Staff Picks: Gaming on the Cheap Smartphone Edition w/Chuck Bean
Many of us are finding ourselves with a lot of time on our hands lately. if you’re a gamer you already know there’s plenty of great games to play on any of the current gen systems with plenty more on the way. But what if you don’t have the Cash for Animal Crossing? or even an Xbox One? No worries, there’s plenty of fun stuff to check out if you have a smartphone and best part? It’s only a download away. I’ve been checking out some games on my phone the last couple weeks and here’s a few recommendations I have.
Teppen
Dig collectible card games? Fan of Street Fighter? Check out Teppen for a real-time card battler featuring Capcom characters from Mega Man, Resident Evil, Devil May Cry and more! It made both WWE’s Xavier Woods’ and AEW’s Kenny Omega’s Best of 2019 lists back in December and it’s easy to see why.
Pokemon Trading Card Game Online
If you’re looking for something a little more traditional as far as collectible card games and want to relive the glory days of chasing that shiny Charizard card give this a try. Daily quests and computer opponents mean no matter when you want a game of cards there’s someone looking to throw down. Plus having the computer deal with coin tosses mean you never have to worry about it bouncing off the table.
Magic the Gathering Manastrike
The big one of the collectible card game market, Magic the Gathering has yet to convert it’s PC based Magic Online to the smartphone. In the meantime they’ve taken the basics of the original Xbox game Battlegrounds and updated it for Manastrike. Like Teppen this game happens in real-time with both players summoning creatures and planeswalkers to make their way across the board and beat up the opponent. I’ve been playing this for about a month and still don’t fully understand how it all works, but MtG nerds should absolutely give it a go.
Eva Dawn
Not really into card games and want something with a little more action? Anime fans have long considered Neon Genesis Evangelion one of the pinnacles of the medium as well as one of the strangest. Take away all the psychological trauma its a story of a boy and his giant robot fighting against aliens. That’s what this game essentially does: strip it all down to controlling an Eva and beating up Angels and damn if it ain’t fun.
and of course if all of these feel too complicated for you…
…there’s always Solitare.
