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Give mobile gaming a chance!
11 years ago
General
So, been hearing some hate for games on the Android and iOS lately. Personally I'm glad I got the iPad as I've found some real gems on there, and my android has a few good titles itself, but its hard to convince others of such...
Well, since I've been using the iPad for slightly over a year now I've decided to post this here. This list comprises some of the best iOS titles I've found.
- Final Fantasy Dimensions https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/fin.....540992837?mt=8 Right off the bat one of my favorites and one that I've had on my iPad ever since I discovered it was a thing. Final Fantasy Dimensions is a iOS and Android exclusive for the series that plays a lot like Final Fantasy 5 did, but with a twist. You control two parties of heroes who can use the job system, but each party gets different jobs! Like one gets paladin but the other gets dark knight, ranger while the other gets bard, dragoon while the other gets ninja, and so on which means you have to really learn how to manage a good mix for both teams. Some great music, a fun story, and classic gameplay make this easily one of my favorites for the iOS and a hopeful sign that Square Enix still kinda sorta gives a shit.
- Bloodmasque https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/blo.....663684549?mt=8 Following the snarky comment about Squeenix not giving a damn here's another fine title from them. Go figure. Bloodmasque is a dark and gritty game about vampire hunters set in the late 1800s in Paris. In this alternate history vampires have conquered the world and humanity is controlled and fed upon by their undead overlords. You take the role of a vampire hunter, a half vampire born of a vampire and a human parent who represents the last best chance at defeating the undead and allowing humanity to choose their own path in the world. As a fun little twist you can use the iPad camera to take a picture of yourself and -literally- play as yourself in the game. The game will take three different pictures and map them to show three different expressions during combat, cutscenes, and so on. Pretty neat idea, but I've seen some really goofy looking vampire hunters.
- Block Fortress https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/blo.....586280100?mt=8 Think Minecraft with the combat ramped up like crazy. Build a fortress, defensive turrets, and supply stations like mines and farms, then defend it from waves of attackers by either relying on your turrets or jumping into the fray with an assortment of weapons yourself. The enemies start off easy with just little grunts charging you down, but will go from those to enemies with guns, stealthed enemies that your turrets ignore, medics that heal others, and more. You have to build new structures to counter them, build defenses to help keep them out, and do your best to survive as long as you can. Simple in concept but very addictive and more complex the further you go.
- Papa Sangre II https://itunes.apple.com/app/papa-s.....ii/id710535349 Here's a neat idea. This isn't a video game, its an AUDIO game. Plug in your headphones and close your eyes, then follow your ears around the world of the dead collecting memories so you can come back to life. Fail and your memories, your entire life, are gone forever. Points just for sheer creativity and a very original idea.
- Zombiewood. Guns! Action! Zombies! https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/zombiewood-guns!-action!-zombies!/id467452023?mt=8 Here's something we gamers like doing, killing the hell out of things that are already dead. Zombiewood is just that, a top down run 'n gun game with zombies galore and lots of different ways to murder them. Clearly a comedy title the weapons range from normal handguns, shotguns, and such to alien weaponry, viking axes and claymores, and more.
- Dungeon Hearts https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/dun.....576262622?mt=8 A fast paced puzzle/RPG with colorful graphics, a catchy soundtrack, and some really engaging gameplay. I wound up playing the heck out of this when I first got it and it's been on my iPad ever since.
- Star Command https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sta.....632079234?mt=8 Ever been a Star Trek fan? This game is pretty much tailor made for anyone who ever wanted to play Kirk or Picard. Take command of a spaceship, choose from three types of rooms to build throughout your ship (weapons for fighting off enemy ships, engineering rooms for building in-ship defenses and repairing damage to the ship, and science rooms for enhancing your ship's shields and healing injured crewmates) and go on a journey that'll take you through our own galaxy and beyond. This one grabbed me hard and won't let go.
- Warhammer Quest https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/war.....573516833?mt=8 I know that the 40k stuff gets all the attention these days but this is how Warhammer got started. Take a party and go dungeon crawling through a beautifully animated game with some really challenging combat and some good humor thrown in here and there. Something fun I noticed too, all the character models kinda look like painted lead miniatures. Neat touch really.
