With the launch of iOS 5, a bunch of big new apps are hitting the App Store, newly empowered with the features of Apple’s updated mobile platform. Undoubtedly the biggest is Facebook for iPad, an update to Facebook’s (now universal) iPhone app that brings the super-popular social network to the iPad with full multitouch functionality. But it’s also a big night for games because of iOS 5’s increase in Game Center functionality. We’ve got Warm Gun, a first-person shooter with some awesome graphics; Siegecraft, a strategy title with physics-based gameplay that includes multiplayer support through Game Center; and Squids, another turn-based strategy game with a cartoonish bent.
Facebook for iPad Free
Finally, it’s here: Facebook’s native version of its mobile website, designed specifically for the iPad. It includes all the features Facebook is known for including profiles and news feeds, the ability to comment on others’ photos, status updates and more. Facebook makes use of the iPad’s multitouch capabilities, which allow users to pinch to zoom in on photos and swipe to different aspects of the site.
With Facebook’s iPad app, you can also snap photos and shoot video and instantly upload it to Facebook. The app even supports Facebook chat and Facebook games, as well.
Warm Gun (iPhone, iPad) $4.99
Multiplayer first-person shooter Warm Gun hands you a six-shooter and a shotgun – or any number of other cool steampunk weapons – and lets you go to town as you battle players, either controlled by the game’s computer AI or against others care of Game Center. You’ll throw Molotov cocktails, blast away with pistols or get in close with bigger weapons, as you run to avoid getting taken out yourself.
Warm Gun includes traps, falling cars and exploding barrels that you can use against your enemies. There are four different characters you can choose from to play as, all with different weapons. Its 3-D graphics are powered by the Unreal Engine 3, just like games such as Infinity Blade and The Dark Meadow.
Siegecraft (iPhone, iPad) $0.99
Man the crossbows and catapults in Siegecraft, a physics-based strategy game with 3-D graphics that plays a little like Angry Birds, although it’s a bit bloodier than the famous bird-flinging game. You’ll fight bandits, blast bridges and lay siege to lots of different medieval enemies.
You’ll fight as three different races – Knights, Vikings and Samurai – each with a different campaign, and battle through more than 25 levels. Siegecraft includes an online multiplayer mode, in which you can take on other players, and on the iPad, you can play with a second person on the same device.
Squids (iPhone, iPad) $0.99
Squids is one part physics game, one part turn-based strategy. You’ll command a team of squids as you battle through each of the game’s top-down levels, shooting your squids at enemies by pulling back on their legs and letting them fly like slingshots. Each squid has different abilities and different roles to play in battles. Some go further, some carry guns and some can heal or take a lot of damage, creating a strategy-heavy experience.
You can further customize your team of squids with hats that alter their stats and abilities. Your top Squids scores get saved to leaderboards thanks to support from OpenFeint and Game Center, adding an extra wrinkle of online competition to the game’s story mode.
