Top 50 iPad games

(Credit: Capybara Games Inc)

Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery

Here is a game that is just breathtaking. Using surprisingly gorgeous pixelated graphics, and a haunting soundtrack by indie musician Jim Guthrie, you play a monk with a sad mission. This game successfully combines an old-school video game aesthetic with the touch controls and power of Apple's iPad for an experience that is unparalleled.

(Credit: 2D Boy)

World of Goo HD

The balls of goo have two problems: they have a yearning for exploration, but are unfortunately extremely tasty. In order to explore and escape to safety, the goo balls need to form structures to reach the exit — which is where, of course, you come in, using the touchscreen to create ever more creative solutions to reach the next level.

(Credit: Big Fish Games)

Drawn: The Painted Tower

Hidden object games aren't for everyone, but there's no denying that they're getting more and more exquisitely illustrated. Developer Big Fish Games is one of the greats of the genre, and Drawn: The Painted Tower is one of its best. You enter what seems to be an abandoned old palace, searching for the clues that led to its disarray and seeking to restore its princess and former splendour.

(Credit: Chair Entertainment)

Infinity Blade

You are the one. It is up to you to defeat the evil dark evil thing, and save the world. OK, so it won't win any prizes for story originality, but Infinity Blade makes up for this in spades with an amazing game. The controls are slick and easy to use, making it a downright addiction to play, and it looks absolutely outstanding. If it's story you want, go read a book or something.

(Credit: TheCodingMonkeys & Hans im Glück Verlag)

Carcassonne

The aim of Carcassonne is to construct, one tile at a time, a medieval landscape, complete with villages, castles, bridges, roads and other landmarks. You can play against friends online, but there's also a Solitaire mode if you want to brush up on your strategic thinking or need a Carcassonne fix when none of your mates are around.

(Credit: Firemint)

Real Racing 2 HD

Real Racing 2 HD was the first game where you can use the iPad 2 as a steering wheel while racing. Even if you're using a first-gen iPad, though, you can still enjoy the almost photo-quality graphics, licensed cars and both single player and multiplayer gameplay modes.

(Credit: Com2uS)

Inotia 3: Children of Carnia

A lot of great games have come out of Korea with sweeping stories, fascinating characters and an interesting visual style. If it's that anime style of RPG that floats your boat, Inotia 3: Children of Carnia is good fun. It's also quite large, with over 130 maps and more than 230 quests. Be warned, though; the game does have a micro-transaction component.

(Credit: Electronic Arts)

Dead Space

Created especially for iOS, this iteration of the Dead Space franchise has an all-new story. You'd think a third-person shooter would be difficult to manage on an iPad-sized screen, but the unobtrusive HUD and the control system really create a seamless gameplay experience and a near re-creation of a full console experience, scares and all.

(Credit: TwitchGames)

Slice HD

We're going to give Hand of Greed kudos for the concept, but Slice HD really ran with it. In the middle of the screen is a red button. The player needs to hold blades out of the way while avoiding other swinging blades in a game that makes the most use of multi-touch out of any game that we've seen. And if you don't flinch once or twice, we'll eat our hats.

(Credit: Halfbrick Studios)

Fruit Ninja HD

Fruit Ninja is a great way to relax your brain as you slice up fruit like a samurai. Fruit Ninja HD offers multi-touch slicing and several different gameplay modes to suit your mood, including multiplayer, while a range of unlockable backgrounds and groovy katana, as well as increasingly difficult achievements, keep things interesting.

(Credit: Hemisphere Games)

Osmos HD

Osmos bills itself as "part physics-based eat-'em-up, part ambient cosmic simulator and part Darwinistic game of survival". You control a jellyfish-like blob floating through the cosmos, attempting to absorb smaller blobs while avoiding being absorbed by bigger ones. It's unexpectedly harder than it sounds, yet lovely to play.

(Credit: Namco Networks America)

Bit.Trip Beat HD

Bit.Trip Beat is kind of like what would happen if Pong met Frequency. Using your paddle, you bounce beats back and forth to create funky fresh rhythms, all put together in retro-style pixelated coruscations of colour.

(Credit: ForzeField Studios)

Infinity Field

Infinity Field is a game that proves you don't need hyper-realistic graphics for a great iPad game. This space shooter is fast, frantic and fun, as you zip around endless space, shooting everything that the universe can throw at you in a spectacular explosion of colour.

(Credit: Gameloft)

Dungeon Hunter 2 HD

If you're looking to get your RPG action on, make your first port of call Dungeon Hunter 2. Aside from looking, well, just stunning, it features one of the finest things that you could ask for in an RPG: co-op multiplayer. The on-screen touch controls are fantastically responsive, and you can choose from three character classes in three difficulty levels across an enormous open world.

