Mobile Games That Don’t Make A Go For Your Wallet
Written By: Will Flores
1/23/2016, 9:37a.m.
Tweet to: @Slickster_Mag
The gaming environment certainly has expanded platforms these days. In the times of old, if it wasn’t on a home console, you had to go to your local arcade to get your gaming itch scratched. Today, we can say, “NO MORE!” With the help of portable gaming, we can play when and where we please. No, I’m not talking of the Nintendo 3DS or the obscenely-overpriced emulation machine otherwise known as the PlayStation Vita. I’m thinking more along the lines of the ever-growing mechanical appendage attached to our hips and almost always on the business end of our thumbs – mobile phones!
I don’t know about you, but as far as I’ve seen in my travels across the “information superhighway” (That’s still a cool hip term, right? …Guys?) as well as among friends, colleagues, and just passerby, mobile-gaming has a bit of a stigma of being just for casual players. Along with the casual tag, mobile games also have a nasty tendency of giving us titles that look like full games at full value, only to slap you with what I like to call the “green wall.” That point of the game where you are “politely” coerced into making some sort of micro-transaction to either progress or continue playing at your own leisure. That dreaded term, “pay-to-play” or worse… “play-to-win.” *Shudder.* It still sends shivers down my spine.
It’s kind of cheap tactic for developers to goad you into paying for their developmental support. I’m not knocking that they ask for something in return for their work, they very well deserve it. However, don’t give people an incomplete game and expect them to dish out money for the rest of your game. It isn’t cute. Electronic Arts does it, you bet your candy-crushing ass it’s not precious when you try it.
Be that as it may, the fact of the matter stands, mobile-gaming is becoming a competitive platform in the gaming world, and it’s not exactly the easiest thing in the world to sneak a 3DS with you into the bathroom at the office when you need to slack off but keep yourself awake. Take advantage now and check out this list of games that are worth your time and your precious storage space (for those of us still rocking a 16GB iPhone constantly dancing around the 12GB-15.5GB used space) that don’t deliberately hold their hand out like an aggressive hobo on the train ride home.
Minute Quest
A very simple RPG that requires you to only touch the screen to play. Best part, there’s a bit of a rhythm to movement and once you’ve got it down, you can actually control how fast you attack. That extremely small detail in a simple game such as Minute Quest, when realized and played on, can mean the difference between you mindlessly holding your finger down moving left and right at the mercy of a pseudo-turn-based playstyle and tapping your screen with the right timing and obliterating an otherwise hard boss character! You control the action, you set the pace of battle, and even better, you can customize your look, your weapon, and even a pet that will fight alongside you (granted you’ve grinded up enough gold to afford those)!
Oh! One major factor I like to consider when playing mobile-games is how well they fare with the sound turned on, and off. This game does not disappoint on either front, although, the game is far more enjoyable with the sound turned on (naturally). Though, you can play this in a public setting with the sound off if you’re so inclined.
Sonic Dash
Along the same vein of Temple Run, this one stood out to me because I am a die-hard Sonic fan, I just don’t like to talk about his later work. Much like we like to not discuss most of Janet Jackson’s later work! No? Not a fan of semi-topical humor? Fine, I’ll stick to reviewing the rest of these games. Anyway, Sonic Dash has your typical “beat the highest score among your friends” gameplay, with each mission you’re given increasing your score multiplier after you finish enough of them. Fun stuff. There’s DLC to play as other characters as well, ranging from Tails, Knuckles, Silver, Shadow, etc. However, they’re only available with the use of the game’s premium currency. Not all is lost though, as these guys serve no in-game bonus/purpose other than you’re running as a different character (essentially, a skin swap), so you don’t have to bust out that wallet to buy them. The game gives you plenty of opportunities to win them for free. I haven’t had a chance to try out Sega’s sequel to this game, but it was definitely fun, and I’m sure they kept the same formula in the later versions. Give it a go! Convince your friends and see who’s better!
Final Fantasy Portal App
Okay, so this isn’t exactly a mobile game, per se… It does give you direct access to all your favorite Final Fantasy games available on mobile platforms already. Since those DO cost money, that’s entirely up to you. However, there’s a reason this app made the list. For you see, Square also thought to include a free version of Final Fantasy VIII’s “Triple Triad” card game, with updated card decks, featuring characters and enemies across every final fantasy game. Considering how awesome that card game and how quick each game was, it was great to have it on the go. Sadly, its only drawback is that you need to run the game through the portal, and the portal app requires you to have a network connection in order to run. If you were a fan of the game back in the PlayStation days, you can pick this up and play whenever you’re waiting for friends.
