The Best Apps Based on Video Games

With 2018 seeing the release of some of the most high-budget, innovative games in history, and the entire industry kicking it up a notch by seamlessly integrating top-of-the-line AI and 3D graphics into mainstream titles, it can be all too easy to forget where this all started. The video game industry kicked off in earnest back in the 1970s, and since then, there have been countless storylines and characters which have gone on to help define and exemplify mainstream culture. Luckily, these cultural icons haven't disappeared, and in the newest frontier for gaming - mobile gaming - some of video gaming's biggest heavy hitters are reappearing on our iPhone screens in creative and quirky ways. Here's a round-up of some of the best apps based on popular video games.

Pokemon Go!

Probably one of the most popular and talked-about app releases of the past decade, Pokemon Go completely changed how we play on our phones, integrating the gameplay into every aspect of our daily lives by allowing users to hunt for Pokemon in different real-life locations. Who can forget the endless newsreel footage of Pokemon hunters listlessly roaming around shopping centre car parks trying to catch themselves a Charizard? Pokemon and the bright yellow mascot Pikachu are undeniably some of the most iconic cultural developments of all time, with the original Pikachu from the 1998 Gameboy release being just as instantly recognisable today as ever.

Sonic Runners Adventure

Sonic, the speedy blue hedgehog that has spawned over 50 video game titles over the past few years, has finally made his mark on the mobile world with this hugely popular app. Over the course of the evolution of gaming, Sonic appears at pretty much every level, starting at the coin-operated arcades on the 80s, and continuing today in high-budget releases for the latest consoles. Sonic Runners Adventure is classic Sonic distilled into a mobile-friendly platform, allow you to tilt your smartphone as you collect those precious rings, hunt for chaos emeralds, and fight off Dr Eggman.

Super Mario Run

There are few game characters more well-known than Mr Mario himself and, unsurprisingly, fans of the franchise had been begging Nintendo for an app release for years. Their relentless demands were finally met when they recently brought out Super Mario Run, which allows players to re-live that classic Mario nostalgia-fest of childhood, playing through iconic levels such as Mushroom Forrest and Bowser's Castle. This is Mario in its purest form, and with rumours swirling of a Mario Kart app on the way, we should expect to see a lot more if this moustached legend in the future.

Resident Evil

Resident Evil, the heart-stopping zombie shooter, finally has an app. Although not in the same vein as the classic console and arcade games, this unique app allows users to compare their stats across all of the Resident Evil titles, as well as access resources about the fictional universe of the Umbrella Corporation and Racoon City. Definitely one for the die-hard fans only.

If you have any video game apps you think deserve a shout-out, let us know in the comments!

Top '80s Arcade Games

Come with us on a trip down memory lane to the golden era of video games.

Pac-Man

An all-time favourite, beloved by many and iconic to everyone, Namco's Pac-Man is truly a game to have stood the test of time. It was an instant arcade classic which, despite numerous attempts to bring him bleeping into the new century, remains the definitive form of Pac-Man yet, that has never been bettered. Brilliant in its simplicity, Pac-Man was, and forever will be, a puzzle game where Pac-Man chomps his way around a maze, clearing it of all the casually discarded pills on his route. While going about his merry fruit filled quest, Pac-Man is joined, and at times hunted, by four ghosts: Inky, Blinky, Pinky and Clyde, but Pac-Man has the advantage by way of eating four power pills, one in each corner, which turn the tables on said ghosties and allows Pac-Man to hunt them. Gradually the levels get harder and the speed quickens before your lives drop and you insert another coin and try all over again.

Frogger

In the arcade classic Frogger, your aim is to get the little lost frog safely back to the sanctuary of his home in under one minute, while navigating your way through traffic and dangerous rivers, filled with alligators and disappearing-reappearing snapping turtles, all intent on squishing or eating you. Like all the classics, these games are simple by design and there is no complicated story or puzzling narrative to throw you off track. Just make sure get froggy home in one piece. Released way back in 1981, the game was developed by Konami with the game's original screen split into two halves. The lower half of the screen portrayed a road loaded with vehicles, which could include anything from cars, trucks, buses, vans, bicycles, and motorcycles, while the upper half consisted of a river filled with logs, alligators, and turtles. At the absolute top of the screen, there were five homes where the little green one could finally rest at ease.

