Mobile Mayhem

Previously I’ve bagged mobile phone gaming, questioning its validity and relevance especially when compared to console or PC games. With an impending work conference to attended (with guaranteed downtime) as well as a two year old who knows how to open my iPhone and find the games, I thought it was time to give it a crack and find some bargains.

While Dutch was busy scouring the Steam Summer Sale, I happened to come across the Activistion sale on iTunes. Nowhere near as exciting but still satisfying, Activision classics such as Guitar Hero and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 were half price.

Anyway, like I said, it was nowhere near as exciting as the Steam sale but since THPS 4 was the first game I ever bought for my PS2, the series holds a special place in my heart (especially the numbered games because the Wasteland/Bam games were crap).

The mobile version is true to the original in terms of graphics and game play, with the only difference being the way the game feels. I’m still getting used to the grind/flip/ollie/grab buttons on the touch screen but I’m sure I’ll get the hang of it soon.

With years of experience on the console, the touch screen is still quite foreign. I’m finding the fact that I can’t physically feel the buttons under my thumbs distracting and I feel lost when holding the phone. Have you felt the same?

To help my daughter have a little more fun, I picked up Halfbrick’s Fruit Ninja. Whilst this isn’t the newest of releases, it’s a game that’s fun to play. Essentially you need to slice up fruit as it launches from the bottom of the screen, using your finger as a knife. Based on the simplicity, my daughter is ableto understand it, but keeps missing fruit and cutting her game time short.

Thankfully there is a timed practice area that we can play in so that she can miss as many pieces of fruit as she likes without cutting her time short. Best of all, not only does it entertain her, but me too.

Something I’ve found a little more addictive is Fragger. You can pick this up for free and the aim is to throw grenades at the enemy and blow up them up. It’s essentially Worms without the cuteness or ability to move, with the cartoon graphics providing an inexplicable appeal.

Further searching for time fillers pointed me in the direction of Street Fighter IV. Had I picked this up last month, I would’ve only paid $1.99, however I was a bit slow and grabbed it at the full price of $5.99. I’m yet to play it but I can assure you it will get a good run in on Sunday.

Have you bought any games for your phone that you can’t get enough of?