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.
The year might be winding down, but we’re still covering the latest and greatest mobile games though.
No ad to show here.
We’ve got four titles this week, with Bully: Anniversary Edition and Westy West being two of our favourites. Scroll down for the full rundown.
Bully: Anniversary Edition (paid – Android, iOS)
Believe it or not, but classic PS2 and Xbox title Bully has made its way to mobile platforms.
For the uninitiated, Rockstar’s game has you stepping into the Grasshoppers of a school boy, fighting bullies, interacting with teachers, playing minigames and just generally going about your day. The game’s multiplayer suite even extends to online play now – not bad at all.
Bully: Anniversary Edition isn’t cheap, being R140 on Android and R110 on iOS, but you’re getting redesigned controls and enhanced visuals too.
Galaxy On Fire 3: Manticore (free – iOS)
The latest game in the popular Galaxy On Fire series is now available, but Android owners will need to wait a while.
Galaxy On Fire 3: Manticore has you doing the usual space combat tomfoolery, offering upgraded visuals and the ability to hire other players’ ships for missions.
It’s worth noting that early reviews are mixed thus far, but if you enjoyed the previous games, you’ve got nothing to lose.
Westy West (free – Android)
This one is in Early Access on the Google Play Store, but it’s already relatively polished and fun.
Westy West combines the isometric perspective and visuals of Crossy Road with a Wild West theme and permadeath trappings. So that means swiping to progress, while firing at bandits (or civilians if you want) and other nasty things. The title also gives you some scope to be a bad guy if you want, but the law will come after you as a result.
Westy West is free to play, so check out the Early Access tab on Google Play to download it.
F1 2016 on Android (R150 – Android, iOS)
F1 2016 has been on iOS for a while, but the game has recently made its way to Android as well.
The title brings simplified controls (but no controller support, for some reason), full/customisable season options and all 21 racetracks for the season. Codemasters is also promising new challenges every week – if only these challenges included cars and tracks from years gone by.
User reviews claim that lag is an issue and that AI drivers are disappointing. So do bear this in mind when splashing out on it.