In our recent best iPhone games article 12 must-own games for iPhone or iPod touch, we revealed our pick of titles for Apple handhelds, showcasing a dozen games where gameplay and quality matched hype.
But with 13,000 games on the App Store, and many hundreds of independent developers creating games, it's important to highlight hidden gems. So here are the 12 best iPhone and iPod touch games you've never heard of.
1. Bank Panic (£0.59)
Mobile 1UP's Game & Watch remakes got smacked by Nintendo's no-no stick of legal doom, and have been reworked, losing their retro charm. No such problems for Bank Panic, which is a loving tribute that apes rather than photocopies Nintendo IP. It's topical, too - save failed bankers from jumping to their deaths. The game even gets harder when the Dow Jones plummets.
2. Blue Defense (£1.19)
"Tilt to aim. Bullets shoot straight up." That's all Blue Defense tells you, but it's all you need to know in this twist-based shooter where you defend your blue globe against relentless alien onslaughts. Throughout, the orientation changes, keeping you on your toes, and while its Space Invaders roots are clear, Blue Defense blows away TAITO's game in seconds.
3. Bounce On (£2.39)
Platform games are often clunky on Apple handhelds due to irritating virtual d-pads. Bounce On gets around this by using a simple tilt-and-tap control mechanism. The game comes across like a sedate Mario-style platformer and while it's no Rolando, it's plenty of fun, especially for fans of the genre.
4. Critter Crunch (£1.19)
Critter Crunch is a cartoonish action puzzler which has you feeding small critters to larger ones, until they burst, to ensure Biggs (the fat orange guy) ends up top of the food chain. A little like Magical Drop with added depth, this is a fun, frantic game, and especially worth a download if you're bored with conventional match-three titles.
5. Dr. Awesome (£0.59)
Operate on your friends and contacts in this microsurgery action game. Tilt to 'cut' away infections, and grab power-ups to gain the advantage during surgery. The game brings to mind TAITO's Volfied (Ultimate Qix), but Dr. Awesome is much more, well, awesome.
6. Electrogravitron (£0.59)
To shatter any dreams that you possess ultimate dexterity, try Electrogravitron. The game is simple - keep the blue dots within the 'goal' area for a few seconds to win, using tilt controls and prodding the screen to unleash electricity that forces dots away from your fingers. It looks easy, but once you're past the first dozen levels, every touch is key.
Your comments (9) Click to add a new comment
fungusturret
August 15th
9. @lovlid
Just an idea, save up your pocket money and buy an iPhone, then the articles that you dislike reading will become more relevant to you.
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lovlid
August 15th
8. @ criaggrannell.
Thank you for an adult response and not just telling me to p***off.
I realize the iphone is a very popular item, but the articles are coming thick and fast, its overkill, theres too many. I'm a long time regular reader of a number of Future's magazines, T3, Home Cinema Choice, What Plasma and LCD Tv, and PC Format, among others. Thats a varied selection that all recommend techradar for their own varied reasons, and thats why I'm here, to read a variety of articles from a variety of sources, not just from "What iphone". Yes I know the variety's there, but, on one day last month, seventeen articles on the front page mentioned the iphone in the lead, its hard to ignore that amount of coverage.
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fungusturret
August 15th
7. @lovlid
Yes you're right, I did join just to say what I said because people like you really get on my t*ts. People like you are a pain in the ar*e with your ungrateful attitude and your unwanted, useless opinions that nobody really cares about. If only some of the articles are OK, feel free to disappear to another site to air your unimportant views there.
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craiggrannell
August 15th
6. @lovlid: Despite being a contributor and the writer of this feature, I can't speak for TechRadar. However, every publication I write for accepts pitches based on the likely audience the articles are likely to attract. At the time of writing, this is the top article in TechRadar's 'most read' list, and so plenty of people are clearly interested. Also, I and the editor liked the idea of a list of games people might not have heard of, rather than the usual 'best of' crowd.
Regarding 'other phones', there simply isn't the range and quality on the vast majority of other devices, nor the audience. And if you are genuinely interested in the device for gaming, get an iPod touch - they hardly break the bank, given that they're about the same price as a DSi, and you'd get the difference in price back after buying a few games anyway (what with iPod games typically being a couple of quid, versus £20 or so for the DSi). If you're not interested, I don't fully understand why you're complaining anyway - just ignore iPhone articles entirely.
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lovlid
August 14th
5. @fungusturret.
A whinge and a cry if Ive ever seen one. And WOW, did you join just to say that? Bless.
Some of the articles are ok, But, throwing in Cr@p just for the sake of throwing it, is, well, cr@p.
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fungusturret
August 14th
4. @lovlid.
Shut up... you've nothing to say and you're saying it too loud.
Stop with the whinging and crying, if you don't like what these articles are about then p*** off somewhere else.
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