- Saturday Morning RPG https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sat.....512545512?mt=8 A flat out parody RPG with a retro 1980s setting that plays out like someone took every popular cartoon, movie, and video game from that era and smashed them all together head first. Its basically one big love letter to the 80s, but still one of my favorites.
- Plants VS Zombies 2 https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pla.....597986893?mt=8 YES IT'S A BLOODY EA GAME! Now that we have *that* out of the way its actually a rather good game that, while it does commit the mortal sin of having microtransactions, its still very much playable without having to give EA your money. I played through the whole thing and only ever spent $2.99 to unlock the Torchwood plants, and that was only because they were one of my favorites from the first game. Even after I unlocked them I wound up barely using them. Its the sequel to the tower defense game that was made popular on Steam updated with new zombies, new settings, new plants, and new bosses.
- Sorcery! https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sorcery!/id627879091?mt=8 Steve Jackson games brings a Choose Your Own Adventure book to life in this artistic title. The story is the game in this one, each of your choices has direct consequences on the future of your quest that will come back when you least expect them (and really this time, not in a Fable Peter Molyneux is off his meds again way). Both this and the sequel are available with more on the way.
- The Bard's Tale https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/the.....480375355?mt=8 Here's one for anyone who ever did a lot of PC gaming. The classic title redone with fully 3D graphics and voice acting, combined with some really intense combat and puzzle solving, and topped off with a downright hilarious story.
- Aralon: Sword and Shadow https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ara.....399045373?mt=8 A fully 3D adventure RPG that takes inspiration from The Elder Scrolls but pulls it off beautifully on the iOS. Choose your race, choose your class, and then travel across the land fighting monsters, learning the ways of combat and magic, and playing one of the most immersive games I've seen on the iOS.
- Oceanhorn https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/oce.....708196645?mt=8 Hands down one of the best iOS games and quite possibly one of the best games I've seen in ages. Oceanhorn has stunning graphics on par with late Gamecube or early Wii titles, a fantastic soundtrack, and gameplay that focuses on exploration and puzzle solving as much as it does on combat. The controls are easy to learn despite the touchscreen, and the game itself will be on my favorites list for a very long time. Oh, and that fantastic soundtrack I mentioned, it's done by none other than Nobuo Uematsu of Final Fantasy fame.
- Royal Revolt 2 https://itunes.apple.com/nl/app/royal-revolt-2/id705211891?l=en&mt=8 Just found this one today and I'm already hooked. For those of you who do play iOS games its similar to Clash of the Clans, but with fully 3D graphics and combat that's closer to games like Orcs Must Die. You can let your little minions have their fun, but you'll win by leading the charge yourself. You're the king, and not the fat lazy kind but the kind who got his crown and keeps it by carving up everyone who tries to take it from him. Build your city, train your army, and stomp your rivals into the dirt.
- Castle Doombad https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/cas.....622788881?mt=8 Brought to us by the guys from Adult Swim, you take the role of the evil Professor Doombad who's created a device that lets him power his castle soley on the screams of a captive princess. However it seems that every hero wannabe has found out about her and you'll have to use her screams to summon minions, set traps, and knock them out of your castle. Fight knights, archers, grizzled mercenaries, brave archaeologists, buff and dashing knights, large-chinned superheroes, and more as you do your best to prove that the good guys don't always win.
- Lionheart Tactics https://itunes.apple.com/nz/app/lio.....677464631?mt=8 For those of you who like strategy RPGs this one is a real gem. A free to play game that, so far, I haven't had to spend a single cent on even after I started playing. The graphics are good, the combat is fun, and there's lots of abilities to unlock for each character. Worth a look definitely..
- Hello Hero https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/hel.....708971624?mt=8 A neat little JRPG style game where you can recruit and train characters to fight off an invading army of aliens. They range from the standard JRPG heroes (anime characters with colorful hair), to cutesy woodland critters (mice that attack with kitchen utensils), to the more intimidating (monsters, scythe-welding demonfolk, and more), to the downright silly (a cactus that wears a sombrero and plays a banjo). Worth a look if its your sort of thing. :P
- Honorbound https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/hon.....704781559?mt=8 A neat little title where you play the honor bound, one of five heroes sworn to defend the world when the forces of chaos arise. A 2D adventure RPG with some good art and decent combat, it does have some pay-to-win elements but I've found you can ignore them without too much difficulty.
