During my daily tube journey to work you can pretty much guarantee two things; it will contain businessmen and they will be playing Angry Birds.
The ultra-successful pick up and play app from Rovio appears to have infected just about every smartphone out there. Soon to be released on the PlayStation 3 and PSP, it now seems even my home isn’t safe anymore from the pig-hating birds.
This is not a bad thing; the more ways for me to get my Angry Birds fix the better. It does however mean that other titles spearheading the mobile gaming revolution are possibly being overlooked. iOS and Android have succeeded in bringing mobile gaming to just about everyone. But just about everyone is unaware of how truly amazing these games can be.
Take the recently released Rage HD for example. For £1.19 you’re essentially getting a game that wouldn’t look out of place on a console at home. Rage is a graphically stunning FPS that makes brilliant use of all that the iPhone has to offer, especially its accelerometer which is used for control.
Better still however is Infinity Blade, which if you are lucky enough to have an iPhone 4 offers an unparalleled mobile gaming experience. The first Unreal Engine powered application, Infinity Blade looks and plays incredibly well. It also offers you the sort of portable longevity that only a PSP or Nintendo DS could offer.
I personally believe that a decent games console isn’t complete without at least some form of Grand Theft Auto to play. In the case of the iPhone this comes in the shape of GTA: Chinatown Wars. A return to the good ol‘ days of top down GTA, it has all the usual trimmings of violence, car-thievery and police chases, playable straight from your pocket.
It is in this that the beauty of smartphone gaming lies. No longer do you need to carry a Gameboy and a phone if you want to keep yourself entertained on the way to work. One device is all you need to gain access to what is now a vast library of extremely high quality games.
Consider ditching the instant-fix of Angry Birds and instead invest in a proper cutting-edge app. For as little as a pound extra you will be amazed at what your smartphone is capable of.
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