Thing 20

Games? I get to blog about games?! AWESOME. Games take up way too much space on my personal iPad, almost half...but when 3 people use it, I suppose that's bound to happen.

A couple of disclaimers
1) I like mobile games, this will be a long post


Ok, so the 23 things page suggests some great apps/games. I'm familiar with 3 of them, so I'll start with those.

First: Candy Crush Saga. I honestly don't understand this game at all, but it is my wife's vice. That is all

Next: Minion Rush. This is one of the first apps I downloaded to my iPad when we got it. I am a Despicable Me and Minion fan, so it was a natural fit...until I got frustrated and deleted it. When my daughter started expressing interest in Minions and Despicable Me I figured I'd put it on there again, just for her...and found myself addicted again. It's not really a major break through in mobile gaming or anything, you use swipe commands to have your Minion (looks like Dave, for those that know their Minions) run a course. You have to dodge obstacles and have the occasional "boss" battle (where I got stuck originally, until I found out how to "beat" them) all while collecting bananas, bapples, Gru and Nefario's inventions and yes,  trying to become Minion of the year. Points are awarded for distance covered and bananas collected, all the other things I mentioned are tools to unlock levels and gifts. Of course the developers inserted all sorts of in-app purchases to tempt you, but they're not necessary if you have a little patience. It's graphics are pretty good for a mobile game and the license is what really makes it shine.

Third: Frogger Free. Oh how I wanted to love and try this game, but download-er, beware. After reading the complaints in the App Store about the bugginess and crashing, I decided to fore-go this one. I loved Frogger as a kid and the premise is really adaptable to a mobile game. Too bad it doesn't work.

Now, on to some "original" ideas.

1) Real Racing 3. The second app I put on my iPad. The major downside, it's HUGE. If your device is low on memory (by design or your own doing) stay away, it's 1.8 GB...but if you like to drive accurately recreated cars on very well designed sims of mostly real courses, this is a must have. Totally free to download, patience is key and the ads aren't too intrusive. If you're ok with in-app purchases (IAPs) they're there for you. By default, the game uses your device's tilt function as your steering and throttle and brake are AI (artificial intelligence) controlled. You can tinker with those setting to your liking for a more immerse experience.

2) CSR Racing (and CSR Classics). Another car game. Hey, I like cars! What did you expect? Difference between CSR and Real Racing is apples and oranges. CSR concentrates on "street" racing, so you pick one of several detailed recreations of real vehicles and drag race, basically. The keys (ha, get it) to the game are in managing your launch and shifts and using in-game currency to upgrade your car and/or buy new ones. Like any good game, the further in you go, the tougher the challenges. Keeping with the "street" theme, the game has a few different modes. Daily challenge, ladder and crew. Daily challenge assigns you a car and a goal. Meet it and you win cred. Ladder allows you to race your car against consecutively tougher opponents and in crew mode, you start out as a noob on the scene and you take out the boss' guys race by race.

3) Angry Birds! Who hasn't tried Angry Birds? Sure, it lost some of its pop-culture luster, but it's still pretty popular. I downloaded the free version...which is supported by very annoying, intrusive ads. There are banner ads on every level, animated ads between levels, still ads between levels...and the most annoying thing is if you don't tap the "X" just right...you go to the app store and the app that is being advertised. IF you can deal with that, it's the same as regular Angry Birds: launch your birds via slingshot and/or use their attacks to destroy the pigs and the structures protecting them.

4) Hungry Shark Evolution. You're character is a hungry shark (no surprise), it's up to you to feed him. You swim about an ocean, eating fish, crabs, turtles, birds, the occasional person...as you advance, you level up your shark. As your shark levels up, it becomes stronger and can't be eaten by enemy sharks, stung by rays, etc. Once one shark is leveled up, it can evolve to the next species. The game uses tilt or touch controls, I prefer touch, personally.

5) The Sims: FreePlay. If you're not familiar with The Sims, it is a long running strategy game/life-simulation. You create little sim-people (the titular Sims), build them houses, find them jobs, foster relationships and ultimately create another generation of Sims to keep your world populated. It can be really in-depth or really silly, your choice. The mobile game sticks with the series' long running themes but introduces some mobile game-esque themes of its own. The game takes place in real time (when it's night-time in reality, it is in your Sims' world too). Technological constraints also limit the amount of Sims one can have and there are fewer levels. Actions take real-time (your Sim can be told to sleep for 7 hours and it will sleep that long, unless you interrupt or cancel the command). It too, is kind of a memory hog (800MB) and tempts with IAP to speed things up and/or buy in-game currency. I've been able to avoid them, but this is another game that takes LOTS of patience to succeed at, if you want to avoid paying real $.

6) The Simpsons: Tapped Out. Oh Homer, will you ever learn...One day, instead of working (well that's every day) Homer Simpson is engrossed in his Happy Little Elves game on his "myPad" (Simpson reference to iPad...) instead of paying attention to the critical warning signs that a nuclear meltdown is imminent. You can guess what happens. Homer survives and is tasked with re-building Springfield...which you make him do. Throughout the game, other Simpsons characters re-appear in the new Springfield as you rebuild. Long story short, this is SimCity with the Simpsons. I've been watching the Simpsons since 1990 and I find myself quite addicted to this game. See my advice regarding IAP for other games I've mentioned to save yourself real $.

7) Flick Kick Field Goal. Does it really need much explanation? 3 game modes: practice, precision and sudden death. Practice is well, practice. Precision is accuracy based; you have 20 kicks from various lengths and you're trying to kick it as straight down the middle as possible. Right down the middle is worth 100%, just inside the bar, 50%, a miss is 0. After all your kicks, the game averages your accuracy for your score. Sudden death, make as many kicks in a row as you can from consecutively harder distances; miss and it's over.

 8) NASCAR Manager. I've been meaning to try this out and now I have an excuse. This game is part racing, part strategy, part sports manager. First and foremost, you're the crew chief, the leader of a fictional race team. You're given challenges to pass during "Speedweeks" (NASCAR exhibition season) and if you pass them, you can lead your team through a season or a 5 year career. It was fun, but nothing overwhelming; you get plunked into the driver's seat on a few occasions and do a little steering, braking, accelerating and so on; you manage your driver's strategy and your team pit strategy. You're given upgrades as you level-up and you have to figure out how and when to purchase them and how to optimize them. If done right, they allow you to run with the big boys. It's fun, but the only stand-out thing about the game is the NASCAR license which allows for real tracks, drivers, sponsors, etc. The price is a strong point since it is free, other than that it kind of reminds me of CSR but going in a circle. Can't complain about the graphics either.

I'll end by summarizing here: If you can think of a game, there's probably an app for it. We have found Solitare, Spider Solitare, Chess, Checkers, MineSweeper and FreeCell...to name a few.

All the listed games appeal to some of my interests, ranging from the strategies (racing, obstacles, sims) to the topic (football,cars) to the licenses (The Simpsons, Despicable Me). They are great ways to unwind and kill time.