One of the main advantages of some iPhone games is that they're not iPhone games. Instead, they're games on the iPhone.

The distinction between "iPhone games" and "games on the iPhone" is important. Spider and UniWar, for instance, are iPhone games. But Beneath a Steel Sky is an old PC game that now happens to be on the iPhone. There are plenty of titles like this, built to be re-sold to people already familiar with them, or newly discovered by curious iPhone gamers.

After the jump, a few games that aren't iPhone games, but are on the iPhone.

Beneath a Steel Sky is a classic adventure game from 1994, created by the British team that would go on to do the Broken Sword series. I didn't play it back in the day, but I'm pleasantly surprised at how well the writing and artwork hold up fifteen (15!) years later. And I'm particularly surprised at how well an adventure game like this works on the iPhone. The interface makes it easy to poke around - literally - exploring the world with my finger. There's also a Secret of Monkey Island port, but it's $7.99. Yikes. I can't help but wince at being asked to pay eight bucks when Beneath a Steel Sky is only a dollar. However -- and I hope you're listening LucasArts -- I will gladly pay eight bucks for the Indiana Jones adventure games on the iPhone.

Classic puzzle games are a no-brainer for the iPhone. I've only tried Bejeweled 2 and my reaction is, um, yep, that's pretty much Bejeweled 2. Which is followed by me muttering under my breath how it's no Bejeweled Twist. The iPhone Bejeweled 2 integrates with Facebook's minute-long blitz competitions, which is pretty insidious for those of you swept up in that particular brand of competition. I refuse to fall for it myself.

Firaxis managed a fully intact version of Civilization Revolution, complete with the same dumb-as-dirt AI. But as far as the interface and graphics, I'm surprised how well it works, with a control scheme carefully built for big fat fingering. You can even zoom the map out to get an overview of the territory you're conquering. Contrast this with the terrible iPhone version of Battle for Wesnoth, a fantasy strategy game for the PC. It's slow, the interface is too finicky, and the graphics are a cluttered mess. What a slap in the face. A five-dollar slap in the face! This is really a worst-case scenario for adapting games to the iPhone.

Then there are all the familiar venerable games that seem to sell well. I'm not about to buy an iPhone Monopoly, which is one of the top selling apps. Not just top selling games. Top selling apps. Really? Who the heck are all you people shelling out five bucks for Monopoly? Monopoly? Don't you people know the gameplay in Monopoly is horrible? It was designed back in 1935, which is well before good gameplay was invented.

However, I am a big Scrabble fan, so I paid my five bucks, only to discover that it's an EA game through and through. Which means it's got about fifteen seconds of loading screen crammed in front of it and a plug for more EA games smeared on the front page. It's also got a "Show Me The Best Move" button when it's my turn that might as well be labeled "You Will Never Be This Smart". Of course, it makes iPhone Scrabble a tough game to pass around among friends, because they might cheat and also use the button. I can't trust those guys.

As you might imagine, lots of enterprising dungeon hack fans are porting old favorites over the iPhone. There's a faithful Nethack port called - wait for it! - iNethack. It's faithful in that it's just as clunky as trying to play real Nethack. For mucking around on an iPhone, I kind of prefer the Rogue port called - can you guess? - Rogue Touch. My circle of iPhone advisors/friends are cirrently burbling enthusiastically about a port of a 1982 dunegon hack called Legend of Fargoal. I haven't tried it yet, but only because I've been utterly consumed by the game I'm going to tell you about tomorrow.

Tomorrow: My god, it's full of tower defense games!

(Click here for the previous iPhone game diary.)