Slim, sexy and packed with a library of games, the iPad is shaping up to be a powerful contender in the eyes and for the fingers of gamers. (We'll be updating this daily, so bookmark it now)
While I don't quite buy Apple's claims that the iPad is magical, everything we've learned about the device leads us to believe that it will be a powerful force in the world of portable gaming. In fact, it could create its own niche, a portable most often used in the home.
With more than 700 games already lined up for the device's premier this week, now's a great time to brush up on everything you need to know about gaming on Apple's iPad.
(Read it as a single, very long post here.)
The Device
The iPad is 9.56 inches high, 7.47 inches wide, half an inch thick and weighs one and a half pounds (1.6 pounds for the 3G model.).
The WiFi version of the iPad will goes on sale on April 3 for $499 for 16GB, $599 for 32GB, and $699 for 64GB. The Wi-Fi and 3G models will be available in late April for $629 for 16GB, $729 for 32GB and $829 for 64GB. (Check out what else you could buy for that price.)
The 9.7-inch 1024-by-768 pixel resolution display supports multi-touch and is fingerprint resistant. As with the iPhone and iPod touch, the device also includes an accelerometer and ambient light sensor and can play back video and audio. It also has a dock connector port, 3.5 mm headphone jack, built-in speaker and microphone.
The built-in battery lasts up to 10 hours.
The Games
With more than 700 games already available for the iPad there's no way we can include them all here. Instead we've included about 70, giving you a sense of the scope, diversity and pricing of the titles.
You can also check out what we think are some of the most interesting here.
Now for our list:
Air Hockey
Air hockey, with local two-player and Bluetooth support.
Release Date: April 3
Price: Free or .99 for ad free.
Developer: Acceleroto
Amateur Surgeon
Amateur Surgeon will soon be available in all its gory glory for the iPad. Operate in fully-upscaled iPad resolution, now with an enhanced two-player cooperative mode and dual-Facebook Connect functionality exclusively for iPad surgeons.
Release Date: TBA
Price: TBA
Developer: Adult Swim Games
Ammoin HD
The goal of this puzzle game is to collect all of the valuables on the board by moving a pawn according to some simple movement rules.
Release Date: April 3
Price: $0.99
Developer: Samuli Rihonen
*iPhone screen shot shown.
AniMatch HD
The goal in this children's game is to match the pairs of cute animal heads. Each animal makes a sound when you touch it. Sounds like the stuff of nightmares!
Release Date: April
Price: $1.99
Developer: Lima Sky
Azkend HD
This puzzle game has you touching and dragging your finger along like tiles to remove them from the board. The more tiles destroyed the higher your score.
Release Date: April 3
Price: TBA
Developer: Myth People
*iPhone screen shot shown.
BaboCrash HD
This match three puzzle game features a Madballs theme.
Release Date: April 3
Price: $0.99
Developer:Playbrains
Boggle
The classic dice and spelling game comes to the iPad with 3D letter cubes and email multiplayer.
Release Date: April 3
Price: $2.99
Developer: EA Mobile
*iPhone screen shot shown.
Bugdom 2
In this free-roaming 3D action-adventure game you control Skip the grasshopper as he hunts down the bee that stole his knapsack.
Release Date: April 3
Price: $9.99
Developer: Pangea Software
*iPhone screen shot shown.
Cassandra's Journey: The Legacy of Nostradamus HD
Search for the lost ring in this casual game that mixes a potpourri of types of play including hidden-object and card games, image and word puzzles, match 3 levels and magic tricks.
Release Date: TBA
Price: TBA
Developer: Avallon Alliance
*iPhone screen shot shown.
Checkmates
Local multiplayer chess game that will feature the ability to save and resume a match, create custom players, track your stats, pseudo 3D graphics and perhaps in a future update, the developers tell us, online support.
Release Date: TBA
Price: TBA
Developer: Logic Pretzel
Cliffed XL
Race to the bottom in this 2D scrolling racer. The iPad version will feature head-to-head split screen mode so two players can race on a single device. There are also new characters, improved graphics and new backgrounds.
Release Date: TBA
Price: TBA
Developer: IUGO
Coach K
Really more of a fan service to folks obsessed with Duke's Men's basketball and their famous coach Mike Krzyzewski. The game looks to be a collection of mini games all with a coach K theme.
Release Date: April 3
Price: $2.99
Developer: MJKD
*iPhone screen shot shown.
