With over 71% of iPad owners playing games, it’s no wonder the top articles on my blog have to do with games on the iPad. So for the sake of research, for you, I have yet again taken one for the team. For the past month I’ve been playing games on my iPad. I know. It’s a tough assignment. But someone has to do it. My objective? Find 5 games that are as addicting (or more) than shooting ill tempered fowl at swine.

Here is what I’ve found so far:

Rogue Sky HD:
The objective of this game is to pilot your hot air balloon up through a maze of clouds to achieve your goal. What makes this game really fun is how 3D it looks. I don’t mean 3D in reference to the flyer the TV industry took when they thought that we were going to rush out and buy 3D Tv’s. Seriously. Did anyone really believe that was going to be the next big thing? No. Any whooo… Rogue Sky HD has this animated 3D-ness about it that pulls you into the game. The animation reminds me of Tim Burton. The music reminds me of Danny Elfman. Your balloon, which has a big Jack-O-Lantern face on it, is steered by two big thumb pads that appear on the sides of the screen. Press both thumb pads at the same time and your balloon glows with flame and rises gently into the sky. Press the left thumb pad and you float left. Right, you go right. Tapping, fires your cannons. The flying dynamics of the game remind me of Lunar Lander, Gravitar and in some ways Asteroids. (Yes, just dated myself there. But it’s meant as a compliment to the game developers). Race through the clouds to pick up power. Escort an old balloon to safety. Destroy enemy balloons. Get shot at by distant Zeppelins. But don’t run into the storm clouds or the lightning will send your burning craft back to earth faster than you can say “oh the humanity.”

Cut The Rope:
By now you might have heard about Cut the Rope. iPad today showed it off  LAST October. The objective is to get a piece of candy into the mouth of your little monster. This is achieved by using your finger to slice through ropes suspending the candy in various ways. Basically, this is a big puzzle game that makes you think…well…think outside the box. The question that comes to mind most when playing this is “How in the hell do I do that?” This, by the way, I believe,  is the same side of the brain you use when you’re trying to crush pigs. The animation is extremely well done. It’s cute. The sound effects are great. A game well worth the buck…and totally addicting.

Zombie Gunship:
This game is sick and fun, the perfect balance. Do you recall that night-vision footage we all saw on the news from Iraq or Afghanistan of the guy running across a road, dropping something in a field, and then running back to a truck? Right after that he was blown to smithereens by a UAV. BOOM. Dead. Well. Take that visual and apply it to Zombie Gunship. Your job is to protect the humans so they can make it to a bunker. Who (or what) is chasing them? Not Iraqis. Not insurgents. Not even Al-Qaeda. We’re talking Zombies man…stumbling-through-the-desert-Zombies! And they are after your humans. The whole game is gray because you are using night vision goggles. Use your finger to aim your gun. Strafe the zombies and watch them explode. Winning gives you coins. Coins let you upgrade your weapons. Bigger, Badder, Better. You see and hear the concussions from your 105MM Howitzer. But watch out! You kill 3 civilians, you lose the game. If zombies breach the bunker, you lose the game. A recent update to the game allows you to buy a General Pardon. You use this if you are responsible for too much collateral damage (aka you kill too many good guys). You might consider this a tower defense game, but I really find this to be far more fun than any tower defense I’ve played. Great game.

Contre Jour:
When playing this I’m reminded of the World Of Goo. Contre Jour is another one of those games thats a bit of a puzzler. You move a character through this dark landscape by manipulating the ground, which seems to be made of putty. You also get to fling yourself around on sticky (WackyWalker-like) tentacles. The physics of this game is stunning.  The objective is to collect as many lights as possible before reaching the portal to teleport to the next level. But the illustrations and styling of this game mixed with the music makes this one of the most beautiful games I have ever seen. I have a feeling that females might like this game. It’s cute, it’s not altogether violent and…it’s French.

I Dig It:
Nothing says free market exploitation of natural resources like mining for riches under the surface of the earth. I Dig It doesn’t disappoint. I actually got addicted to this game a few years back when I played it on my iPhone. But when I downloaded it for my iPad a whole new world of mining plunder was opened up. The objective here is to move your little drilling ship around, below ground, to mine for items worth money. As you increase your money you can upgrade your rig with better drills, better coolant, thicker armor, improved radar, and larger cargo space. Drill in the Arctic. Drill under a farm. Drill under water! Drill too far and you might run out of gas…or air. I found the iPad version’s virtual joystick controller to be a little trickier than the iPhone’s. A friend of mine was playing and she got frustrated because of the controls. But barring that, the game is a lot of fun. But be warned, you can get lost in it…and wipe out your battery…or 1/2 a day…whichever comes first.

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Have you found a game you love? I’d love to hear about it!