I’m a big fan of my iPhone. It goes everywhere with me and is more like a portable games console than a phone. After all, who needs to talk to people when you have great mobile gaming? That’s certainly my philosophy. So there are always several iOS games on the go at any given time. However despite my fondness for mobile device games, I don’t really like paying for them and I have a strong dislike of adverts that interrupt your free gameplay.
So, these are the five iOS games resident on my iPhone now. They’re all free and this list takes into account gameplay, and the free experience.
Word Cookies developed by BitMango is a popular game, languishing within the top 10 free iOS games for several weeks now. The premise being that you ‘bake cookies’ by creating words from the given letters. Once you’ve found all the words you move on to the next level.
There are a few annoyances with this game. The adverts are borderline intrusive, I often got an advert after every time I received an iPhone popup. The trouble is, this game is remarkably addictive and despite the adverts it really does have that ‘One more round’ quality. It only costs about a pound to remove the adverts, so maybe in this case it might be worth the spend.
Catomic
I wrote a bit of a review on Catomic created by On-5 last week. Catomic is a game that largely sees you grouping up items and unlocking technological advances to send your kitties into space. There are no annoying adverts, but the initial version does only have a limited number of moves you can make before you need to wait for it to recharge.
The full version with unlimited moves does not cost that much at all, but if you send off for a postcode you might be lucky enough to get a free code that unlocks the full game.
Tiny Gladiators by Boombit Games is a button bashing 1v1 Street Fighter II styled beat-em up. Choose your character and your weapon style and battle through your opponents to unravel the mystery surrounding your father. The rounds are quick and the action is pretty intense, plus the customisation that you have with all the different armour and weapon styles are nice touches to the game.
Although there are no adverts, you only have a certain amount of energy that you use to fight. Run out of energy and you’re gameplay is halted until it’s recharged, or you splash the cash to refill it.
Shoot the Dragons
Shoot the Dragons by Weedo Games is a sideways shooter that we looked at a few days ago. Move around the screen with an assortment of flying buddies and destroy all the enemies in your path before the time runs out. It’s a simple concept with great gameplay. There are no adverts and only a few optional in-game purchases so you’re left to play the game without interruption.
The game itself is fast paced and quirky and with the addition of all the buddies and hero costumes, there’s plenty to check out in Shoot the Dragons
Hearthstone
In short, if you own a mobile device and you haven’t downloaded Blizzard Entertainments Hearthstone, then you are really missing something. Set firmly within the World of Warcraft Lore, Hearthstone is a collectible card game that really owns the genre.
Despite you being able to buy cards, characters and expansion sets with real money it is entirely possible to play the game and buy most things purely by the currency you earn in-game. The game modes are fun and varies there’s standard play which includes only the most recent cards to wild, where any card can be used, there’s competitive play and a weekly Tavern brawl where they give you a new set of rules.
Hearthstone is insanely fun, and with a highly playable free version, and no annoying adverts or energy diminishes to worry about. On really old devices it may struggle a bit but in the most part will run like a dream, and there really is no reason not to download it and give it a try.
So, these are the free iOS games hanging around on my mobile device. Which free games would you recommend or which ones would you avoid like the plague? Let me know in the comments.
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Jim Franklin
Jim Franklin is a freelance writer, living in Derby UK with his wife and his player 3. When time allows he likes nothing more than losing himself in a multi-hour gaming session. He likes most games and will play anything but prefers MMO's, and sandbox RPG's.
