And for my third handheld post in a row, the iPhone. Or rather the iPod touch, which is my iDevice of choice for browsing around the App Store. The best part about this whole iPhone gaming thing is the sheer values you can find - there's plenty of free and $0.99 titles worth taking a look at, plus daily price drops and sales to make those impulse buys go down easier. It's a system that still has no killer app or even great games on it, but when you want something quick and dirty to hold your attention for a bit there really is nothing better. The size is perfect, everything loads quickly, the games look great and the control, while limiting, can still be pretty fun when implemented well.
Short burst titles work best for sure, but there's plenty of room for more complicated affairs and I hope we continue to see more of them. There's an incredible amount of crap to sift through, and even the good stuff can end up feeling somewhat uninspired in my opinion. I rarely feel the desire to return to any one title over time and some get completely forgotten, even if it remains fun to rearrange their icons.
I've spent a fair amount of coin in the App Store, but it turns out some of the games I play the most ended up costing me only $10 total:
Sky Burger - Plays with one hand, accelerometer only style. Build giant hamburger orders as ingredients fall from the sky! Simple, calming and easy to get lost in. $2.99 (I paid $0.99)
KarmaStar - Seems odd and complicated at first, but it's really just a great board game in a unique wrapper. A conceptual cousin to The Game of Life but way more interesting and it only takes 5 minutes to get through. $1.99
Drop7 - The puzzle game I've probably spent the most time with, despite maybe liking others more intially. Once it clicked I got hooked, over it now but it's worth playing for sure. $2.99 (I paid $0.99)
Space Deadbeef - It's free and fun. FREE
Moonlight Mahjong - Pricey for what's essentially a majhong game, it's a really great mahjong game. 3D with smooth touch screen control. Been worth it for me. $4.99
UniWar - A well thought out turn based strategy game that borrows elements from Advance Wars and Starcraft. A lot of the charm that made those titles great is lost, but at least it's hex based and super, super cheap. $0.99
So, iPhone/iPod touch as a gaming console: good deals, interesting, and mediocre. Despite it's shortcomings the future of the platform looks bright to me. Bring on Peggle and let's do this already!