(Credit: Electronic Arts)

Mirror's Edge

Mirror's Edge was one of the original iPad's launch games, and it still holds up under scrutiny. The port across from console was flawless, and the instinctive touch controls feel even more natural and comfortable than using a controller at manipulating Faith as she parkours her way to victory.

(Credit: KlickTock Pty Ltd)

Little Things

Little Things is like the ultimate game of hide and seek. The game will show you a composite picture, and a list of things to find within a time limit and off you go. It looks adorable, will test your visual acuity and is a fantastic game to play either by yourself or with kids. And you'll keep telling yourself, "Just one more level ..."

(Credit: id Software)

Rage HD

In a post-apocalyptic world, game shows are different. Very different. No chocolate wheels or Big Brother announcements — just fighting for your life against hordes of zombies. Rage HD makes use of the iPad 2's gyroscope (after you enable it in options), so you can hold the iPad up like a window and scan your surrounds for the undead, but it's also got immense gory excitement.

(Credit: Cartoon Network)

Robot Unicorn Attack HD

Rainbows! Unicorns! Sparkles! Erasure! Horrible fiery death! If you're still unconvinced, then nothing more we can say will sway you.

(Credit: Spaces of Play, Mattias Ljungstrom)

Spirits

Spirits is reminiscent of a lot of things: the Kodama from Princess Mononoke, Xbox Marketplace and PSN game The Undergarden and who remembers Lemmings? The aim is to collect up the ethereal spirits inhabiting nooks and crannies and guide them to safety, manipulating the environment by digging tunnels, building bridges and using the wind, all to an enchanting orchestral soundtrack.

(Credit: Electronic Arts)

FIFA 11

To get your soccer fix on, EA's FIFA is one of the best sports simulations out there, and its iPad port is one of the best that we've seen. If you're used to kicking the ball around with a controller, the touch controls may take some getting used to, but, once you're comfortable, you can play in a range of different modes, with real players and more than 500 teams from around the world.

(Credit: Lucasfilm Entertainment Company Ltd)

Monkey Island 2 Special Edition: LeChuck's Revenge

Monkey Island 2 is 20 years old now, but that doesn't mean that it has passed its use-by date. This port for the iPad features upgraded high-definition graphics, a voiceover with the original cast, developer commentary and a touch control interface designed just for the iPad. If you never played Monkey Island, it's a fantastic introduction, and for those who want to relive their Guybrush Threepwood days, it's a perfect nostalgia hit.

(Credit: Press Play)

Max and the Magic Marker

If names were anything to go by, perhaps this is what Scribblenauts should have been: our hero, Max, receives a marker ... but everything he draws comes to life! As Max enters a magical world, you control the action, with everything you draw on the iPad's touchscreen becoming a real, interactive object in the game, making you think laterally and creatively about how to defeat enemies and solve puzzles.

(Credit: Gopherwood Studios)

Entanglement HD

Here you have a tiled board with tangled lines. By placing hexagonal tiles, your aim is to create the longest, loopiest line you can, rotating and placing the tiles until you can't go any farther. The untimed gameplay is captivating, but for a more tense experience you can play with up to five friends.

(Credit: 10tons Ltd)

Sparkle HD

There are a number of coloured orb shooters on the app store, but Sparkle HD is arguably the finest, with pretty, colourful graphics, responsive controls and a fun soundtrack. It's also easy to dip in and out of, making it great for when you just want to wind down for a few minutes.

(Credit: Remedy Entertainment Ltd)

Death Rally

Death Rally is exactly what it sounds like: a car rally. Of death. It's a speedy top-down racer, where the best way to win is to eliminate the competition by any means necessary, and it has the weapons arsenal to back it up. The multiplayer mode isn't available yet, but the single-player campaign is such a roaring good time that you won't miss it.

(Credit: Rovio Mobile)

Angry Birds Rio HD

OK, OK; you win. Even though everyone knows about Angry Birds by now, if we don't include it, someone is bound to point out the omission. Readers, meet Angry Birds. Angry Birds, meet readers. There, happy now? Sheesh.

(Credit: Take-Two Interactive Software Inc)

Civilization Revolution

CivRev played well on the Nintendo DS and the iPhone, but its screen got too small for comfort. The iPad's expansive room for larger maps is a good fit for this turn-based complex experience, and it makes CivRev feel a little more like a computer game again.

(Credit: Subatomic Studios)

Fieldrunners

Fieldrunners is the Big Daddy of tower defence games, and it looks and plays just as well as it did on the iPhone — only bigger and better. Alas, it currently costs AU$9.99, which is a few bucks too many in our opinion, especially if you already own it on the iPhone. But it's just too good not to have on the list.

