Top 5: the best iPhone 4 retina games

So, the iPhone 4 screen is pretty special, huh? If you haven't seen one and don't understand quite what the big deal is, consider that the iPhone 4's 960x640 pixel, 3.5 inch retina display is the equivalent of 326ppi - it's said the human eye cannot even distinguish individual pixels at this density. Or to look at it another way, your 24" monitor would need a resolution of approximately 6500x4400 to look as good - well, well, well beyond "Full HD".

If you already have an iPhone 4, there's little doubt you've spent some time looking for games that support this incredible retina display, as have we. Surprisingly, there are already a substantial number of games that have been updated to support the retina display, but we think there's a shortlist that really stand out, so we thought we'd round-out our top 5 here for you with some micro-reviews.


GodFinger
If you enjoy your kingdom sims then you'll have most certainly have played the genre classic; Black & White. And if you have then you'll be excited to discover that ngmoco teamed up with Black & White dev, Wonderland Software, to create this game! It's far from a flawless experience, but if your interests meet those prerequisites you'll probably love GodFinger. It's not entirely dissimilar to Pocket God or We Rule, which you may have played, but it is certainly better. And now it looks absolutely gorgeous, too!




Zen Bound 2
This little gem of a puzzle game is based on a simple premise that sounds stupid when explained, but has an unmistakable charm and is rather therapeutic: you need to wrap rope around wooden sculptures. I told you it sounds stupid. Zen Bound 2 utilises OpenGL ES 2.0 to deliver amazingly detailed lighting, shadows and textures, and is breathtakingly beautiful on the retina display. It might just be the best looking game on the App Store, and has a great soundtrack as well.





Flight Control
This classic iPhone game has been ripped off time and time again, but is back with high resolution vengeance. For those that haven't played it or a game of its type, essentially you need to drag incoming planes onto designated runways without having them crash into one another. It's extremely simple, extremely addictive and now extremely competitive thanks to the online leader-boards. This is simply a must-own.





Eliminate: Gun Range
I really, really don't like first person shooters on the iPhone. I dislike playing them on the iPhone more than playing them with a controller. But what I do like is your classic gun-range and on-rail shooters like Metal Gear Solid Touch. Eliminate: Gun Range is another nifty time killer that is sure to set you chasing high scores in no time. Along with looking good, it also makes fantastic use of the iPhone 4's gyroscope.





Real Racing
This is the undisputed king of racing games on the iPhone, and has been since its release. There really is no doubt about that. Now it's even better, with striking retina resolution support which dramatically reduces the 'jaggies' which are so apparent on the 3GS. The fun factor has also been largely improved, thanks again the ultra-responsiveness of the iPhone 4's gyroscope. This is not just a great retina display enabled game, but one of the best games on the iPhone platform, period.