Mobile gaming. (iOS/Android)

[ibex333]

Mobile gaming is finally picking up, and I am really excited to see more and more good titles. For some people, the games I will mention are old news, but I am glad I "missed out" because now I have more titles to enjoy.

While Android is severely lacking behind, and Blood and Glory got nothing on Infinity Blade, both platforms offer plenty of great titles. I still don't fully understand why Android doesn't have as many good titles as iOS.... I heard that story about compatibility many times, but I think it's better to make great titles for the latest Android phones leaving those who don't have them in the dust, as opposed to not having those titles on Android at all. I mean, it's not like the Xbox or Playstation halt their game development because someone doesn't have the latest and greatest... Why should it be any different for Android?

Also, there should be a lot more titles focusing on gamepad support. Smartphones can easily destroy 3DS and Vita with right developer support and interest.Why keep making games on inferior platforms, when smartphones are clearly more powerful and capable? Also, a lot more people have smartphones, than those owning a Nintendo/Sony handheld, hence more exposure?

Whatever the case may be, let me just say that I am absolutely crazy for Infinity Blade on iOS. The game is so damn good, it easily rivals many titles on 3DS and Vita, and it offers certain mechanics which cant be found on mentioned systems at all. Not only are the graphics amazing, but the story is very nice as well. HearthStone, while not iPad exclusive, is great on the iPad, as well as Magic the Gathering. In fact, both titles are probably more enjoyable on the iPad than they are on PC. At least I feel that way.

I also love Plague Inc. Such an evil game yet so eerily enjoyable.

As for Android, Blood and Glory is great, but I been really loving Shadowrun Returns(which is not Android exclusive, yet feels right at home on Android).

Another two awesome games are The Room and The Room 2. You gotta try them, because I cannot give them enough praise by describing them.

Riptide GP and GP2... pure awesomeness.. And XCOM: Enemy Unknown just came out for Android! I wish Fallout 1, 2 and Tactics were ported over.. But I am dreaming...

What are your favorite games? Are you looking forward to more games on smartphones or would you rather keep your gaming to 3DS and Vita?

 

[Oyeve]

Touchscreen gaming is horrid. Horrid I say. The few decent games that work with my mogo bt gaming pad are still not close to replacing my 3ds.

 

[ibex333]

Touchscreen gaming is horrid. Horrid I say. The few decent games that work with my mogo bt gaming pad are still not close to replacing my 3ds.

Did you play the games I mentioned?

I also own the 3DS, but aside from Pokemon, I cant find anything on 3DS I'd like except for Mario. Also most games on 3DS cost $30. Most games for Android cost $0.99.

 

[zerogear]

Touchscreen gaming sucks. I rather not game at all than game on a touchscreen. Which is exactly what I do.

 

[ControlD]

I played Infinity Blade when I was still on iOS. I don't see what the fuss is all about honestly. Madly swipe 800 times on your screen, defeat the boss, rinse and repeat. Graphically it was awesome, but the game play was in the end pretty limited. Maybe I missed something fundamental.

I don't game much on my touchscreen devices anymore either, but if you can find something turn based it isn't that bad. Action games aren't worth the frustration for me.

Once I moved to Android I pretty much gave up on gaming. For whatever reason the quality and selection for games on iOS seems to be far superior to Android. I still miss Sword of Fargoal a little bit.

 

[alexeus]

Well...if you're looking for some nice Android games, with some nice graphics, you can check this HD Games for Android list. I personally only played Need for Speed Most wanted from that list, but from the looks, I'm sure more of those game are awesome and worth a try.

Also, ryndrew is right: Android has tons of games for people to chose from (free or paid) so I think it has a bigger "phone gaming community" compared to other OSs).

 

[SymphonyX7]

Aside from emulators and tower defense games, the only thing I play is Real Racing 3. It's an awesome racing game... just a shame about the freemium-ness about it. Too bad the freemium model makes more money than a full game for $5, which might also be pirated to hell and back. I'd have preferred a full game that followed game progression more like Forza 3 or Gran Turismo 4.

