Earlier this week we were invited to get hands-on with a selection of new iPad games from publisher EA set to hit the Apple App Store (hopefully) in time for Christmas. Some we can’t talk about just yet, but some we can, such as the brilliant iPad-sized versions of Monopoly and Sim City Deluxe. Read on for our first iPad impressions and hands-on photos.
iPhone 4 users may have played some of them already, but on iPad they’re something else. Some even have new tasty features specific to iPad that you won’t see on iPhone. Here’s our brief hands-on thoughts of each of the new EA iPad games:
Monopoly for iPad
With Scrabble already flourishing on the Apple iPad it’s a little strange Monopoly has yet to make it onto the App Store. But it soon will. And it’s never looked better. The increased real estate of the iPad really brings the game to life so much you’d be forgiven for never wanting to play the actual board version. It plays just as well as the iPhone version currently available, but on a much grander scale.
Check out our Best iPad games Top 5 now
Players can play in five different environments including an intergalactic spaceship setting. Can the real thing do that? Very few haven’t played Monopoly, but for complete novices a new to iPad Teacher Mode tells players how to play. Playing with others is easy. Bluetooth lets you play with up to three other players on their own iPad. Not made of iPads? A Tabletop mode puts player positions at each end of the iPad as it were a virtual board. We found the iPad to be the perfect size when playing against another player. Another iPad specific feature is a move log that displays all moves taken to eliminate fibbing players and help you develop a strategy.
Out TBC | £TBC
Sim City Deluxe for iPad
Like the iPhone offering Sim City Deluxe on iPad lets you play God with a city of your own design, whilst juggling the economy, meeting natural disasters head-on and more. Sim City Deluxe on iPad looks gorgeous. From the skyscrapers to the little vehicles milling about, every detail is magnified in full eye-pleasing detail. The game transforms from a plaything to waste a bit of time to feeling more like a proper city simulator.
New to the iPad version are a number of dockable pop-ups designed to let you keep an eye on your city’s economy, housing, plumbing and more at a glance using on-screen widgets that update in real-time to make the most of your iPad screen. For those serious about Sim City it looks a must.
Out TBC | £TBC
Which iPad game are you looking forward to most? Let us know in the comments section below. Till then, take a look at those mentioned in the photo gallery above.