Colorous: A Color Odyssey
A color-based puzzle game that includes a classic and story mode, with a total of 50 levels and 10 bosses. The game also lets you share scores over Twitter and challenge friends through Facebook.
Release Date: April 3
Price: $0.99 launch price, $1.99 after the first few days.
Developer: AVOC
Crazy Traffic Crashed XL
An oversized version of the Crazy Traffic puzzle game for the iPhone. This sequel includes dangerous road hog drivers, ice, and turning cars. There are also four game modes: survival, crashed, puzzle and freestyle.
Release Date: TBA
Price: TBA
Developer: Playstos
*iPhone screen shot shown.
Cro-Mag Rally
Race cavemen (and women) through the stone, bronze and iron ages in primitive vehicles using title controls and primitive weapons to beat the competition.
Release Date: April 3
Price: $9.99
Developer: Pangea Software
*iPhone screen shot shown.
Crosswords
Stand Alone promises to deliver a redesigned version of their iPhone crossword game with an optimized user interface more reminiscent of the newspaper experience.
Release Date: TBA
Price: TBA
Developer: Stand Alone
*Newspaper style coloring shown.
Cubesplosion HD
A simple chain reaction game. Touch a cube to begin a chain reaction to score points.
Release Date: April 3
Price: $1.99
Developer: Ravenhawk Interactive
Disney Fairies Fly
A perfect game for the iPad owning little princess in your life... or maybe your daughter. In this game you tilt the iPad to control the flight of your favorite fairy. Control the little pixies to collect pixie dust and score points.
Release Date: TBA
Price: TBA
Developer: Disney
[Pic]
Enigmo Deluxe
An iPad version of the incredibly popular Mac, iPhone and iPod Touch title. The game is a 3D puzzler that has you building mechanisms, directing lasers, plasma and water to get them to their final destination.
Release Date: April 3
Price: $9.99
Developer: Pangea Software
*Enigmo 2 photo featured here.
Escape From Zombie City: Infection HD
Escape From Zombie City: Infection HD is a top down arcade zombie shooter.
Release Date: April 3
Price: $2.99
Developer: Ravenhawk Interactive
Escape: Norm's World XL
This new title will feature two player in two modes: head-to-head and co-op, both on a single iPad. The 3D graphic title has you swiping controls to navigate a series of pads.
Release Date: TBA
Price: TBA
Developer: IUGO
Flick Fishing HD
This iPad remake of an iPhone fan favorite, looks to include much better graphics and more locations. In the original, you cast your line and reel in fish with the help of the iPhone's built-in accelerometer. Let's hope the iPad version doesn't include waving around the over-sized, pricey device.
Release Date: TBA
Price: TBA
Developer: Freeverse
[Pic]
Flight Control HD
The insanely popular top-down flight control game is coming to the magical iPad. In the game you must swipe flight paths for an increasingly large number of incoming aircraft. The iPad version will have larger maps, eight single-player maps including three in "HD", new cooperative and split-screen versus modes and plenty of tweaks. Oh, and you can play with 3D glasses on your head using the special 3D mode. Seriously.
Release Date: April 3
Price: $4.99
Developer: Firemint
[Pic]
Galaxy Control 2
Galaxy Control is essentially Flight Control in space, with players controlling a number of spaceships as they maneuver through the different gravitational fields of a variety of planets.
Release Date: April 3
Price: TBA
Developer: TopLineSoft
*iPhone screen shots shown.
Galcon Fusion
One of the most popular strategy games in iTunes is coming to the iPad. Galcon Fusion for the iPad includes beautiful graphics, multi-player and team games, and online play with up to 12 players. You can also take on PC, Mac and Linux users.
Release Date: April 3
Price: TBA
Developer: Phil Hassey
Grind HD
This 3D skateboarding game used NVIDEA's PhysX engine to simulate realistic physics in a skateboarding environment. Swipe across the screen to perform tricks.
Release Date: TBA
Price: TBA
Developer: Andy Mileusnic
*iPhone screen shot shown.
Hangman RSS HD
Players have to guess letters to fill in the latest headlines from their RSS feeds before their stack figure gets the noose.
Release Date: April 3
Price: TBA
Developer: FingerArts
Harbor Master HD
Harbor Master HD has you directing boats into docks to let them unload and then directing them off the screen without plowing into other boats. The iPad version has refined graphics, deepened gameplay and a "greater cooperative multiplayer mode."
