As January comes around, there is always a sense of anticipation for gaming and smartphone fans. What new games will appear this year that will totally consume our attention? What new apps will be find that we can’t live without? And what old favourites will find new ways to grab our attention? Here’s a sneak peek at some of the games and apps that the expert think will be engaging us in the coming year.
Best new smartphone games
One of the best things about playing games on a smartphone is that you can play simple games that occupy your attention for half an hour during your morning train ride or during your lunch hour. This means that games that would have seemed too basic for consoles can be popular – Candy Crush anyone?
Super Hexagon is another simple idea that people are finding oddly addictive. You use a control arrow to move a hexagon around the screen to navigate safely through twisting walls. You have 60 seconds per go and the walls speed up as you go – the result is one of those games that you know you shouldn’t play but you end up yelling at your phone when you don’t win!
99 Bricks: Wizard Academy is a bit like Tetris with physics rather than just gravity. Using items that fall from the sky you need to make a base and build a tower to reach the heavens. But every brick has a specific weight so you need to do a little thinking and there are also different materials to content with. The higher the tower goes, the harder the wind blows, adding another element of complexity to the task.
If you like a more traditional, run around killing people style game, then Hitman: Sniper is an arcade style game for Android smartphones that will satisfy the urge when you can’t play the main game on the PS4 or Xbox. While there is just the one map, there are different contracts to complete to add variation.
We can’t talk about smartphone games and not mention that famous Italian plumber who finally made it to the arena just before Christmas. The release of Super Mario Run for the iPhone was much anticipated and despite some complaints about the upfront cost, there seems to be a lot of enthusiasm for the game. There are just six worlds on it so far but it is traditional Mario, done iPhone style. Well worth checking out for fans of the little guy.
New developments in gaming
The New Year is also the time that establishing gaming apps look to add new elements to their games or talk about exploring new technology. One example is http://www.casinopokiesonline.com.au/mobile-casinos/ who have announced they are continuing to add more games to their repertoire for players. These include free games and ones where real money can be used while their bonus system remains in place.
Casino Pokies Online are also one of a number of online casino apps that are working to include virtual reality with their games. The advances in VR seem last year mean more and more gamers want to experience their favourite games in this way and that means companies are working hard to provide this. Whether this means playing your blackjack in a real casino via VR headsets or other interpretations of the games within the tech, we wait to see.
Talking of VR, this year will also see the release of several dedicated VR games for those who have or want to invest in the headsets. Examples include the EVE: Valkyrie game for the PlayStation VR and Elite: Dangerous for HTC’s Vibe headset. 2017 looks set to be the year that VR really finally takes its potential into reality – or should that be into virtual reality?