Fancy playing Grand Theft Auto 3 and Chinatown Wars? You can! There are even murmurs of San Andreas coming too! My flabber is truly gasted. Mobile gaming has arrived at long last. And here are some Must Haves.


1. Angry Birds (free and to buy)

If you've not heard of Angry Birds yet, you are either (A) dead or (B) struggling so much with technology that you still own a pager and play albums on cassette. The concept is simple: fire (angry) birds at green pigs from slingshots in order to wreck whatever wooden/concrete/glass fortress the pesky swines have taken refuge in. There are different types of bird to do this, from those who cannonball through the air to others which explode. Its fabulously addictive and is brimming with One-More-Go goodness. And with Rio, Seasons and Space to go along with the original Angry Birds game you can rest assure the feathered ones will keep you going for quite a while yet.

2. Pac Man (£2.99p)

No introduction needed, everyone (even the guy with a pager) knows Pac Man. And he has been faithfully recreated for the iPhone, right down to the nifty little red joystick which you control via touch screen. I love it! Oh and if you don't fancy paying £2.99, there is a free Lite version available.

3. Highway Rider (free)

I only discovered this game a few hours ago and already ive clocked up many miles on its speedy (not to mention dangerous) roads. I am stunned this was FREE because I would gladly pay a few quid for this little cracker. Grab a motorbike (which you can customize) and guide your rider (also customizable) along highways at ridiculously quick speeds while avoiding cars and lorries. The more dangerous your riding, the faster you go and players are rewarded for overtaking vehicles as closely as possible. In short, ride like a suicidal maniac with total disreguard for physical well being and safety. If you crash (and you WILL) the camera slows down to capture all that painful breakage of bones, which actually get listed on screen together with an estimation of what your medical bill would cost. (What? No NHS?) Brilliant fun!

4. Golden Axe (69p)

Remember this on the Sega Megadrive console? You can now own it on iPhone. Be warned though! The controls can be fiddly at first but practice makes perfect and you will be glad when you nail them because Golden Axe is a classic.


Slinging great!

5. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2012 (69p)

Fancy a knock on the greens? There's a whole console game here including the PGA Tour, Multiplayer, Closest To Pin Challenge, Tiger Challenge and quite frankly im amazed its so cheap. Under 70p for all this? I am IN sir! This was my first game purchase and at that price you'd be mad not to get it (uless you hate golf). Buy equipment and upgrades in the Pro shop, customize your golfer, its the same as my Xbox 360 version for crying out loud! Controls are simple and responsive, just pull back your finger to swing and bring it down to smack the ball. Graphics are great and you can link the game to Facebook and post your best results on your wall. It even has your Facebook profile pic on the greens to mark your closest shot to the flag. Quite brilliant!

6. Temple Run (free)

A longtime favourite for iPhone users and I curse all those wasted hours that I missed (I only got it yesterday). Run away from Demon Monkeys along crumbling walls, wooden paths while jumping over tree stumps and diving under low hurdles, all with one swipe of the finger. It works like a dream and when you come a cropper its down to you, no blaming the fluid like control system. How some of these games are FREE I'll never understand because you wouldn't feel ripped off even paying a couple of pounds for them.

7. Downhill Xtreme Skateboarding (free)

Another stunning title for nowt. Speed skate down various hills and slopes worldwide, starting in sun drenched California as punk (includes bands like The Clench and We Outspoken) bleeds from the iPhone speakers, pumping you up to get that first place. You can do solo runs or race against other players and when you first see this in action, you will understand (if you haven't already) that phone games have finally arrived. Some of them, this title included, look flipping amazing.

8. Paperboy SD (69p)

Okay RetroHeads, get downloading this classic game from the golden era of videogames, the 1980s! Yes its Paperboy Special Delivery! Tilt the screen back and forward to speed up/slow down and touch left/right on screen arrows to steer and avoid obstacles like drunks, fireworks and tornados. Its even kept that oh so familiar soundtrack. Bonus!

9. Slingshot Racing (69p)

Now this game is my current favourite out of them all. Its a top down racer (think Micro Machines V4) and you guide your car around tracks by using a slingshot. Its a novel way of racing and it works well. As with the others, it looks like polished knees on happy bees too.

10. Hambo (free but upgrades are paid)

Rambo is a pig. Literally! Work out the best ricochet shot to shoot other pigs from platforms, this is nearly as addictive as Temple Run and definately worth a download. You can check out Highway Rider in the video below.

* Prices were correct at time of publishing.