Bob Tedeschi
With well over 50,000 mobile games on the market, shopping for a new one can be a game in itself. Ardent gamers will spend hours choosing apps to feed their habit, but for others who just want a couple of games to keep them busy on the train, where do you even start?
Apple?s app store and the Android market do their best to help customers hack their way through the thicket, but even Apple?s Games Starter Kit has 37 apps and no subcategories to help speed the selection process. I?ve spent the last couple of weeks asking gaming enthusiasts and developers to name the coolest mobile game they own, and I turned up a short list that includes a few current best sellers and some older ones that, by now, qualify as sleepers.
I began with Mark Hurst, a technology consultant in New York who publishes an annual list of gift suggestions and a list of favourite games on his website, GoodExperience.com. I asked Hurst to choose his favourite, and he picked Osmos ($5 for iPad, $3 for other Apple devices), a supercool arcade-style game where players battle and absorb abstract shapes to become the biggest blob on the block. The space-age graphics and music are probably best suited to teenagers and adults, but my 9-year-old son was equally taken by it.
I next asked Eddy Boxerman, the lead Osmos developer, to recommend one game, and he chose Eliss ($3 on Apple), a game of abstract logic that?s highly rated by iTunes users, but less visually appealing than Osmos and more difficult. Some players need a year to complete the game?s 25 levels, so it?s best suited for adults and more determined teenagers.
There?s nothing quite as well done on Android, but Spirit HD ($1.79 on Android; $2 for iPad and $1 for other Apple devices) is somewhat similar to Osmos in its presentation, even if it can?t match the aesthetics or subtle strategy of Osmos. I also sought recommendations from Tom Samiljan, editorial director of Major League Gaming, who picked NOVA 2 ($7 on Android and Apple, with an HD version for iPad), a first-person shooter with stunning graphics and exceptional game controls. Apple device owners who have already downloaded that title should consider Modern Combat 3: Fallen Nation, a new $7 first-person shooter that rocketed to the top of Apple?s sales charts when it arrived last week.
Tom Taylor, one of the top competitors on the Major League Gaming circuit, said his favourite was Minecraft? Pocket Edition ($7 on Android, with a free demo version). For the uninitiated, Minecraft is a world-building game with an avid online following. Majong, the game?s developer, released the Android version in October, and an Apple version might appear before the end of the year. Until then, Minecraft players can explore with their virtual creations on Apple devices with World Explorer?Made for Minecraft ($3). I found it less nimble and visually crisp than the official Minecraft app, but for those looking for a mobile option, it?s useful.
Michael Sikorsky, one of World Explorer?s developers, said his two favourite games included Scribblenauts Remix ($5 on Apple) and Whale Trail ($1 on Apple), which were more recent additions to the iTunes store. Scribblenauts Remix, a challenging cartoon adventure game best suited for children, is a mobile version of the game that built a popular following on the Nintendo DS platform.
Parents may also appreciate that it is marginally educational because you must spell the names of objects you?d like to create (like Pegasus or a jetpack) to help your character overcome obstacles. Whale Trail may be even more appealing for children, with its whimsical gameplay involving a whale that swallows bubbles. It?s good, mindless fun, and it instantly soared to the top of my son?s list of favourites.
If anyone?s son is qualified to recommend favourites, that honour likely belongs to Kari Nay?s son, Robert, 14, who built Bubble Ball (free on Apple and Android with pro versions on Apple and Android for $1). It?s a fun, physics-style game that has attracted more than nine million downloads.
Android gamers who don?t go for Nay?s physics puzzler will find a good alternative in Nintaii ($3 on Android, $1 on Apple with a free versions on Android and Apple), a puzzle game with beautiful graphics and nice sound effects. I liked all the games recommended by the specialists, but I?ll add two that no one else mentioned: Solipskier and Sky Gamblers: Rise of Glory. Both are the opposite of Nintaii, in that they will raise your pulse with their life-or-death story lines.
Play it before you shop for mobile games. It?s good training.