Top 10 iOS games to help you survive the forthcoming apocalypse
A sticky situation
We're not really sure how we're supposed to break this to you, so we'll just come right out and say it....
The world is going to end this year. Maybe.
Okay, so the threats of a global apocalypse are probably complete codswallop, but it can't hurt to prepare yourselves for such an event, eh. C'mon, all you need is an iPhone, an iPad, or a shiny iPod touch.
Download the ten games below and you'll be a survival expert in no time. It's that simple. Probably.
Carnivores: Ice Age (learn how to catch food)
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The first thing you'll need to do if you find yourself as one of earth's last remaining humans is learn how to catch yourself some food.
Luckily, Tatem Games's Carnivores: Ice Age has you covered. The Bronze Award-winning shooter will teach how to track a tasty snack, sneak up on your unsuspecting prey, and finish them off with a well-placed bullet to the cranium. Easy.
You'll also become a dab hand at wielding a variety of firearms. That's a pretty handy skill based on the apocalypse movies we've seen here at Pocket Gamer Towers.
Download Carnivores: Ice Age (Universal)
Burn the Rope (create and maintain a fire)
You won't survive in a post-apocalyptic world for very long if you can't build and maintain a roasting-hot fire. And, no: Bear Grylls isn't around to help you.
Thankfully, Steve Jobs's App Store - once again - has the answer: Burn the Rope.
Big Blue Bubble's puzzler tasks you with starting fires and - most importantly - keeping them burning throughout some pretty tough situations. If you can succeed here, you'll easily succeed out in the real world.
Download Burn the Rope
Download Burn the Rope HD
There's no point spending hours hunting down a juicy deer, cooking it, and subsequently scoffing it if you're going to die from dehydration a few days later. Water is just as important.
What can Disney's excellent Silver Award-nabbing physics-based puzzler Where's My Water? teach you, then?
Well, how to create a steady stream of refreshing H2O, for starters. More importantly, though, you'll learn how to create said stream while avoiding toxic waste, some strange purple liquid, and a ton of alligators.
Download Where's My Water? (Universal)
Rage HD (teach yourself how to slay beasts)
We don't quite know why so many movies and games centre on an apocalypse featuring mutants, zombies, vampires, and a range of other bloodthirsty nasties, but we do know that you should definitely prepare yourself for them.
That's where id Software's Rage HD comes in.
This shooter has you frantically hot-footing it around a series of arenas, snatching up any spare ammo you can find, and pumping mutated humans full of lead. It's perfect practice, and practice makes perfect.
Download Rage HD
Amateur Surgeon (a quick First Aid course)
It's inevitable that you'll amass cuts, nicks, bruises, gashes, and a lot more as you explore earth's derelict landscape in search of sustenance. You may even happen upon a fellow survivor who could use some medical assistance.
Fear not: Amateur Surgeon will teach you everything you need to know, including how to operate on somebody using a bottle opener, a lighter, a stapler, and some pain pills. We can see why you'd need the tablets.
If that doesn't quench your thirst for knowledge, Amateur Surgeon will even teach you how to save somebody's life using an old car battery. Painful.
Download Amateur Surgeon
Download Amateur Surgeon HD
"Why would you need to learn how to drive?" we hear you ask.
Well, think back to all of those apocalypse movies you've sat through. We bet you can remember at least one in which a group of survivors set off in a vehicle of some sort in search of a mysterious 'safe area' the government has set up.
So, Firemint's Real Racing 2 will teach you how to jump behind the wheel of an abandoned car and race away to possible safety. We're not sure just how many 2010 Ford Shelby Mustang GT500s you'll actually find lying around waiting to be commandeered, but there'll be plenty of Fiestas. You can't be picky.
Download Real Racing 2
Download Real Racing 2 HD
Pocket Gamer doesn't condone illegal activity of any kind. However, if you've just survived an apocalyptic event, we're willing to turn a blind eye should you decide to filch a few sausage rolls from your local branch of Greggs.
If you are going to turn to looting, you should learn how to get in, remain undetected, grab your desired goods, and get back out of there.
Coincidentally, that's pretty much the task you face in Firemint's line-drawing puzzler Spy Mouse. Just replace mice, cats, and cheese with derelict buildings, hungry survivors, and tins of beans. You get the picture.
Download Spy Mouse
Download Spy Mouse HD
If you take heed of the above and manage to survive for a significant amount of time, you'll probably want to turn your attention to slowly rebuilding society.
That's a pretty daunting task. Well, it would be if you didn't have Zynga's CityVille Hometown to walk you through it.
You'll learn how to construct a wide variety of buildings, how to rope your few remaining friends into helping you each day, and how to spend extra cash to speed up your progress.
Download CityVille Hometown (Universal)
The Sims FreePlay (repopulate society)
You know where we're going with this one, don't you? Yeah.
After building tons of new homes, hospitals, businesses, and more, you have to start thinking about filling them. Naturally, this involves making babies (ask your parents, kids).
If you're not exactly Mr Smooth Talker when it comes to wooing the opposite sex, you aren't going to get very far. Luckily, the App Store even has this covered, in the form of EA's The Sims FreePlay. You'll be a master of sweet talking in no time.
Just remember not to use the strange in-game language your Sims use. Things are likely to get very strange (very quickly) if you do.
Download The Sims FreePlay (Universal)
Temple Run (avoid dying of boredom)
If you've managed to find yourself some food, wash it down with crystal-clear water, successfully bandage the wounds you've picked up along the way, and kick-start the re-birth of society, the last thing you want to do is die from sheer boredom.
Temple Run won't teach you any life-saving tips or tricks (unless you're being chased by monkeys), but its bloomin' addictive.
It's also free, so don't just take our word for it.
Download Temple Run (Universal)
