Gamertell

There are quite a few games I’m eager to try out on the iPad and I’m going to list off ten of them over two articles. The five here are games I’ve already played on my iPhone. Later this week I’ll round up five I haven’t yet played, either because they haven’t been released or I just didn’t think the iPhone would do them justice. I have no guarantee that iPad optimized versions of any of these games will be released but I think that most are a safe bet, starting with…

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Hudson Soft’s Calling is the latest survival horror game for the Wii. There have been plenty of these as of late, and Calling is happy to wedge itself somewhere between Ju-On: The Grudge (a haunted house simulator) and Silent Hill: Shattered Memories (a psychological thriller), except that Calling is actually better than both. You heard me…Calling is better than Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, and that’s simply because it’s scarier. Much scarier.

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About a week ago, I left Macworld Expo feeling good about the state of gaming on the Macintosh. I mean, can I really hold game publishers responsible for not making the trek out to San Francisco? Hardly any developers were there this year, but the expo still managed to pack in the faithful. I think many of the companies who took this year off will return in January 2011. But for now, screw them. Let’s talk about one of the companies that did bother to show up for Macworld Expo: Telltale Games.

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Appletell’s Editor-In-Chief waxes nostalgic for the days when Apple attended Macworld and the Mac was the best computer system for playing games.

“I used to go to Macworld Expos in New York City, and there used to be games there. Plenty of games. Aspyr, Freeverse, Ambrosia, MacSoft, MacPlay and more. There were gaming pavilions with competitions and prizes. Displays with forthcoming games. MacPlay pitched a tent and donned fatigues to promote their latest first-person shooter, and MacSoft drove me around Manhattan in a limousine. I won’t tell you that times have changed but…”

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The combination of flight-sim and arcade action makes for an odd little anti-war wargame that also happens to be the best air combat sim currently on the Wii. It has its troubles, none of which should deter you if you’ve been pining for quality dogfighting action since finishing Blazing Angels.

The Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces won’t take over your gaming world but it’s a title you’ll have plenty of fun going back to when you need a break from whatever else you’re playing.

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Fighting Fantasy: The Warlock of Firetop Mountain may be the greatest videogame title of all time, right? Doesn’t it just sound kick-ass? You’ve got fighting, you’ve got fantasy, you’ve got warlocks and you’ve got mountains with fire on top of them, apparently. What else do you need… other than a skeleton? If this game were called Fighting Fantasy: The Skeleton Warlock of Firetop Mountain, it would’ve ruptured my geek gland.

Obviously, with a title like this, the developers are aiming at the hardcore crowd. This therefore isn’t your typical DS game and probably shouldn’t even be on this system. It’s better suited for the PC or PSP (a version for which was canceled) gaming audience. But here it is on the DS, so fans of hardcore dungeon crawlers can celebrate, provided they’re willing to put up with some problems.

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James Cameron’s Avatar The Game is unique among movie tie-ins in that, rather than basing it on the movie, it appears to be based on the trailer. Or maybe just the one sheet or concept drawings. I don’t know but if you buy this expecting to play through the rather thrilling adventure that is Avatar, prepare to be disappointed.

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Clash of Heroes is set in the venerable Might & Magic universe. I’ve played a couple of those games on my Mac, but this entry is quite a bit different. It’s not your traditional turn-based strategy game, but an odd mix of that, RPG and Bejeweled-style gem matching games. If you’re thinking, “Oh, you mean Puzzle Quest,” then I’ll have to work harder to explain what makes Clash of Heroes so much better.

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Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers has a lot going for it. The graphics are fantastic, the story and characters are fun, and the action is varied and frantic…when you’re actually doing something. And yet, the game is never quite as enjoyable as it should be. It meanders and tends to get lost in its own ambition to appeal to the broad Wii audience. As a result, serious adventure gamers will find it too casual, while casual gamers will find it too adventurous.

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In video game mysteries (as opposed to novels or movies), I get to investigate the crime scene myself. I can put together the evidence and reach my own conclusion (within a certain framework, of course). The crime is mine to solve, not just observe. But unfortunately, that’s not actually the case with Dreamcatcher Interactive’s Agatha Christie: The ABC Murders. Rather, this game is mainly a collection of puzzles framed by the popular story by Agatha Christie.

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