Four of the best new games for the iPad

We’ve seen better and more ambitious titles emerge on the iPad, no doubt one of the reason why mobile games now outsell Nintendo and Sony’s hand-held titles. We pick four of the best

Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition offers some 10 hours of play time.

Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition

The source of much misty-eyed reminiscing for some gamers, the original Baldur's Gate ruled the RPG genre in 1998. Fifteen years on, this Dungeons & Dragons classic has been resurrected but away from the world of giant, humming desktops and into iPad land.

All of the locations from the original game are present (across the Forgotten Realms continent, should you ask) and it follows exactly the same story, albeit with a few extra side quests and new characters available (for extra cash).

In all, there's something like 10 hours of playtime, making it a significant leap from your average Cut the Rope quick-game-while--waiting-in-the-lift affair.

While the controls might take some getting used to (using anything other than a mouse for an RPG would have once seen pitchforks raised), this is perhaps the ultimate game for that lengthy plane journey. Or a particularly slow day at work.

The Walking Dead: The Game

While the hugely successful cable show is set to continue its rampant slaughter of zombies into a fourth season, this adaptation of Robert Kirkman’s comic books has arguably had a similar acclaimed effect on the iPad.

You play Lee Everett, a convicted murderer who avoids prison largely thanks to the outbreak of the zombie apocalypse (how handy) and finds himself tasked with protecting a young girl.

Alongside the hugely atmospheric settings and a whole heap of gore (this is most definitely not one to keep little Timmy amused), the game really comes into its own with the inspired dialogue options, each decision you make altering the overall story as you move towards the conclusion.

Originally sold as five separate episodes, The Walking Dead: The Game is now available as a bundle.

Modern Combat 4 Zero Hour

Activision’s billion-dollar plus Call of Duty franchise might be the dominating first-person shooter force on the consoles, but for iOS-ers there’s Gameloft’s Modern Combat series.

With a backstory just as farcical (terrorists, presidential kidnappings, etc), the campaign mode is a lively affair, with impressive set pieces and compact missions involving both ground and airborne vehicles. It boasts decent graphics, too.

But, much like CoD, it’s the -multiplayer mode that’ll really take a hammer to your social life, with 12-player death matches or objective-based missions in which you team up with others.

Catan: HD

While shooting, stabbing, running and whatnot are all areas where the console will always triumph, one genre where the iPad has the potential to rule is with board games. Just think about it – you can put it flat on a table like a physical game but the pieces don’t scatter everywhere. Among the growing number of board games that have made the transition, the hugely popular Catan has become a favourite, a faithful interpretation of the Settler-esque battle for hex domination. One downside is the lack of online multiplayer; it’s something the developers say they’re working on.

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