Jon Edwards
The great thing about Apple’s portable devices for fans of simulation games is that you can actually live more of a life while spending almost every waking moment tweaking some setting or researching new technology, or exploring a series of bad decisions as you go to war with your neighbor.
This is a good thing.
What follows are six of the most engaging simulation type games I’ve come across this week, with many of them available in the HD format for the iPad.
Of course, these all work just as well with any of Apple’s smaller-screened iOS-powered devices. And they’re all great fun, enjoy.
Civilization Revolution
$12.99
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3cI-kTBRNs
You can’t be a serious sim player without taking a look at Sid Meier’s Civilization long-lived franchise, which has set the level for strategy gaming.
Civilization Revolution lets players customize the world and game parameters to create hundreds of different scenarios and game types. The iPad version has been updated and optimized for the iPad’s larger 1,024×768 pixel high resolution screen.
I won’t dwell on this superior title — at $12.99 it is expensive, but you do get a high quality gaming experience as you lead your civilization from the dawn of man to the modern age and beyond.
EA: The Sims 3
$6.99
The Sims has stolen more time from more people across the planet than almost any other game ever, though that’s just an opinion.
Here we see Electronic Arts Mobile at it again, bringing the outstanding version of the game to Apple’s devices, and yes, it was the number one bestselling game on iTunes last year.
What happens? You create a Sim and then guide that hapless being through every element of their life. How they work, how they eat, what they wear and more. It never ends. You will find yourself abandoning social life and culinary responsibilities just to make sure your Sim’s social life is full and they eat.
It really is that addictive, and this is why you’ll need it now.
Command & Conquer: Red Alert
$12.99
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zx0G5phXfYk
This is a classic, if you have an iPad we urge you take a look at it today — it really is a leading light.
Fight for the Soviets, the Allies, or the Empire of the Rising Sun with this powerful iPad essential.
Moving around your map is perfectly intuitive — just drag units by tapping your finger, command them into the attack, pinch and zoom to get a better view.
The reactive combat system plunges you into the action with the triple-touch Selection Box, allowing you to quickly choose and send combat units into battle.
You get even better graphics on the iPad version and you also enjoy head-to-head multiplayer action using WiFi or Bluetooth. An awesome game.
CastleCraft
Free
A personal favorite, this game has all the features of a sim — immersive micromanagement, unexpected twists, infuriating technology development decisons and more.
But it is also one of the new breed of massive multiplayer titles for Apple’s devices. Your job is to build and manage your city and then expand your empire, carving a little slice out as you do. Thing is — there’s other people out there to stop you.
Once you have your territory running it runs even when you aren’t around, slowly accumulating resources while you plan your next upgrade.
Good music and an active and busy in-game chat system and other nice elements make this a pleasant past time. How do they make their money? This title lets you purchase upgrades in the form of crystals, which you buy for real cash as an in-game purchase.
Space Station: Frontier
$2.99
You are in charge of a mining operation out there in deep space. Everything is fine, in a tedious mining each day kind of a way, and then the aliens came, and that’s when things got interesitng.
Gameplay follows the usual formula, harvest precious energy, fortify your station, build up your firepower to defend humanity’s domain on this new frontier.
There’s lots of user control, make your own weapons and mining tools, design vast structures, earn upgrades and more. There are story-based, endless, mission and multi-player modes.
EA Mobile: Spore Creatures
$6.99
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rn-82q58fy4
Spore Origins for iPhone started it all for EA, Spore Creatures takes that original and extends it, adding more elements to gameplay and more.
An quite beautifully designed 3D sim game play is incredibly addictive. Your mission is to survive the hostile environment while earning the DNA you need to evolve new body parts, which you add to your creature in the itself highly entertaining (and also addictive) Spore Creature Creator.
Action takes place in one of four zones, (Sandy Shores, Barren Desert, Dark Forest and Icy Mountains), all of which are unlocked by evolving a creature with the correct body parts. You face obstacles like creatures, objects and traps with movement controlled by the accelerometer.
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