Mobile gaming, all garbage?
Discussion
Recently acquired a new phone, thought I'd have a peruse around and see if there's any games that are a light bit of fun to kill 5 minutes. Tried a few off a list of "top android games" and to be honest they all seemed utter rubbish or/and had that freemium model of you can only play so long without paying for "gems" or some carp.
So.... is there anything that is worth a go without that stereotypical mobile model mentioned? Any genre.
So.... is there anything that is worth a go without that stereotypical mobile model mentioned? Any genre.
Depends what you want it for.
I love Canabalt HD, which is an endless runner and good for passing a few mins of time. ( https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=fish...)
And for a longer term game, if I'm travelling on work for example, Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic is an excellent port ( https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com....)
Otherwise I agree there's a load of utter tosh in there!
I love Canabalt HD, which is an endless runner and good for passing a few mins of time. ( https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=fish...)
And for a longer term game, if I'm travelling on work for example, Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic is an excellent port ( https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com....)
Otherwise I agree there's a load of utter tosh in there!
Real Racing 3 is a really cool racing title, but it tries to tempt you to buy stuff as they all do.
Everything else is either "tap here and wait for something" or "pay extra for this and get a bigger thing".
Strategy games like Viikings will just eat your life away.
I just can't be arsed to be honest. I use my phone for calls, texts, forums and fb, don't get twitter at all tbh.
Everything else is either "tap here and wait for something" or "pay extra for this and get a bigger thing".
Strategy games like Viikings will just eat your life away.
I just can't be arsed to be honest. I use my phone for calls, texts, forums and fb, don't get twitter at all tbh.
te took over. I haven't played a mobile game in ages now. Some games i would recommend:
1. Hill Climb Racing by Fingersoft. Only the first version, Hill Climb Racing 2 was rubbish. I spent far too much time unlocking and upgrading all the cars / tracks in this game. You can buy in game currency if you want too, but it's not worth it and not obstructive to the game.
2. Super Mario Run. I paid the £10 or so for the full game, which was worth it given the amount of time i put it to it. Makes very clever use of the single-tap control system, rather than trying to emulate a control pad on a phone screen, which rarely works well. Only downside is that once you've collected all the coins, it lacks replayability for me.
3. Super Crossfire HD. A fun evolution of Space Invaders type gaming. I've had it for years and play it every now and then.
4. From the puzzle side of things, Two Dots was a good game. I don't remember any issues with in-app micro purchases.
5. The Simpsons Tapped Out. Started to consume too much of my life so i had to delete it!
Sure, there's plenty of garbage out there. But there are plenty of good games too, you've just got to find them.
1. Hill Climb Racing by Fingersoft. Only the first version, Hill Climb Racing 2 was rubbish. I spent far too much time unlocking and upgrading all the cars / tracks in this game. You can buy in game currency if you want too, but it's not worth it and not obstructive to the game.
2. Super Mario Run. I paid the £10 or so for the full game, which was worth it given the amount of time i put it to it. Makes very clever use of the single-tap control system, rather than trying to emulate a control pad on a phone screen, which rarely works well. Only downside is that once you've collected all the coins, it lacks replayability for me.
3. Super Crossfire HD. A fun evolution of Space Invaders type gaming. I've had it for years and play it every now and then.
4. From the puzzle side of things, Two Dots was a good game. I don't remember any issues with in-app micro purchases.
5. The Simpsons Tapped Out. Started to consume too much of my life so i had to delete it!
Sure, there's plenty of garbage out there. But there are plenty of good games too, you've just got to find them.
As above depends what you want really. There's a lot of crap in the mainstream for the most casual/non-gamers, it's harder to find stuff that appeals to core gamers or is a core game, but they are certainly there. Particularly core games which were originally on PC/console can be compromised by the phone controls etc. though. I don't play much on my phone but could suggest a few things.
Some of the racing games are very slick and good fun for a quick couple of races, I'd recommend Riptide GP Renegade.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com....
Crashlands is very good, though the gameplay loop could be repetitive for some at times. I jump onto it for a little bit now and then.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com....
CCGs (collectible card games) can be a sure bet being a core genre that works great on touchscreens, screen size could be an issue on phones dependent on the game; Crashlands for example has excellent UI scaling options and would be completely playable on >5", I'm not sure what in the CCG market may be like this.
Faeria is a newer CCG that's excellent on PC and coming to Android soon.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=be.a...
If you like RPGs, something like 80 Days or Sorcery! might be worth a look. There are lots of, not sure what to call it really, conventional isometric/3D RPGs many original to mobile (some of those supposedly very good), but you do hear about control issues with ports from other platforms like Baldur's Gate etc.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com....
Some of the racing games are very slick and good fun for a quick couple of races, I'd recommend Riptide GP Renegade.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com....
Crashlands is very good, though the gameplay loop could be repetitive for some at times. I jump onto it for a little bit now and then.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com....
CCGs (collectible card games) can be a sure bet being a core genre that works great on touchscreens, screen size could be an issue on phones dependent on the game; Crashlands for example has excellent UI scaling options and would be completely playable on >5", I'm not sure what in the CCG market may be like this.
Faeria is a newer CCG that's excellent on PC and coming to Android soon.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=be.a...
