Here’s how I got three stars in the most annoying stage of Cut the Rope: Time Travel (Stone Age stage 14). To achieve those wacky “in-between” firing angles, just hold the rocket in position with one finger, and cut the rope with another finger. It’s kind of like cheating, and there’s probably a faster way to do this, but whatever. It gets the job done.

Cut the Rope: Experiments has seen a handful of updates since I reviewed it last year, each adding another level box and puzzle gimmick to the game.

Here’s your link to the App Store. Go download it, now!Also, take note, other titles are discounted for Memorial Day. Dead Space and World of Goo, also great games in their own right, are currently ninety-nine cents. If that sounds palatable to you, then I suggest you check them out as well.

Just picked up Cut the Rope: Experiments and this video popped on while I was playing. I know it’s not new, but my son loves it immensely and has been watching it on infinite repeat; you may enjoy it too.

I am the marginalized gamer. In my first year as an iOS device owner, I’ve taken to it pretty well. However, a majority of my game time comes in thirty minute windows as I travel to and from work.

I seldom have time to sit and play on consoles. My Nintendo Wii has become my go-to exercise device. Last month, I lost seven pounds playing Michael Jackson: The Experience and Just Dance 3. That’s your “No One Give’s a Rat’s Ass, Fade” fact of the day.

So, today, we look at my picks for the best of iOS gaming in 2011.

 Top Ten iPhone Games for 2011

10.) You Don’t Know Jack

Confession: I had never played a You Don’t Know Jack game until this year. I wasn’t a PC gamer back when the games were relevant, and I didn’t want to waste my money on a trivia game back when they were getting made for the Sony Playstation. I didn’t know what I was missing.

You Don’t Know Jack seems like it was made for people like me. Most questions mix pop culture references with useful knowledge where you have to decipher an answer in as little time as possible. The jokes can be juvenile, but they’re a nice change of pace from your standard by-the-books trivia games. Especially important is the show’s host, Cookie Masterson, and the commentary that goes with each question. Whether he’s insulting you for being wrong or simply talking slightly off-tangent, there’s a good chance Cookie will make you giggle.

While no multiplayer elements are present and the 22 episodes won’t last long, trivia fans looking for a laugh on the go absolutely must pony up three dollars for You Don’t Know Jack.

9.) SpellTower

Word games are all over the App Store, and with good reason, but SpellTower is the first one to mix Dungeon Raid and Bookworm to create some sort of Boggle-Tetris love child. With clean, minimalist graphics, four play modes, and GameCenter integration, SpellTower finds that nice middle ground between fun and frustration that gamers love while looking mighty fine.

Until EA PopCap ports Bookworm Adventures over to iOS devices, SpellTower will be the single-player word game to beat.

8.) Bring Me Sandwiches!!

[adult swim] Games has done a lot of great work on iOS. Their library is full of iOS staples, from Amateur Surgeon and Robot Unicorn Attack games to Five Minutes to Kill Yourself. However, most of those games had one joke and built around it in a fashion that often wore its welcome out quickly.

Bring Me Sandwiches!!! is an original game that would best be described as a sidescrolling platform Katamari Damacy. An alien named Gourmo takes the role that belonged to the King of the Cosmos as he demands sandwiches. While Bring Me Sandwiches!! doesn’t feature some of the quirkier features of Katamari Damacy (I particularly miss the strange J-pop and belittling overlord), it features the same mechanics. The bigger your bread, the bigger the items you can pick up. The stages, then, branch in different ways. Each stage has a hidden alien spaceship part and features three different ways to gauge your success.

The game features two different control methods, and I actually found myself using the accelerometer controls by choice. Bring Me Sandwiches!! isn’t the best platforming game on the system, but it’s well worth your time and better than the Katamari game that we got this year.

7.) Zombie Parkour Runner

Regardless of the numerous games that I’ve gotten for free in the App Store, there are very few times that I’ve felt compelled to tell anyone about it. For instance, I still don’t know why Amazing Breaker was atop the App Store a couple months back as I picked it up for free and uninstalled it days later. The law of averages caught up with me, though, when I picked up Zombie Parkour Runner.

Zombie Parkour Runner managed to speak to me on a level I hadn’t anticipated. Think of the game as an on-rails platformer where you navigate through one context-sensitive action button. That’s what you get in Zombie Parkour Runner.

This seems as though it was crafted by people who were well-versed in platforming games. Branching paths, collectibles, and solid action are highlights of a surprisingly fun game that rewards old-school memorization and quick reflexes. It’s decidedly retro while being something new.

6.) Superbrothers: Swords & Sworcery EP

I had nearly forgotten this game was on my iPhone until a recent conversation with Markham Asylum. He asked me if I had played it. I said I had, but that it hadn’t hooked me. Then, after playing it again, I remembered why I stopped playing. Like Papa Sangre before it, I quit playing Superbrothers: Swords & Sworcery because it requires headphones for sound.

What I had missed out on, though, was one of the most beautiful and interesting adventures on iOS. There are so many quirky hooks that make S:S&S EP stand out. Beautiful, fluid pixel art, superb sound, and tweet-able text all stand out in this adventure by Capybara Games. The adventure is short, but damn is it sweet.