Release Date: April 3
Price: Free
Developer: Imangi Studios
More digital toy than game, this app lets you touch to pop a variety of different bubble wraps.
iBubbleWrap
Release Date: April 3
Price: $0.99
Developer: Lime Sky
iMahjong 2
Classic Mahjong on the really big screen of the iPad.
Release Date: April 3
Price: $2.99
Developer: Jirbo
*iPod Touch screen shots shown.
Implode! XL
Plant dynamite to destroy structures. The iPad version will include a new in-game editor for creating your own levels, revamped user interface and new developer created levels.
Release Date: TBA
Price: TBA
Developer: IUGO
Kascade XL
This iPad version of the popular iPhone game features three times as many block to remove using color matching.
Release Date: April 3
Price: $0.99
Developer: myCodeStudio, LLC
Kodix HD
An iPad take on reasoning game Mastermind. The device selects a pattern of colors and players have to guess the sequence before guesses run out.
Release Date: April 3
Price: TBA
Developer: Micro Solutions
Labyrinth 2 HD
The developers promise that the iPad version of this popular iPhone game will have new features, not just bigger, better graphics. The iPhone version of the game, which just hit this month still has players trying to get a ball through a maze by tilting, but now it also include new game elements like cannons, bumpers, mutliballs and lasers, the ability to create your own levels and share them, up to four player multiplay via WiFi or Bluetooth and awards for achievements.
Release Date: April 3
Price: $7.99
Developer: Illusion Labs
*iPhone screen shots shown.
Magic Chain
A fast paced action puzzle game that has you controlling witch-in-training Tabitha as she builds chains out of approaching enemies. The game includes 13 stages and an endless mode.
Release Date: April 3
Price: $1.99
Developer: Witch Beam Games
Majesty: The Fantasy Kingdom Sim
Developers Herocraft tell us they plan to bring the PC strategy game Majesty: The Fantasy Kingdom Sim to the iPad, calling the device the ideal platform for gaming.
Release Date: TBA
Price: TBA
Developer: Herocraft
Mirror's Edge
Electronic Art's iPhone take on their console free-running game plays an awful lot like indie fan-favorite Cannabalt and our sources tell us the game is also headed to the iPad. Not a lot is known about the game, but Totilo's impressions of the still-to-be released iPhone version left him feeling like it was a title that could help birth a new type of platformer.
Release Date: TBA
Price: TBA
Developer: EA Mobile.
*iPhone screen shot used.
MS. PAC-MAN
The famous pink-bow wearing Pac is set to hit the iPad sometime post launch of Apple's tablet device. No word on what it will include, but judging by Namco's screenshot of PAC-MAN, it's going to be beautiful.
Release Date: TBA
Price: TBA
Developer: Namco
*iPhone screen shot used.
Nanosaur 2
Glide and fight your way through this 3D game as a flying dinosaur from the future as you hunt to locate stolen dinosaur eggs and return them safely to wormholes.
Release Date: April 3
Price: $9.99
Developer: Pangea Software
*iPhone screen shots shown.
NBA Hotshot HD
This flick-to-play arcade simulator has you shooting basketballs as a hoop as fast as you can to try and hit the high score in a set time limit.
Release Date: TBA
Price: TBA
Developer: Freeverse
*iPhone screen shot shown.
Need For Speed: Shift
Shown off at Apple's official iPad announcement, little official is known about this game. From what we've seen of the game, it looks like a much higher resolution version of the iPhone title. The biggest addition to the title, though, is how well it makes use of all of that extra screen real estate. For instance, you can tap on the car to go into a cockpit view during a race and tap on the rear view mirror to see behind you.
Release Date: April 3
Price: TBA
Developer: EA Mobile
neutron
Think TRON lightcycle racing played on a 3D field.
Release Date: April 3
Price: $0.99
Developer: Notboolean
*iPhone screen shot shown.
N.O.V.A. HD
The iPad version of Gameloft's Halo-like iPhone shooter will have customized layouts and new gesture controls, like a two finger swipe used to throw grenades. There's also the ability to bring up a screen-wide grid to issue slo-mo attacks. Gameloft tells us some of the neat new controls include using three fingers to open an airlock door or sliding a button up to make an elevator move.
Release Date: TBA
Price: TBA
Developer: Gameloft
Numba HD
Match number tiles in this fast-paced puzzle game.
Release Date: TBA
Price: TBA
Developer: Cobra Mobile
*iPhone screen shot shown.
Obliteration HD
This crayon drawn physics game has you destroying all of the cities of North America following a zombie infestation.