(Credit: Dot Matrix Interactive Design)

Dominion HD

The classic board game Risk does not exist on the iPad yet, but Chillingo's Dominion is basically the same thing. Crisp graphics, online play and an appealing and efficient interface make this tabletop game shine on Apple's tablet.

(Credit: Firemint)

Flight Control HD

Flight Control was a title that we were tempted to leave off the list, because it's basically the same as the AU$1.99 iPhone version, only blown up (however, it does play better on the larger screen). That caveat aside, it really defined the line-drawing game genre (you must guide planes to runways by drawing lines on the screen), and it remains incredibly addictive.

(Credit: Lima Sky)

Doodle Jump

Doodle Jump, the game in which you bounce a little green doodlebug from platform to platform while evading traps and monsters, has gotten big. Real big. So big it's now iPad sized. As well as this embiggenment, Doodle Jump for iPad also has some cool iPad-exclusive features, such as a brand new racetrack theme and Open Feint compatibility.

(Credit: Illusion Labs)

Foosball HD

We much prefer tabletop multiplayer games on the slim 10-inch device than virtual joystick handheld affairs. Foosball works exactly the way you'd expect an iPad foosball game to work, with impressive physics and simple controls. And, even better, it's cheaper than an actual foosball table.

(Credit: Electronic Arts)

Scrabble

The iPad version of the classic Scrabble board game allows you to use iPhones and iPod Touches as tile racks for multiplayer games in the same room, re-creating the old game completely for the Apple gadget crowd. Board games make a lot more sense on a larger screen like the iPad's. Words With Friends, a Scrabble knock-off, is less expensive and also well designed. Choose as you will.

(Credit: SEGA)

Super Monkey Ball 2: Sakura Edition

We liked Super Monkey Ball 2 on the iPhone, but it's one of those games that really works a lot better on a larger screen. This good-looking game uses the accelerometer tilt controls to good effect (we had flashbacks of playing Super Monkey Ball on the Wii), and we actually had more fun with the mini-games than we did with the "main" game.

(Credit: Activision Publishing)

Geometry Wars

One of the most memorable retro arcade shooters of this generation is still Geometry Wars 2, with its excellent selection of game modes and insane pace. The iPad port retains the same frenetic feel. Although the virtual control pad mechanics on the touchscreen slow things down a little, it's smart that the controls appear wherever you put your fingers on the iPad screen.

(Credit: Illusion Labs)

Labyrinth 2 HD

The first Labyrinth was an eye-opening re-imagining of the classic tilting-ball-in-a-maze game, using the iPhone's accelerometer to roll the ball. The sequel has larger layouts and more obstacles, and the iPad's larger size actually does a much better job at mimicking the original wooden Labyrinth. The pay version is worth a purchase, but the free edition has a nice supply of levels to start you off.

(Credit: Gameloft)

N.O.V.A. Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance HD

When it debuted, Gameloft's N.O.V.A. was one of the most graphically impressive shooters on the iPhone. The iPad game is the same experience, with an increased resolution and tweaked controls, taking into consideration the iPad's ergonomics. Although it's sometimes hard to get the hang of all the gestures and buttons, this remains a superlative "show-off" game for a new iPad owner.

(Credit: PopCap Games)

Plants vs. Zombies HD

We loved PopCap's game on the iPhone. Is it worth the extra cash for the upgrade? If you want a spot-on version of the PC/Mac version at a price that's still affordable, then absolutely. New mini-games and modes round out the standard levels. For those who haven't been keeping tabs, this gateway drug to tower-defence strategy games is quite a bit of fun for beginners or the more hardcore.

(Credit: Freeverse Inc)

Warpgate HD

Somewhere between Star Control and Star Trek is Freeverse's well-polished intergalactic adventure/trading/battle game, mixing interstellar commerce, spaceship dogfights and a vast series of worlds in an easy-to-control, top-down game. Its graphical prowess was originally meant for the iPhone, but this is a much better match for the living-room-style gameplay that the iPad offers.

(Credit: Amanita Design)

Machinarium

Fans of point-and-click adventures, hand-drawn graphics and artistically adventurous indie games, look no further: Machinarium is a gorgeously rendered journey through various screens, where the answers to the puzzles presented aren't immediately obvious. Previously a PC/Mac game, it's also being ported to game consoles — but it's making a stop on the iPad first.

Fans of games like Limbo will be in love with the slightly ominous universe. Surprisingly, Machinarium only runs on the iPad 2. We don't really understand why, but iPad 2 owners should leap on the opportunity for a show-off exclusive.

