During my childhood and I’m guessing yours as well, iOS games were a massive part of life. After a long day of playing outside, we all would plop down on the couch and open up the family iPad or, if you were fortunate enough, your own iPhone, likely the 4 or 5. There were a plethora of games that I and many others enjoyed. I have very distinct memories of certain games that I enjoyed the most. For the ranking side of things, I will be using a 10-point scale to keep it simple. Although there are plenty of games that come to mind when discussing old iPhone games I will only be discussing the main ones with the exception of a few that are a little more forgotten than most. However, there are many other fun games besides the ones mentioned below that I may bring up in a future part. So without further adieu, let the nostalgia roll!

Angry Birds 

A staple in the world of iOS games, Angry Birds was a game that almost everyone has played. The aim of this game was to eliminate all the pigs in the course by flinging one of the many different types of angry birds at them. Oftentimes the pigs would be surrounded by different materials that required different birds to break them, thus making the gameplay more strategic. This game had many levels and different worlds that required completion in order to move on to the next. Another thing to mention is the dumb song that plays when you open the app, I’m sure we can all remember that song. Rating: 8/10

Temple Run

A classic to say the least. Looking back on this game, I’m not really sure what made it all that. But if I had to guess, I believe that maybe the simplicity paired with our young minds made the game that much more intriguing. The aim of this game was simple; avoid obstacles while running in a straight line with a big monkey monster thing chasing you. Sounds easy enough, but when you start to get going the game really speeds up, making it harder to dodge the incoming obstacles. This game really was a test for our reaction timing as kids and I still remember playing on my huge iPad as a kid. Rating: 7.5/10

Madden Mobile

A personal favorite for me and likely most others, Madden Mobile was one of the best EA Sports games to ever enter the app store. This game was very similar to most other Madden games. But the true gem addition to this game was Ultimate Team mode. Ultimate Team was a game mode that required you to build your team from the ground up, slowly acquiring players through the auction house or opening certain packs and getting lucky with money you earned from live events. The grind in this game was real and many hours of my life I can never get back were put into this game. However it was a grind I will never forget and I have many fond memories of, especially selling your entire team at the end of the season to test your luck with a bunch of packs. Rating: 9.5/10

Geometry Dash

Another personal favorite of mine, Geometry Dash definitely was not a game for people who gave up easily. I put way more hours into this game than I would like to admit (I beat every level and have muscle memory of how to complete them).  However the real grind was around the third or fourth grade when I first started playing and had many friends play as well. The game on paper sounds simple, you the player (a cube) would have to traverse the level without dying and all it required was tapping the screen to jump. That same mindset is what got many kids addicted to this rage inducing game as the levels progressively got harder and harder. Definitely one of the harder games out there but still fun nonetheless. Rating: 8/10 

Doodle Jump

Another favorite of many, Doodle Jump ranks very high on my all time game list. This game is very simple and does not require a lot of skill. All you did was simply tilt your phone in the direction of the bounce pads for the character to keep bouncing higher while avoiding obstacles such as monsters. A great part of this game was the cartoon-like characters and setting of the game giving off the vibe that you were actually playing as the drawing in someone’s notebook. Other than that I don’t have much to say about this game, but still a great game overall! Rating: 7/10

Clash of Clans

Probably a top 1 game of all time for most, Clash of Clans is one of the games I have the most fond memories of and I’m sure many others do as well. The premise of the game is simple, build your base and upgrade your buildings with the resources you earn from attacking others. Pretty similar to other games besides its beloved art style, but the thing that really made this game stick out from others was the addition of clans. Clans were ways you could play with your friends and be apart of a team in order to defeat other clans in clan wars, which were a series of attacks on the other clan’s bases in order to see which team gets the most stars. It added a whole new side to the game and a sense of community. There was also the addition of the clan chat where one could request troops for battles from fellow clanmates. One criticism I do have of this game is the rate at which you progress. From a marketing standpoint I do understand that you’re going to drive the players away with long wait times at the beginning between upgrades, but 2 weeks to upgrade my town hall and 1 million gold for a single wall is unbelievable. I maybe open the app once a week now to upgrade whatever I can and then wait a week until it’s finished. While I’m on I also get to glance at the forgotten Clash of Clans clan of Magnet “The Rock Pile”. Join if you want but I think the last thing that was said in the chat was over a year ago when we attempted to start a Clash of Clans club to recruit random people (we never had a meeting). Like I said before, a top 1 game of all time and I will die on that hill. Rating: 10/10

Conclusion

I know there’s a ton of games I didn’t get to cover in this week’s issue of The Talon but I have two tests tmr and still haven’t started studying so I am going to have to stop here. But be on the lookout, a part two to this article is in the works with a whole new list of games to cover!