It's the battle cry of every worried parent and nostalgic 90s teen in the smartphone era, kids these days spend too much time on their mobile phones. Toddlers have iPads and school age children spend more time playing Angry Birdsthan playing outside.
The legitimacy of these worries and the influences of other social concerns aside, the upcoming collaboration between the Pokémon Company and augmented reality developers Niantic, Inc. - Pokemon GO - looks set to level the playing field when it comes to smartphone interaction, and it could have a positive affect upon the environment from which these concerns spring.
Pokémon GO
A mobile game for iOS and Android, Pokémon GO allows players to interact with virtual Pokémon in the physical world around them. The launch trailer (below) landed a few months back and was met with universal excitement; it's certainly impressive to look at, especially for those who grew up alongside the evolution of the Pokémon games and spent childhoods longing for something like this.
Augmented reality Pokémon. It sounds pretty cool right? Involving a direct or indirect image of the real world in which certain elements are augmented (altered) by computer generated input such as images or sound, AR technology is commonly used with GPS location information, as is the case withPokémon GO.
A smartphone based AR game which is sure to be a hit with the young and old alike, Pokémon GO utilises GPS data to create location-based markers which will allow users to "catch" virtual Pokémon based on real life surroundings and locations. At the moment it's looking like the game will launch with just the original first generation and types, but perhaps later generations will be added in to support the original 150 further down the line.
Not Just Another Smartphone Game?
Whilst the Pokémon IP is obviously owned by the Pokémon Company (which itself is comprised of Nintendo, Game Freak and Creatures), the main force behind the development of the game is Google start up Niantic, Inc., best known for their AR game Ingress.
Screenshot from the Ingress launch trailer
An augmented reality MMORPG for iOS and Android, Ingress has achieved notable success across the world since it was first released nearly two years ago. Another location based game, it involves players discovering "portals" throughout the real world and linking them together to create geographical fields. The more fields you creature the more "mind units" you capture and control, which pushes your progress in the game. A great deal of the portal locations are focused on historical sites, local business or other places of interest for players to explore.
The Pokémon name and the Niantic record for success are the things which look set to make Pokémon GO a reality, and if it works and works well the game could have a knock on affect on not just the AR games industry but also on the way we interact with our mobile gaming devices.
Because, like Ingress, Pokémon GO exists to reward players depending on the extent to which they interact with the outside world; how far they have walked and the places they've visited. As Niantic CEO John Hanke said in a recent interview:
"[Pokémon GO contains] that same mechanic [as Ingress] of encouraging people to take a walk in the park and see some aspect of their city they haven’t seen before, to go explore a nook or cranny in a part of the city they haven’t been to before so they can get a new Pokémon, that will be at work."
The Pokémon GO Plus device
Hanke elaborated upon the reasons behind the specific way that the game has been set up, especially in regards to the Pokémon GO Plus device which is an (optional) additional purchase alongside the game itself.
Pokémon GO Will Get You Moving
The GO Plus serves as a hands on alert system which can be worn like a wristband, vibrating to notify the player when there are Pokémon nearby. By pressing the button on the GOPlus the user will be able to capture the Pokémon in question, then find out what they've captured later via checking the app. Hanke explained that the reason for including this wristband element was because the devs don't want players to have to be constantly glued to their phone screens:
"We wanted to give people a way to play the game where you didn’t necessarily have to take your phone out and interact with the UX. Part of the idea of the game is, you’re outside and you can see beautiful things. If you’re always staring at your phone, you’re not seeing the world around you."
Of course Niantic aren't the first to push this outside interaction, Nintendo themselves have dabbled in this area before with the StreetPass system on their 3DS, but it's the first time that something as iconically popular as Pokémon has been married with such an ambitious AR system.
It's not a game designed for playing on the tube on your way to work, or on the couch after school; it's got a real "get up and go" mentality about it which is refreshing to see in a world which increasingly narrows interactivity down to a single screen. As Hanke says:
"All of the fun of the game doesn't have to be encapsulated on the tiny screen of a watch; that's just the input and output mechanism. The fun of Ingress and Pokémon Go is not totally confined to what happens on the screen. A lot of it is the experience of being out, walking and seeing things, and interacting with other people."
In a world where physical exertion and outside adventuring is primarily confined to certain extra curricular activities, having a smartphone game which shifts focus away from the screen and out into the world itself is a novelty, and a very positive one indeed.
