Whole worlds in your pocket. 10 mobile gaming apps that have us excited

Gaming has gone through countless phases over the decades, with arcades, consoles, PCs and, most recently, mobile phones each having made a mark in the hearts of millions of gamers, young and old. Even within mobile gaming, the changes in the landscape have been staggering, with old, arcade-style games like Snake 2 making way for the likes of Angry Birds and Temple Run, which are themselves facing the rise of augmented reality-based games like Pokémon GO.

According to a report by Deloitte, the mobile gaming industry has now surpassed both the console and PC ecosystems in terms of revenue, with 500 new games being released every day on a single platform. While console and PC gaming aren’t going anywhere for now, mobile is clearly the future. And as the overwhelming success of Teen Patti has shown, India is far from an exception to this trend.

Seeing the rise and success of mobile gaming, we decided to bring to you the top 10 games out there in the market today.

1. Clash of Clans (Supercell)

Downloads: 100,000,000+      Rating: 4.6

Free, with in-app purchases.

 Perhaps the most popular strategy game on the mobile, with well over 100 million downloads, Clash of Clans is engrossing, and that’s putting it mildly. Given charge of their very own village, players must go about adding to its resources and military strength while defending against hostile goblins as well as raiding parties from other chiefs. Instilling in gamers a sense of kingship and a love of strategising, Clash of Clans has seen the rise and fall of millions of villages, with players plundering resources from their peers with the aim of building up their individual empires. The frenzy can be summed up perfectly by Liam Neeson’s Takenesque Super Bowl commercial.

1. Into the Dead (PikPok)

Downloads: 10,000,000+    Rating: 4.4

Free, with in-app purchases.

 This game entails heady sessions of running through endless fields, your canine companion by your side, squeezing off rounds from your firearm at the slightest hint of a threat, all the while knowing that each bullet fired will be sorely missed before too long. PikPok’s masterpiece really rouses the emotion of the gamer, confronting him with the stark inevitability of a gory end. An interesting take on the runner genre, Into the Dead is an immensely addictive game, offering players a thrilling experience in first person shooter (FPS) as they charge through hordes of the undead. The impressive gameplay is masterfully complemented by a chilling soundtrack, bringing it all together perfectly.

1. Alto’s Adventure (Snowman)

Downloads: 10,000,000+   Rating: 4.5

Free, with in-app purchases.

 If Into the Dead fills one with dread at the horrifying fate that is sure to come, Alto’s Adventure offers gamers a serene experience, along with the certainty that, when the end does come, it will be no worse than a slight tumble through the snow. If I had to describe Alto’s Adventure with just one word, it would be ‘beautiful’ – the idyllic villages, the pristine peaks and the soothing soundtrack all convey beauty and peace. Join Alto and his friends as they snowboard through the Andes in pursuit of errant llamas, braving ever-changing weather, gaping canyons and overly-aggressive village elders. If the endless pursuit of goals isn’t your thing, slap on a pair of headphones, turn on Zen Mode and cruise through the snow-capped landscape without a care in the world.

1. Shadow Fight 2 (Nekki)

Downloads: 100,000,000+     Rating: 4.6

Free, with in-app purchases.

 Shadow Fight 2 has received a good deal of acclaim, and once you play it, you’ll see that the game more than deserves it. With great animation and a top-notch combat experience, Shadow Fight succeeds in imbuing players with a sense of true strength. The range of armour, weapons and abilities available is truly impressive, filling you with a sense of anticipation for the battle to come. Shadow Fight 2 will challenge you, wracking your nerves with see-sawing battles and the slenderest margins of victory and defeat. But make no mistake - the challenge is an integral part of the fun, and the victory that comes after a hard-fought duel is the sweetest.

1. Frozen Free Fall (Disney)

Downloads: 50,000,000+    Rating: 4.3

Free, with in-app purchases.

 After being ostracised for singing Let It Go in public far too many times, I was a little apprehensive about including this title here, but Free Fall’s quality cannot be denied. While Candy Crush may have brought Match 3 games into prominence, and is indeed still the most popular game in the format, it is this game based on Disney’s 2013 hit that makes it to this list. Accompanied by characters from the movie, including Elsa, Anna and Sven, you endeavour to solve a variety of challenging and intriguing puzzles, with each character having a special ability that could prove the difference between success and failure. Frozen Free Fall is a soothing, fun game, with music that gives one the feeling of sitting next to a frost-tinted window with a nice cup of hot cocoa in hand on a cold winter’s day.

