10 Best Games for the iPad … so far

Gamers are already going nuts for the iPad. No wonder. Multi-touch brings the tactile closer to the electronic world, the wide screen can offer breathtaking graphics, and the faster processor makes the tablet faster and slicker than its iPhone cousin. We’ve round up the 10 Best iPad games to rock the App Store. Some of these games are iPad-only, others are upgraded from an existing iPhone app, and others, well, some of these games are just more fun to play on the iPad.

Use this list to discover your newest game-addiction. In no particular order, we present, our first list of the 10 Best Games for the iPad.

iShoot (Ethan Nicholas. $1.99) Artillery games: You shoot the other guy, he shoots you. Meh, right? You don’t know Ethan Nicholas. Nicholas wants to make war real, except for that unfortunate personal demise thing. Realistic, destroyable landscapes surround you and tons of weapons are available; you can even design your own. Now Apple gave Ethan Nicholas a 9.7-inch screen and super-accelerated graphics to play with? Think of the kid at the end of The Ring saying, “you let her out???”

Scrabble for iPad (Electronic Arts. $9.99) EA noticed something important: people with iPads also have iPhones. So Scrabble for iPad owners get the option of using the iPhone as a tile rack, and the iPad as the board. With board games back out of your pocket and onto your table, EA maximized that screen by putting the tile rack back in your pocket, where you always use to wish you could put it when you went to the bathroom. One thing EA didn’t notice: Scrabble players use the Official Scrabble Dictionary – next upgrade, include it!

N.O.V.A.: Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance HD (Gameloft. $9.99) Gameloft’s HALO knockoff for the iPhone is all grown up, and boy, did it grow. This already very slick-looking first-person shooter goes HD. With real-time 3D graphics rendering, the N.O.V.A. world pops out of the screen and peppers you with awesome.

Plants vs. Zombies HD (PopCap Games. $9.99.) When PopCap squeezed PvZ down from PC size into your iPhone, it was a tradeoff: the game was addictive and fun and cute as hell, so you accepted the tiny screen as the price of mobility. Welcome to the graphics-accelerated, “big” screen version. PvZ HD also takes maximum advantage of – dare I say it – the iPad’s bigger braaaaains.

Zombieville USA (Kelli Noda. $1.99.) PvZ is missing one thing: challenge. So the dread – even cartoon dread – is pretty mild. In Zombieville, you can die by going broke or running out of ammo, or just by being overwhelmed by zombie waves. If you like your zombies cheap, classic, and even more insanely addictive, ZUSA is the way to go – and now all that doomed adrenaline is 9.7” wide and super-smooth.

Small World for iPad (Days of Wonder. $4.99) The iPad seems to evoke a “physical yet electronic” vibe previously missing from mobile devices. The best tabletop iPad games exploit that. In Small World, you don’t play Internet randos, dammit, you sit across from someone. From there, as the game advertises, “it’s a world of slaughter…” with fun, zany, super-competitive races such as humans, dwarves, and wizards vying for supremacy.

Real Racing HD (ndWare. $9.99) Driving games were destined for the iPad. In RR, new controls take a few races to get used to, but touch – and lurch – sensitivity can be customized. Choose from 48 cars and five game modes including multiplayer – even against iPhone/iPod touch users – and “ghost mode” races against your previous best run. RRHD is a massive upgrade over the “little” Real Racing game that Apple featured in its advertising campaigns.

Implode XL (Iugo Mobile Entertainment. $2.99). In Implode XL, you blow stuff up – not because it’s shooting at you, evil, or undead, but just to make room. You demolish obsolete buildings, 150 levels of them. And lucky iPad owners can even create and share custom levels.

Pocket Ants (Concrete Software, Inc. $0.99) Race ‘em, squish ‘em, burn ‘em, make ‘em fight – Pocket Ants lets you do everything you really shouldn’t do to real ants to cyber-ants. Granted, you shoot people in games all the time… but you probably don’t burn them with a magnifying glass. Bonus: Does not register you with local authorities if you also purchase apps to simulate fire starting and bedwetting.

Civilization Revolution (2K Games. $12.99) A long time ago, geeks in their mothers’ basements began conquering the world, and Civilization was born. The aforementioned world shrank for the iPhone, learned new tricks, then grew back up to 1024 pixels in width for the iPad – and boy, is it slick. In the iPad-only game of “Revolution,” you also get a World/Scenario Creator, so you can play God rather than just Napoleon.

Pacific Defense (Voicezen. $1.99) Don’t let the full-color icon fool you, Pacific Defense is HD gaming in the glory of black-and-white. This World War II shooter stays true to its historical inspiration—complete with opening newsreel, grainy film style and complete lack of political correctness. What really makes this game stand out are the 360-degree controls. Japs attacking you from behind? You’ll need to physically turn around to get your gun pointed in the right direction. 45 levels of Kamikazes, torpedos and action make this a game a sure hit for any “best iPad games” list.

Savvy readers may have noticed that this “best of” list actually has 11 iPad games. We really did intend to make a list of the 10 Best iPad Games, but with so many great games in the App Store narrowing down the list was more difficult than expected.

Even though the iPad is less than a month old, it’s already clear that gaming on the iPad is exponentially more impressive than anything we’ve seen on the iPhone or iPod touch. These games easily are the best right now. But, I can’t wait to see what’s coming next. The best iPad games may be yet to come…