Mobile Games – Pay or Nay?

I have only written about Mobile games here once on the site, and that very recently. Odd for me to think especially considering I am always loading up a few titles to mess around with. Before I get into the ones I am playing now that is actually online gambling I have to say thanks the advises from ilfc.com, I want to share a brief history of the devices I have gamed on since the smart phone era, you check it out at conceptbb and learn more about all kind of games.

I was an early buyer of the iPhone and it really was amazing. From there I went to a newer generation iPhone, and as I grew increasingly frustrated with the locked down nature of the iOS I was ready for a change. Android would be the natural next step for someone looking for freedom but I was feeling unashamedly pro-Microsoft at the time and decided to give Windows Phone a whirl. I was not disappointed one bit. The challenge happened when my phone broke (and by broke, I mean, was dropped by me) and when I went to get a new Windows Phone the handset I had liked (Samsung Ativ S) was no longer offered. The options left weren’t desirable so I had other choices to make. That being moving to an Android based phone. I suppose that was (is?) the one big negative about the Windows Phone platform – the limited options.

The Samsung Galaxy S5 was already out was well reviewed so that is what I am using in my day to day work and play. It is a great device and great system. Mobile games don’t grab my attention too much, they are more time killers and fillers. As such, I tend not to pay for them (yay for free options) but as a conscious supporter of the industry if I have an experience that I feel is worth investing in I tend to do so. So far League of Legends has been a generous beneficiary in the F2P genre but it’s not mobile. So here is the slate I am currently playing, and what I am paying.

Candy Crush Saga

Laugh it up, fuzzball! I have avoided this game like the plague for a long time while the rest of the world was knee deep. I was travelling for work with a colleague and she was playing it, and I helped her beat a couple levels. She was level 135 at the time and I became interested enough in the game to download my own version. I wanted to see how far I could go before hitting a wall (surprisingly far). I also got it in my head that I could catch and surpass my co-workers without spending a dime. Turns out, that is a pretty impossible feat. I have failed so many levels by a single candy to crush that it has to be “fixed”. How can you fail the exact same, super difficult level, by one candy 6 out of 8 times? It just doesn’t feel probable. The more time that I spent just barely failing – and getting it into my head that the failure is programmed, not genuine failure, the less I played. And the consideration to pay was non-existent based on that factor. I wonder how honest that game really is.

Clash of Clans

My 9 year old is in an all school-only clan and watching him play it made me laugh a bit – I had read a lot about the game over at Hardcore Casual and Syncaine is a big fan of it. The thought crossed my mind here that Syncaine and his bullies have been beating up on school children in the game! Then the realization came that I was probably the one getting my ass kicked by kids. Either way, any game with a level playing field on a 30 year spread is well designed. I am slowly building my clan up and I prefer defense over attacking (which is just time in my case, and non-optimal CoC playing). The sad part is I am not part of a Clan yet – been in and out of a couple but the invites I have received haven’t really stuck around. I did get in my son’s clan but his friend kicked me out [“sorry, you suck. and you are old”] was the cole’s notes of the message. The pacing is good in CoC because really you only need to check once a day. I bought some gems to get extra builders to speed up my defense building. I won’t truly get to experience or fully enjoy the game until I get better immersed in the clan and attacking side of things. I have some time and many upgrades to go. CoC is well designed enough to earn some of my money.

Marvel Contest of Champions

I am on a bit of a super hero binge right now and really missing City of Heroes. This game is a basic fighting game with your favourite Marvel Characters. The one issue I have with the game is that you have to play several game modes in order to advance. My goal is to get my favourite old comic book heroes which I have a free random chance of getting once a day, or after certain completions. The Quest system is so slow now that it takes a couple days to get through to get any “free” currency for that random chance for the right hero. The other gate is improving characters through standard quests, but also for certain catalysts you have to have – and you can’t quest for currency and catalysts at the same time, meaning you always feel like you aren’t doing what you should be doing. I am playing this one less and less now and will go elsewhere for my superhero fix (I think) unless I somehow land a 3 star hero in the next week or so (for free). I am always a fan of the idea that you make a game that people can play and enjoy, and you will probably get paid for it. Force roadblocks for the sole purpose of encouraging payment, and you get an uninstall. This premise hurts PVP based games even moreso.

That is the current trifecta and probably no surprise that the one I am most interested in holding onto is Clash of Clans. I’m finding with my Surface Pro 3 I can game more standard wherever I am so phone gaming is really relegated to waiting rooms and bathrooms (you are welcome for the visual). Any games you can recommend? Any worth paying for? Curious – I don’t research or follow the industry much having tripped over the above three titles. Surely I am missing out on something =)

Also a couple housekeeping things:

• Do you find this site responsive, or a bit chuggy/slow? It’s been hit or miss for me lately, hoping it is just the maple syrup fueled interwebs up here.
• Pingbacks *may* be working – I’d be thankful if you did a test for me!