Top New Mobile Games You Should Be Playing In June
Alpha Squadron 2: Edge of Oblivion [iOS, Android]
Free demo on Android; $4.99 + IAPs Full Game
One of the most outstanding releases of the past month is the Edge of Oblivion by the Martian Monkey. It's a sequel to the 2013 Alpha Squadron, which was an impressive space shooter in itself, but this newest title is without a doubt wonderful. If you are on the fence about the price, consider this – Edge of Oblivion pays due tribute to the Star Wars: Rogue Squadron series, and manages to convey that special atmosphere of Rogue Squadron. It's beautifully rendered and looks posh, especially in action. There are many star fighters, some unlockable, others can be purchased. The Android version is freemium, which is very welcome since the Android devices are fragmented and the users need to give this bird a test drive before they know their hardware won't choke running this beauty. There are three control options – gamepad (including Bluetooth controllers), accelerometer, touch with extensive settings and customization for the ships. The game mode are abundant and besides the free tutorials and the first campaign, there are four campaign available via IAPs, with massive chapters, then dogfight and a survival mode, with over 80 missions. It's immersive, atmospheric, frantic, and absolutely worth its price.
Angry Birds Fight [Android, iOS]
I know who is going to be happy to play this new game from Rovio – the kids and those adults who remain kids. I must have grown out of Angry Birds, and Fight is by far not the best release in the series, but everyone else seems to love it, so here you go. It's a match-three puzzler, where you collect birds, buy them accessories and outfits and pit them against other birds and bad piggies to fight. Each participant has their stats, so basically the outcome depends on that and how fast you can match them birds on the grid. The first couple of levels are easy and addicting, but pretty soon you will hit a wall where your birds need upgrades, and their lives run out, and the grid gets clogged with obstacles that make it hard to match, and what not. Long story short, you will have to either spend on IAPs, or wait for the energy to restore, which is not too long. A handy offer to watch an ad for a boost is oh-so Rovio style. Enjoy!
Chaos Rings III [Android, iOS] $19.99
A $20 price tag is a serious investment in a mobile game, but those familiar with Square Enix and the Chaos Rings franchise probably have little doubts about the purchase. The hardcore RPG fans might as well dig this high-end title, provided they sport high-end hardware. Notably, the story in the third part is distantly related to the first two parts while the combo-focused combat mechanics should feel pleasantly familiar to the fans of the franchise. A distant blue star embodies the fantasies of the million players worldwide, so if you're up for an adventure full of mystery, magic, monsters, legends and super-powers, consider Chaos Rings III.
Desktop Dungeons [Android, iOS] $9.99
Desktop Dungeons is now available for Android tablets, so the fans of this old school rogue-like dungeon crawler will appreciate the possibility to carry their favorite game with them and play on the go. The game is a veteran and instead of a currently popular faux retro style it sports the original design where there are icons instead of the walking pixels . The mobile port goes completely in sync with your desktop version, so if you are willing to invest $10 into that, full ahead! Smartphones are not supported, yet.
Does Not Commute [Android, iOS] Freemium
If you remember last year's hit game Smash Hit by Mediocre, which is also on our list of the Best Games of 2014, you should know the level of visual polish you can expect from their new title Does Not Commute. However, the glossy, vintage looks of this strategic driving game is not its only virtue. It's the fun of this ridiculous driving and the hilarious stories of each individual driver of this one huge goofy city obviously stuck somewhere in the 70's. You controls the cars, one by one, to get them to their destination point, but the first car drives along a deserted city while the second one starts driving exactly the moment the first one does. So, by the time you reach the tenth car, you already have all the hell breaking loose on the streets of a sleeping city. The free game contains ads and does not let you restart from checkpoints while the $2 remove the ads and unlock the checkpoints.
