SOME people say the best things in life are free. But Apple’s App Store on iTunes makes a very strong case for the best things in life actually being 59p.
Take 60p into a shop these days and you’ll be lucky to come out with a can of pop, a bar of chocolate or a newspaper - things which provide only very brief enjoyment.
On the other hand, take 60p into the App Store and you’ll be able to pick up one of many great games which will provide hours of entertainment on your iPhone / iPod Touch - and you’ll have a penny in change.
There are actually a lot of free games available but forget these because most of them are either not worth bothering with or are merely demos of paid-for games.
There are also an increasing number of ‘premium’ titles from the likes of EA which are currently retailing for £5.99, and on the whole these higher priced games are very good.
But if you don’t want to shell out this much for games there are a lot of gems to be unearthed at the 59p level, the lowest of several prices for paid-for games in the store.
Sure, there are some real 59p stinkers in the App Store - low price can equal low quality sometimes - and you may suffer a few dud purchases.
But do a bit of research, persevere and you’ll find some really great games.
Here are three of the best 59p games:
Touch Ski 3D
Naquatic, the US two-brother development team behind the game, say they want to stake a claim for offering the best 59p game in the store.
They have a very strong claim because you get a lot of game for your money with Touch Ski 3D.
The game got a muted response on first release but a huge 2.0 content update has seen it rocket up the sales chart and receive rave reviews - both these achievements are totally justified.
The game boasts seven different modes, including downhill, slalom, ski jump, and freestyle.
In addition there are 42 courses to test your skills on within four difficulty settings.
As well as all this variety, Touch Ski 3D is also visually very impressive, providing lush high-quality landscapes.
As you can tell already, the game offers huge value for your 59p - but I haven’t even told you the best thing about it yet.
The best thing about Touch Ski 3D is the very clever, innovative and very well implemented controls.
You don’t actually see your skier on screen. Instead you just see the skis. To control them you put two fingers on the touch screen, one for each ski. You must use your fingers to keep the skis parallel in order to achieve the maximum speed. Steering is done by using your fingers in tandem to turn the skis.
Saying that the best thing about a control method is the sense of control it gives you is a bit of a lame statement, but in the case of Touch Ski 3D it’s true because using your fingers to move the skis does give you a great sense of control.
It feels like you’re actually the skier rather than just moving a character around on the screen.
All things considered, even if you don’t like skiing, Touch Ski 3D is a steal for 59p.
Verdict: 8 out of 10
Flight Control
Another game which could stake a legitimate claim for being the best 59p title in the App Store is Flight Control from Australian developer Firemint.
The game began life as an in-house design and development project in the Christmas holidays, but Firemint very wisely decided to put it out to a wider audience earlier this year – interest in the game snowballed and it has gone on to achieve massive sales, including a spell at number one on the App Store.
The key to Flight Control’s appeal is its addictiveness. It is the quintessential 'just one more go' game.
Flight Control is essentially a time management game.
You’re put in the seat of an air traffic controller overseeing an airport with two runways and a helipad. Planes and helicopters appear from the sides of the screen, and your job is to ensure a safe landing for each aircraft. You do this by using the touch screen to draw a path from each aeroplane or chopper to its appropriate spot.
The aim is to land the largest number of aircraft possible, but when two of them collide the game is over.
This is a simple concept and it’s very easy to get the hang of the game. However, getting the planes on to the ground in one piece is easier said than done.
The action gets very intense and you’ll soon find yourself trying to control the flight paths of 10 or more aircraft.
Your task is made more difficult by the different types of aircraft you must control, from large fast-moving jets to smaller and slower single-engine planes.
Success is down to timing, co-ordination and staying calm when your airspace gets crowded.
The Flight Control package is round off beautifully by the game’s kitsch style, from the 70s-look air stewardess on the main page to the “jolly good” and "splendid" messages popping up during the game.
For 59p you can’t go wrong with Flight Control.
Verdict: 9 out of 10
GridLocked
If you have 59 pennies to spare you could do a lot worse than spend them on GridLocked by Chris Miles.
GridLocked is a similar sort of game to Flight Control but offers a different type of challenge.
Instead of controlling traffic in the sky, you are tasked with keeping vehicles moving on a busy road network.
You dictate the movement of the traffic by touching four sets of arrows (or traffic lights) on the screen.
When vehicles queue up at a junction they can’t move until the arrows are pointing in the right direction to allow them across.
Managing the roads in this way might sound easy but when traffic starts building up on all four sides of all four junctions under your control, the game starts getting very tricky.
In fact, after a nice and mellow start, the game soon ramps up the difficulty until it eventually becomes an insane challenge trying to keep everything moving.
If you lose control then drivers start getting angry, the traffic gets to the point where nothing can move and it’s soon game over.
I would categorise GridLocked as part time management and part puzzle solving.
Keeping all the traffic moving smoothly requires quick thinking and concentration.
Bizarrely, several traffic management games have appeared in the App Store at roughly the same time. Great minds think alike perhaps? It’s certainly a strange coincidence.
For me GridLocked is the nicest looking of the bunch. Its muted colours really appeal, and the landscape is easy on the eye while you’re concentrating on the traffic.
GridLocked is an great little go-to game when you have five or 10 minutes to kill. Moving vehicles around the screen and avoiding too much congestion is a simple concept, but it’s well executed.
With a few improvements such as some different maps, more variety in the vehicles and perhaps a couple of different modes of play to mix things up, this could be a top game.
Verdict: 7 out of 10
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