However, we've also been tracking a new area iPhone game reviews which we've separated out from mobile. This means a new set of sites to track.
Besides Pocket Gamer and IGN Wireless, the iPhone Game Quality Index currently includes Slide To Play, Macworld, Mac|Life and iPhone Games Network (we would have included the excellent Touch Arcade too, but they don't give scores in their reviews).
Every review published by these sites in July, August and September has been tracked, with scores converted to a rating out of 10 for those sites using alternative score formats.
For publishers, we've boiled down the list to companies who've had more than five reviews on these sites during the period, covering more than one game. The chart runs thus:
Publisher | Reviews | Avg Score |
Gameloft | 24 | 8.00 |
Ambrosia Software | 5 | 7.40 |
Pangea Software | 10 | 7.15 |
Publisher X | 9 | 7.09 |
Hudson Soft | 9 | 6.99 |
I-play | 5 | 6.98 |
EA Mobile | 12 | 6.92 |
THQ Wireless | 8 | 6.71 |
Freeverse | 12 | 6.08 |
Namco Bandai Networks | 9 | 5.43 |
Astraware | 5 | 5.38 |
Gameloft is clearly bolstering its reputation for high-quality games so far with its impressive average score all the more notable from coming from 24 different reviews.
Mac publisher Ambrosia Software is also doing well, albeit mainly from high scores for its Mondo Solitaire game. Another firm with its roots in the Mac sphere, Pangea Software, has scored well across its games, including Enigmo, Cro-Mag Rally and Billy Frontier.
EA Mobile's mid-table position is due to the mixed reviews the publisher has received, with some games (for example Spore Origins and Tetris) dividing critics.
Near the bottom of this chart, Namco Bandai Networks has received poor reviews for its retro games Pac-Man, Ms Pac-Man and Pole Position Remix.
Astraware is perhaps unlucky to be occupying last slot in this chart, given that four of its five reviews were for one game, GTS World Racing.
So what about individual games? 36 games have been reviewed by more than three of the websites being tracked for the iPhone Game Quality Index.
Gameloft is well represented, but interestingly, developer Igloo Games tops the chart with Dizzy Bee, while fellow indies Demiforce and IUGO also nestle inside the Top 10. The full chart follows:
Game | Publisher | Revs | Avg. Score |
Dizzy Bee | Igloo Games | 3 | 8.67 |
Asphalt 4 Elite Racing | Gameloft | 6 | 8.58 |
Texas Hold'em | Apple | 4 | 8.5 |
Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D | Vivendi | 3 | 8.27 |
Trism | Demiforce | 4 | 8.25 |
Real Football 2009 | Gameloft | 4 | 8.13 |
Mondo Solitaire | Ambrosia Software | 3 | 8.00 |
Toy Bot Diaries | IUGO | 5 | 7.98 |
Brain Challenge | Gameloft | 3 | 7.97 |
Critter Crunch | Publisher X | 3 | 7.83 |
Space Monkey | Glu Mobile | 4 | 7.75 |
Zen Pinball: Rollercoaster | Publisher X | 3 | 7.67 |
Diner Dash | PlayFirst | 3 | 7.33 |
Super Monkey Ball | Sega | 5 | 7.3 |
Spore Origins | EA Mobile | 4 | 7.25 |
Diamond Twister | Gameloft | 3 | 7.17 |
SolarQuest | Neon Surge | 3 | 7.17 |
Cro-Mag Rally | Pangea Software | 4 | 7.00 |
De Blob | THQ Wireless | 4 | 7.00 |
EA Sudoku | EA Mobile | 3 | 7.00 |
Big Bang Sudoku | Freeverse | 3 | 6.67 |
Funky Punch | Solus Games | 3 | 6.67 |
Space Invasion | StarByte | 3 | 6.67 |
X-Plane 9 | Laminar Research | 3 | 6.67 |
Jewel Quest II | I-play | 3 | 6.47 |
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed | THQ Wireless | 4 | 6.4 |
Aqua Forest | Hudson Soft | 3 | 6.33 |
Bomberman Touch | Hudson Soft | 3 | 6.33 |
Tetris | EA Mobile | 3 | 6.33 |
Vay | SoMoGa | 4 | 6.25 |
Moto Chaser | Freeverse | 5 | 6.2 |
Bejeweled 2 | PopCap | 3 | 6 |
Flick Bowling | Freeverse | 3 | 6 |
GTS World Racing | Astraware | 4 | 5.98 |
Pac-Man | Namco | 4 | 5.5 |
Cybersaurus 3D | Darxun Games | 3 | 3.17 |