Puzzle/shooter
Orbital (iPhone)
Retro-style vector graphics and a simple idea make this puzzle shooter an instant classic. Pop bubbles to build a score without filling the screen. Utterly addictive.
Shooter
NOVA (iPhone)
Almost a fully-fledged shooter on an iPhone. Space marines, tooled up enemies, exotic environments, vehicles and a great online multiplayer mode, too.
Open world
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (iPhone)
Proof that the iPhone is a ‘proper’ gaming platform. This is the real GTA deal, albeit the top-down, DS-style game, rather than the full console one.
Adventure
Broken Sword (iPhone)
A classic point ’n’ click adventure with a plot eerily like the Da Vinci Code (which came later) and oodles of atmosphere. Totally engrossing.
Life simulation
Astro Ranch (iPhone)
Fans of Harvest Moon will love this. It’s a space-based farming game complete with quirky alien villagers, romance and, yes, a spot of fishing.
Puzzle
Tetris Revolution (mobile)
Revolution is one of the best versions of classic puzzler Tetris out there. Here, you can train with some of the best Tetris players in the world.
Puzzle
Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor (iPhone)
Guide a spider through 28 locations spinning webs and catching bugs. An atmospheric and affecting puzzler.
Strategy
Uniwar (iPhone)
We may never get Nintendo’s astonishingly good Advance Wars on iPhone, but this cheap, cheerful, addictive slice of turn-based wargaming will do us just fine.
Platforming
Doodle Jump (iPhone)
Bounce your way up to a high score using platforms, springs, helicopter hats and jetpacks while avoiding enemies and hazards.
Puzzle
Peggle (iPhone)
The modern day version of an old Victorian Bagatelle machine. Fire balls to hit coloured pegs. There’s a lot of luck involved, but some skill, too.
The best retro moble games
Dragon’s Lair
Not really a game but a test of remembering a sequence of button presses. Even so, it’s got HUUUGE nostalgia value and it looks great.
Commodore 64
A Commodore 64 emulator that gets better with every new super cheap game released. Fiddly controls can’t ruin this retro delight. Uridium, anyone?
Q*bert
An insanely annoying, yet brilliant, arcade classic in which a knob-nosed Q*bert jumps on cubes while being attacked by bouncing bad guys.
Frotz
The ugliest game in the world, this App enables you to play classic text adventures like Zork. Joy for beardy old computer geeks.
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