Top 10 Best iPad Games: Touch-Based Fun!

The iPad is an all new gaming platform, and one that may prove to be a serious contender to established platforms already on the market. While the iPad suffers from a severe lack of standout titles, the potential for great gaming is no less evident with the following ten games.  

 

The Secret of Monkey Island 

The fact that The Secret of Monkey Island is one of the best adventure games ever made is not up for debate. You play the role of Guybrush Threepwood, pirate-in-training. The fact that he has a funny name is established very early in the game when you speak to a pirate named Mancomb Seepgood.  

Guybrush wants to become a pirate, and to do that, he has to go through three perilous trials. Along the way, Guybrush encounters Elaine Marley, with whom he falls in love, and incurs the wrath of the evil ghost pirate LeChuck.When Elaine is inevitably kidnapped by LeChuck, Guybrush must prove himself a mighty pirate and rescue her.  

Made in the early 90s, The Secret of Monkey Island has since been remade for a new audience, featuring completely new high resolution graphics, voice acting, soundtrack and a new point-and-click user interface. The iPad version of the game is easily the best version thanks to the touch-based interface. Realizing that I’ll have to clarify what I mean by that, I’ll go on to state that the original game was played through a keyboard and mouse driven interface, requiring you to select an action before interacting with an object. The new interface is entirely context-sensitive, and allows you to simply select an item without choosing an action to perform, removing the tedious process of trial and error.  

 

Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge 

In “LeChuck’s Revenge”, you once again take on the role of Guybrush Threepwood, now a mighty pirate. Little is known about the events that take place between the “Secret” and “LeChuck’s Revenge”, except that Guybrush unwittingly resurrected the ghost pirate LeChuck. LeChuck, now a zombie, plots revenge against Guybrush, while Guybrush attempts to win back Elaine’s love, which he somehow lost. To prove his love to Elaine, Guybrush must make his way across the Caribbean in a quest to acquire a mythical treasure called the Big Whoop.  

Like the first game, “LeChuck’s Revenge” is completely redesigned with new high resolution art and plays with the new touch-based interface on the iPad.  

Being a standalone title, it is possible to play “Monkey Island 2” without first playing “Secret”, but it’s a much better experience if you play them both in proper order.  

 

Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars 

It’s hard to come by an intelligently written game with a story fit for a mystery novel--but “Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars” has a story that Dan Brown himself could’ve written. Don’t get me wrong--I’m not calling Dan Brown an amazing writer, but as far as mystery novels about the Templars, he’s the man to go to.  

It should be surprising to many that “Broken Sword” was made years before Dan Brown’s “The DaVinci Code” became a bestseller. Those acquainted with the genre would note that both “The DaVinci Code” and “Broken Sword” were both inspired by the conspiracy novel “The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail”.  

Having read the book and its follow-ups, I can say with some authority that “Broken Sword” is the defining conspiracy game, staying very true to its source material. “Broken Sword” even references persons like Pierre Plantard, a key character of the aforementioned books. In the real world, Plantard is a discredited journalist who more or less invented the Templar conspiracy theory for personal gain. But in the books, the man is an enigma with a world of fiction built around him. It’s an interesting fiction, and “Broken Sword” immerses you in it.  

Originally developed for the PC, “Broken Sword” for the iPad features new high resolution graphics, context sensitive controls and a touch-based interface. The game has never been better. 

 

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