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Oh, how the people love to have games on the iPhone. Not just player people, in this case, but programmer people. Everyone wants a piece of the pie. Many games are being developed from scratch, of course, but we’re also seeing a lot of games from other platforms being ported over. The good news here is that many of these ports are quite good; occasionally, even better than the original.

Here are three games you’ve already played elsewhere, but can now play on your iPhone, too. Pipes, spaceships and frogs. That’s pretty much all you need for a great game, right?

Pipe Mania

Category: Puzzle
Seller: Virtual Programming
Requirements: iPhone OS 2.2 or later
File Size: 64.8MB
Price: $2.99
Appletell Rating: 5 out of 5
App Store Link: Pipe Mania

This game has been around so long that the name is actually two separate words instead of one smashed-up word with two capital letters. I don’t even know what system it started on, but it’s been on everything since. If you have an electronic device with a button, chances are can play Pipe Mania on it.

The game involves laying pipe to guide ooze to the drain. A better description without innuendo goes like this; you’re presented with a grid that has a tap and a drain. Before long, a green liquid will flow from the tap, and you have to guide it to the drain by placing segments of pipe on the grid, one at a time. You can’t control which segment you’ll get (vertical, horizontal, angled, “t” sections, etc.), and you can’t rotate them. You are shown which type of pipe segment is on deck, along with four others in the queue. Obviously, you won’t always get what you want, so you either have to plan ahead for them or just dump them on the grid out of your way to waste them. You will lose points for all unattached pieces of pipe, but you’ll also lose points for “destroying” an unusable segment by dropping a new piece on top of it.

The game is fairly simple at first, but becomes quite challenging quite quickly. You’ll soon find yourself working around obstacles, dealing with attacks and damage, and seeking out treasure. There’s a lot more in this game than one would expect on first glance, including a fun little story, characters to play as, four game modes (offering over 350 sub-levels), and so on. It’s huge, and quite challenging, but consistently fun. The vibrant graphics and bouncy music are well suited to a game of this type, and although they scream “casual” title, hard core puzzle gamers (if such a thing even exists) will be entertained for dozens of hours. Pipe Mania may just be a port of a game that’s likely older than you are, but it’s as well suited for the iPhone as any game I’ve played on it.

A lite version is available.

Tyrian

Category: Arcade Action
Seller: Mobila Interactive
Requirements: iPhone OS 2.0 or later
File Size: 1.4MB
Price: $1.99
Appletell Rating: 3 out of 5
App Store Link: Tyrian

If you haven’t played Tyrian, which was originally released for the PC in 1995, chances are you’ve played one of the hundreds of variants. It’s a shmup, which is geek-speak for vertical shooter. Your space ship is on the bottom of the screen, and hordes of enemy ships descend upon you. You can move up, down, left and right to avoid their fire, but your ship is always facing up, which you view from the top down.

Oddly, you play the game in horizontal mode, which at first doesn’t make a lot of sense considering that all of the action is vertical. But by doing so, the developers are able to use a good chunk of the left side of the screen for your controls. The ship’s status and such are displayed here, and there are three large areas you can easily tap with your left thumb to switch weapons. You’ll be doing a lot of this, as there’s an incredible amount of depth here regarding weapons and enemies. Shmup fans who have been seeking a good iPhone game are sure to be pleased.

But sadly, this iPhone game is hurt by its source. Being played on the what is arguably the most modern of all handheld gaming systems, Tyrian feels ancient. The graphics are fine, but clunky, and the controls are choppy. Your fingers will often hide the screen as you slide your ship around, which can cripple a game like this. That this port is obviously a labor of love will be fantastic for those who loved the original. For everyone else, though, the novelty of it is bound to wear off well before they get through the 50+ levels. Seven difficulty settings and support for cheat codes may keep things interesting for those who’d otherwise be turned off by the difficulty, but if you’re not tearing your hair out in frustration, you’re missing the point of shmups.

A lite version is available.

Frogger

Category: Arcade
Seller: Konami Digital Entertainment
Requirements: iPhone OS 2.0 or later
File Size: 2.7MB
Price: $1.99
Appletell Rating: 4 out of 5
App Store Link: Frogger

The thing I always liked best about Frogger is that you could play it for a long, long time. If I put in a quarter into Defender or Jungle Hunt, I knew I was going to get about two minutes of arcade action, tops. But with Frogger, I could stand there for ten minutes on a single game.

Frogger, for those who don’t know, is a game in which you guide a frog from the bottom of the screen up across a highway and a raging river to its lily pad. Do this five times, and you start again with a higher degree of difficulty. In the arcade, it was minimalism perfected; one joystick, crazy fun. On the iPhone, you run into obvious control issues. Three methods are provided; you can tap in the direction you want the front to move, you can slide, or you can tilt. Tapping seems it would be best, but if you want the frog to move up, you have to tap above him. This is extremely difficult when you get to the top of the screen; not much room left to tap, so you’ll often miss the screen and kill the frog. The accelerometer is right out—I’m not even going to bother pointing out how awful it is to have the tilt the phone the direction you want the frog to move. Sliding ends up working the best, since you can place your thumb anywhere on the screen. A simple d-pad would’ve been a better option, but sliding works fine.

Control ends up not being my biggest gripe, though; it’s the presentation. The graphics fall in a bad spot between detailed and cartoony, and therefore lack any real character. Frogger on the iPhone feels like you’re playing some dumb Flash game on a breakfast cereal website, and that’s too bad. Nostalgia is a big factor here, so Konami would’ve been wise to just give the game the look and sound of the original arcade console. As it stands, Frogger is still fun to play, but if I want a kick of early ‘80s arcade nostalgia, I’m reaching for Taito’s Space Invaders app.

Summary

Any of these is apps is bound to entertain if you’re fan of the original. Pipe Mania makes best use of the iPhone, Tyrian is the most faithful adaptation, and Frogger is probably the best source game. But if you only want one—especially if you haven’t played any of the originals—Pipe Mania should be your choice. I’m not sure I’d pick it above the others on any other platform, but it’s a perfect choice with perfect design for iPhone gaming.