| Multiplayer games on the iPhone were the hot | | | | an arcade you can't leave. |
| new thing a year ago. Now, the quickly maturing | | | | Alive 4-ever, Meridian; $2.99. Prefer your |
| field offers a host of choices. We've picked some | | | | shoot-'em-ups with a top-down point of view and |
| of the best for you -- but first, some | | | | waves and waves of living dead? Alive 4-ever is |
| housekeeping: | | | | for you. You and up to three other survivors |
| To play over local WiFi, all players have to | | | | battle it out in a zombie-infested wasteland, |
| connect over the same hub. Global WiFi and 3G | | | | where if you know what's good for you, you |
| games let you compete from anywhere, but are | | | | even shoot the dogs. You'll play Alive 4-ever until |
| sometimes geared to a universal pool of players; | | | | you realize you've become one of them,and go |
| playing your buddy might be impossible if the | | | | looking for fresh brains to eat. Bonus: with |
| game automatically matches you to opponents. | | | | multiplayer gameplay, now you've got a lunch |
| That said... let the games begin! | | | | date. Bluetooth and local wifi (you and your |
| N.O.V.A. (Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance,) Gameloft; | | | | buddies,) no global wifi. |
| $6.99. Gameloft has been a powerhouse of iPhone | | | | MyBrute, Bulkypix, $3.99. MyBrute strips away |
| gaming since day one. Gameloft's specialty is | | | | everything except the fighting, then doesn't let |
| delivering the kind of experience you expect from | | | | you control the fighter. If that turns you off, skip |
| one of those grandpa game machines hooked up | | | | to the next "best." If it doesn't, you're an RPG |
| to a television, but in iPhone size. (The company's | | | | fan. RPGs are about building, training, equipping, |
| "Brothers In Arms" franchise, a knockoff of "Call | | | | and perfecting your character, then pitting him |
| of Duty," is legendary). NOVA is a HALO-like | | | | against others and letting nature take its course. |
| first-person shooter set in a sci-fi world, and up to | | | | MyBrute does that brilliantly, with equipment and |
| four can play in a game. The graphics are | | | | skills out the wazoo and dojos competing for the |
| gorgeous, the gameplay is crisp, and you have | | | | privilege of training your cute little gladiator. |
| good leeway to explore in every screen, adding | | | | Caution: extremely addictive for the RPG fan, and |
| to the realism. | | | | provides insidious option to buy new features. |
| Galcon, Galcon.com; $2.99. There are those who | | | | Fighters also kill each others' pets, but it's |
| say that Gameloft gets by on perfect | | | | cartoony, so you won't mind. |
| implementation of someone else's idea. The | | | | F.A.S.T. (Fleet Air Superiority Training), SGN; Free. |
| secret of Galcon's addictive power, by contrast, is | | | | Online, real-time, 3-D Dogfights sound sweet? |
| its originality. The graphics are flat and | | | | Then you want F.A.S.T. Go to where the |
| geometrical, but they're not meant to be realistic. | | | | DefCon's highest, and engage the enemy over |
| The action is in the strategy, but here's the | | | | wifi internet, either in private combat against |
| kicker: there are no turns. You do all your galactic | | | | friends, or against random internet victims. Fight |
| domination in real time. It's simple, it's addictive, | | | | head-up or in 2-on-2 dogfights. Ten planes, 30 |
| and it's at the best at what it does. Add in human | | | | missions, unlimited opponents. |
| opponents and your iPod touch or iPhone become | | | | |