Donkey Kong

Today, the ape known as Donkey Kong is one of Nintendo's flagship mascots, but, in fact, on launch he was the bad guy. Back then, when we first meet Donkey Kong, he is angrily throwing barrels at Mario, then known simply as Jumpman, who is trying to reach the ape due to the naughty gorilla having robbed Jumpman of his lady friend, Pauline. In this initial introduction, we play as Mario jumping and climbing and generally avoiding the avalanche of barrels raining down on us courtesy of DK. This is played on repeat until all lives are lost, with the pace picking up as the game progresses, as does the barrel storm. Before long, Donkey Kong got his own spin off titles, in which the jungle replaced the building site setting of this original arcade game. Of course, so too did Jumpman, under his new moniker of Mario, soon to be Super Mario.

Star Wars Slots

With the classic original 1977 movie fresh in the memory when we entered the 1980s, video games arcades, not to mention casinos, were quick off the mark to capitalise on the blockbuster film and install these early Star Wars themed slot machines, which became very popular, very quickly. Today, as Star Wars fever shows no signs of slowing, Star Wars slots remain popular but it is the original '80s game, featuring all of your favourites like Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Chewbacca, Darth Vader, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda, that remains the best, on retro grounds if nothing else. Slots, too, are always popular and it is the most loved casino game of them all in in terms of money taken. This counts for live and online casinos, where people play online or on their mobile phones. Again, there are lots of Star Wars slots around, online and off, that remain loved by many. While this may have been the classic era of video games, there is much to be admired about video game playing today, including the convenience of it.

Super Mario Bros

Just as Donkey Kong got a spin-off set of games, so too did his nemesis in the first game, Mario. Now known as Super Mario and joined on his second run-out by his brother Luigi, the 1983 classic, Super Mario Bros, was a platform game not dissimilar from today's versions. Basically, your mission was to get Mario to the end of the Mushroom Kingdom, avoiding Bowser's forces such as Goombas, Piranha Plants, and all the other Mario style baddies, collecting coins and super powers as you make your way to save Princess Toadstool. As I said, it hasn't changed much over the years, but then why mess with perfection?

8-bit Game Of Thrones Game

The lovely folks over at The Mary Sue tipped me off to something awesome: an 8-bit arcade game based on The Game of Thrones, complete with 8-bit versions of the title song and The Rains Of Castermere. Check it out:



How freaking adorable is that? The game is a free download but it's Windows only so I couldn't play on my Mac. But 8-bit Tyrion? Amaaaazing!

Sex In Video Games

If you've ever wondered how your favorite video game characters get it on, the folks at Golden Moustache have it all figured out:



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First Look: Sonic

This is pretty badass. It's a fanmade film from a Sonic The Hedgehog spec script.

Retro Games Galore

I learned about a website recently that is the ultimate in old school awesome - formerly known as Good Old Games, http://www.gog.com has a slew of retro computer games from the '80s and '90s at stupid cheap prices. They have both Mac and PC games up for download and have a pretty cool catalog: Dungeon Keeper, Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri, King's Quest 1-8, Baldur's Gate 2, Fallout 2, Masters Of Orion 1-2, and on and on. It's geektastic.

My only gripe? The Mac selection is a little light and how is King's Quest not available on the Mac? That was the ultimate Apple II gaming series. A girl can hope that a port is forthcoming.

The titles usually go for anywhere from $2.99 to maybe $5.99 but they're having a big sale today so get on it!

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Chuck Norris Plays Super Mario Brothers

This made me laugh so I thought I'd share. Is there anything that Mario can't do?

MegaSteakMan, "Dumb Ways To Die"

For all you video game fans, here's a cute/funny song about a painful subject.



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First Look: Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie

It's about a group of nerds trying to find where Atari buried all those unsold copies of E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial. So yeah, my demographic.

First Look: Kart

Mario ain't no Ryan Gosling, but who is?