Other than that, too many shovelware games on both Android and iOS. Older PC titles should be ported to these platforms imo. Even lower-end smartphones have as much grunt as Core Duo laptop with low to mid-range graphics from 2006. I'm sure it's doable.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Aside from emulators and tower defense games, the only thing I play is Real Racing 3. It's an awesome racing game... just a shame about the freemium-ness about it. Too bad the freemium model makes more money than a full game for $5, which might also be pirated to hell and back. I'd have preferred a full game that followed game progression more like Forza 3 or Gran Turismo 4.

Amen to all this. Real Racing 3 is by far my favorite mobile game, but I hate how it feels like a huge billboard.

 

[randomactsoftech]

I played Infinity Blade when I was still on iOS. I don't see what the fuss is all about honestly. Madly swipe 800 times on your screen, defeat the boss, rinse and repeat. Graphically it was awesome, but the game play was in the end pretty limited. Maybe I missed something fundamental.

I don't game much on my touchscreen devices anymore either, but if you can find something turn based it isn't that bad. Action games aren't worth the frustration for me.

Once I moved to Android I pretty much gave up on gaming. For whatever reason the quality and selection for games on iOS seems to be far superior to Android. I still miss Sword of Fargoal a little bit.

I think the big deal about infinity blade was timing related. When it first came out it was the best use of the iphone and ipad graphics that had appeared... by far. I was pretty amazed with it on ipad and lost many hours of my life to it in the first month after its release.... Timing is everything!

 

[Oyeve]

Game ports are decent if you use a gamepad. I enjoy the grand theft auto games on my android systems but only because I use a gamepad with them. Playing these types of games with just the touch-screen is mediocre at best and downright unplayable. I am all for gaming on my phone and tablets but more focus has to be put in on external controllers and on gameplay. most of the games are just variations on a lame theme, ie, tower defense and such.

 

[WelshBloke]

emulators emulators emulators.

I'm not that keen on a lot of new mobile games. I was deeply disappointed in Infinity Blade after the hype.

Plague Inc was mentioned and thats OK, if a bit depressing. Badlands is fun.

Earn to die, blow up, world of goo and re-volt are also not too bad.

I'm killing a bit of time with clash of clans at the moment as well.

 

[sweenish]

Not liking a genre does not make it lame. I enjoy tower defense games, and have played quite a few, on PC, console, and mobile.
It's also a genre that lends itself well to touchscreens.

Over generalizing and blanketing just hurts your stance.

If I knew your tastes and library, I could certainly call out something I don't like, call it lame, and get you all defensive. Your opinion on a thing as subjective as game genres is just that. Your opinion.

Other genres also do well and have good showings on mobile like turn based RPG's, and sim games.

Games installed on my phone:
10000000
Bloons TD 5
Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes
Faif
Fieldrunners 2
Organ Trail
Quell Memento
Quizup
Rayman Jungle Run
Ridiculous Fishing
Ski Safari
Swordigo

My tablet has a few others like Broken Sword, Contre Jour and Assassin's Creed: Pirates.

 

[SymphonyX7]

Earn to die, blow up, world of goo and re-volt are also not too bad.

Re-volt was pretty dope back when I still played my Dreamcast. The Android port of the original is great. Almost untouched from the original. But the newer, updated game aka "Re-volt 2" is pretty atrocious. I really hate games loaded with in-app purchases. It's like they design the game around figuring out a way to squeeze money out of you, as well as confuse you with pop-ups and all that crap. It mostly kills the instant gratification factor when gaming on a mobile. Aside from the shovelware games, I think that's also a big hindrance for gaming on mobile devices.

 

[zerocool84]

Most games that get good reviews I find unplayable because if the touchscreen. It's difficult for me to get into any decent games because of the touchscreen. Games that are fine are RPG's or touch adventure games like Broken Sword. I just can't get used to racing games by tilting the phone, it just sucks.

 

[Trombe]

I play games that work well with touch screens (strategy, board, card games) on iOS/Android, but to me it's only a matter of time before the successors of Windows tablets like the Venue 8 Pro become powerful enough to run tons of stuff from my existing Steam library; I'm not going to be interested in buying stuff that plays best on a controller for iOS/Android at that point.

It's also a pain in the ass to navigate through the seas of crap without knowing exactly what you're looking for. I would love something akin to Fire Emblem for mobile but I wouldn't know where to begin looking for a genuine quality title, FF Tactics iOS port aside, and that isn't exactly cheap either at 16 bucks.