Fearless Fantasy [Amazon, iTunes] $3.99
Fearless Fantasy is definitely not for the younger players. Why, I wouldn't play it myself because its visuals are nightmare inducing, and if you are like me, and watched “It” at an early an age, you must have a particular disgust for the clowns. Whatever those lemon-shaped horned clowns are, they sure look scary while the moans of the wounded heroes sound like an adult movie. With all its novelty and originality, Fearless Fantasy is creepy, but if you feel like treading in those waters, you are about to experience an odd, yet very fun and enjoyable gameplay, where the combat is gesture-based and the better you are at reproducing the required gestures, the stronger your special skills are. It's all quite novel, so probably worth trying... if you are not afraid of clowns. The Android devices will be able to install it from the Amazon store only as of now.
Hitman: Sniper [Android] $5.99
Square Enix has been pretty busy lately, so yet another stellar release from them comes on the eve of the Agent 47 release in August this year. This time around, you play as the barcode-tattooed bald sniper with a list of VIP targets and a slew of secondary objectives to accomplish in each mission. There are 150 missions and the visuals are superb. It's a $5 purchase and there still are IAPs for the special beefed up rifles, but they are not imperative for a successful gameplay – it's just the fancy some players may quench. On the down side, the game offers only one map, so despite the visual polish and glam, the gameplay does tend to feel a tad repetitive due to the only location available.
Looking for Laika [Android, Amazon]
A free and absolutely adorable twitch game Looking for Laika takes you on an endless journey of a master whose dog gets abducted by aliens. So, you put on that astronaut suit and go exploring the extraterrestrial worlds looking for that dog of yours. Now, I don't know if you find the dog, but you sure get to have fun while searching – the mechanics are familiar to the Little Galaxies. You jump from one rotating element of the environment to another, avoiding obstacles, staying alive. The variety in environments seems to be very decent for a free game, and there is a story mode and an arcade mode, so my hope is you actually get to recover your puppy.
Lost Sounds: Adventures of Poco Eco [Android, iTunes] $2.99
My personal favorite is Poco Eco, an audio exploration, an adventure with a humorous, laid-back atmosphere with the music that instantly made it to the top of my library. All the tracks in the OST come as a free bonus download when you buy the game and I am really digging Iamyank's atmospheric “dreamy electronic” beats. Poco Eco is a little dude that looks like a mix of a bear and a squirrel. Once upon a time he finds a tape of a magical music that takes him to the cosmic bear, who says Eco has to find the lost sounds to restore the music of his world. Not that his world needs saving – the other dudes seem to be having lots of fun bathing, suntanning and drinking Pina Colada. Poco Eco doesn't mind that since he has a fairy guide that leads him through a series of gorgeous environments and quite easy puzzles. So, if you're after brain-melting puzzles, look elsewhere, but if you fancy a great-looking adventure with a wonderful music – get Lost Sounds.
Mortal Combat X [Android, iTunes] Freemium
If you lack adrenaline, you could save some cash, go to Libya, Syria, Iraq or Ucraine, buy yourself a gun, find a drug trafficker, or an entire drug cartel and make the world a better place. If you prefer the comfort of your favorite armchair, however, Mortal Combat X is the closest thing to a bloodbath you'll ever get on mobile. Top-notch visuals, the best of Mortal Combat veterans alongside the new D’Vorah, KotaL Khan, Cassie Cage and Kung Jin and a freemium price tag – anything else that keeps you from downloading? Pools of blood, fields of bones, weeks of massacre to keep you entertained, but mind the hardware requirements – it's a heavyweight beauty.
Nub's Adventure [Android, iTunes] Free demo, Full game $4.99
Last month Nub's Adventure finally made it to the Alpha version and the full game is now available for both mobile and PC. It's Metroidvania-style adventure of a pixel-sized guy whose house gets burned down by the two red robbers, who throw him off a cliff. Nub is heartbroken and alone when a shiny wasp Ally and a giant worm Brute decide to help him find the diamonds a fairy needs to rebuild his home. The world is huge and full of dangers, and besides the two companions that sometimes do the job for him, Nub is equipped by a boomerang to take down the venomous spiders and the pesky Reds. All things considered, the wonderful pixel art, beautiful music and a great world to explore make for an engrossing adventure worth the purchase.