Release Date: April 3
Price: $1.99
Developer: How I Hate the Night
Otto Matic for iPad
Another action game from Pangea Soft. In this title you control robot Otto Matic fighting to save Earth from The Giant Brain from Planet X.
Release Date: April 3
Price: $9.99
Developer: Pangea Software
PAC-MAN
Namco tells us that their iPad version of PAC-MAN will be hitting around the time of the iPad's April 3 launch. Judging by the screenshots they've provided, it looks like this higher resolution version of the arcade classic is going to be stunning. I particularly like the shadow effects under the joystick.
Release Date: April
Price: TBA
Developer: Namco
Plants vs. Zombies HD
We called it, and now leaks from iTunes have confirmed it, Plants vs. Zombies is coming to the iPad. This fantastic take on tower defense games has you defending your backyard with zombie-eating, pea-shooting plants from wave after wave of zombie invasions. The iPad version is likely to expand the playing maps and perhaps, we hope, will offer up a bit more to do once you play your way through the lengthy single-player campaign.
Release Date: TBA
Price: TBA
Developer: Popcap Games
Pool Pro Online 3
The iPad version of this online and offline pool simulator will hit sometime in April, Namco tells us. The iPhone version includes customizable tables, sticks and settings, the ability to play online against other iPhone owners and PC gamers and amazing graphics. I expect more of the same for this big screen iPad version.
Release Date: April
Price: TBA
Developer: Namco
Raging Thunder 2
This arcade racer includes internet and local multiplayer racing, five game modes and range of international settings.
Release Date: TBA
Price: TBA
Developer: Polarbit
*iPhone screen shot shown.
Real Checkers
This game popped up on a leaked list of iPad games hitting launch day. Unfortunately, we don't know much about the title besides its release date and price. But, it is checkers, so I'd expect that there isn't much more you need to know.
Release Date: April 3
Price: $0.99
Developer: Unknown
*iPhone screen shot of Checkers Premium is shown.
Real Racing HD
Firemint's foray into racing will include a high level of detail and, it seems, the ability to customize your race car's paint job with images loaded or taken on your iPad.
Release Date: April 3
Price: $9.99
Developer:
[Pic]
Risk
A source tells us that Electronic Arts Mobile has been testing a number of iPad games include Risk. This classic multiplayer world domination strategy board game sounds like a perfect fit for the iPad. I'd love to see more strategy board games also make their way to Apple's device. I'm looking at you Carcassonne.
Release Date: TBA
Price: TBA
Developer: EA Mobile
*Board game image shown.
Sam & Max Episode 1: The Penal Zone
The first in the new Sam & Max: Devil's Playhouse series is coming to the iPad. The game will include comic mayhem, sleuthing, and plenty of multi-touch features. There will be four more as well, meaning $50 for the entire episodic set.
Release Date:April 3
Price: $9.99
Developer: Telltale Games
Saving Private Sheep
In this physics-based puzzler you use your finger to destroy the obstacles on the screen to enable the sheep to land safely on the... land. The game includes 80 levels and an eclectic mix of structures and blocks.
Release Date: TBA
Price: TBA
Developer: Bukly PIX
*iPhone screen shot shown.
Scrabble
Another board game we hear that EA Mobile is busy testing before sending it to iTunes. The publisher already has a traditional version of Scrabble out for the iPhone. I suspect this one would allow multiple people to play the game at the same time, essentially turning the iPad into a flat-on-the-table board game.
Release Date: TBA
Price: TBA
Developer: EA Mobile
*iPhone screen shot shown.
Sherlock Holmes Mysteries
Warner Bros. Entertainment tells me that their game based on the Sherlock Holmes movie is headed to the iPad. The iPhone version includes a number of mini-games all themed around Holmes' attempt to solve The Case of the Innocent Man. The iPad version has a new user interface, and a new Puzzle Boxing Tournament mode.
Release Date: TBA
Price: TBA
Developer: Warner Bros. Entertainment
Sim Meier's Civilization Revolution
This iPad take on the classic turn-based strategy game includes an enhanced user interface, a new World/Scenario creator and of course much nicer graphics.
Release Date: April 3
Price: $12.99
Developer: 2K Games
The Stone of Destiny HD
Explore the foreboding ruins of mystic temples and libraries or investigate the ancient altar where a precious object may be cleverly hidden. You never know where objects may be found, you'll have to keep an open mind and be thorough. The yellowed map of the world may even lead you to the briny depths in search a long forgotten shipwreck.
