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Mobile devices are incredibly well suited to casual games and none blazed a trail through mobile devices this year quite like Jetpack Joyride did.
With its inventive take on the casual game genre, it became one of the most addictive iOS titles of the entire year. Players would find themselves taking a joyride with their shiny jetpack for hours on end, without even knowing.
It is a game that thrives on pure addiction and it works like a charm. With enough incentive and enjoyable gameplay to keep players wanting to try one more time for that high score or to complete a challenge, you are enthralled from the first explosion.
If there was ever a casual game that had lasting appeal on mobile devices (that isn’t Angry Birds) it is Jetpack Joyride.
-Luke Halliday
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For the title of best mobile hardcore game, let’s be honest, not a whole lot of games come to mind. Mobile games are, in essence, casual. That’s the whole point. But no longer! While some people will always view it as a casual medium, Gameloft has done their supreme best to drag it out of that genre kicking and screaming.
They combined the innovative touch controls (with a level of customisation that will leave no picky person unhappy) and all too familiar setting of an FPS, to make this platform defying game. Not that everyone will enjoy this new platform, the platform has inherent disadvantages in itself that no amount of innovation can scrub away, but Modern Combat 3 does its darnedest and succeeds in most respects. Not only does Modern Combat 3 take on a rare approach to mobile gaming, but it looks damn good while doing it. With graphics that emulate (although, still have a way to go, I will admit) its console cousins, this game is one of the better-looking ones that I have encountered on the mobile platform.
As someone who would like to see mobile platform developers move away from the easier-to-develop casual games and start to really work hard and take on challenges, I think that Modern Combat 3 is truly a huge step forward. This is a direction that I look forward to seeing more of in the mobile industry (hint, hint).
While developing a hardcore style game on a mobile platform is not something that is seen often enough, due to the innately difficult nature of the transfer; the amount of time, effort and innovative thought that has gone into this app truly makes it the Mobile Hardcore game of the year.
-Jessica Barabas-Bui
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