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Quality Index: The week's best iPhone games – Where’s My Water?, FIFA 12, King of Dragon Pass

Critically acclaimed

Quality Index: The week's best iPhone games – Where’s My Water?, FIFA 12, King of Dragon Pass
What's this all about? Why it's the weekly Quality Index (Qi) roundup. For those not up to speed, the Quality Index is one of Pocket Gamer's many sister sites.

In many respects, Qi is a lot like Metacritic for iPhone games, collating everybody's opinions in one handy resource. In many other respects, it’s better.

A clean victory

Potentially turning Disney’s long-established development and marketing model on its head is the reptilian star of the media conglomerate’s highly Qi rated iPhone physics-based puzzler Where’s My Water?

With an extraordinary 9.2 Quality Index rating from a chorus of critics, Where’s My Water? introduces us to the hygiene-obsessed and peculiarly adorable Swampy, whose domestic plumbing requires some urgent attention.

If Disney’s newly adopted business approach works out as the company plans, Swampy’s growing popularity on the App Store will lead to starring roles in other media realms: "Maybe five years from now, wouldn't it be great if there was a movie that started up on the App Store?" Bart Decrem, Disney Mobile GM, said.

Screamer

If you’re scouting for authenticity, Sky Sports-esque production values, and the opportunity to become Sir Alex Ferguson for a season - good luck - then look no further than the latest edition of EA’s evergreen footballing franchise.

FIFA 12 on iPhone refrains from rewriting the rule book or moving the goalposts too much: instead, the developer has enhanced the pigskin experience through the inclusion of intuitive gesture-driven penalties and free-kicks, and Daily Challenges tied into its Origin social service.
FIFA 12 dribbled almost insouciantly through the heart of Qi’s midfield this week, cheered heartily on by AppGamer’s commentator: "Graphics have been given a slight overhaul too, with a much better level of detail on players and some impressively detailed stadiums with a lot of background detail…"

King of Kings

The most pressing question surrounding A Sharp’s pitch-perfect iPhone adaptation of its own strategy-cum-role-playing video game King of Dragon Pass is ‘what took so long?’

12 years after this epic turn-based saga - set in the fictional world of Glorantha and told through exquisite hand-drawn artwork - engrossed PC and Mac players around the world, A Sharp finally ported it to Apple’s portable platform.

And judging by the ringing endorsements from four sections of the iPhone reviewing elite, it was definitely worth the wait.

You can get the up-to-date information about which games are reviewing best over at the Quality Index.

With a degree in German up his sleeve Richard squares up to the following three questions every morning: FIFA or Pro Evo? XBox 360 or PS3? McNulty or Bunk?