30 best iPad games
Trying to figure out which iPad games to buy with your hard-earned dough? Here's a look at our current top-30 favorites.
Waking Mars: Sci-fi fun.
(Credit: Screenshot by Scott Stein/CNET)Editors' note: This post was originally published April 23, 2010, and was updated July 2, 2012, with five new games.
Just in time for July 4 (and a few weeks overdue), here are our top iPad games picks, updated with a few new recommendations perfect for family fun and travel. There are a few new additions this time around: Air Mail, Waking Mars, Pinball Arcade, and Little Things Forever, along with the return of the classic Fruit Ninja.
Wondering which games to buy for your iPad? Well, we've taken our best shot at putting together a list of top titles that we feel meet the criteria for a good iPad game.
And just what does make a good iPad game? We debated it for a while and narrowed it down to these five factors:
- It's gotta be fun (obviously).
- Ergonomics (are the gameplay and control scheme well-suited to the iPad?)
- Uniqueness (though many iPad games play well as upconverted, higher-resolution versions of their iPhone predecessors, we respect new, iPad-exclusive games).
- Value (some of the best iPad games currently carry high price tags, but we also tried to include titles we thought were simply a good value).
- Showoff quotient (extra points if the game flat-out looks good, or makes efficient use of the Retina Display).
With that in mind, here are our current favorites, displayed in alphabetical order. Feel free to sound off with your own picks (or criticize our choices). With new games coming out almost daily, we update this list frequently and take your suggestions to heart.
Read our review of the third-gen iPad, and for more game picks, check out the 15 Best Free iPad Games.
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