We’ve been playing the new iPhone version of The Secret Of Monkey Island obsessively since launch yesterday, and all the touchscreen swashbuckling action got us wondering, what other retro games is the iPhone crying out for to help ease your commute? First person shooters prove a bit tricky to play, even if they clearly can be done, so we’ve scribbled down some of the games we reckon would best make the jump to touchscreen controls. Here’s the fruits of our brainstorm – iPhone game developers take note!
1. Maniac Mansion: Day Of The Tentacle
This point and click LucasArts adventure goes straight into the number 1 spot, because while it’s every bit as good as Monkey Island or Sam & Max the studio’s left it to rot. Seriously guys, what’s up with that? The click to move controls would be a doddle to port, as Monkey Island’s shown. Can we have an iPhone revival please? Thanks.
2. Commander Keen
Before id software made a little known game called Doom, the studio was a dab hand at platformers, and finest of the bunch was the Commander Keen series. It saw you bouncing around on a pogostick, collecting lollipops and Pepsi cans and blasting wolves dressed in drag with your laser. You’d need the on-screen D-pad for this one, but the speed of the game is pitched perfectly for it.
3. Syndicate Wars
The iPhone is certainly up to handling the isometric graphics of this 1996 strategy classic, as well as the controls. Nothing beats a good bit of espionage and assassination on the bus.
Monkey Island for iPhone sets sail for App Store
4. Command & ConquerWe’re sure the iPhone 3GS is up to this one. Face off as the Brotherhood of Nod or the Global Defense Initiative in a touchscreen tactical fight to the death. You could even play deathmatches with friends using the iPhone OS 3.0′s bluetooth skills.
5. Descent
Back in 1995, this original sci-fi sim/shooter blew people’s minds thanks to its full 3D rotation, but while that’s nothing new today, it’d still be a tall order to navigate around the maps on an iPhone, especially with up to 7 players on your tail. Fun though.
6. Theme Hospital
Theme Park didn’t work so well on the Nintendo DS, but the smaller scale of Theme Hospital would be perfect for the touchscreen iPhone controls – you could even tilt to move across the building. Burst all those bloaty heads with a tap of your finger and pluck people’s barnets to cure them of hairyitis. If this doesn’t happen, we’re going to need some prozac.
7. The Dig
We’re still waiting for the film version of this LucasArts adventure and the brainchild of Steven Spielberg, but we’d take a re-release on the iPhone in the meantime, so long as it didn’t take so long to develop this time around. The dark and spooky alien world to uncover would certainly make a break from all the light, kaleidoscopic fluff to be found on the iPhone App Store.
8. Dungeon KeeperIf this ever made its way on to your iPod touch it wouldn’t so much be the “funnest iPod ever” as the most dastardly. Bullfrog’s brilliant strategy game saw you inflicting all sorts of pain on your minions, and is crying out for a touchscreen makeover. Let’s just hope Apple sees the funny side and doesn’t ban it for being too evil.
9. Grim Fandango
We’re mentioning LucasArts again because it makes great games, OK? Or at least did, and Grim Fandango, a hysterical adventure romp through the land of the dead was one of the very best. We’d love to see a version of Manny on mobile that made use of the iPhone 3GS’s swish graphics, so let’s hope this App Store split starts sooner rather than later.
10. Silver
Sticking with more graphically advanced games from yesteryear, this medieval RPG from the late 90s has huge potential with an iPhone conversion. Not just because it was fantastically addictive (it was), but because the unusual fighting system saw you pulling off slashes, parries and combos with mouse gestures. We reckon they’d be easily replicated with multitouch finger prods.
