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Digital Playground

MOBILE LOOK AHEAD: A Year of Gaming

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Introduction

I started this month of reminiscing about my year of gaming with a mobile look back. (Note: I’m so far ahead of my schedule right now that I can’t link that phrase yet. I’m writing this on Thursday and Friday December 3rd and 4th.) In this article (and for the next three Wednesdays), I’m going to take a look forward in each genre of gaming. Honestly, though, I’m not sure how this mobile look ahead will go.

My phone isn’t quite this bad, but give it time

Seeing as how I’ve finally paid (yet another) price for my Hearthstone tantrums with a broken phone, I haven’t played a single mobile game in at least two months. I think I mentioned in the previous article that I also just ordered a new laptop and I’m eyeing a PS4 bundle for after Christmas. I don’t think a new phone is in my future any time soon. We will see if I end up getting a check for my stipend work. In any case, let’s start this mobile look ahead with the possibilities I’m considering if I can ever afford one.

New Phone Possibilities

Samsung Galaxy S8 – Funny story about my current phone. While it is true that several pieces of electronics have ended because I didn’t properly take care of them (including my current S10), my previous phone was not one of them. I was at a friends house and I left my S8 in my car because I was visiting with a friend.

Well, it was summer and the phone got very hot. As I drove home, I took the phone out of the case and held it out of the window so that the breeze would help cool it. As I was doing so, the phone fell out of my hand and skittered along the ground. I drove back to look for it with no success. I immediately ordered an S10 to replace it. Because, we all need phones these days, right? Right?!

Perhaps before Covid, you could make that argument. Now, maybe not so much. Long story short, I got an email from someone who found my S8 lying on the side of the road. I went to get it from the local police department. Here’s the ridiculous part. Other than some cracking on the back, the phone was fine and worked perfect. So, I could downgrade for a few months. If only I could find the dang gone phone.

Samsung Galaxy S10 – I could just buy another version of the phone I already have. Not very exciting, but money efficient at least. Plus, I really like the phone and have been playing Hearthstone exclusively on my PC, so no danger of it being thrown into my bedpost this time.

Google Pixel 4a – When I was looking at phones before I got a crazy deal on a new laptop, this one was on the list. We’ve already all sold our souls to Google for convenient search results, so why not give them back the cash that they didn’t pay me for that soul. It is about a third of what the Samsung phones cost and seems to have the same game functionality. This will probably be the phone I get when I finally relent.

BlueStacks – This is the most likely interim solution. Aiden discovered this little trick a couple of months ago when his phone started doing funny things due to cracked screen. I used it a bit a few years ago. I’m sure there have been improvements since then.

Mobile Look Ahead at Games I Might Play

Plants vs Zombies 3 – I mentioned the first one in the previous article. I also said that I never played the second one or any of the console versions. I just got bored with the same set up each time basically beating every single level. According to the preview I found, the 3rd game is supposed to offer more “complex strategy and game play”. Okay.

Batman: Arkham Underworld: When I first saw that it was a Batman Arkham game, I put it in the definitely play category. Then I saw it was basically a mafia game with a Batman wrapping. So, I might give it a chance. But, it’s not likely to last very long.

League of Legends: Wild Rift – I have a short and checkered history with League of Legends. I tried playing the game for 5 matches. In one of them I got a player on a smurf account who was willing to work with us noobs and help us win the match. The other four were the entire team fighting among themselves while the other team steamrolled us. It was a similar experience in Blizzards Heroes of the Storm. At least in that game, you can queue bots.

I do like Teamfight Tactics and will probably download it on my new laptop. So, I’m not sure if I will play this game very much. I’m sure to try it and see if simplifying the game for mobile makes it more user (and specific to me, noob) friendly. If so, it might make it into the rotation.

Marvel Super War – If I’m going to play a mobile MOBA (that’s silly to say), then it will be this one. The likelihood of that even happening is quite low actually. Granted, I’ve never played a MOBA on mobile, but I don’t understand how the mechanics are supposed to work. Besides, there are just too many other games out there that I definitely want to play.

Mobile Look Ahead at Games I Will Probably Play

Pokemon Unite: Another MOBA game? I know I said I would most likely play the Marvel MOBA just mentioned. This one is Pokemon, though. I feel like they will provide more variety in their play styles than the Marvel Heroes. At least, that’s what I’ve found in Pokemon games vs. games based on Marvel. They’re both fun, but Pokemon are more interesting in my opinion.

