Everything iPad

When it comes to gaming, the iPad stands out. Not because of any one thing, either. It’s a collection of everything that the iPad has, that makes gaming on the 9.7-inch screen so amazing. The A4 processor makes it possible to run these applications at the speed necessary to have any kind of real fun, and the PowerVR SGX GPU makes sure that the games have a nice shine to them. In the end, we aren’t complaining about the end result, because truth be told: they’re ridiculously fun. Here’s a list of the top 5 games you should have on your iPad.

The Games

Geometry Wars: Touch for iPad: If you’re a fan of hectic, addictive, and potentially endless gameplay, then Geometry Wars: Touch for iPad is exactly what you need. It’s a game based off the smash-hit from Xbox LIVE, and the port over is fantastic. While it does lose a bit in the translation from a console title (albeit an Xbox LIVE game), the transition isn’t that bad at all. And it definitely doesn’t lose any of its frenetic, fun playability.

The concept of the game? You fly around in your ship, and you blow up stuff. That’s it. You collect things called geoms in this title, and that allows you to get a faster multiplier, which, in turn, makes your score go up. And, in Geometry Wars, the whole point is the high score. Thankfully, the creators manufactured a leaderboard system, that way you can keep track of your place amongst the other players. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find a way to scroll up and down that leaderboard. Instead, it just tells you where you are, with about ten users above you, and ten below you.

The game has several different modes. 7, in fact. You unlock the next mode by getting a high score in the mode before it. All the while, you can track your score in the leaderboard right from the home screen. While the game modes offer up a bit of differentiation between one another, the true essence of the game is never lost. You are a ship meant to be in digital space, blowing things up. You have to be careful of black holes and other dangers, but the concept is too fun to pass up. The onscreen controls are easy to use, and we never found them to actually get in the way of the gaming experience, which we thank the large screen for.

Author’s note: As of this writing, the Deadline gametype currently has the user “Church” at its first-ranked position. That’s me.

Game price: $9.99

Real Racing HD: Racing games aren’t necessarily the best for a tablet, but the moment we started playing this title, we understood the point behind it. More than anything, this game is meant to show just what the iPad can do, and it accomplishes this goal very, very well. While we imagine that it will be many months before someone releases a game that completely takes full part of all the iPad’s gaming features, but this title definitely tides us over.

Simply put, the graphics are amazing. Especially for the device. The physics may not be the best, but this is comparing them to console titles, and that may not be fair at all. The power of the iPad definitely shines when you play it, though. We didn’t experience any kind of slow-down or jagginess in the graphics, and the playability never dwindled as we rotated our 9.7-inch tablet from the left to the right, turning our way around the tracks.

There are different ways to control your car, from automatic braking and accelerating and you simply turning the iPad to navigate your car, along with touch-based controls for steering, braking, and acceleration. We would recommend trying every version out before you choose one, as they all add something to the mix. The game offers up a career mode, quick races, leaderboards, and a profile that you can load into the game from the game’s website, so that all your stats are tracked. Even more so, you can have your best races, placement in tournaments (leagues), all routed to Twitter and Facebook as well, to gloat to all your friend. Get the fastest time in a race? You can upload the video to your YouTube account as well.

It all boils down to the game, even with all those extra features, and Real Racing HD doesn’t disappoint in the slightest. It’s fun, has a ridiculous amount of replayability, and it’s amazing to look at and watch. Yes, you may look like a psycho in public as you rotate that big screen in front of your face, but we assure you, it will be worth it.

Game price: $9.99

Fieldrunners for iPad: This game, if you have an iPhone, should have already been a staple of your gaming experience. But, if not, then there’s no better way to experience it than on the iPad. The larger screen, and faster underbelly, all works together to bring the best of the game to the forefront. Even watching the little characters run across the screen looks remarkably better, and the game is smooth enough that it makes us want to play it non-stop. Of course, tower defense games are a niche market, so if you’re not a fan of that style of gameplay, then this game is definitely not for you.

Though, we can’t honestly say we don’t recommend at least trying it. Truth be told, it’s fun. A lot of fun, and when we’re sitting here taking down our favorite games for Apple’s tablet, this one is definitely at the top of the pile for a reason. There are five levels to choose from, all of which add a little bit more to the table than the level before it. There are three game modes: “Classic,” “Extended,” and “Endless.” Along with three difficulties: easy, medium, and hard.

You unlock levels as you beat the ones already unlocked. It makes it so that you have something to work for, and we can applaud their decision. As we said, as you get further into the game and unlock the new maps, the game definitely adds some replayability. We believe that Fieldrunners for iPad is one of those titles that was specifically destined to make it to an Apple tablet, and now that it has, it fits right at home.

Game price: $7.99

N.O.V.A.: Another one of those titles that was available on the iPhone, but makes a lot more sense on the iPad. The larger screen, faster processor, and better graphics capabilities all make the First Person Shooter (FPS) just work this time around. (Not that it was bad on the iPhone/iPod Touch, but here it just makes more sense.) Labeled by many as the “Halo for the iPad,” the game does indeed play very well.

Which, coming from game publisher Gameloft, doesn’t surprise us at all. As soon as you turn on the game, you’ll be introduced to a beautiful CG-rendered movie, and then the beautiful start screen. You have options such as “New Game,” “Multiplayer,” and “Levels” right from the start. Multiplayer is done either locally, from iPad to iPad thanks to Bluetooth, or via online. To play online you’ll need to create a Gameloft LIVE account and password. The few games we played online were far better than we could have anticipated, and it’s one of the reasons the game made the top 5.

The first person campaign is as robust as it gets, too. It has a lot of levels, and while we can’t necessarily say that the campaign has replayability on its own merits, the game offers up Achievements for you to win as you progress through it, so that does open up a few doors for future play through. Of course, the multiplayer is what you’ll keep coming back to, especially if you’re a competitive gamer.

Game price: $9.99

Plants vs Zombies HD: Another tower defense game, and yet another title that made an appearance on the iPhone before it managed to grab some screen time on the iPad. And, just like every other situation, it looks so much better on the iPad. Not only that, but it plays better, too.

This is another tower defense game, but with a bit of a twist. Unlike others, especially Fieldrunners, you are only able to defend in one direction: forward. Zombies are encroaching on your house, and the only way you can stop them is with . . . Plants. Yes, that’s right. Plants. You get to plant them, like the peashooter, in the way of the oncoming zombies, and hope that your plant weapons can stop the marauding masses. Sure, it may sound ridiculous, but you have to see it to believe it.

And, in the end, it’s fun. It took us a few times to get used to it, but as soon as we did, we were hooked. The graphics are smooth, there’s no slow down, and the colors simply pop off the screen. Plus, it’s as addictive as any other tower defense game (coming very close to Fieldrunner’s addictiveness), and that’s a win in our corner. Though, again, if you’re not a fan of defending things, this isn’t for you. The game also features Achievements, so the replayability is definitely there, even beyond just wanting to kill zombies with a peashooter.

Game price: $9.99