Game Dev Tycoon and more: 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.

Looking for a distraction? Or maybe it’s a full-fledged experience? Either way, we’ve got a few mobile games to tickle your fancy as usual.

Highlights this time include Game Dev Tycoon on Android and a rather emotional text messaging adventure. Check out the rundown below.

Baseball Boy (free – Android, iOS)

This title has hit the top of the iTunes charts, perhaps owing to its simple concept.

Baseball Boy has you pitching a ball, timing the pitch just right to hit the ball as far as possible. So you’re basically playing as pitcher and batter — weird. It’s a super simple premise and upgrading your batter’s abilities is fun, thanks to the constant cash flow.

But the main issue is that splash ads are far too frequent. And that’s in addition to the persistent banner ads at the bottom. Greedy, but your mileage may vary.

Pako 2 (paid – iOS)

The sequel to the hit Car Chase Simulator has hit mobile, but only for Apple devices right now.

Pako 2 offers more of the same, as you seek to evade capture from the law, acting as a getaway driver and having to drop your accomplices off safely. So people who enjoyed the original might like this as well.

Pako 2 is available for R30 on iOS.

Game Dev Tycoon (paid – Android, iOS)

It’s been out on iOS and PC for a while now, but Android owners can also get in on the Game Dev Story clone.

Much like Kairosoft’s title, you’ll be playing as a game developer, crafting new games, marketing your wares, growing your studio and trying to please reviewers.

Game Dev Tycoon is R75 on Android. We can’t access the South African App Store page for the title, but it has a US$5 price on the US App Store.

Bury Me, My Love (paid – Android)

The title has made headlines this week after winning the grand prize at the Google Play Indie Games Contest.

The game is a “text messaging adventure” that has you playing a Syrian man communicating with your wife, a refugee in Europe. Players will use a text messaging interface to communicate, exchanging simple texts, selfies, emojis and more.

Bury Me, My Love is R56 on the Play Store, with 19 possible endings making it very replayable.