- Mage Gauntlet https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mag.....460697573?mt=8 There is magic in this world, everyone can use it from the smallest child to the oldest adult... except for Lexi. Whatever she touches breaks, magical devices go haywire in her hands. After seeking out the aid of a man rumored to be the most powerful of all wizards she receives a gauntlet that finally allows her to use magic, then is charged with helping him seal away an ancient evil. Fast paced combat reminiscent of SNES action RPGs like Secret of Mana and Legend of Zelda. A real gem.
- Punch Quest https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pun.....554223561?mt=8 Ever just wanna punch the hell out of something? Here's a game for you. Charge through armies of skeletons, bloodsucking bats, evil sorcerers, and more with nothing but two fists and a desire to introduce them to as many faces as possible. Fast paced, frantic, and a hell of a lot of fun.
- Lord of Zombies https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/lor.....698009737?mt=8 Another one where you get to play the bad guy. Lord of Zombies puts you in the role of an undead monarch come to claim his kingdom from beyond the grave. As you fight your way through the living you'll find that your touch can convert them to the ranks of the living dead. Customize your squad and lead your brain-eating soldiers to victory in a fun little brawler.
- He-Man: The Most Powerful Game in the Universe https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/he-.....561912995?mt=8 Here's one for all the nostalgia junkies out there. He-Man, the hugely muscled and barely dressed superhero from the 1980s cartoon gets his own video game on the iOS. Play as him or She-Ra and thwart the plans of the evil Skeletor. Definitely a fun one if you were a fan of the series as a kid, and even if you weren't!
And before anyone says it... yes you can get games like Walking Dead, Bastion, Shadowrun Returns, and such on here too. I left them out on purpose. The ones I listed are either exclusive to tablets and smartphones, or exclusive to the iOS itself.
But yeah, thats all of the ones I can think of at this time. Hopefully some of the guys who have an iPad just found some new titles to try and those who don't want to give mobile a chance have found something that interests them enough to make them give it a shot. Don't discount your phone and tablets guys, there's lots more than just birds of the angry and flappy varieties out there!
Well, since I've been using the iPad for slightly over a year now I've decided to post this here. This list comprises some of the best iOS titles I've found.
- Final Fantasy Dimensions https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/fin.....540992837?mt=8 Right off the bat one of my favorites and one that I've had on my iPad ever since I discovered it was a thing. Final Fantasy Dimensions is a iOS and Android exclusive for the series that plays a lot like Final Fantasy 5 did, but with a twist. You control two parties of heroes who can use the job system, but each party gets different jobs! Like one gets paladin but the other gets dark knight, ranger while the other gets bard, dragoon while the other gets ninja, and so on which means you have to really learn how to manage a good mix for both teams. Some great music, a fun story, and classic gameplay make this easily one of my favorites for the iOS and a hopeful sign that Square Enix still kinda sorta gives a shit.
- Bloodmasque https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/blo.....663684549?mt=8 Following the snarky comment about Squeenix not giving a damn here's another fine title from them. Go figure. Bloodmasque is a dark and gritty game about vampire hunters set in the late 1800s in Paris. In this alternate history vampires have conquered the world and humanity is controlled and fed upon by their undead overlords. You take the role of a vampire hunter, a half vampire born of a vampire and a human parent who represents the last best chance at defeating the undead and allowing humanity to choose their own path in the world. As a fun little twist you can use the iPad camera to take a picture of yourself and -literally- play as yourself in the game. The game will take three different pictures and map them to show three different expressions during combat, cutscenes, and so on. Pretty neat idea, but I've seen some really goofy looking vampire hunters.
- Block Fortress https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/blo.....586280100?mt=8 Think Minecraft with the combat ramped up like crazy. Build a fortress, defensive turrets, and supply stations like mines and farms, then defend it from waves of attackers by either relying on your turrets or jumping into the fray with an assortment of weapons yourself. The enemies start off easy with just little grunts charging you down, but will go from those to enemies with guns, stealthed enemies that your turrets ignore, medics that heal others, and more. You have to build new structures to counter them, build defenses to help keep them out, and do your best to survive as long as you can. Simple in concept but very addictive and more complex the further you go.