One More Dash [Android, iOS] Freemium
One More Dash is a spiritual successor to One More Line by the same developer and follows the line of a spider-like orb that clings to circles with the orbiting platforms of different colors. Should your orb hit a platform, it gets sent back to the previous circle, but if it should make the cut in between the rotating platforms, it generates points. It's all very hectic and fast-paced, and anyone enjoying these little time killers should appreciate the challenge, atmospheric music and minimalist yet attractive visuals.
Radical Rappelling [Android, iOS]
Radical Rappelling is in its core an endless runner, only instead of running you're rappelling down a steep cliff by tapping and holding. Should you take your finger off the screen, your climber remains bouncing off the mountain, but you can't wait for too long because a steaming wave of lava is chasing him/ or her from the mountain top. The downhill race is full of power-ups and dangers, so you will be re-playing more than you would probably want. The game offers some customization and accessories, which are more cosmetic than useful, but to many players it matters a ton. Overall, it's a fun time killer for the fans of the fast twitch action games.
Spider Square [Android] Freemium
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Hxb_zZ0gus
Spider Square is in line with the previous two games and offers a wonderful challenge for the fast fingers. You control a square spider that shoots a rope onto the ceiling and swings from one spot to the next one avoiding obstacles. The easy mode is ridiculously expensive, so you will most likely be playing the regular single or multiplayer, where the difficulty is annoying, yet would probably satisfy the hardcore twitch fans. Did I say you would be collecting gems to buy new outfits for your square spider? Oh yes, there is one that looks like Batman and the one like Captain America. With the jolly and smart design and superb sound effects this game clicks in all the right places to become your next favorite time killer.
The Atlantic Fleet [Android, iOS] $9.99
Here is one for the naval combat aficionados – the Atlantic Fleet is a fully-fledged turn-based tactical and strategic sim with superb graphics, complex gameplay, a slew of game modes including a single player battle editor with 30 missions, 50 mission campaign and a full dynamic campaign with a scope of several years from 1939 to 1945. You can side with the Brits or with the Germans and engage in 10 versus 10 ships combats, all with the realistic visual damage to the ships. The latter are represented by 630 ships, 350 submarines backed by 13 aircraft. In other words, it's a game you can give as a Christmas present.
XON Episode 3 [Android] $1.49
XON 3 is a sequel to the first two episodes, clearly, and if you haven't played none of them, I strongly suggest you try. It's a very odd, yet ingenious adventure puzzler, which puts you in the shoes of a lonely someone who finds himself stranded in a beautiful, desolate place that reminds a garden, a factory or a launch site all at the same time. It also looks very alien, and as you play you hope there might be some superior life form watching you fail the tests continuously. Amazing visuals, smooth controls, unique puzzles and a special atmosphere unlike any other game you've played before – XON feels like a tribute to Ray Bradbury's Martian Chronicles. The first episode is now free, but the controls system has made a huge leap in the second version, and got enhanced further in the third.
You Must Build A Boat [Android, iOS] $2.99
You Must Build A Boat is a match-three puzzler that tasks you with using the loot to battle evil critters, collect stuff to construct an 8-bit sized Noah's Arc and recruit animals to inhabit your growing vessel. It's all very retro and fun, engaging and addicting, so at some point you might ask yourself if the game is actually better than the original 10000000, to which You Must Build A Boat is a sequel.
Talos Principle [Android] $4.99
Here is one for the Tegra Shield and Nexus 9 owners – a PC game Talos Principle has made it to mobile without losing on either of the sides. It's a hefty download and it will make your Shield go steaming hot pumping your processor to its 100% capacity. It will gobble your RAM and make you tweak the graphics settings, but it's a pure Portal-like fun. You play as a robot guided by a mysterious God-like voice leading you through a series of puzzles, where you tweak gizmo, open gates and collect stuff. It's not just about the puzzles, but a philosophical tale of post-human era, where AI seems to be the only thing that's left of us, and the God-like voice is a distant reminder of what humans once were. I might be wrong, but you will have to decide what Talos Principle is about for yourself.
