From the arcade
Namco’s lovable Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man are both true to their arcade counterparts. They look and feel just like back in the day.
Both games offer three options for controls: the D-pad, accelerometer and swipe method. The D-pad, or directional pad, is the classic control most gamers are familiar with, using the standard up, down, left, right controls. The accelerometer method allows you to tilt the iPhone in the direction you want the character to go. The swipe method allows you to drag your finger anywhere on the screen in the direction you wish to steer Pac-Man/Ms. Pac-Man. My preferred method was the swipe, the most responsive of the three.
Q*Bert, another 80s arcade fave, has been updated with three game modes and a choice between two game controls. While this game is fun, the border takes up far too much real estate and definitely takes away from game play.
If battling bitmap martians is more your thing, try Alien Attack (99 cents). Alien Attack takes a hands-on approach to defeating your enemies by tilting and tapping to wage your attack on the invading horde. While the game is fun and simple, the options are buried in a hard-to-find location: the iPhone settings menu. It would have been nice to have a note from the developer telling you how to find them.
Space Invaders Infinity Gene is another shooter with a modern feel. What sets Space Invaders apart is the evolution of your ship’s weapons and movement as you advance in the game. While some may be fans of these updated versions, I prefer the old arcade style.
Classic console games
The sound and graphics in Sega’s Sonic the Hedgehog are true to the original and the controls are easy to use. The only thing I didn’t like was when you run out of lives, you have to start at the beginning again. While this is accurate to the original, being able to save your progress should be a feature. I got very frustrated having to play the same levels over and over again once I ran out of lives. EA’s version of Tetris brings me back to the days of playing on the Game Boy. The graphics in this color version are vibrant and the animation is smooth, but the lack of the original music is slightly disappointing. There are two additional novelty modes in addition to the original mode — Marathon and Magic mode — but neither of them add any additional appeal to the app. Tetris is one of my all-time favorite games, so for me it was a must have.