1. Angry Birds Star Wars II (Rovio)

Downloads: 50,000,000+    Rating: 4.3

Free, with in-app purchases.

 Rovio’s hit Angry Birds series has been perhaps the biggest gaming phenomenon of the past decade, with the various games pulling in billions of downloads between them across all platforms. While some of the directions the developer took the franchise in may have failed to yield fruit, their venture into the Star Wars universe has been an overwhelming success. While some argue that the original is the better of the two games, I believe that this version, with its wider array of characters and both the light and the dark sides being open to players, takes the cake. Angry Birds Star Wars II holds great appeal for fans of the sci-fi franchise, with its range of iconic characters, impressive abilities and awesome levels making for an excellent session of gaming.

1. Asphalt 8: Airborne (Gameloft)

Downloads: 100,000,000+      Rating: 4.5     

Free, with in-app purchases.

 The premier racing title in mobile gaming, Asphalt 8 incorporates much of what made the Burnouts and Need For Speeds of the console era so immensely playable. With a huge, impressive range of cars, engaging tracks and awesome crashes, the game caters to a speed junkie’s every need. Players are treated to an immersive experience, met with the quality of graphics that Gameloft has made its signature, and will be pushed to the limits to achieve mastery in each of Asphalt’s many game modes, including Classic, Infected and, my personal favourite, Knockdown.

1. Rayman Adventures (Ubisoft)

Downloads: 10,000,000+    Rating: 4.5

Free, with in-app purchases.

 Ubisoft was a giant of the game world long before mobile gaming acquired the kind of popularity it has today, and with the Rayman series, the developer brings the brilliance it has demonstrated on consoles to the mobile scene. Rayman Adventures is a wonderfully fun game, where you strive to return the sacred tree to its former glory and rescue your furry sidekicks from unscrupulous pirates. With a soundtrack that gels brilliantly with the powered-up gameplay and a thoroughly intoxicated redbeard waving you in at the end of each level, everything about this game gives you a sense of fun, excitement and adventure.

1. N.O.V.A. 3: Freedom Edition (Gameloft)

Downloads: 10,000,000+   Rating: 4.5

Free. No in-app purchases.

 Few mobile game developers are as accomplished as Gameloft; apart from ruling the racing scene with the Asphalt series, the company has become quite accomplished at the FPS, with series like N.O.V.A. and Modern Combat winning fans by the droves. N.O.V.A. 3 brings an incredibly console-like experience to the mobile, with stunning visuals and high-octane combat. Fighting to save the human race amidst an alien invasion, the gamer is put through inter-planetary battle in picturesque locales, with a wide variety of weapons at his disposal. The game is undoubtedly one of the best FPS titles out there, and considering that it is absolutely free, without the standard in-app purchases, this is something that fans of the genre simply cannot miss out on.

1. Plants vs. Zombies 2 (PopCap Games)

Downloads: 50,000,000+      Rating: 4.4

Free, with in-app purchases.

 The title, and indeed the whole concept, of this game seems like a joke – using combative vegetation to battle wave upon wave of brain-eating zombies? But once you move past the absurdity of it all, Plants vs. Zombies 2 provides you with an exceptional gaming experience. Accompanied by Penny, an extremely intelligent, time-travelling vehicle, and Crazy Dave, your incredibly entertaining neighbour who balances out Penny’s surplus intellect perfectly, you travel through time, from age to age, using a variety of weaponised plants to defend yourself against comical, but nonetheless dangerous, armies of the undead, from the sarcophagus-toting zombies of Ancient Egypt to the dancing cowboy zombies of the Wild Wild West! This game is the very pinnacle of the tower defence genre.

These games, and many others like them, are taking the world by storm as greater numbers of people, people who barely showed the slightest interest in video games before, are falling in love with their smartphones and the entertainment they find on them. What do you think? Did we miss out any of your favourite games? Let us know in the comments section below.

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