Last week on PocketGamer
Welcome to a weekly feature looking back on the past seven days of coverage on our sister website, PocketGamer.
It’s taken a while for 2017 to really get going, at least when it comes to the world of portable gaming. Thank goodness, then, for Nintendo.
The house of Mario recently held a glitzy event to fill in the blanks on its forthcoming Switch console. Suffice to say, the response was rather mixed.
Elsewhere the iPhone turned ten, the mobile MOBA genre received a famous new member, and an indie darling made a belated appearance on iOS. Here’s what’s been occupying the PG team over the past week.
Nintendo Switches some of its fans off
Friday saw the full unveiling of the Nintendo Switch hybrid console, and the response was decidedly mixed.
It wasn’t just the early start that had some of the UK-based PG team a little grumpy - there are real concerns as to the system’s high price and lack of games. Still, PG editor Glen explained why the Switch probably wouldn’t be another Wii U - aka a disaster - for Nintendo.
The optimistic tone continued, for the most part, when we went hands-on with the Switch console itself. Despite some lingering concerns, Nintendo clearly hasn’t lost its knack for innovative fusions of hardware and software.
The iPhone is 10
It was ten years ago that Steve Jobs announced the first iPhone, changing the mobile phone landscape - and, let’s face it, the developed world - forever.
Of course, the iPhone also created a whole new industry of smartphone games. To celebrate that fact, PG compiled a list of the ten iOS games that have defined mobile gaming over the past decade.
Some you’ll have heard of, while others have been lost to the sands of time and the peculiar whims of a fickle public.
Star Wars goes MOBA
There’s no question what the biggest game release of the week was. Star Wars: Force Arena is a classic multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game, which essentially combines elements of tower defence, RPG, and competitive online action games.
This latest take on the genre turned out to be highly entertaining, thanks largely to the ever-compelling Star Wars IP. Attacking your opponent’s base as Darth Vader was always going to be a hoot.
PG marked the release by offering some handy beginner’s tips to get you started, as well as a rundown of how the game compares to other popular mobile MOBAs like Vainglory and Clash Royale.
The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth finally lands
The biggest iOS game of the week for discerning gamers was The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth - an indie port that’s been in gestation for some time.
This is a challenging twin-stick shooter with roguelike elements, meaning the level design is randomised and death really does mean the end of your run. It’s tricky alright.
While PG found the iOS port’s virtual controls to be imperfect, The Binding of Isaac still manages to pull you back in for another go, whatever the platform.