Crash Bandicoot: On the Run! – I have to be honest. I’m surprised it took so long for this game to happen. The old third person “behind” levels are identical to many of these run style games. I do enjoy these types of games as quick diversion. So, if this one is any good at all, I will probably end up playing it.

Warhammer Odyssey and Total War Battles: I already own a few Warhammer games through my Steam account that I’ve only played a little bit. I like the idea of Warhammer and would love to play the miniature game. I don’t have the time or money for that, so the next logical step is playing the video games. Maybe some day.

Fallout Shelter Online – Well, I guess I got an answer to why support for Fallout Shelter fell off at the end there. They’re developing an online version of the game. I enjoyed the gameplay of the original. If they make the online capabilities decent and support it for longer than a year, it will be worth it to try.

Mobile Look Ahead at Games I Will Definitely Play

Lego Star Wars Battles: Tower defense game set in Lego Star Wars. I’m not sure about it being a tower defense games. I mean, they can be fun on mobile. But, Lego Star Wars is a fun setting, so I will definitely find time to play this game and convince myself that I enjoy it.

Diablo Immortal – As they do, fans crapped all over this game as soon as it was announced. What was the whole issue that people had? I remember that there was an issue. Started playing Diablo 3 on the XBox One again this year. I will be sure to play the hell (no pun intended) out of this one, I’m sure.

Minecraft Earth – This one has been in Beta for at least a year and probably longer. Some of my students last year were playing it during free time in class. I think Aiden might have downloaded it, too. I loved (and rediscovered that love this summer) Pokemon Go as an augmented reality game. This one offers so much more variety than Pokemon. I will lose months of my life to this game.

The Verdict

The games announced so far for mobile next year look great. There are a ton of games that I will at least try. Whether I buy a new phone or simply use an emulator, I will be busy with these games plus catching up on what I’ve missed over the last month in my already established games. Minecraft Earth will definitely push me to get a phone, though. Also, think of all the Pokecoins I’ve missed.

Digital Playground

MOBILE LOOK BACK: A Year of Gaming

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Introduction

I’ve been wanting to do an article like this mobile look back since the page started. I think this is the first year that I’ve written at least one article every month. Granted, that was assisted by Covid and the necessity of our school to go remote. However it happened, I’m happy for the opportunity to be able to write about what I enjoy. Mind you, I’m not downplaying a global pandemic. I’m simply expressing gratitude in my socially awkward, but hopefully endearing, way.

At what age do you stop being a scamp and start just being an a-hole? I’m pretty sure I’m already there, but maybe I can scam another year or two out of it.

Having never actually done an article of this nature, I’m not entirely sure how to format it. I came up with the idea to split it into sections similar to the “Great, Good, and Decent” that I use for reviews. However, those won’t work for an article like this. Therefore, I split them into “Barely Played, Lightly Played, Moderately Played, and Heavily Played”.

That kills two birds with one stone. Not only does it give me a direction for the article. It also mimics the categories for used trading cards. Huh? Huh? Pretty clever if I say so myself. Okay, let’s take a mobile look back with 2 Guys Gaming.

Mobile Look Back at Games I Barely Played

Clash of Clans – Two of these games on this list will have a similar story. They were reintroduced to me by other people. In this case, I learned that Aiden played this game with a couple of his friends and put together a clan that he invited me to. We played for a couple of weeks before he got bored with it and moved on. I like the game, but it is boring if you don’t have a group of regulars to play with you.

Empires and Puzzles – Chris introduced me to this one. He got into it via his former neighbor or coworker or something. It’s a decent match 3 game with a vibrant community and a variety of ways to advance. However, when Chris stopped playing because his guildmates were too “hardcore” for him, I fell off the bandwagon, too. I wouldn’t mind putting together a friends and family guild like I did for Marvel Puzzle Quest when the same thing happened to me in that game.

Fallout Shelter – In any other year, this game would have been heavily played. I liked the familiarity of the Fallout universe setting, unique characters and items, and specialty quests. When they stopped supporting the quest system, it just became another grind fest with a familiar IP. That’s when it hit the recycle bin and I never looked back.

Where’s My Perry/Where’s My Water: Similar to Fallout Shelter, I played “Where’s My Perry” heavily for a couple of years. I looked for Perry on my phone. Disney removed it from the store. I attempted questionably legal channels and met a roadblock. So, I downloaded the seed game and played that a bit. I might have played it more if not for my phone finally folding under my abuse.