5.) Tiny Wings

Tiny Wings has a lot of great elements that other runner/flyers should consider. Tiny Wings, like most running games, features procedurally generated levels. Unlike most runners, the bright, hypnotic colors change daily and result in a different feeling every day. There’s only one play mode, but you’ll come back time and again as you improve your nest and try to top your old scores.

What I love most, though, is that failure is nothing more than a minor setback. Tiny Wings is a zen runner, something that may not have existed prior to Andreas Illiger’s beautiful little game. Things speed up as you go along, sure, but that’s a result of momentum as you fly higher and fall faster. The upbeat music and happy sound effects are different than every other runner out there. There is no tension here.

4.) Scribblenauts Remix

Long before it was released, I stated that iOS was the perfect platform for Scribblenauts in my Top Ten Games Missing from iOS list. Scribblenauts Remix’s blend of word, puzzle, and platform gaming is a blast to play that’s still pretty incredible. For example, the screen you see above has an ax-wielding George Washington chopping down a cherry tree on his own volition. When people stay there’s nothing quite like Scribblenauts, they really aren’t kidding.

The version iOS gamers got was better graphically, but missing small elements that made the Nintendo DS version so magical, such as playing the same stage three times without using the same words. While still a perfect fit for the system, the fifty stages currently presented are not enough to sate most gamers, especially those who have already played the previous two entries. My time with Scribblenauts Remix, while fun, was incredibly brief.

Nintendo DS owners should pick up Scribblenauts and/or Super Scribblenauts instead. They are simply fuller experiences. For gamers without Nintendo DS access, though, this is definitely worth having on your iOS device.

3.) Cut the Rope: Experiments

Zeptolab’s adorable, candy-loving monster, Om Nom, returned in 2011 for more of the same. But, as I said before, the same is the best physics-based puzzle game in the App Store.

Cut the Rope: Experiments is still a tremendous value and the second best puzzle game in the App Store. The first, of course, is the original Cut the Rope. If you can only afford one, get the one that has twice as many levels.

Cut the Rope: Experiments has all the best iOS elements. It is a blueprint for what makes iOS gaming unique. Bite-sized stages, beautiful retina-display graphics, and a cute character make this game great for kids and adults alike. From the second your mad scientist opens that box, you’ll fall in love.

Admittedly, when I reviewed Cut the Rope: Experiments, I anticipated quicker updates and shot the score a bit higher than it currently deserves. A hundred levels just don’t last long enough when you’re playing a game every chance you get.

2.) Groove Coaster

For all the crap I like to give Square Enix, one of the best things they’ve done is acquire Taito Corporation. While I’m still waiting for a sprite-based Lufia update, the direction they’ve taken Taito in pulling at gamers’ nostalgic hearts while creating some of the best retro experiences over the past six years is commendable.

Groove Coaster is the next in the line of experimental, retro-based games. While the rhythm-game genre is already well-represented with Guitar Hero, Rock Band, Tap Tap Revenge, and Tap Sonic taking up lots of space, Groove Coaster is just another iOS rhythm game. However, Groove Coaster is the first to serve up a minimal, vector-based presentation as your beam of light rides on-rails that twist and turn (yes, like a rollercoaster) while you tap and swipe in rhythm with chip tunes.

For people who grew up with Taito games, getting through each song presents both a challenge and a reward, as higher difficulties unlock. Some songs require an in-app purchase, but that’s the standard for the genre. Groove Coaster is the iOS rhythm game for nerds who never wanted to be a rock or pop star.

Honorable mentions

Before I get to the game of the year, I’d like to mention a few games that I enjoyed that just didn’t make the cut. The sheer number of games that I’ve picked up throughout the year made narrowing the field to ten surprisingly daunting. These are all good games that are worthy of your time and money.

Angry Birds: Rio
Battleheart
Dark Meadow
Dead Space
Early Bird
Gemcraft
Infinite Blade II
Kami Retro
Mage Gauntlet
NBA Jam
Order & Chaos: Online
Pocket RPG
The Secret of Mana
Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing
Sonic CD
Spy Mouse
Swords & Soldiers
Where’s My Water?
World of Goo

Zombie Gunship

iPhone Game of the Year 2011

1.) Jetpack Joyride

My favorite game of the year, though, was Jetpack Joyride. Halfbrick’s endless cave-flyer set a new standard for all endless games. The base of the game is your average endless runner/cave-flyer as you navigate through the corridor avoiding the three standard hazards. The way everything is implemented, however, makes the package all the more appealing.

Vehicles change the game completely with each having its own control style. Mission objectives that change the way you play and rotate out after completion may as well be the definition of “just one more game.” Leveling and “prestiging” are handled very tongue-in-cheek with a majority of the little jokes also being in the same vein, from the “Angry Wings” achievement to the price of an orange DragonBall Z gi.

From top to bottom, this is just a well-made game that hits all the right notes. Since its release, Jetpack Joyride has redefined the genre, making a majority of the endless games in the App Store seem absolutely garbage by comparison.