TOP GAMES ON APP STORE
picture source:- android pit
Best Android puzzle games
Cut the Rope 2: our current favorite:
Our current favorite puzzle game on Android is Cut the Rope 2, in which you feed candy to a little green critter known as Om Nom. How do you do this? By cutting rope, of course.
This free-to-play title features painterly graphics and fiendishly clever puzzles, whose solutions are often right before your eyes.
Don't be fooled by the cutesy visuals, Cut the Rope 2 gets seriously tough by the time you reach the later levels. But because success is only ever a few snips away, this one never gets old.
If you're after some other great puzzle games for Android, there are plenty to choose from. Puzzle games are great for your morning commute or while you're waiting at the doctor's office. Sometimes they offer brainless fun, and other times they're more complicated than you would think, but they are as essential as your phone itself. Hit the link below for our favorites.
Best Android tower defense games
Plants vs Zombies 2: our current favorite
Plants vs Zombies is one of the classic free-to-play tower defense games and its sequel might be the shining star of this genre. Plants vs Zombies 2 sees you employing the services of assorted shrubbery to defeat an encroaching zombie army.
PopCap delivers a colorful, addictive, well-balanced strategy game which is endlessly replayable and continuously inventive. Each stage has its own set of unique traits, which means that progressing through them always throws up interesting challenges.
As far as free-to-play games go, Plants vs Zombies 2 is pretty generous in terms of the unlocked content that is freely available. And it's also a helluva good time.
Defense Zone 2 HD: for those seeking a serious challenge
Defense Grid 2 HD is a more realistic tower-defense game, with a modern military theme. In comparison to its cutesy competition, it certainly has more grit, but it also has the excellent gameplay to match.
There is a lot of tactical depth to the game, which may make it difficult to get into if you've never played a tower defense game before. However, I suspect that genre veterans will relish the challenge it presents.
Defense Zone 2 HD costs US$2.99 for the full version, but there is a light version available if you want to check that first. It’s definitely one of the best tower defense games on Android.
Castle defense is another free-to-play title. Set in a fantasy realm, it’s one of the older tower defense titles and there’s nothing exactly revolutionary to be found here. But Castle Defense nails the basics of the tower defense genre and acts as an excellent starting point for those who are new to this type of game.
The enemies walk along a fixed path which you must line with towers to prevent them reaching the end. The graphics and audio are just okay, but with more than 100 levels, three difficulty settings and an exciting upgrade system, Castle Defense will still keep you coming back for more.
Essentially a vertical-scrolling shooter with RPG elements, Dragon Heroes: Shooter RPG lends some welcome depth to an inherently simplistic genre. By progressing through the levels, you can unlock a variety of heroes and upgrade their skills in a bid to save Dragonia from a spate of Dragons, who are also the bosses on each level.
The shooting game play is simple, colorful and kinetic and there are seemingly endless buttons to press in the menus, lending it a nice arcade vibe. The only gripe is the absurd loading time the game requires, particularly when starting up. It's quickly forgotten once you're blasting merrily away at dragons, but it can be frustrating when you want to dive in for a quick game and you have to wait several minutes to get onto a level.
The game feature several different modes, PvP battles and Guilds, so there's plenty to get your teeth stuck into.
The Walking Dead provides the basis for another Android game, as well as more evidence that franchises thrive as well as zombies on the post-apocalyptic earth. The Walking Dead: Road to Survival is probably the richest Walking Dead Android experience yet. It functions mostly as a base-building game, and Woodbury is the setting in which you construct the usual workshops, training grounds and farms to get humanity back up on its feet.
Outside the base, there are missions and raids. The former finds you exploring the surroundings through story-led turn-based combat, and the latter lets you face off against opponents online, fighting for reputation and supplies. The story mode lets you make decisions at key moments, and will prove particularly enjoyable for fans of the comic books.
Overall, the game is pretty involving to start out with, and its dynamics function well, but its Pay-to-Win nature becomes apparent after a few hours of gameplay. There have been complaints about the random chance of characters and equipment you acquire and the cost of doing so. We would advise you to enjoy the game as far as possible for free, and try to avoid dropping any (or at least too much) money into it.
Marvel Future Fight is a very attractive and immediately engaging addition to the Marvel gaming universe. You start out with Black Widow, Captain America and Iron Man, who are sent on a quest to gather a band of heroes capable of saving the world from a future trans-dimensional threat.
