GregHowley.com

Games I'd Like To See on my Phone

November 27, 2012 -

Not long ago, I read an article called Which RPGs are a good fit for mobile devices?, and found the insights interesting. I've played more mobile games this year than I ever have before, and the author's discussion of which older games would port well to a mobile platform got me thinking.

I've always been one to go back and replay my favorite older games. I've played Temple of Elemental Evil and Baldur's Gate 2 three times each, Resident Evil 2 probably four or five times, and Beyond Good and Evil six times. Start to finish. And in each case, there's been at least a year between each playthrough. ((Except with Resident Evil 2, where I think my first 3 or 4 playthroughs were back-to-back. Hey, I was in college and I had time)) I also played (and enjoyed) the Dragon Warrior 4 and Resident Evil ports on my Nintendo DS as well, so I'm familiar with console-to-touchscreen ports. They can work.

A few years ago, I wrote up an article entitled Why the iPhone will Never be a Gamer's Gaming Platform. While I maintain the opinion that mobile gaming is a very different animal than hardcore console gaming, the rise in popularity of mobile games is undeniable. But the best mobile games are ones that you can easily play in five or ten minute spurts, or at least games that you can pause on a moment's notice and easily resume later.

A year and a half ago, I made a list of games I wanted to see ported to mobile, and since then I've seen two of them ported to iOS and Android: Peggle and The 7th Guest. I purchased and enjoyed both. I suppose I can accept that we'll never see mobile versions of Dungeon Keeper or the original Starcraft.

Still, there are a few games that I think could do very well if ported to the iOS or Android operating systems. The one that I'd most like to see is also the one that's least likely to happen: the 2005 Nintendo DS game Elite Beat Agents. The game revels in its own over-the-top ridiculousness. Around the world, various people have problems. A babysitter has a screaming kid. A Hollywood movie director is making a movie that's turning out terrible. An overweight, underachieving Japanese kid wants to dress as a ninja and sneak into his father's company. Enter the Elite Beat Agents: three men in black, in suits and shades. They sing and dance, and inspire the babysitter, the director, or the son to succeed in their various tasks.

Elite Beat Agents is a touch screen rhythm game. You tap and swipe various patterns in time with the licensed music. It's not easy, but it's a lot of fun. To give you a feel, the babysitter level uses Avril Lavigne's "Sk8er Boi", the Hollywood movie level uses Sum 41's "Makes No Difference", and the excellent dopey ninja level uses Jamiroquai's "Canned Heat".

If they ever ported Elite Beat Agents to a phone platform, it would be a piece of cake to offer new songs as 99 cent downloadable add-on levels. I'd sure as hell buy some.

Next up is an old favorite of mine: Desktop Tower Defense. I played the crap out of the free flash version, and dropped the money for the Nintendo DS version when it was released. Desktop Tower Defense is (obviously) a Tower Defense game, but its brilliance comes from the fact that you must create the path that the "creeps" navigate from start to finish by placing towers. You can't completely obstruct them, but aside from that you're clear to direct them in any path you see fit.

Add to that the different creep types: fast ones, armored ones that require high-damage towers to hit, flying ones that go over your towers, and spawners that split when damaged. All this requires you to diversify your tower selections, and place certain towers at just the right point.

Although you can still play Desktop Tower Defense free online, I'd pay for a native phone version.

Last week, I played a free downloadable game called Deity. It's a free stealth action game developed by a team of students at DigiPen Institute of Technology. The game itself was very short, but it was a fun way to pass an hour. The reason it comes to mind as a good fit for a touchscreen port is that the version I played uses only the mouse - no keyboard whatsoever.

Deity has you playing some kind of ethereal demon who can hide out unseen inside torches. The game's core mechanic is that you can instantly kill any guard at any time, but if you do it while the guard is facing you, you take damage. If the guard is facing away, you're healed a bit. Later, they introduce the concept of chaining together actions. The game is fairly simple, short, and totally worth an hour of your time.

Lastly, a game I haven't yet played at all: FTL. After reading Luke Maciak's review, FTL seemed like a shoe-in for this list. As much as I've heard about FTL, it's not a game I'm likely to spend any time on if I have access to my PC. I'd much rather be playing Dishonored or Prototype 2. But if I only have my phone, sure I'd try FTL. Especially since a game only lasts 60-90 minutes. The retro graphics make it a perfect fit.

Will any of these games ever appear on a mobile platform? Probably not. But it would be nice.