A few years back, you couldn't pay me to play a game on my mobile phone. They all had poor interfaces and were a pain to control with primitive phone button controls, like the ones on my Motorola RAZR. Even when I worked at Big Fish Games as community manager, I much preferred the Web-based games over mobile and was quite glad when I didn't follow my boss to the mobile games group.
All that changed with the iPhone - and now Android and Windows Phones have become equally facile with touchscreens and games optimized for on-the-go play.
CallSign IceMan shared some of his favorite busy gamer apps in our forums:Pocket Legends is a great little RPG for Busy Gamers like us. Not a game but I really enjoy Air Playit - streams audio & video to mobile devices while running on your PC by Wi-Fi.
We can't get to every game, and Pocket Legends is one that flew under our radar - though it looks good and we will definitely give it a closer look. It's a free to play MMO available for Chrome, Android and iOS, though the developers want you to buy in-game currency with real money to support them while saving yourself time and getting rare items.
Air Playit is also free and available for PC/Mac, Android and iOS, though you frequently have to update the app and/or server software running on your computer, which can be a nuisance. It does offer the ability to convert and store a local copy of the movie or TV show on your device, which is a good way to stash your grown-up fare where the kids won't easily find it on your mobile device.
UltimoRey added his thoughts on the Kindle Fire, an Android-based tablet we've been eyeing with some interest ourselves:
When i got my Kindle Fire, one of the first things I did was look for free games on Amazon's app store. One thing you need to know is I have never been a touch gamer. Yeah, I played Angry Birds, but that's about it.
I was pleasantly surprised by Castle of Shadows. It's a streamlined Castlevania-like game. You run around with a giant sword killing enemies and using magic. The game uses a conventional game-pad style, with an attack button, a jump button and the dpad. It has a generic lost love story and music for the genre. BGN positives: lots of save points, relatively easy, and of course it's on the go.
As part of the Amazon App Store, they have a free app everyday. I have gotten some fun games off of it, like: Where's My Water?, Monopoly, Fruit Ninja: Puss in Boots Edition, Majhong Solitaire, Airport Mania. If you have an Android and an Amazon account, it's a must to sign up for. You can also sign up for their Twitter (@amazonappstore) to be told the daily free app.
So, what are your favorite mobile games and apps? Let us know, and we'll update this post to highlight the gems you've discovered. Be sure to specific the platform!