Mobile Look Back at Games I Lightly Played

Angry Birds – Another game that fell off my radar over time. Honestly, most of these games fell out of favor because I simply had no time to play them. Working 16-20 hours a day will do that. When asked about Angry Birds by a friend, I probably sounded like an elitist prick. I do like the game play. But, my favorite part is how faithful the physics engine is for such a simple game.

Dr. Mario World – I played the heck out of the original Doctor Mario. A high school friend and I used to hang out in counseling during lunch and play that and Tetris using a link cable between our Gameboys. Yeah, I really am that old. When I saw there was a mobile version, I checked it out. It can be a fun diversion, but not as much fun playing against nobody.

Dota Underlords – After I discovered Auto Chess last year, I got big into auto battler games for a couple of months. Of the two “PC clients”, I played Team Fight Tactics much more than Underlords. Summer boredom led me to out Underlords on my phone. They updated the game significantly. When my new laptop comes in, I think I’m going to be playing this quite a bit.

Mario Run – This is one of the first mobile games I played. Well, that’s not entirely true. But, it is one of the first mobile games that I actually put money into. I’ve beaten all of the levels on the pink coin level and a couple of them on the next coin level. Mostly I just play the game when I’m waiting for cool downs in other games. I do the “Quick Run” mode or whatever it’s called for random prizes.

Plants v. Zombies – This game lost much of it’s luster when I played the mini quest version in World of Warcraft. I realized that you beat most levels with the same strategy. Build up your sunflowers, drop pea plants wherever zombies show up and just rinse and repeat. There are newer versions of the game that I haven’t tried. Maybe they’re more engaging.

Mobile Look Back at Games I Moderately Played

Auto Chess – I don’t remember how I discovered Auto Chess. I do remember that I was playing it exclusively for a couple of months. I even had a spreadsheet (in my head) about how much I would have to level to get to the appropriate level and obtain the season skin. Then Blizzard does what they do and released Battlegrounds. Since I already play Hearthstone daily, that became my auto battler of choice. Plus, some changes to Auto Chess made it a similar grind fest to Fallout.

Eternal Card Game – Eternal was the closest I could get to MTG on an electronic platform. I didn’t play MTGO much because I already put so much money into the physical card game and didn’t want to spend twice that just to reproduce my collection online. Then, MTGA came out and I could play MTG more or less free to play. I like Eternal, but MTG is still the king.

Magic the Gathering: ManaStrike – When they first announced this game, I made a snarky comment on Facebook. “How about fixing your other electronic properties before releasing another bug filled game?” At the time, both Arena and MTGPQ felt criminally under supported. Since then, both games have flourished and I got a chance to play this one. It is nothing like MTG other than familiar names. Still, matches last less than five minutes making it a fun and quick diversion.

Mobile Look Back at Games I Heavily Played

Candy Crush – A student received a smart phone just this year and discovered Candy Crush. This wasn’t the driver of my interest in the game unlike Empires or Clash. I’ve put more time and much more money than I care to admit into Candy Crush. It’s just dumb fun.

Magic the Gathering Puzzle Quest – This is 100% one of the first mobile games I ever played. I played Marvel Puzzle Quest on Steam and then tried to move my progress to mobile. When that failed, I then learned about MTGPQ and got hooked. While the events are sometimes repetitious, they’ve been good about keeping the game fresh with the new card sets and mechanics.

Minion Rush – For the longest time, this game fell into the grind fest trap and I stopped playing. This year, they brought back some of the fun by running more regular events. That, along with Quinn discovering the game, got me playing it on a regular basis. Then my phone decided that it no longer wanted to be tossed across the living room in frustration.

Sim City Build It – Like many others, even though I’m trash at it, I love Sim City. I am good in the early game and then lose it once my population starts to get around 2-5,000. I just can’t generate enough revenue through taxes without ticking off my Sims. This game simplifies the Sim City formula while keeping the basics. All in all, what a good mobile game should be.

The Verdict

I mentioned more than once that my phone is nonoperational. It does still work, but the screen crack that started after a Hearthstone tantrum spread through the whole screen. Now a horizontal line crosses the screen and the bottom third is nothing but a bright white light. When I turn it on, it’s like being summoned into the afterlife.

Therefore, if I’m to play any of these games again, I will need a new phone. I just ordered myself a new laptop. I doubt that I will be able to convince Christine that I should buy a new phone right now, too. It might be a few months until I get back into the mobile scene. I suppose I could always download Bluestacks on my laptop in the meantime.