Angry Birds, sharks and Pokemon: this week’s top mobile games

Welcome to Gearburn’s Mobile Game Picks of the Week, a weekly series in which Hadlee takes a look at the latest, most entertaining, or time-consuming mobile games on portable screens.

We’re always on the hunt for new mobile video games, and there have been quite a few solid releases in recent days.

So let’s take a look at some of the more notable titles you should consider downloading this week…

Hungry Shark World

The Hungry Shark games are one of the more popular mobile franchises out there, so the latest release has quickly shot up the charts. Is it any good though?

Hungry Shark World offers the same fundamental side-scrolling shark antics, as you munch all sorts of marine life and people. But the game also ups the ante with better visuals, pet companions and three different seas to explore.

Hungry Shark World is a free download on Android and iOS.

Leap Day

Developer Nitrome has become one of the most prolific mobile developers around (despite their obsession with ads everywhere), and it’s just released another title in the form of Leap Day.

A vertically scrolling platform game for Android and iOS, Leap Day has you evading nasties and dodging obstacles. Think Doodle Jump on steroids. So pretty standard fare then.

However, the game’s main draw card is that the developers push out a new level daily, with everyone experiencing the same level on the day. An intriguing idea.

Angry Birds Action!

Believe it or not, but the Angry Birds franchise is still going, with the latest game taking an overhead perspective instead.

Angry Birds Action! combines the familiar bird-flinging mechanics of previous games with a pinball style, as you bounce the birds off walls, into enemies and more.

The game, which is free to play on Android and iOS, offers 90 levels. So it should keep you busy for a few hours.

Pokemon Trading Card Game Online

It launches over a year after the iOS version, but the official Pokemon card game has completed its beta and is now widely available for Android gamers.

This is the virtual version of the real-world Pokemon trading card game that took over the world all those years ago. In a cool move, you can also seamlessly switch between the mobile versions and the PC version, as your data and decks are synchronised between the two.

The game is free to play on Android and iOS, although there are optional in-app purchases ranging from R156 to R1564.