Loyal readers, you have to know I’m stuck with this 1-through-5 ranking thing. I’ve been doing it for so long it would feel weird to change it now, no matter how much I’d like to rank each of this week’s top three games No. 1.
PREDATORS, Doodle God and the latest Monkey Island game are not just three of the best games this week, they’re three of the best games this year. Beyond that, Aqueduct and Omino are no slouches themselves and will be well received by puzzle and retro gamers.
1. Robert Rodriguez presents PREDATORS
Not to be confused with the app that keeps you up to date on Nashville’s hockey team, Chillingo’s Robert Rodriguez presents PREDATORS ($2.99) is the latest movie-turned-video game to hit the iTunes App Store. Often, an easily recognizable name will get you a mention on this list; getting the top spot requires that special something, and fortunately for action gamers, PREDATORS has all kinds of that special something. You play as a Predator, killing humans with two action buttons and a d-pad. There are special ‘trophy kills’ and you are able to use tricks such as thermal vision and an invisible mode. The game has 25 levels and really nice graphics, from detailed environments to life-like Predators and humans. If all of that isn’t enough to sell you, I’m not sure what to say. PREDATORS is as good as movie-inspired video games get, and just about as good as action gaming gets.
2. Doodle God
Though the JoyBits game Doodle God (99 cents) is almost a month old now, I can no longer live with the fact that I completely missed it during its appropriate week. So I’m using a late-June update, which includes new reactions and extended gameplay, as an excuse to mention this iTunes App Store giant right now. It’s an incredibly simple premise; you start with four elements and combine them to create new elements, then you combine those elements with other elements to create even more elements, and so on and so forth. That may not sound like the greatest thing ever, but even from the beginning the combinations are very clever. For example, you combine fire and water and you get alcohol, and then you combine alcohol and water to get vodka (along with the Russian saying “There can be no ugly women, there can only be not enough vodka”). Regardless of whether or not my description does the game justice, trust me when I say Doodle God is immediately addictive and a lock for game of the year consideration – it’s that good.
3. Monkey Island 2 Special Edition: LeChuck’s Revenge
Monkey Island 2 Special Edition: LeChuck’s Revenge ($7.99) definitely has some issues, chief among them a ridiculously long title and a steep price tag. Of course, as long as you’re okay with both of those things, it’s also one of the better games of its kind. The Lucasfilms game was originally released for the computer in 1991, and though the game has updated graphics (with the option to switch to the original look) it’s very much a remake. In the game, you control Guybrush Threepwood, a wannabe pirate in search of a good story and some treasure. You control him by simply touching a specific area to walk to it, or by touching a person to talk to them. It’s not a fantastic setup, but it’s very intuitive and it works. The two most obvious changes are new voice-overs and a hint system that is activated by shaking the iPhone, both of which are sure to be welcome changes. I recommend the game to fans of the series, as well as newcomers looking for a well done adventure title.
4. Aqueduct
Aqueduct ($2.99) by Kieffer Bros. is a puzzle game in which you arrange pieces of pipe around a board in hopes of creating a working aqueduct. While it sounds simple, it also gets quite tricky as you are forced to rearrange pipes, unlock gates and deal with conveyor belts to complete levels. The game’s doodle-inspired graphics are a plus, but this one is really about providing smart, head-scratching challenges. The price is a bit high for a puzzler, but it does have more than 140 levels, so at least it will occupy plenty of time. It’s not a transcendent game that will appeal to anyone with an iPhone, but for fans of the genre, this one’s a no-brainer.
5. Omino
At some point, you have to accept that there is really no way you’ll ever be able to buy Super Mario Brothers for the iPhone, barring the purchase of Nintendo by Apple (or vice versa, I suppose). So while it has to be said that NoName Games’ Omino (free) is in many ways a rip-off of the franchise, it very well may be the closest we ever get to playing Super Mario on the device. I won’t get too much into the gameplay because it really is eerily similar to Mario; the main character, enemies and environments are all slightly different, but you still jump your way through side-scrolling levels. It’s also not really free, as you are able to play the first two levels before being offered the full game for 99 cents. Still, this is nice game with a good presentation and controls, and fans of 80’s video games will feel right at home with Omino.