- Papa Sangre II https://itunes.apple.com/app/papa-s.....ii/id710535349 Here's a neat idea. This isn't a video game, its an AUDIO game. Plug in your headphones and close your eyes, then follow your ears around the world of the dead collecting memories so you can come back to life. Fail and your memories, your entire life, are gone forever. Points just for sheer creativity and a very original idea.
- Zombiewood. Guns! Action! Zombies! https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/zombiewood-guns!-action!-zombies!/id467452023?mt=8 Here's something we gamers like doing, killing the hell out of things that are already dead. Zombiewood is just that, a top down run 'n gun game with zombies galore and lots of different ways to murder them. Clearly a comedy title the weapons range from normal handguns, shotguns, and such to alien weaponry, viking axes and claymores, and more.
- Dungeon Hearts https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/dun.....576262622?mt=8 A fast paced puzzle/RPG with colorful graphics, a catchy soundtrack, and some really engaging gameplay. I wound up playing the heck out of this when I first got it and it's been on my iPad ever since.
- Star Command https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sta.....632079234?mt=8 Ever been a Star Trek fan? This game is pretty much tailor made for anyone who ever wanted to play Kirk or Picard. Take command of a spaceship, choose from three types of rooms to build throughout your ship (weapons for fighting off enemy ships, engineering rooms for building in-ship defenses and repairing damage to the ship, and science rooms for enhancing your ship's shields and healing injured crewmates) and go on a journey that'll take you through our own galaxy and beyond. This one grabbed me hard and won't let go.
- Warhammer Quest https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/war.....573516833?mt=8 I know that the 40k stuff gets all the attention these days but this is how Warhammer got started. Take a party and go dungeon crawling through a beautifully animated game with some really challenging combat and some good humor thrown in here and there. Something fun I noticed too, all the character models kinda look like painted lead miniatures. Neat touch really.
- Saturday Morning RPG https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sat.....512545512?mt=8 A flat out parody RPG with a retro 1980s setting that plays out like someone took every popular cartoon, movie, and video game from that era and smashed them all together head first. Its basically one big love letter to the 80s, but still one of my favorites.
- Plants VS Zombies 2 https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pla.....597986893?mt=8 YES IT'S A BLOODY EA GAME! Now that we have *that* out of the way its actually a rather good game that, while it does commit the mortal sin of having microtransactions, its still very much playable without having to give EA your money. I played through the whole thing and only ever spent $2.99 to unlock the Torchwood plants, and that was only because they were one of my favorites from the first game. Even after I unlocked them I wound up barely using them. Its the sequel to the tower defense game that was made popular on Steam updated with new zombies, new settings, new plants, and new bosses.
- Sorcery! https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sorcery!/id627879091?mt=8 Steve Jackson games brings a Choose Your Own Adventure book to life in this artistic title. The story is the game in this one, each of your choices has direct consequences on the future of your quest that will come back when you least expect them (and really this time, not in a Fable Peter Molyneux is off his meds again way). Both this and the sequel are available with more on the way.
- The Bard's Tale https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/the.....480375355?mt=8 Here's one for anyone who ever did a lot of PC gaming. The classic title redone with fully 3D graphics and voice acting, combined with some really intense combat and puzzle solving, and topped off with a downright hilarious story.
- Aralon: Sword and Shadow https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ara.....399045373?mt=8 A fully 3D adventure RPG that takes inspiration from The Elder Scrolls but pulls it off beautifully on the iOS. Choose your race, choose your class, and then travel across the land fighting monsters, learning the ways of combat and magic, and playing one of the most immersive games I've seen on the iOS.
- Oceanhorn https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/oce.....708196645?mt=8 Hands down one of the best iOS games and quite possibly one of the best games I've seen in ages. Oceanhorn has stunning graphics on par with late Gamecube or early Wii titles, a fantastic soundtrack, and gameplay that focuses on exploration and puzzle solving as much as it does on combat. The controls are easy to learn despite the touchscreen, and the game itself will be on my favorites list for a very long time. Oh, and that fantastic soundtrack I mentioned, it's done by none other than Nobuo Uematsu of Final Fantasy fame.