There's a choice of control styles – 1-touch or Pad – and you scurry around brief levels, hammering away at surprised villains until you reach a boss. Once you've unlocked more characters, you can swap them in and out of your trio and switch between them at any time throughout a level.
When things heat up, and the levels start taking multiple attempts to pass, you may find your finger hovering over the in-app purchases, but there's enough here to keep you entertained for quite some time before you get to that point.
Speedy Ninja’s name says it all: you play as an agile Ninja running speedily across the screen, battling through opponents with the aid of swords, fireballs and more.
What makes Speedy Ninja such a great endless runner is that the action takes place above and below a burning fuse that you run across, so you have to pay close attention to what is happening in both directions to make the best decisions and collect the most coins (the in-game currency of choice). When you have enough coins you can buy additional weapons and characters.
Speedy Ninja is not the most inventive endless runner, but it covers the basics well. It has flashy graphics with good effects, tight controls and challenging levels. Oh, and a dragon to ride.
Combining Spider-Man with an endless runner seems like a match made in heaven. Spider-Man swings through the streets of New York, climbs skyscrapers and fights exciting battles against Doc Ock, The Green Goblin and a whole host of other baddies from the Spider-Man universe in another polished title from Gameloft.
The look and feel of the game borrow heavily from the comics, with excellent cell-shaded graphics that work perfectly with the 3D level design. You shouldn’t expect an epic plot, but even non-Spider-Man fans will enjoy this one.
If you like Mirror’s Edge, you should be right at home with Vector: it’s probably the closest thing on Android to DICE’s 2008 masterpiece. It features a silhouetted protagonist with a flair for parkour, on the run in a totalitarian city.
The animations are superb, and the character's movements look completely human. There are fewer collectible items than in many other endless runners – the focus more on survival rather than trophy hunting. Jumping from rooftop to rooftop never felt so good.
Implosion - Never Lose Hope is a highly polished mobile game in terms of both graphics and gameplay. It’s a third-person action title that sees you slicing and dicing your way through hordes of enemies in the style of God of War or Devil May Cry.
You play as an armor-covered warrior equipped with a sword and a gun, dishing out damage to mutants across a variety of short and sweet locations. This game absolutely nails the controls and feel, working whether you want to button-mash, or build up combos with some more rhythmical strikes.
The graphics are as good as you'll find on the platform and the boss battles are often epic. You can play through the first few missions for free, but after that you’ll be required to buy it for US$9.99, which I think is entirely worth it.
Into the Dead isn't new to the Play Store, but it's still one of the best Android action games. Combining an endless runner and first-person shooter, Into the Dead sees you darting headfirst through mobs of zombies, testing your reflexes as you try to dodge those in your way.
Along the way, you will find weapon creates to help eliminate those directly in your tracks, including that old zombie kryptonite – the chainsaw. It’s a simple romp, but an often thrilling one. It's free in the Google Play Store, with in-app purchases.
Into the Dead's glorious presentation plays a large part in its success.
Square Enix’s Hitman series has been a big franchise on PC and consoles for some time, but it has recently been given the smartphone and tablet treatment. The turn-based Hitman GO title was released last year, and now 'Squenix' has followed up with a first-person shooter, Hitman: Sniper.
Hitman: Sniper takes place largely in a fixed position behind a sniper rifle scope. You operate as Agent 47, an assassin for hire tasked with picking off a number of high-profile targets. Though it's easy enough to identify and take out the main mark, killing the surrounding guards in the best order brings some tactical depth to Hitman: Sniper.
There are around 150 missions to keep you occupied for the US$2.99 asking price, and few Android FPSs can instill the kind of tension that Sniper does. Once the NPCs get wise to you, things can get hectic.
Reckless Racing 3 is Micro Machines-style racer with an isometric view, which allows you to look down from above, leading to some fantastically frenetic contests.
Reckless Racing 3 uses four on-screen controls for turning right and left, and driving forwards or in reverse. It might seem like a lot compared with other racers, in which you just tilt the screen, but it handles perfectly. That’s not to say that it’s easy to control – your car is perpetually sliding around the track and it’s a battle to keep it in place. It's the control setup that makes the experience, but thankfully the 3D graphics also look the part and the maps are highly realistic.
It’s a throwback to the arcade-style racing games from the 90s (anybody old enough to remember Super Skidmarks?) and it's one of the best racers on Android.
Angry Birds Go! is a free-to-play racing game from Rovio, the team that brought us the original Angry Birds.