If you like RPGs, something like 80 Days or Sorcery! might be worth a look. There are lots of, not sure what to call it really, conventional isometric/3D RPGs many original to mobile (some of those supposedly very good), but you do hear about control issues with ports from other platforms like Baldur's Gate etc.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com....
Edited by mizx on Tuesday 2nd May 10:49
Some Gump said:
Mobile games boil my piss.
They all try to dictate when you play. Either its timed, or daily thing, or pay.
I think there's a gap in the market for ports of proper games for a tenner. An iPad is clearly capable of running civ, total Annihilation, populous, theme park etc etc
I do agree in general that they employ the crap model with control and pay etc...however not "ALL":They all try to dictate when you play. Either its timed, or daily thing, or pay.
I think there's a gap in the market for ports of proper games for a tenner. An iPad is clearly capable of running civ, total Annihilation, populous, theme park etc etc
The one game I played right through and found highly challenging and entertaining is called "Sentinel 3".
It is a tower game that starts simple and relatively short and then builds up to total madness that really challenges you strategically. It was a single payment and I played it right through and kept me highly entertained on several long flights and a daily 2 hour commute.
Cheers,
Steven
Some Gump said:
Mobile games boil my piss.
They all try to dictate when you play. Either its timed, or daily thing, or pay.
I think there's a gap in the market for ports of proper games for a tenner. An iPad is clearly capable of running civ, total Annihilation, populous, theme park etc etc
RollerCoaster Tycoon Classic is available for about 6-7 quidThey all try to dictate when you play. Either its timed, or daily thing, or pay.
I think there's a gap in the market for ports of proper games for a tenner. An iPad is clearly capable of running civ, total Annihilation, populous, theme park etc etc
Pretty much all garbage in my opinion, too many "free to play" variations on the same theme:
- build something
- wait
- attack something
- wait
- building something else
- wait a bit longer
- attack something else
- wait a bit longer
- pop up message "speed this up" or "buy extra gems" - half price only 99p.
Or it's a puzzle game where you have 5 lives, once used you then have to wait a couple of hours until you can play again. Or pay your money... and get instant lives
Lets face it, most of the gameplay in these puzzle games is no more advanced than the games I played on my old Commodore 64 back in the 80's. Difference being I could replay on the C64 as much as I liked without waiting/paying extra.
Can't believe the amount of money people waste on these as well - reading the reviews some people fork out hundreds of pounds
What also pisses me off is most of the time they spend more money on advertising than the actual game. So you see something which might be interesting, but if you actually download it the gameplay is nothing like the advert (and it's just another following the formula above)
- build something
- wait
- attack something
- wait
- building something else
- wait a bit longer
- attack something else
- wait a bit longer
- pop up message "speed this up" or "buy extra gems" - half price only 99p.
Or it's a puzzle game where you have 5 lives, once used you then have to wait a couple of hours until you can play again. Or pay your money... and get instant lives
Lets face it, most of the gameplay in these puzzle games is no more advanced than the games I played on my old Commodore 64 back in the 80's. Difference being I could replay on the C64 as much as I liked without waiting/paying extra.Can't believe the amount of money people waste on these as well - reading the reviews some people fork out hundreds of pounds
What also pisses me off is most of the time they spend more money on advertising than the actual game. So you see something which might be interesting, but if you actually download it the gameplay is nothing like the advert (and it's just another following the formula above)
"Freeblade" is quite good fun. Yes it has the option of in app purchases but I have never bothered and still get on OK.
Set in the Warhammer 40K universe and you pilot and Imperial Knight. Basically the movement is pretty much on rails around a certain course but the firing and weapon balancing is all you. Brain out shooty fun with pretty good graphics.
Set in the Warhammer 40K universe and you pilot and Imperial Knight. Basically the movement is pretty much on rails around a certain course but the firing and weapon balancing is all you. Brain out shooty fun with pretty good graphics.
Quite sad because bad piggies especially was a nice and inventive game.It is a bit annoying but that is the way of games these days - they need to make money somehow.
I still enjoy Real Racing 3 (have played it for over a year everyday give or take a day) but tend to play for the enjoyment of driving/racing rather than trying to complete everything as the easy way to achieve that is to just pay £10k or whatever.
For a 10 minute time-waster, there are lots of games that are mainly more about the game play than out and out graphics ie they have the same feel as an '80s home computer game rather than a state of the art console game.
I still enjoy Real Racing 3 (have played it for over a year everyday give or take a day) but tend to play for the enjoyment of driving/racing rather than trying to complete everything as the easy way to achieve that is to just pay £10k or whatever.
For a 10 minute time-waster, there are lots of games that are mainly more about the game play than out and out graphics ie they have the same feel as an '80s home computer game rather than a state of the art console game.
My Mrs plays a variety of phone games and the only one I've found that was OK was the scrabble clone, but she usually has multiple games on at the same time as of course you have to wait for your opponent to make thier move.
born2bslow said:
Actually, don't bother, do what I did and buy a kindle...far less stressful than mobile gaming.
Same here, kindle app on my phone syncs with it so I've got 10 mins to kill I can just carry on with whatever book I've been reading at home. Gassing Station | Video Games | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff