Friday, March 4, 2011

IPad Extravagnza

Since it feels like I'm doing handheld games all this week, I figure today I'll give you an overview of some of my favorite IPad games. Most of these also play on your Iphone, but I can't be bothered to check for sure on them all.

Angry Birds HD:

Probably my favorite game on my IPad, it has a pretty steep learning curve, but once you get into it you start to feel how the physics work and can create some spectacular results. I was frustrated with this game at first, because my natural inclination is to play a level until I get all three stars, then move on. It just wasn't possible for me on some of the levels, and once I accepted that and moved on it became much more fun. I think I've played Angry Birds HD for at least 20 hours, which is awesome for a game that costs a dollar. Very fun game.

Cut the Rope:

This game is easy to learn, with a very gradual ratcheting of difficulty that managed to keep me engrossed through every level. It plays more like a puzzle game than a physics game, because there are only one or two ways to solve each level. I tried to be creative with a few of the levels, but it doesn't usually work, and most of the difficulty of the game comes from figuring out the gimmick for each level. I got three stars on most of the levels my first time beating them, with a few exceptions in later levels. I look forward to the content packs they release for free every month or two.

Infinity Blade:

Infinity Blade is one of the prettiest games I've ever played on a handheld. It looks fabulous, and is powered by Unreal Engine 3. It has a very easy to understand narrative, and if you are amazing at the game you could potentially beat it in the first fifteen minutes of playing it. The real challenge is the fighting system. You attack, dodge, block, use items, and cast magic by touching and sliding with your fingers, while otherwise standing still. Enemies have a very set attack pattern that you start to recognize and react to fast enough to survive the harder enemies that appear as you gain levels. When you finally make your way to the final boss you end up dying most of the time, then starting over at the beginning of the castle with all your items and levels from before. This lets you work your way through a very simple game that gains in difficulty as you build new gear and levels until you are finally powerful enough to win a fight against the final boss. If you like RPGs and have an IPad, I suggest you pick this game up or at least take a look at the many trailers and game play videos on YouTube.

Plants vs Zombies: 

PvZ is the epitome of tower defense games. Every TD game you have ever played was leading you up to playing this game. It has a very well designed sloping of difficulty and a huge cast of Plants to help you survive the crushing hoard of Zombies crossing your yard. This game is very charming, with a simple style that doesn't confuse your eyes when a lot of things are happening on the screen at the same time. If you like TD games and have an IPhone or IPad, this is the one to buy.

14 comments:

  1. Plants v. zombies = epic... I can't even fathom how many hours I have spent playing that game on various platforms haha

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  2. have to agree with you, infinity blades DOES look awesome. great graphics all the way, even when its getting faster

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  3. I see people playing angry birds all the time. I'm not good at it, but it seems awesome.

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  4. They have plants vs. zombies on the iPad?

    fuck, now I want an iPad.

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  5. I'll have to keep this stuff in mind

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  6. I got stuck at this level on Angry Birds and have tried days to get past it. I'm so mad that I can't proceed with Angry Birds just because of 1 particular level! Other than that, most of these games can also be played on the Android system, if not now, soon :P (proud owner of samsung galaxy S)

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  7. Can't say i like PvZ , too children like.

    Awesome post none the less, keep it up!

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  8. plants vs zombies is delicious

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