The latest, greatest iPhone games

Our new contributer, Simon from Best Mobile Contracts has the low down on some of the best iOS games you can get your grubby mitts on over the festive season.



Almost as though game developers have calendars too, and know Christmas is just around the corner, a load of great stocking-fillers just got released for iPhone. Christmas? No-one buys iPhone games for Christmas, not when it's much easier to buy them for yourself than anyone else... which is why it still makes sense to get some decent games out, this time of year, perfect for picking up to treat yourself, since you're treating everyone else. Most of them cost less than a pint, too.


Infinity Blade II (£4.99 download, iPhone 3GS or better, iOS 3.2 or later)

It's here – the first major game release designed especially for the iPhone 4S, iCloud, and iOS5, as well as the sequel to probably the most critically acclaimed iPhone game ever. And a worthy sequel it is, retaining the original's focus on exciting melee combat action, but adding new fighting styles (you can now use either a two-handed weapon, a weapon and shield, or two weapons, with each option having its own advantages), deeper storytelling, and a richer world to explore.

A few customers have reported lost saved games, despite the iCloud integration with the game. Chair Entertainment are collecting info and working on a fix for this, but in the meantime they recommend downloading the latest iOS5 version to minimise problems.

Despite that minor teething trouble, we're confident in recommending Infinity Blade II as not just the best new iPhone game, but probably the greatest smartphone game ever released.

Bike Baron (£0.69 download, iPhone 3GS or better, iOS 3.2 or later)

If you like racing games, pick up Bike Baron. With zanier humour than Mario Kart, fast motorcycle racing action, 70 levels, and a fully featured level editor, this is well worth sixty-nine pence of anyone's money. Great stuff.









Spell Tower (£0.69 download, iPhone, iOS 4.1 or later)
Spell Tower is a word game, but it goes far beyond the usual Scrabble or Boggle approach, blending in some more traditional video-game aspects. Think Tetris meets Bubble Drop meets an anarchic brain-teaser, and you're close. The designer is a gamer first and foremost, rather than a word buff, and the resulting game is probably the freshest approach to word games that the world has seen since Bananagrams.





Bruce Lee (£1.49 download, iPhone 3GS or better, iOS 4.0 or later)
If that name sounds familiar to the over-40s, that's because this is a port of a 1984 eight-bit classic videogame, originally for the Commodore 64 computer. So, given the inevitably shabby-looking graphics, the price is a little steep – but given the almost equally inevitably amazing gameplay, it might be worth picking up anyway. You can't really go wrong with a platform/beat-em-up hybrid that lets you fight ninjas and sumo wrestlers as Bruce Lee.






Pet Shop Story (Free download, iPhone, iOS 3.0 or later)
If you like Farmville style social tycoon games, but are more into dogs and cats than cows and corn, you should at least try out Pet Shop Story. Breed your own strange hybrids, compete with or help your friends (including on the Facebook version), customise your pet shop's appearance, and enjoy the top-notch graphics.