Release Date: TBA
Price: TBA
Developer: Avallon Alliance
Street Fighter IV
Rumor has it that Capcom's fairly fun iPhone fighter is headed to the iPad with a bigger, crisper big-screen look. Let's hope they came up with a more interesting way for people to play multiplayer.
Release Date: TBA
Price: TBA
Developer: Capcom
*Console screen shot shown.
Tetris
You can't have a gaming platform without Tetris. Good thing our sources tell us that EA Mobile has already made one for the iPad. No word on what it will include, but my money is on at least one single-device, multiplayer game.
Release Date: TBA
Price: TBA
Developer: EA Mobile
*iPhone screen shot shown.
Trism 2 and Trism Spinoff
The man behind uber-popular motion-sensing iPhone puzzler Trism tells Kotaku that he is working on not one, but two games for the iPad. Trism 2, he tells us, will be a straight sequel to the original title with versions for the iPod Touch, iPhone and iPad. Trism Spinoff, he says, will be a game made exclusively for the iPad.
Release Date: TBA
Price: TBA
Developer: Demiforce
*iPhone screen shot shown.
Warp Gate HD
Space exploration game Warpgate offers a vast universe of over 35 star-systems to explore in 172 different starships with over 100 main quests. Fluid controls and endless non-quest missions mean there is no limit to the adventure.
Release Date: April 3
Price: $7.99
Developer: ngmoco
We Rule
We Rule lets players command whimsical kingdoms full of castles, farms and loyal citizens. Rulers must oversee crop harvests, collect taxes and trade with neighboring realms via the social connectivity of the Plus+ Network. Wise kings will also act as city planners and landscapers, and build, grow and craft their own social microcosms. We Rule for iPad expands the kingdom view and puts more power at the fingertips of the player with picture in picture functions for drag and drop functionality.
Release Date: April 3
Price: Free
Developer: ngmoco
Worms HD
This worms-infested turn-based strategy game has you battling across bizarre landscapes as an army of worms.
Release Date: TBA
Price: TBA
Developer: Team 17 Software
*Xbox 360 screen shot shown.
Zen Bound 2
The sequel to the popular, highly-stylized puzzle game still has you wrapping paint-soaked rope around objects to cover them in paint, but this time around there will be new methods for puzzle-solving painting. The game will also include a series of objects to be painted based on other popular iPhone and iPad games.
Release Date: April 3
Price: TBA
Developer: Secret Exit
Zombie Attack! Second Wave XL
This tower defense game has you fighting to protect your shack from hordes of zombies. The iPad version will have enhanced graphics, a new user interface and new character.
Release Date: TBA
Price: TBA
Developer: IUGO
What Else Can You Do?
While the iPad, like the iPhone and iPod Touch before it, will likely be a popular device for gaming, that's not nearly all it does.
There will be, of course, plenty of Apps to purchase, the ability to browse the Internet, check your email, view (but not take) photos, watch movies, listen to music, check maps, schedule your calendar and take notes.
But here are a few of the ways I think the gamer in you might use the device.
Comic Book Reader
This ability has me almost as excited as the chance to play board games on the iPad is a chance to read comics on that big, beautiful iPad screen.
The best looking app we've seen to date for this is Panelfly's Comic Reader.
Book reader
Books! I love them, but I love carrying around an entire bookshelf in my pocket. The tiny screen of the iPhone, though, is starting to bother my aging eyes. Fortunately, there are several iPad solutions including Apple's own iBooks app and the redesigned Kindle Reader for the iPad.
Magazine and Newspaper Reader
Newspapers aren't dead, they're just sleeping. Same can be said for all of those chunky print mags that vomit out floor-filling streams of paper ads when you pick them up. Fortunately for anyone interested in a nice Sunday read and a longer life for a free press, the iPad has us covered.
A number of magazines and newspapers are already on board to provide their publications redesigned and enlivened for the iPad.
Accessories
While I'm sure an avalanche of accessories are bound for the iPad, Apple is currently only showcasing five on the official site. They include a keyboard dock, an iPad case, an iPad Dock, a power adapter and a camera connection kit that allows you to import photos with a USB cable or directly from an SD card.
Who knows, maybe even a frame that sports buttons. Yes, BUTTONS!
Make sure to bookmark this page. We'll be updating it with hands-on impressions of games, apps and the device itself as we near the April 3 launch date.
(Read it as a single, very long post here.)