The top 10 best iPad games of 2011 (so far)

It's been a busy six months here at Pocket Gamer Towers, with WWDC, E3, several Skype crashes, and a horde of new iPad releases already under our belt.

In terms of big releases, the year started out slowly - as it always does - but the last few months have seen a surge in quality portable titles.

We've put our heads together, thought long and hard, and put together our list of the top ten iPad games of the year so far.

Gameloft's Silver Award-winning Starfront: Collision HD is the best real-time strategy title that iOS has to offer, squeezing both a solo campaign and a four-player online multiplayer experience into one package.

The game's story takes place on the planet Sinistral, the home of a rare Xenodium crystal lusted after by humans, aliens, and robots alike.

You're tasked with leading one of these warring factions to victory by constructing buildings, battling with over ten different units, and completing 20 missions across a number of different environments.

Download Starfront: Collision HD

Inspired by classic physics-puzzler The Incredible Machine, Casey's Contraptions HD sees you take on the role of and eight-year-old boy who you have to help build extravagant Rube Goldberg-esque inventions, with over 30 run of the mill household items and toys.

Your mission over the 70+ levels is to solve the puzzles placed before you and get Casey back his toys.

Casey's Contraptions HD features the unique ability to view and share your best puzzle solutions with friends through Apple's social gaming hub, Game Center.

You can even create your own puzzles using RC trucks, darts, ropes, boxing gloves, and a plethora of other goodies, before emailing them to your buddies.

These social features make Casey's Contraptions HD stand out from the crowd, and contributed heavily to its Pocket Gamer Gold Award.

Download Casey's Contraptions HD

Firemint's Real Racing 2 is the recipient of the ultra-rare and highly coveted Pocket Gamer Platinum Award.

Naturally, your job is to successfully steer over 30 licensed horse-powered beasts around 15 locations, by tilting your device as if it were a steering wheel.

You can compete in Cup, Head to Head, Championship, Time Trial, and Elimination races, or against another 15 players in online multiplayer modes.

You can even record your best races and upload them to YouTube for bragging rights.

If you're lucky enough to own a HDTV and an iPad 2, you can also use Apple's Digital AV Adapter to race in fullscreen 1080p, with your position, lap times, and speed displayed on your iPad.

Download Real Racing 2 HD

We didn't think it was possible to play a high quality full-featured MMORPG on a mobile device, but Gameloft proved us wrong.

Order & Chaos Online is a World of Warcraft-esque adventure that sees you exploring a fantasy world as either a Human, an Elf, an Orc, or the Undead, completing an array of quests along the way.

Between battles you can buy, sell, and trade a number of valuable items, buy and create armours and swords, or join one of the game's many guilds.

Gameloft plans to add more content in future updates including dedicated chat channels for each language, extra quests, the ability to switch servers, and cross-platform play with those Android people.

It earned a Pocket Gamer Bronze Award for being an impressive artistic and technical feat.

Download Order & Chaos Online

EA's Silver Award-winning horror outing Dead Space is one of iOS's best looking games, with the iPad 2 being treated to enhanced visuals.

In the iPhone and iPad exclusive story - which takes place between both console experiences - you play as the mysterious Vandal, who must navigate Necromorph infested corridors in the hope of sabotaging the Sprawl space station.

If you hope to survive, you'll have to upgrade your equipment with hidden power nodes, learn which of your weapons suits each situation, and become a dab hand at removing enemy limbs.

If you get tired of quivering through the game's campaign, you can jump into endless and timed Survival modes, with the equipment you've amassed throughout the Story mode.

Download Dead Space HD

Capybara Games's pixel-art adventure Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP combines quests, battles, puzzles, exploration, and stellar soundtrack.

Clearly influenced by the likes of The Legend of Zelda, the game charges you to explore a mystical realm, doing battle with your sword while searching for a power hidden deep in the Caucasus Mountains.

The game is affected by several real-world moon phases, meaning you have to change the date on your device to progress past certain areas.

Several other quirky features make an appearance, including the ability to Tweet every single line of dialogue.

It managed to grab a Silver Award for its uniqueness and style.

Download Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP

Ticket to Ride is a Gold Award-winning adaption of the Days of Wonder's best-selling board game of the same name.

Over a number of turns, the game sees you constructing a railway across some of Alan R. Moon's official maps, while completing missions and blocking opponents from doing the same thing.

You can play against up to four computer controlled AI opponents, or jump online for a real challenge from other iPad, Mac, and PC gamers.

Download Ticket to Ride

The Back to the Future series of games takes place following the events of the final movie, as Marty gets re-acquainted with the 1980s.

Unfortunately, with the help of the trusty DeLorean, you find yourself travelling back in time once again to save Doc Brown, with subsequent adventures revolving around preventing a gang boss from wreaking havoc and preventing a young Doc Brown from making the worst mistake of his life.

The series is a collaboration between Telltale Games and Bob Gale, the co-creator and co-writer of the original film trilogy. It's an adventure title in the vein of the Broken Sword and Monkey Island games.

Although episodes suffer some performance issues on the original iPad, each has picked-up a respectable Bronze Award.

Download Back to the Future Episode 1 HD
Download Back to the Future Episode 2 HD
Download Back to the Future Episode 3 HD
Download Back to the Future Episode 4 HD

Square Enix is well-known for its RPGs, and specifically the popular Final Fantasy series of games.

Chaos Rings Omega is a similar affair, which revolves around a brutal life-or-death arena tournament that takes place 10,000 years before the events of the original iOS outing.

Taking on the role of Veig, you'll split your time between turn-based battles, exploration, and some basic puzzles.

The first of six planned monthly updates has just been released, each one increasing your level cap and providing a new secret boss to battle, with voice acting also on its way.

Chaos Rings Omega HD bagged a Bronze Award at review.

Download Chaos Rings Omega HD

The Silver Award-winning Final Fantasy III is a remake of the original 1990 RPG, and a port of the 2006 Nintendo DS game, but with improved 3D visuals and story sequences.

Your job is to guide a party of four orphaned youths on a world-saving mission given to you by the crystal of light, by surviving a number of turn-based battles and defeating bosses.

Your party of four can switch between various character classes (jobs) at will, which range from Knights and Monks, to Thieves and Mages - each with their own advantages and disadvantages.

You can also use some of the series's now famous summons, including ice-maiden Shiva and Bahamut.

Download Final Fantasy III