 

[zerogear]

For me, once I got my Surface Pro 2 -- it became my default mobile gaming device. Mobile/touchscreen games aren't even on my radar, at least not casual ones. The only touch screen game I've enjoyed so far is X-Com EU/EW and Civilization V

 

[SymphonyX7]

Most games that get good reviews I find unplayable because if the touchscreen. It's difficult for me to get into any decent games because of the touchscreen. Games that are fine are RPG's or touch adventure games like Broken Sword. I just can't get used to racing games by tilting the phone, it just sucks.

I never use the tilt controls. It's gimmicky, difficult and lacks any fine control. I always switch to the virtual steering wheel control option when playing a racing game on a phone.

The virtual steering wheels in games like Real Racing 3 is actually pretty good. It's surprisingly more precise than a d-pad or even the thumbsticks on a PS3 or 360 controller which are quite sensitive to rubberbanding in racing games from experience (I play Forza and Gran Turismo A LOT). The d-pad and thumbstick control isn't as fine tuned as a racing wheel peripheral (i.e. Logitech racing wheel). You press left, and the steering wheel goes suddenly jumps left. Or you move the thumbstick left and it goes almost all the way left. There's little margin in between, early deadzone. With the virtual steering wheel on Real Racing 3, you tilt your thumb slightly left or right and it makes fine, minute adjustments to the steering. That said, holding a phone itself is FAR from ergonomic. But I really like the virtual steering wheel on a touchscreen as far as precision is concerned.

 

[KeithTalent]

Pixel Dungeon is pretty awesome. Shout out to whomever it was that recommended that game.

KT

 

[WelshBloke]

Pixel Dungeon is pretty awesome. Shout out to whomever it was that recommended that game.

KT

I hate you for posting that!

I've killed far too many hours on it in the last day or two, its infuriating.


But, really, cheers for the heads up.

 

[Red Storm]

Maybe it's because I'm one of the PC gaming "master race" haha, but when I look at games like Infinity Blade I do not see any appeal whatsoever. The game play is way too shallow. The majority of mobile games like IB are more time wasters than actual games IMHO, but there have been a few games I have really enjoyed on mobile devices:

Bastion
Baldur's Gate I & II
FIFA 14
Shadowrun Returns
The Walking Dead
The Wolf Among Us
FTL
XCOM: EU
Galaxy on Fire II
Hearthstone

Not coincidentally, many of these are also available or originally on the PC.

 

[IeraseU]

I tried playing games like Contra and Double Dragon on my iPad and found them unplayable with the touchscreen. The only games I thought were 'ok' were casual games like Angry Birds and puzzle games.

I think the (still unannounced) Apple TV would make a better platform for gaming with controller support.


Phones and tablets are cool for 'time waster' type games, but I don't think I would feel comfortable trying to play something like Uncharted on a touchscreen.

 

[Miklebud]

I just bought an 360 wired controller to use with my Galaxy S4. Now I can finally play emulator games that aren't turn based. Makes mobile gaming much more fun, but a lot less mobile. Any other fun games that have controller support?

The Room and The Room 2 are my favorite touch screen games thus far. Lots of fun!

 

[TuxDave]

I played Infinity Blade when I was still on iOS. I don't see what the fuss is all about honestly. Madly swipe 800 times on your screen, defeat the boss, rinse and repeat. Graphically it was awesome, but the game play was in the end pretty limited. Maybe I missed something fundamental.

I don't game much on my touchscreen devices anymore either, but if you can find something turn based it isn't that bad. Action games aren't worth the frustration for me.

Once I moved to Android I pretty much gave up on gaming. For whatever reason the quality and selection for games on iOS seems to be far superior to Android. I still miss Sword of Fargoal a little bit.

Are you sure you weren't playing Fruit Ninja?

 

[Chrono]

... Mobile games on iOS/Android suck ass.

 

[sm625]

I had a game I liked on iOS. I downloaded the sequel for android, and it crashed every time it opened. Good thing they have an instant refund button. What's worse is that my SoC is a qualcomm MSM8960 which is one of the most common.