Hook Champ
Hook Champ was one of the first games I downloaded way back when I first got my hands on an iPod Touch. It was some basic platforming action, and you were given a grappling hook that helped you traverse levels at a faster pace. There was a method to it that was easy to understand, but hard to master. There are DLC characters available that actually change the way you play the game. They each have their own mechanics that challenge you to approach levels in a different way. Of course, they’re completely optional and aren’t needed to complete any of the levels. It’s fun and a great time killer should you be waiting at the doctor’s office after the fourth episode of Divorce Court has just finished.
Slingknight
This little gem was found after playing Minute Quest (see above). Not as grand of an adventure, but it tests your ability to flick your fighter (who can assume many classes) at enemies long before they can kill him. Levels don’t last more than a couple of minutes and you’re almost always unlocking a new class whose playstyle differs from the last. Heck, you can even unlock boss characters and all their seemingly overpowered goodness (don’t worry though, the game won’t make you feel god-like when you play them). Every character class has different strengths, weaknesses, health pools, etc. So if there’s a level you’re having a tough time with, there are many ways to approach it, so get creative. A nifty game to have while waiting for that movie to start, but shut it off when the lights go down!
Hearthstone
Oh, Blizzard… I keep trying to leave, but you keep pulling me back in! You’ve claimed my college years, now you seek to claim my bathroom time?! Eh, it’s not as bad the rest of their library of titles, though you’ll get hooked, and fast. It’s a trading card game, the premise of which already implies you need to bust out your wallet to expand your card collection. Granted, you are MORE than welcome to do so, that’s your call. However, Hearthstone gives you plenty of opportunities to earn cards and packs for free, you just have to be ready to get your hands a little dirty. You earn gold completing quests, which can range from winning games as “X” class, watching friends play their games and hoping they win, or just plain winning enough games. The list goes on. When you accumulate enough gold, you can either buy individual card packs, or purchase access to the arena where, if you’re good enough, you can win plenty more for the mere cost of an entrance fee. Every month, depending on your rank, you can be awarded individual cards, or multiple packs. You have extra cards that you don’t need, disenchant them, accumulate the currency you gain from that and create that one or two cards you absolutely need in your deck. You’ve got options… FREE options to expand your deck and enjoy the game further. Blizzard did a very good job establishing a “you get what you put in” aesthetic to Hearthstone, and for a free game, you should take advantage of all these opportunities. It’s a hefty download, but you won’t be sorry if you dive right in. Did I mention you can also play this on your PC/Tablet with the same deck? Should I also state that it’s cross-platform?! You’re welcome!
Colopl Rune Story
Oh boy… This game… I’ve been itching to talk about this game for a very long time. Advertised on Facebook and made good on its claims, Rune Story is an RPG game that is just so engaging from the start. Fencers, Warriors, Fighters, Mages, Snipers, Lancers, and (as of the time I wrote this article) Dual Wielders. Each have their own strengths and weaknesses, as well as a strength against certain enemies that you can exploit, compounded by elemental weaknesses. Tap to attack, and swipe to roll, remember those two rules and you just may survive the harder levels. This isn’t your standard tap-to-win game. You have to make sure you’re positioned and attack at the best moments to come out of your fights as untouched as possible. You can have a team of up to four characters that you can switch between at any time during a level and lay waste to your foes depending on the situation. My advice – have a character that can heal. The game does a good job of giving you a healer early on. However, you’ll probably want toons that can heal better.
How do you get more characters? By using the game’s premium currency, of course! Now typically, there’s a monetary value attached to this currency, which does exist. Although, you absolutely DO NOT have to even go to that screen at all. Play the game! Do the missions! The game literally rewards you those gems for almost anything! Log in, you get five gems! Finished a new level for the first time? Have a gem! You got five log-in stamps? Here’s 20 gems on us! The situation varies, as do the rewards, but you get my point.
Summoning one new character takes 25 gems. You can summon 11, however, if you can stockpile 250. Now, the biggest supply of gems you can purchase with real money is 780 gems for $99.99. That’s enough to summon 33 new characters. I’ve played this game (in spurts, not binging on it at all, mind you) enough to earn 780 gems, essentially “saving” myself the $100.00 buy. You get what you put in, and this game provides very rewarding means to that end.
There’s multiplayer, a guild system, and a Clash of Clans-esque town system that improves your characters in-game. Don’t worry, there’s no raiding that’ll keep you up at night with anxiety. All the work and effort put into this game by Colopl makes this one of the best mobile games to have on your phone to date. Granted, you need a network connection to play, but that will be the ONLY complaint about this game you’ll hear from me. Download it, and play it wherever you go. This game gives some console and handheld RPG’s a run for their money!