- Royal Revolt 2 https://itunes.apple.com/nl/app/royal-revolt-2/id705211891?l=en&mt=8 Just found this one today and I'm already hooked. For those of you who do play iOS games its similar to Clash of the Clans, but with fully 3D graphics and combat that's closer to games like Orcs Must Die. You can let your little minions have their fun, but you'll win by leading the charge yourself. You're the king, and not the fat lazy kind but the kind who got his crown and keeps it by carving up everyone who tries to take it from him. Build your city, train your army, and stomp your rivals into the dirt.
- Castle Doombad https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/cas.....622788881?mt=8 Brought to us by the guys from Adult Swim, you take the role of the evil Professor Doombad who's created a device that lets him power his castle soley on the screams of a captive princess. However it seems that every hero wannabe has found out about her and you'll have to use her screams to summon minions, set traps, and knock them out of your castle. Fight knights, archers, grizzled mercenaries, brave archaeologists, buff and dashing knights, large-chinned superheroes, and more as you do your best to prove that the good guys don't always win.
- Lionheart Tactics https://itunes.apple.com/nz/app/lio.....677464631?mt=8 For those of you who like strategy RPGs this one is a real gem. A free to play game that, so far, I haven't had to spend a single cent on even after I started playing. The graphics are good, the combat is fun, and there's lots of abilities to unlock for each character. Worth a look definitely..
- Hello Hero https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/hel.....708971624?mt=8 A neat little JRPG style game where you can recruit and train characters to fight off an invading army of aliens. They range from the standard JRPG heroes (anime characters with colorful hair), to cutesy woodland critters (mice that attack with kitchen utensils), to the more intimidating (monsters, scythe-welding demonfolk, and more), to the downright silly (a cactus that wears a sombrero and plays a banjo). Worth a look if its your sort of thing. :P
- Honorbound https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/hon.....704781559?mt=8 A neat little title where you play the honor bound, one of five heroes sworn to defend the world when the forces of chaos arise. A 2D adventure RPG with some good art and decent combat, it does have some pay-to-win elements but I've found you can ignore them without too much difficulty.
- Mage Gauntlet https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mag.....460697573?mt=8 There is magic in this world, everyone can use it from the smallest child to the oldest adult... except for Lexi. Whatever she touches breaks, magical devices go haywire in her hands. After seeking out the aid of a man rumored to be the most powerful of all wizards she receives a gauntlet that finally allows her to use magic, then is charged with helping him seal away an ancient evil. Fast paced combat reminiscent of SNES action RPGs like Secret of Mana and Legend of Zelda. A real gem.
- Punch Quest https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pun.....554223561?mt=8 Ever just wanna punch the hell out of something? Here's a game for you. Charge through armies of skeletons, bloodsucking bats, evil sorcerers, and more with nothing but two fists and a desire to introduce them to as many faces as possible. Fast paced, frantic, and a hell of a lot of fun.
- Lord of Zombies https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/lor.....698009737?mt=8 Another one where you get to play the bad guy. Lord of Zombies puts you in the role of an undead monarch come to claim his kingdom from beyond the grave. As you fight your way through the living you'll find that your touch can convert them to the ranks of the living dead. Customize your squad and lead your brain-eating soldiers to victory in a fun little brawler.
- He-Man: The Most Powerful Game in the Universe https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/he-.....561912995?mt=8 Here's one for all the nostalgia junkies out there. He-Man, the hugely muscled and barely dressed superhero from the 1980s cartoon gets his own video game on the iOS. Play as him or She-Ra and thwart the plans of the evil Skeletor. Definitely a fun one if you were a fan of the series as a kid, and even if you weren't!
And before anyone says it... yes you can get games like Walking Dead, Bastion, Shadowrun Returns, and such on here too. I left them out on purpose. The ones I listed are either exclusive to tablets and smartphones, or exclusive to the iOS itself.
But yeah, thats all of the ones I can think of at this time. Hopefully some of the guys who have an iPad just found some new titles to try and those who don't want to give mobile a chance have found something that interests them enough to make them give it a shot. Don't discount your phone and tablets guys, there's lots more than just birds of the angry and flappy varieties out there!
