How to Fix Common Problems with iPhone Video Games

Cell phones have prompted a renaissance in handheld gaming, and the iPhone has led the pack. There are games on the iPhone right now that would absolutely blow your mind ten years ago, with incredible graphics, great gameplay and intuitive controls. And no, we're not just talking about Plants Vs. Zombies.

However, nothing seems to bring the bugs out of the iPhone's software quite like video games. This is because they're among the most demanding apps that the smart phone has to deal with--sometimes, it just can't handle the pressure, and games will crash, freeze, or cause other issues.

If you're having problems with your iPhone's games, here are a few tips to help you get back up to speed.

Update your iPhone's software. Games depend on up to date software to function, so you should try to regularly update your iPhone's software in iTunes. By checking for updates once per week, you'll make sure that you've got the newest version of the OS, complete with all the little performance tweaks and UI improvements that game developers can use to deliver their product.

Some iPhone users don't like to update their phones regularly. That's fine, but at least make sure that you're updating the game itself via the iPhone's App Store. Tap updates to see whether your game has been updated at all and definitely make sure that the newest version is installed if you're seeing any type of recurring issue.

Always reset after installing a large game. Large games are very demanding and taxing on the iPhone, and by restarting the iPhone, you're giving the game access to all of the resources that it needs to finish its installation and work properly. If you install a large game without resetting, you'll probably have frequent crashes or other issues.

To restart the iPhone, hold the top button down and swipe the screen when the red button appears. Be patient and let it shut down all the way before you restart it. You should restart your iPhone whenever games are having serious lag issues.

Alternately, you can close a few of your open apps by double-clicking the Home button and pressing on the bar on the bottom of the screen until little red and white minus signs appear next to your open apps. Touch the minus sign to close the app and free up some memory.

Leave some space free. Finally, make sure you've always got about a gigabyte of space free on your iPhone. Remember, it's a computer, and computers need space as a constant resource in order to work properly. If your iPhone's always fully loaded, you're going to have serious issues with games, which require more extra space than average to run.

Have any other tips for fixing issues with iPhone video games? Post below.