It looks like a cartoon with neatly cel-shaded graphics and plays something like Mario Kart. It features a number of different modes, such as avoiding obstacles, racing others, crashing through a predetermined number of items, and boss chases.
It feels like a playable version of Wacky Races. Cars can be upgraded, and new characters are unlocked as you progress, each with their own unique characteristics.
It’s clear that the painterly visuals arrive from a highly talented team of artists; the animations and backgrounds are consistently strong. The shallow learning curve also makes it easy and fun to get to grips with, and once you get past the introductory levels you're in for an entertaining ride.
Reminiscent of Nintendo classic Wave Race, Riptide GP2 is a futuristic jet ski racer. The career mode is fairly typical; you earn money depending on your race position, which you can then use to buy simple vehicle upgrades.
What it lacks in originality, Riptide 2 makes up for with excellent 3D graphics and tight controls. Rotating your device, even slightly, translates accurately on-screen. It might be too sensitive for some, but the controls and sensitivity can both be customized to your liking.
To make races more interesting, there are ramps placed around the map – successfully completing a trick on them grants you a boost. It presents a nice risk/reward scenario into the courses, as failing to land the trick properly will actually slow you down.
It’s tough to get a three-star rating on every race, but the challenge is welcome in a game that handles as good as Riptide GP2 does. Check it out via the Play Store link below.
Featuring some of the greatest Marvel characters ever, Marvel Contest of Champions is the Android brawler you’ve been waiting for. Battle your way through a variety of stages as you level up and unlock new characters in this epic quest.
It’s Marvel Contest of Champions' control precision that makes this one of the best fighters out there. It feels incredibly fluid and responsive: simply swiping with your thumbs in different directions brings out a range of perfectly animated attacks, and there are no annoying on-screen controls to try to connect with.
You’ll have to be running a pretty modern device to play it smoothly, but if you’re itching to battle it out as some of your Marvel favorites, you need to check this out. It's free in the Play Store, with in-app purchases.
We've been playing WWE Immortals recently for an epic mix of fantasy and, well, almost reality. The game fuses the cast of Injustice: Gods Among Us with pro-wrestlers for some awesome, silly fun. The graphics and animations are top-notch, and you can tag up to three characters for some thrilling three-on-three match-ups. Get ready to rumble.
SOULCALIBUR (yes, all caps) is an arcade classic: the fact that so little has changed between its release in 1998 and now speaks volumes about its mechanics.
It’s a somewhat predictable fighter by today's standards. There aren’t any surprises here in terms of gameplay, but its tried and tested formula provides some of the most enjoyable battles in the genre. You don’t need to memorize a whole bunch of complicated button presses to unleash a combo in this fighter; anyone could have a decent, ahem, stab at playing it. Yet it maintains the nuance to allow experienced players to gain an edge in combat.
SOULCALIBUR features a variety of fighters, each with unique weapons and moves, but it disappointingly lacks multi-player support. It's one of the more expensive games (currently US$13.99) in the Play Store, but as a pure fighting experience on Android, it’s one of the best.
XCOM: Enemy Within is one of the best Android strategy games because it wasn't founded on free-to-play principles like many other popular strategy games from the Play Store. It was built to be enjoyed without any additional purchases.
It was an award-winning strategy title for PC long before it ever made its way to Android, so expect top-end graphics, but also a top-end Play Store price. We can assure you it is well worth the initial investment, though.
DomiNations might be fairly new on the Android scene, but it has already amassed over a million downloads and a high level of critical acclaim. Running somewhere between Clash of Clans and Civilization, DomiNations is a base building game in which players take control of an entire nation "from the stone age to the space age" to explore, expand and conquer the world.
The level of strategy afforded by DomiNations is far beyond what is seen on most Android games. Should you spend money on building a stronger army, or plow it into researching a new technology at the library? DomiNations is filled with these minute-to-minute decisions that could swing the chances of victory in your favor, as well as some sweeping battles to take part in. It's free to play and you can check it out in the Play Store.
Twin-Assassins, Jacob and Evie Frye have descended upon London to wreak havoc on Crawford Starrick and the Templars' sinister plans for the city, and it's not just the downtrodden citizens of Victorian London that are grateful for their arrival. The critics have been following the twins on their journey, and from the looks of it, they had a blast gliding across London's rooftops with the rope launcher, brawling with Starrick's goons in the slums, and chatting with some of the most renowned characters in London's colorful history.
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