(Credit: Bit Studios)

Anomoly Warzone Earth HD

Take tower defence games and turn them on their head, and you get Chillingo's clever Anomaly Warzone Earth. Instead of manning towers, this future-set warfare game has you man your convoy, and plan a route through various level maps. A story unfolds about an alien invasion, but that's not why you'll keep playing: it's the console-crisp graphics, clean interface and addictive weapon-upgrade gameplay that will suck you in.

(Credit: Mokus)

Contre Jour HD

Yes, there's a pattern emerging in puzzle games: solve a level, try to three-star it and repeat. Contre Jour, however, has spectacular art design and music, along with creative imagination, making it feel like an Xbox or PlayStation 3 downloadable game. It's cheap, at AU$2.99, and continually added extra level packs pay the value forward, much like Angry Birds.

(Credit: RedLynx)

DrawRace 2 HD

Those who played the original DrawRace game know that this isn't your traditional racing game where you steer a vehicle around a course. Rather, this is a line-drawing game where you draw a path for your car to follow around the track for a couple of laps. That line you draw — as well as the speed with which you drew it — is recorded. You then sit back and watch your car take the path you've drawn, and see how well it fares against the other cars in the race (you can press the turbo button to give your car a little boost, but that's the extent of the in-game controls).

Along with a career mode that unlocks various tracks and cars, you can race against other players locally (on your device against friends) or online with players from around the world.

DrawRace 2 has much-improved 3D graphics, and the game, while simple to play on the surface, is challenging and addictive. It's also available for the iPhone, but, sadly, this isn't a universal app.

(Credit: Konami)

Gesundheit HD

Konami's beautiful little puzzler is both odd and full of charming art design. The idea is simple: complete maze puzzles by tossing your little critter's nasal globs at booger-hungry monsters. Stealth and clever patience pay off in increasingly challenging levels. The execution feels as well wrought as a full console downloadable game on Xbox Live Arcade or PSN. It's cute enough for kids, provided they aren't too young to be scared by cartoonish monsters that gobble green protagonists. And the price can't be beat.

(Credit: Taito)

Groove Coaster HD

If weird, trancelike music rhythm games with a Japanese flair excite you, then look no further. The brainchild of Reisuke Ishida — who was the creator of Taito's cult hit Space Invaders: Infinity Gene — Groove Coaster is a rail-based rhythm game set to dozens of tracks from Taito video games. All you have to do is tap with the right timing, but the game succeeds in feeling fresh and original, thanks to throwback vector-style graphics and a variety of power-ups that make this game much deeper than you'd expect. All told, it's a portable experience that's just as strange and compelling as music cult games like Elite Beat Agents and Rez. The app is universal, so it also plays on the iPhone and the iPod Touch.

(Credit: Halfbrick Studios)

Jetpack Joyride

Jetpack Joyride is a retro-style arcade game, where you try to survive as long as you can while avoiding treacherous obstacles and picking up coins and various power ups. Yes, there are missions to tackle that level you up, and a store to trade your coins in for clothing, vehicle and jet pack upgrades.

The "rides" are fairly short, lasting anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes, depending on your skill level, but there's lots of joy — this one's simple to play and highly addictive. It's also only 99 cents, and is a universal app (it plays very well on the iPhone and the iPod Touch).

(Credit: PopCap Games)

Peggle HD

We've been anticipating PopCap's incredibly addictive Peggle on the iPad since 2010, and the HD version doesn't disappoint. The pinball-meets-pachinko-meets-Breakout puzzler is kinetically perfect, and the larger screen of the iPad suits the ball-aiming action to a T. Peggle Nights, a complete second game, is unlockable within the app for a few extra dollars. We can't even tell you how many times we've played through this game and its dozens of challenges.

(Credit: Pixelbite)

Reckless Getaway

Ah, the joys of weaving in and out of traffic, forcing cars off the road, creating spectacular explosions and gathering gold tokens while being pursued by the police. That's what Reckless Getaway is all about, and it's an enjoyable rush while it lasts. The game could be longer, but hopefully we'll get an update with more levels in the future.

(Credit: Take Two Interactive Software)

Sid Meier's Pirates!

Those hungering for either pirate-themed strategy games or excellent PC gaming ports on the iPad will celebrate the arrival of Sid Meier's Pirates!, a port-exploring, ship-managing, booty-collecting game that's excellently adapted for touch. It's not only the best pirate simulation of all time; it's also a triple-A PC game that's easily worth twice what the App Store's charging, and then some. This is a great example of the App Store economy in action.

(Credit: Gameprom)

War Pinball HD

Gameprom's Pinball HD was our favourite pinball game on the iPad; the sequel, War Pinball, ups the ante in several key ways. One: better graphics and physics. Two: the addition of motion-controlled tilting. Three: three movie-themed tables based on Platoon, Missing in Action and Navy SEALs. Four: Charlie Sheen and Chuck Norris. Need we say more?