If you haven't had a crack at Typing Maniac on Facebook, I heartily recommend giving it a go - while you may not be the best hardcore gamer around, you might just be able to out-type your friends to a first place victory. However Typing Maniac for iOS devices by MetroGames is a slightly different thing altogether - where the browser version makes great use of keyboard skills, translating the game to depend on your texting skills isn't quite as smooth.

This is mostly thanks to the vertical orientation that has been kept from the original game that consists of eliminating words by typing them out as they fall down the screen. There's a reason Apple implemented an auto-correct system for using their keyboard and Typing Maniac highlights these problems sharply as you're immediately penalized for making any single mistake at all (unlike the browser version where you have to hit 'enter' to score an error). This isn't to say that considerations haven't been made for iDevices and instead of typing out the word for a bonus (fire, ice, slow, and wind) you'll accumulate a stack of books that can be tapped to easily activate them (burning all words; freezing them in place; slowing them down; and removing errors respectively).

Considering its origins it's surprising there is no Facebook integration, but players can still compete with their friends via Open Feint or Game Center, so all is not lost. Unfortunately, much like the browser title there's no alternative gameplay modes to speak of, which is a shame as this also means there's little incentive to play it above the freely available version besides convenience.

Typing Maniac can be a lot of fun, but having words plummet like a rock simply because your finger is aligned a few pixels away from the correct space can kill the joy just as quickly. Unless you're keen on perfecting your texting skills, you'd be better off sticking to the Facebook version for now.