The Boston Herald reviews the Top 20 iPhone games. Here are Herald Interactive’s Top Ten:

1. Texas Hold ’Em- Apple Inc.- ($4.99) - Great graphics with near live-looking cutaways. Easy to play, if you know poker. The WiFi gaming is a breeze and sets this game apart from the others. Don’t miss the Apple memorabilia tucked into the background. Great price.
2. Moto Racer - Freeverse – ($9.99) — A compelling racer that delivers speed and the added attraction of an occasional fisticuffs. Even on the easy level, this game is challenging.
3. Enigmo - Pangea Software – ($9.99) - Playing on the water theme, this game captivated my children for several hours as they tried to catch drips, followed by lasers and plasma, to their final destinations by using whatever movable gadgets and gizmos happened to be on the screen. This game won an Apple Design Award as the best iPhone game.
4. Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D -Vivendi Mobile Games – ($9.99) - Fun, quirky, very addictive. Using weapons against your opponents is what driving should be all about. What, someone cut me off on Massachusetts Ave? Where’s that ’switch places’ button.
5. Scrabble – Electronic Arts – ($9.99) - I’ll admit this ranking may be swayed by the fact that I’m a Scrabble fan. This version makes me a better player with scores coming in the 300s, even without using the ’Best Word’ cheat. Somehow other reviewers missed the fact that when you shake your device, the tiles rearrange themselves on your easel.
6. Monkey Ball - Sega –($9.99) - Given the buildup this game received, the little monkey rolling inside a pet hamster-type plastic ball delivers challenging fun. I say this even though I have yet to get past level 7
7. MotionX Poker – Fullpower Technologies Inc – ($4.99) - Not as sophisticated as Texas Hold ‘Em and certain to give non-poker players a skewed view on the likelihood of getting three straight flushes in a row, this game nonetheless is a great play. Also check out the free MotionX dice – great for when you lose the real dice that go with your board games..
8. Aurora Feint – Danielle Casley and Jason Citron – It’s free, but also it is not finished. This mixture of a puzzler, see number 9, and the best elements of role-playing games. Mining in the puzzle zones will earn you gems to buy all sorts of goodies. Can’t wait to see the finished version (and it’s price.)
9. Solar Quest –Neon Surge – ($2.99) - This scrolling arcade-style futuristic piloting game moves up a few notches because of its great price. Static background graphics are superb.
10. Aqua Forest- Hudson Entertainment –($7.99) -What is this game? Please, someone let me in on why sloshing water, creating areas of containment, cutting cords, and doing dozens of others tricks is so much fun. Is there a point to it? Does there have to be one? Is there anything else like this? Is it bad writing to throw in four consecutive questions?

And here’s their list of the top 10 websites that review iPhone/iPod touch games:

1. Touch Arcade Solid original reviews, up-to-the minute news and lively forums make this a must-see site for iPhone gamers.
2. PocketGamer UK Excellent stable of reviewers. Impressive scope. Keeps Touch Arcade company as the top iPhone game site.
3. Mac Life. The iPhone section has a lively mix of news and well-written reviews.
4. The iGames section at Lockergnome Matt McCarty’s well-done blog covers it all.
5. iPhone games network. Doesn’t have the number of reviews as other sites, but it sure is easy on the eyes.
6. MacWorlds’ iPhone section. Very thorough site, with the great brand name backing it.
7. 148 Apps. This site is picking up its pace. Interesting look at iTunes trends in the ’What’s Hot’ section.
8. IGN’s wireless games site would score higher if it broke out iPhone games.
9. iLounge. Could it be that there’s something iLounge does not do well. The iPhone Gems roundup reviews are great, but it’s hard finding game news amidst all the other great content.
10. Tiltgamer. Hey, someone beat us to a Top 20 iPhone game list. Solid reviews. Let’s hope it builds a big enough community to make its voting results interesting.

AppVee is a review site for iPhone applications.

The iPhoneDevCamp is a not-for-profit organization for developers of iPhone and iPod applications using both the native SDK and web standards.

Posted by Sam Churchill on Thursday, August 14th, 2008 at 8:04 am.