16 Games and Entertainment
In this chapter, we look at apps that exist for entetainment purposes such as viewing movies, reading comics, listening to music or playing games.
→ Watching Movies with Netflix
→ Listening to Music with Pandora
You can view a lot of information and get a lot of work done on the iPad, but it is still a great device for entertainment. The majority of entertainment apps out there are games, but there are also some general entertainment apps that we can take a look at.
Watching Movies with Netflix
Netflix started as a DVD rental service using mail rather than retail stores, but it is quickly changing into an online video rental service. One of the first acclaimed apps for the iPad was the Netflix app. Netflix subscribers can use it to rent and watch movies right on their iPads.
Reading Comics
The iPad is a great platform for reading comics. The Marvel Comics app is one of the many comic book apps that enables you to purchase and read comics. It has some of the best graphic quality and comes with some free issues.
Listening to Music with Pandora
The iPod app isn’t the only way to listen to music on your iPad. In addition to the many streaming Internet radio station apps, there is Pandora, which enables you make your own radio station based on a song or artist.
Composing Music
The iPad’s large touch screen lends itself nicely to music creation. The Pianist Pro app gives you a large keyboard on the screen and many instruments you can simulate. You can also add a drum track and record tracks on top of each other.
Playing iPad Games
Even if you purchased your iPad to stay connected, get work done, or watch videos, you might want to check out the rich and wonderful world of games.
With the touch screen and accelerometer control, the iPhone and iPod Touch turned out to be fertile ground for game developers. Add to that the large screen and fast processor of the iPad and you have a powerful and unique gaming device.
Let’s take a look at some of the best games for the iPad.
Air Hockey
At first glance, this game looks simple. You control a paddle by moving your finger across the screen. You can play against a computer opponent that is actually quite challenging.
What’s special is the ability to play against a second player at the other end of your iPad. Just set it down on a table and play head-to-head. This is made possible by the multitouch screen. The iPad needs to keep track of two fingers on the iPad. And it does it very smoothly.
Harbor Master
One of the new game genres that appeared on the iPhone was the draw-to-direct type of game. It first appeared with a game called Flight Control, which is also available on the iPad.
Harbor Master takes the genre a little further. The idea is you direct ships into docks by drawing with your finger. Simply draw a line from the ship to the dock and the ship follows the path.
The game gets harder as you go along, with more and more ships unloading cargo and then sailing away. You have to make sure the ships find a dock and that they never collide.
Implode!
Physics games are popular on the iPhone and iPad. In these games you destroy or somehow alter an environment and try to achieve a goal.
With Implode!, the goal is simply to destroy a building made of simple blocks. You do this by placing explosives on different blocks and then triggering the explosion.
The goal gets harder to achieve as the buildings get sturdier with each level. You also need to avoid hitting nearby buildings with flying debris.
Angry Birds
Another type of physics-based game is one that uses a canon, or similar devices, to shoot projectiles at a structure. In the early days of iPad gaming, the leader in this genre is Angry Birds.
In this game, you shoot birds at a structure using a slingshot. Your goal is to destroy the pigs living in the building. Sounds a bit strange, but behind the premise is a good physics simulation that presents challenges with every level.
Cogs HD
If puzzle games are more to your liking, try Cogs HD. At first, it looks like a sliding puzzle game. You slide blocks around on a 2D grid. But the purpose isn’t to put a picture together but to get a machine to work.
Then, add the third dimension. Some of the machines have puzzles on each side, and you must connect cogs and steam pipes across surfaces. The levels get more and more inventive.
Galcon Fusion
Galcon was a huge hit on the iPhone, and all the time you couldn’t help but wonder how much better it would be on a larger touch screen. Now we know, because we have Galcon Fusion for the iPad.
In this game, you conquer a small cluster of planets using ships. The game looks like a strategy game, and you must use strategy to win. But it plays like an arcade game because all you do is tap and drag to send ships from one planet to another.
Plants vs. Zombies
Zombies are attacking your house, and you need to defend it. So what do you use? Strange mutant fighting plants, of course.
It sounds weird, and it is. But as a fun strategy game, it works. It plays like a tower-defense style game but with fun elements that you find in those $20 PC game downloads.
WeRule
If you like your strategy game with castles and medieval farming, WeRule has that, plus strong social networking features as well.
You build your fiefdom in a virtual world by planting farms and constructing buildings. Leave the game and come back, and you find your peasants have been busy building and farming in your absence. Invite friends to play and join you in neighboring plots of land.
Scrabble
My favorite game on the iPhone was Scrabble. The same game comes to the iPad but with some special new features. Not only can you play against a tough computer opponent, a friend on Facebook, or your local network, but you can also play against a friend in the same room, using your iPhones.
You just both download the Tile Rack app for the iPhone and then use the iPad as the main game board; your tiles appear only on your iPhones.
Labyrinth 2 HD
The accelerometers in your iPad know how you are holding it, and games can use that to let you control them. Perhaps the simplest implementation of that is to hold your iPad parallel to the ground and roll a virtual marble on the screen.
Simple, yes. But it is still quite interesting and challenging. Labryrinth 2 is one of a few games that uses this mechanic. It has many different levels with neat little obstacles like switches, canons, lasers, fans, pinball bumpers, and so on.
Real Racing HD
A much more advanced use of accelerometers is when you use them to steer a car while racing. There are many racing games for the iPhone, and some have already made their way over to the iPad.
Real Racing HD is one that has excellent graphics and game play. It also has lots of options, including a career mode, car choices, and so on. It is close to some console racing games in features and graphics.
Tap Tap Radiation
If you are looking for music games, there are plenty for the iPhone and iPad. But the king of the hill is the Tap Tap series. For the iPad, they have the free Tap Tap Radiation.
If you have played Guitar Hero or Rock Band before, you already know the general idea. Dots flow toward you, and you tap on the circles when the dots reach them. It is a rhythm game, basically. If you like music, this is a great way to turn music into a game.
This is just a sample of some of the best games out there. More are coming to the App Store every day. By the time you read this, dozens, if not hundreds, of new worthwhile games will be out. So there is sure to be something that fits your style.