The main problem for iPhone gamers these days is this: where do you begin? There’s an enormous number of well-designed, highly addictive games available for little or no money on iTunes, ranging from simple puzzles, through casino games, to complex adventures and ports of big-budget console games. Here’s a guide to a few of the best…

Deus Ex: The Fall

It’s not the cheapest game in the list, but it is a highly successful iOS version of a well-received and popular PC game. The themes are complex and dark in this stealth/shooter adventure game, but there’s plenty of action to keep you entertained. Graphics quality is extremely high, and if there’s a criticism to be leveled at DE:TF it’s that it’s over a little quickly.

SportsInteraction Roulette

Casino games have taken the online market by storm in the last few years, bringing millions of new players to a world that used to be populated just by hardcore gamers. American roulette is a faster version of the European game, though players need to remember the extra double zero! SportsInteraction provides a full explanation of the game at the link; play for fun or real money.

Grand Theft Auto 3

For some people, GTA in any of its incarnations is a threat to the nation’s youth and a horrible window into the future of humanity. Actually, of course, it’s just a great game, utterly addictive and very, very funny. GTA 3 is arguably the classic of the series, and it’s become a successful iOS port. The touchscreen controls are (as is so often the case with ported games) a little tricky to control, but the scale and brilliance of the original game is preserved.

W.E.L.D.E.R.

There’s no shortage of word games for the iPhone, and this is one of the best. The simplicity is reassuring for new players, especially kids, as you move tiles around to create words; the payoff comes as the tiles vanish in a puff of smoke, and is enhanced by the sound effects and beautiful graphics. The built-in dictionary is a treat, and you’ll find your vocabulary increasing steadily as you play (unless you’re already amazingly intelligent.)

Surgeon Simulator

If GTA isn’t quite unpleasant enough for you, try this… er… slice ’em up game if you have a strong stomach and an appetite for gory laughs. The controls seem to be deliberately difficult, resulting in blood-soaked mayhem and guts everywhere as you frantically try and keep your patient alive. Which surgical instrument should you use? The hammer? It’s up to you. Perhaps not for the deeply unpleasant eye surgery task though.

(Images courtesy of itunes, iphoneincanada.ca, itunes)