Modern Combat 4: Zero Hour ($6.99)
As iPad shooters go, it doesn't get more intense than the latest installment in Modern Combat, Gameloft's Call of Duty-inspired franchise for mobile. Many of the graphical details -- such as smoke, motion blur and gunfire -- look eerily realistic, even if there are a few jagged lines in the scenery (the designers' notes say the game is optimized for the iPhone 5). With so much potential, it's good the controls are customizable, and the game gets even more immersive in gyroscope mode, which changes your point of view as you move the tablet. If you get too into it, you might have to switch to playing it on Xbox Kinect.
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When we reviewed the fourth-generation iPad last month, we judged its A6X processor to be a workhorse. Compared to the A5X in the previous iPad (which has the same retina display), the iPad 4 ran more than twice as fast -- making it easily the best-performing mobile product Apple has ever built.
Too bad there aren't many apps that can take advantage of all that processing power. As with most platforms, the apps that tax your iPad's system the most are graphic-intensive games -- precisely why the A6X has a quad-core design for its GPU (the main difference between it and the iPhone 5's A6 chip).
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All existing retina games were designed to run on the iPad 3, so seriously taxing your iPad 4's chip is hard to do. Still, even if actual gameplay is relatively unaffected, other aspects of the experience (bootup and transition times, for example) will improve.
Your iPad 4 will also use less power, and thus be less inclined to get warm than an iPad 3 performing the same tasks. That lets you play longer in more comfort. The first game titles since the release of iPad 4 are beginning to launch (such as this week's Modern Combat, and some may even start to give the A6X a serious workout.
Keeping all that in mind, we've assembled this list of the most processor-challenging games for your brand new iPad 4. We've included the prices so you can budget your App Store gift card accordingly.
Did we miss any good ones? Please remind us (politely) in the comments.
This story originally published on Mashable here.