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10 iOS games that deserve to rise from the grave

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10 iOS games that deserve to rise from the grave
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iOS

Apple's App Store changes constantly, with price drops, sales, updates, price increases, new titles, and much more happening every single minute.

While updates are a great way to add extra life to a top title, the majority of the best iPhone and iPad games spawn sequels.

This feature looks at some of Pocket Gamer's best rated games from yesteryear (2008-2009). Specifically the ones that could do with a sequel.

These are ten titles that deserve to rise from their App Store graves...

Glyder

If you didn't play Glyder or Glyder 2 when they hit the App Store back in 2009, you may have lost your chance - both titles are no longer available through Apple's digital entertainment hub.

Both entries in the series see you guiding a young girl called Eryn around fantastical landscapes, collecting a variety of crystals and earning achievements for completing set goals.

Any new entries in the series could take full advantage of the iPhone's new gyroscope, and use Apple's own Game Center to track your achievements.

Rolando

The Pocket Gamer Platinum Award-winning Rolando has already spawned one sequel, but we still haven't seen a new roll-'em-up offering since the middle of 2009.

Both games in the series involve rolling a number of Rolandos around colourful 2D levels, flicking your device's screen to jump obstacles and avoid enemies, and reaching the end of each stage.

Ngmoco head Neil Young explained back in 2010 why we're yet to see Rolando 3: "When we made the decision to go free-to-play, we said to ourselves, look. If we can't make the game free-to-play, we're not going to release it. And Rolando 3 as it was envisioned at that time was not a free-to-play product."

Download Rolando
Download Rolando 2: Quest for the Golden Orchid

Cops & Robbers

Crime doesn't pay: it results in a jail sentence, a huge fine, or a prospect-limiting criminal record. Crime does, however, make an excellent Pocket Gamer Gold Award-winning iPhone game.

Cops & Robbers, as we're sure you've already guessed, sees you attempting to escape from the fuzz with a stash of money and valuable jewels.

You do this across nine unique levels as one of two different characters, by tapping your device's screen to vault obstacles, swing around poles, jump between rooftops, and more.

Download Cops & Robbers

I Dig It

A game in which you dig underground, grab some valuable minerals, ferry them above ground, and then rinse and repeat doesn't sound very fun, but it's strangely addictive.

I Dig It (and its Gold Award-winning sequel) see you taking control of a mechanical digger and heading underground in the search for shiny trinkets. Naturally, you'll have to overcome hazards, such as running out of fuel or overheating.

As you cash-in your collectibles you can upgrade your craft's heat resistance, the amount of treasure it can hold, and other handy extras, and head even deeper for priceless goodies. It's this balance between risk and reward that makes it so fun.

Download I Dig It
Download I Dig It HD
Download I Dig It Expeditions

Who Has the Biggest Brain

Like Glyder, Who Has the Biggest Brain is sadly no longer on the App Store, meaning you'll have to get your educational fix elsewhere.

Who Has the Biggest Brain revolves around a series of puzzles, jigsaws, calculations, and other brain teasers, which you attempt to solve in the quickest time possible.

The game then pits your best scores against those of your Facebook buddies. Game Center leaderboards would be a great addition if the series ever does rise from the grave.

Call of Duty: Zombies

Call of Duty: Zombies hit the App Store all the way back in November 2009, but we're yet to see another COD title grace the iPhone or iPad.

Shooters like EA's Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and Gameloft's Modern Combat 2 have proven that decent first-person shooters aren't impossible on Apple's range of handhelds, so we'd like to see Soap and his buddies jump on board.

In the meantime, the Gold Award-winning Call of Duty: Zombies is a worthy stand-in. We all love repeatedly shooting the undead in the face, upgrading our weapons, and then unloading more lead.

Download Call of Duty: Zombies
Download Call of Duty: Zombies HD

Metal Gear Solid Touch

Solid Snake's first foray into the App Store was a little disappointing to say the least, with everything that makes the franchise great absent from the release.

Instead of sneaking around corners and hiding in boxes, Metal Gear Solid Touch tasks you with sliding your finger around your iPhone's screen and tapping to shoot the waves of enemies that pop-up from behind cover.

We've already discussed what we'd like to see from Metal Gear Solid Touch 2, but a port of Metal Gear Ac!d would suit the platform down to the ground.

Download Metal Gear Solid Touch

Eliminate Pro

Ditching a single-player campaign entirely, the free-to-play Eliminate Pro instead focuses on fast-paced multiplayer online action.

The first-person shooter sees you running and gunning with other players around various arenas, earning credits and using them to unlock and upgrade armour, weapons, and helpful items.

What do we want from a sequel? For starters, we'd like to be able to face-off against a greater number of opponents, and launch an assault on Game Center leaderboards as we do it. A graphical boost and a new range of weapons wouldn't go amiss either.

Download Eliminate Pro

Touch KO

Apple's App Store is saturated with sports games, but there are only a handful of quality boxing titles. Touch KO is one such offering, which punched its way to a Gold Award when it stepped into Pocket Gamer's review ring.

Naturally, the game tasks you with jumping into the ring and dealing out a few knuckle sandwiches, by tapping, swiping, and tilting your device to jab, uppercut, and dodge incoming attacks.

Download Touch KO

Warfare Incorporated

At review, we called Warfare Incorporated a "benchmark RTS" and awarded it a Pocket Gamer Gold Award, despite the games "merely functional" visuals.

Your aim is to take out your rivals through a variety of different missions, such as full-scale invasions, resource gathering expeditions, one-man assaults, and more.

A sequel should come packing nifty new graphics, new missions and units, and an integrated social gaming network, such as Game Center. As real-time strategy titles play better on a larger screen, any future releases should also feature support for Apple's iPad.

Download Warfare Incorporated

Anthony Usher
Anthony Usher
Anthony is a Liverpool, UK-based writer who fell in love with gaming while playing Super Mario World on his SNES back in the early '90s. When he isn't busy grooming his beard, you can find him replaying Resident Evil or Final Fantasy VII for the umpteenth time. Aside from gaming, Anthony likes hiking, MMA, and pretending he’s a Viking.