It's a mobile world

I like iPhone games very much. When my laptop is out of reach and handheld consoles are too much effort, my phone is my best source of gaming entertainment. You can play games that range from old school Frogger to MMORPG's that are known as a 'Pocket World of Warcraft'. To be honest, there's an iPhone game for everyone, you just have to find it.

This evening, I'm going to take you some of my favourite games, both free and paid. The world of mobile games is vast, and this is just the beginning.

Doodlejump

One of the most popular and classic iPhone games to be found in the App store. It's highly addictive and a whole load of fun. At £0.69 it's well worth the pennies. I hear you asking me how the whole thing works. Allow me to explain, it's really quite simple.

You are Doodle, a little creature with springy legs and a trumpet-like nose. The aim? To get as high as you can without falling. Jump from ledge to ledge without missing to earn the highest score (people have reached at least a million, so you have quite a challenge) and keep Doodle alive. Sounds easy, right? well, they added obstacles so you would find it less than that. Some of the ledges will crumble when you land on them so that you fall through either to a slightly lower ledge or to your death. Not only that but there are monsters wandering around and if you hit them then you can kiss your life goodbye. Some ledges explode, move or turn invisible. Others are jagged at the bottom so that you die if you hit them.

Doodlejump has things to help you too. Sometimes there are springs or trampolines to propel you upwards, other times there may be jet packs, springy boots, flying caps or even rocket ships lying about for you. When you tap the screen, bullets shoot from your nose that will hit and kill any monsters above you, because of course you can't just stop bouncing mid-game.

Not only this, but there are different themes for you to play on. It ranges from traditional to Christmas, with special themes released on holidays such as Christmas and Easter. Last year, you could play as Doodle dressed in a bunny outfit, and it was quite adorable (if I say so myself).

Doodlejump is one of my favourite and first iPhone games, and is one that I will always enjoy. It's a game of risk where you could lose at any moment, requiring a certain level of concentration.

Angry Birds

Another paid for game, but well worth the price. At £0.69, I can assure you that it's a steal. Whilst you can buy it on iPhone, it's also available on PC, so I would suggest checking out your local games store and picking up a copy for leisurely use or hard core addiction.

How do you play? Ah, a question often asked and easily solved. All you have to do is use a single finger. You see, these evil green pigs have taken the bird's eggs and plan on cooking them up for dinner. Outraged, the birds hunt down the pigs, attacking and killing them until they get their eggs back. However, these pigs are clever and not a force to be reckoned with. They build intricate structures which you, the Angry Bird controller, must knock down in order to advance. The birds are loaded onto a catapult and by pulling your finger back you can aim and release the bird, unleashing its full power onto the unfortunate pigs (I say unfortunate, they deserved it). There are loads of different levels to unlock and even more to purchase separately, so it's hard to get bored of the game.

There are loads of different birds you can use to knock down the structures. A list of some of the birds can be found below:

Red: no power
Yellow: super speed+strength
Blue: splits into three birds
Black: bomb bird
White: drops bomb egg
Toucan: boomerang bird
Orange: exploding bird
Big Red: boulder smash bird

Different levels will unlock different birds, and each bird is more powerful than the last - especially the Big Red Bird. That big, inflated bird is good for killing the pigs that are wearing helmets (they're harder to kill).

So get on your phone, download this app and get killing those pigs! After all, they deserve the most painful, evil punishment.

Pocket Legends

This is my favourite free game. Now, I could have done two free games, but this one is too awesome to be shadowed by another. Pocket Legends is literally World of Warcraft for the iPhone. I kid you not.

There are three classes to choose from which are:

Warrior (race = bear)
Mage (race = human)
Archer (race = bird)

Once you've chosen your class and customised your character a little (including a name) you are released into the world. I was expecting a basic, single player game, but no - it's an MMORPG. I was amazed and excited. I was so pleased to find such an easily accessible MMORPG that I could have wept with joy. I didn't, because I'm strong and manly. I found it a little difficult at first, but after experimenting I found my way around the controls.

I didn't interact with other players straight away, I was far too engrossed in all the questing that was available to me. I worked hard and fast to raise my level and get better armour. The best thing was that quests occur in dungeons which are run with other players, and so it is rare that you were ever alone. This decreases the number of times you are killed and makes progression far more efficient.

Once my level was up to about 25, I joined my first guild and started chatting with them, something I really like doing. I have to say that they are incredibly efficient when it comes to dungeon runs and boosting lower players levels. I often seem to join good guilds on these games, and I am proud to me a member of this group.  It's an incredibly social game with light hearted players and an incredibly reliable server.

Combat is simple - you press a button. Above the button on your screen there is a spell list, and all you have to do is tap the spell to activate it, allowing for a quick and simple combat mode. It works well because it's not fiddly or irritating and so you can move faster through the dungeons when completing quests.

All in all, I seriously enjoy this game and would highly recommend you guys give this one a shot. If you ever decide to play, or already have a character then add me, my name is Anstar. Go forth and explore the world of Pocket Legends!

Valhalla