I recently discovered Archon in the iPhone app store. Archon makes my list of games that should be remade. It is a great twist on chess where pieces actually battle it out instead of one piece automatically winning, and it has a lot of imaginative pieces such as a unicorn that shoots rays out of its horn and a mimic that turns into whatever it is fighting.
After downloading it from the app store and playing around with it for the last few days, it got me to thinking about some other great classic games I'd love to see on the iPhone.
Master of Magic. This classic fantasy 4X strategy game still remains one of the best turn-based strategy games of all time. The different schools of magic and wide variety of character creation options meant that you really could put together a number of different strategies to win the game. And turn-based strategy would go hand-in-hand with the smartphone, where you might need to stop a game to take a call and pick up where you left off later.
Super Mario Bros. This one is just such a blast to play that it really deserves an iPhone makeover even if it is just a quick port that puts a thumb control on the screen. One of the most popular games of all time, I'm not exactly holding my breath for Nintendo to port the game to a potential rival of its DS portable game system. For those who have jailbroken their phone, there is an NES emulator.
Twisted Metal. This is one of the funnest demolition derby-style games of all time. For those that never played it on the Sony PlayStation, you can pick one of thirteen different vehicles to drive around a small areas and blast other drivers with missiles, machine guns or just smashing into them. There simply hasn't been a great demolition derby game since Twisted Metal 2, its sequel. And with the iPhone's unique racing controls, Twisted Metal seems like a no-brainer.
Elite. Many genres of video games can point back to one game that defined the genre. Elite is that game for space sims. Written back in the days when graphics meant a bunch of rough polygons on your screen, Elite was one of the first "sandbox" games with no true ending other than amassing wealth through trading, bounty hunting and/or pirating. The ultimate goal: to be considered an Elite space pilot. Elite is another game that would transfer well to the iPhone's unique game controls.
Magic Carpet. If there exists a game that is begging for an iPhone translation, it is magic carpet. What can I say? You ride around on a magic carpet, kill monsters, collect spells and then cast some spells that actually effect the terrain, like blasting a crevice with an earthquake spell. Could there be a more perfect iPhone game?
Best free trivia games for the iPhone
The difference between iPhone 3GS and iPhone 3G graphics
The iPhone Guide
Comments
I was the developer of the graphic engine of Magic Carpet. I'm working on an iPhone game right now (info at glenncorpes.com)
The iPhone would, as you point out, be a great platform for Magic Carpet and as my current game shows, it's more than capable of drawing the landscape. This subject recently came up on Touch Arcade.
Elite for the iPhone - I would pay top dollar for that
Come to think of it I might glue a ZX Spectrum to a Nokia and carry a TV under my arm to get that.
Got something to say?
Examiner.com is looking for writers, photographers, and videographers to join the fastest growing group of local insiders. If you are interested in growing your online rep apply to be an Examiner today!