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10 of the best mobile games

Feature by Ben Briggs, October 24, 2009

We review iPhone games from a gaming perspective - or how much fun the game can be in general. What we don't cover is how they suit you when you're mobile. Standing around, waiting for a bus, sat down in a hospital waiting room, on your break at work, or even standing in line at the checkout. We've compiled 10 of our favourite games that are easy to play when you're on the go.

All of these games allow freeze game state which is perfect for mobile play - knowing that when you come back you can resume at exactly the point you left the game. So, without further ado;

10. Crystal Clear, C

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Titles like this one aren't revolutionary - indeed there was a lot more we wished for here, but it's quick to load and easy to play, so it makes our list.

9. Unify, B

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Unify's slow, measured gameplay is perfect in short bursts - it's a puzzle title that makes full use of the iPhone hardware, and that makes it a lot more interesting than the Tetris clones from which it derives.

8. Peggle, A

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Perhaps the ultimate slice of addictive iPhone pie, Peggle makes 8 on our list for its super casual flair. It's great for mobile as all you need to do is line up your first shot, then you can let the game do its thing. We'd have put it up further on the list but the loading time is rather long.

7. Scoops, B

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Scoops makes our list for the joy you can get out of playing it - it's really simple and since NimbleBit revamped the graphics and engine it's great to play whilst on the go.

6. The Creeps, A

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We couldn't compile a list without a tower defence title - The Creeps is one of our favourites for it's terrific graphics and sound. It's a perfect introduction to newcomers of the genre, but is also just a blast to play.

5. Zentomino, B

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Zentomino allows for as many puzzles on the go at once as you'd like, and it's a superb fit for the iPhone as a whole. No time limits, just serene jigsaw like construction.

4. Zen Bound, A

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A rich, intense experience and even more so with proper headphones, Zen Bound is a great example of perfect execution - the fact that it's brilliant for when you're on the go puts it high up on our list.

3. Meteor Blitz, A

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This title shocked us with it's super fast loading times and addictive, breakneck gameplay. Coupled with the fact that it has an intelligent auto pause system it's become one of our go to games.

2. Gaia, B

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Gaia has been on our iPods for quite some time, and its one mode is superbly executed. It's designed for mobile play and quite easily can be shut off or on at a whim. Even though we've overdosed on playing this one, it's easily up there with the best puzzle titles on the App Store.

Don't you just hate it when top 10 lists delay the introduction of the number one game? Yeah, we hate that too.

1. Lexic, B

Lexic icon

Lexic is a perfect execution of a word game for iPhone. While it's not boundary breaking, it does many things right. We've only had it for a short time but already it's become a go to game. If you're going to only have one word game on your device, make it Lexic.

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