This is gaming joy distilled into a fun, bite-sized package that gamers with little time can play for brief moments and feel rewarded. Like Cut the Rope and Angry Birds before it, Jetpack Joyride encompasses what makes iPhone gaming so radically different from consoles and handhelds.

Australian indie-pop band, “Hey, Geronimo!” are pretty much unknown. Scratch that, WERE pretty much unknown. Then they made this awesome video for their song “Why Don’t We Do Something?”

Five iOS staples are represented and cosplayed to near-perfection. I have a soft spot for the Flight Control flight attendent that may not be much longer… see what I did there?

Cel-shaded... now that's my kind of woman right there.

In the past three days, their video has gotten over 150,000 hits and growing and it’s easy to see why. It may be fun to watch their numbers rise as this thing goes viral.

As for the song itself, there’s a definite Weezer influence going on here. The video even reminds me a little of Weezer’s “Keep Fishin’” video, only with games rather than Muppets.

You may have heard me mention Cut the Rope a few times. To me, an iOS device without Cut the Rope is like a Bob Ross painting without happy, little trees. It’s simply unacceptable.

After providing 200 solid levels to the original Chillingo-published game, Zeptolab has went the self-publishing route (just like Rovio after the success of Angry Birds) and released a sequel in Cut the Rope: Experiments. If you’re a regular reader, you already knew that.

The premise is simple. You have candy dangling from thin ropes. Swipe across to cut the rope. Physics are at play here, so you need to factor things like gravity and momentum into play. Feed the candy to Om Nom, the adorable, candy-loving monster. Try to collect the 3 stars within each stage for bonus points. Collect enough stars and unlock more stages with different gimmicks. Keep the candy from breaking or falling off the screen. Each stage can be completed in under twenty seconds (with many taking less than ten seconds) making it a very good, bite-sized game for subway rides or those moments between moments.

While most games in the App Store feel as though they’re missing some element, Cut the Rope and Cut the Rope: Experiments seem to be the full package. Beautiful, but simple graphics, pleasant sound, and a lovable main character. The only thing missing, really, is story. Puzzle games never really have stories, though, and this one actually attempts one when you a mad (but not bad) professor finds Om Nom at his door. It’s nearly identical to the first game’s story, but now things like electrical currents and gadgets seem to make sense.

Cut the Rope: Experiments presents two new gadgets to keep gameplay fresh: The Rope Gun and the Suction Cup. Of the two, the Rope Gun is easily the best and, likely, better than all those before it. It’s easy to use and understand. I hope it makes an appearance in future updates, as it feels brilliant. The suction cup, however, does not control as well. It’s still easy to understand, but not as easy to use. A lot of the third world will be completed through trial and error. Nothing too frustrating, mind you, but I didn’t feel comfortable with the suction cups until more than halfway through the level pack.

The first 25 stages are tutorials, but that doesn't mean they aren't fun.

Cut the Rope: Experiments supports Retina Display and is GameCenter enabled with leaderboards and achievements. None of the achievements are too challenging, though you may have to backtrack to pick up a few of them. Then again, this game seems a little less challenging than the original. Perhaps it’s an attempt to appeal to a wider audience, but the first game ramped up the difficulty the further you got into the game. Additionally, I have played a lot of the original and am already conditioned to the game’s mechanics. Those new to the series may find more frustration than I did.

At a mere 75 levels, the promise of more to come makes the game worth the meager price of admission. If past is prologue, then the game is sure to deliver. As is, Cut the Rope: Experiments is more of the same, but considering the same was the tightest-designed, most-polished physics-based puzzle game in the AppStore, that’s by no means a bad thing. With loads of appeal and superb gameplay, Cut the Rope: Experiments is a dollar well spent.

However, Zeptolab has decided to push out Cut the Rope: Experiments today. Cut the Rope is, in my eyes, the best puzzle game in the AppStore. It, like Angry Birds, is very accessible while still challenging enough to sate most hardcore gamers. Tight physics and clever level design make it a must-own title. Plus, Om Nom, the candy loving monster? Too cute.

If you’re new to Cut the Rope, pick up the original and free “Holiday Gift” versions first. Cut the Rope:Experiments only has 75 levels which you can burn through rather quickly. It’ll surely see updates, but there’s just not much to the package just yet. Even then, at $.99 it really is hard to complain for such an enjoyable experience.

Guess which of the two I downloaded has gotten the most play?

This honestly took less than ten minutes to do...

Also, if it’s your thing, Shift 2 (which alludes to its Need for Speed roots, but doesn’t spell it out) is also online. Again, if that’s your thing…

As usual, Square-Enix has discounted their entire library (except for Final Fantasy III, strangely enough) until next week to “celebrate” their new release. Get them while the getting’s good.

Chaos Rings? Yes. Chaos Rings Omega? Yes. Song Summoner? No. No. A thousand times, no.

Finally, remember when I thought the updated content wouldn’t amount to much space?

Time for some iPhone upkeep. Goodbye, unused apps and stupid videos...

I was wrong. Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions is 456 MB, more than double the size of the PSP original.