Holiday Gift Guide 2010: iPhone Games @ Gaming Target

Written by Matt Swider on December 24, 2010

Specials: Need an instant gift to give that long lost relative that you forgot you had? Try one of these six App Store games on the iPhone.

Cut the Rope

Giving you the chance to become the Edward Scissorhands of the iPhone generation, Cut the Rope has you slicing ropes in order to deliver a delicious piece of candy to cute cartoon monsters. Spikes, the nether-regions along the borders and, most of all, pesky gravity are the main obstacles to keeping these green, sweet-toothed monsters happy. This sort of physics-based game is ideal for the iPhone and at $.99, Cut the Rope won't cut into you wallet.

Guitar Hero

In more ways than one, Guitar Hero for iPhone is going to cost you. First, it's $2.99, which isn't a terrible price for an app, but it's more expensive than many of the bargain-priced games that reach the top of the paid app charts. Second, it's 121 MB, which is larger than many of my iPhone games combined. 8 GB iPhone owners beware. Lastly, it only comes with six free songs: "We Are The Champions" by Queen, "Savior" by Rise Against, "Paint It Black" by The Rolling Stones, "Seven Nation Army" by The White Stripes, "Say It Ain't So" by Weezer, "Cousins" by Vampire Weekend. All of that being said, Guitar Hero is in fine form on the iPhone, with finger shredding fun that'll feel familiar to gamers used to the axe.

Rock Band

For two music games that sync up on video game consoles like smooth barbershop harmony, Rock Band and Guitar Hero couldn't be any more different on the iPhone. Rock Band features drums and tapping to the "vocals" in addition to the guitar and bass parts, while Guitar Hero limits itself the the latter two options. Rock Band is more expensive than Guitar Hero at its current $4.99 price point over Guitar Hero's current $2.99 entry fee. However that extra $2 fetches you 32 free songs compared to Guitar Hero's measly six. Rock Band is all about selling $.99 individual tracks, whereas Guitar Hero focuses on 3-song track packs for $1.99 - which is cheaper in the long run if you like all of the songs. Lastly, Rock Band let's you test the app with a convenient free version, but you have to really like "Learn to Fly" by Foo Fighters.

Angry Birds

Angry Birds slingshot its way to the top of the app store charts, making it Chillingo's breakout game ahead of Cut the Rope, our first recommendation. Launching wingless, flightless birds across the screen to squish green pigs makes for an addicting physics-based game on the go. This is the best trial-and-error game for $.99 since 2008's Enigmo.

Wackylands Boss

Chillingo's latest hit is Wackylands Boss and it too offers a set of holiday levels. The game features a giant evil boss that mercilessly beats down upon tiny knights, archers and wizards. The twist here is that you're the evil boss! Being the bad guy is fun sometimes, especially when the boss character is incredible customizable. Everything from eyes to armor can be configured as you roam kingdoms including the North Pole to terrorize innocent people with touchscreen controls. Wackylands Boss is a slower-paced beat-?em-up game, but its unlockable equipment makes it an engrossing app in which you can engage in holiday cheer, nonetheless.

Doodle Jump Christmas

Doodle Jump has all of our favorite holidays covered?Easter, Halloween, the World Cup?so, it was only natural that developer LimaSky would add a Christmas theme for $.99. Your platform-jumping Doodler isn't much different than before. It still automatically leaps into the air, is controlled by your phone's accelerometer and dies whenever it falls below the screen's fold. But now, the Doodler wears a Santa hat! Okay, there's a little more to this mobile download than that. Grinch-like monsters try to rain on your platform-hopping parade while snow falls down in front of the North Pole backdrops.