All posts tagged in controller
Aug 11, 2019
Those who are already addicted to mobile gaming need no urging to try all the great games available on their smartphone or tablet. Those of us who find it physically awkward, or who don’t like the format, might need a little encouragement. But games of every type, from casual card or arcade games to story-rich adventures and RPGs, are all available on mobile. And mobile gaming can be adjusted to your comfort, too. Did you know that mobile controllers exist?
Mobile gaming, YOUR way
You can make any mobile device feel like a dedicated gaming device. There are many different controllers designed to fit to your mobile device (phone or tablet), giving it a comfortable grip and buttons and control sticks to take charge of the action. Have you tried a mobile controller like this?
Most Popular Mobile Games
As for games, the selection is nearly endless. There are so many farming games available on mobile that it’s hard to sort through them all. FarmVille, Family Farm, Hay Day, oh my. But to start you off with a familiar face, don’t forget that Stardew Valley is available on mobile!
You can even get a farming or gardening theme in game genres you might not expect. Gardenscapes is a surprisingly tricky and addictive match-3 game. It allows you to repair and rebuild a mansion’s beautiful garden in whichever style you choose. You can even go back later and change the fountains, paving, shrubs, flowerbeds…anything in any area you have unlocked.
If you like to build and have even more control over design, Minecraft is also very popular on mobile! You can get the Pocket Edition on both iOS and Android.
More interested in games that feel a little more social? Why not try the mobile game that took the world by storm in 2016? Pokemon Go is still popular and still alive with players and content.
If Pokemon is not your thing, then how about Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp? New features are always being added to the mobile extension of our beloved Animal Crossing. The animals are still all their lovable (or annoying!) selves, whether you meet them on your 3DS, your Switch, or your smartphone.
RPGs and Adventure
If there’s anyone left still sitting there, looking bored…how about some RPGs? Mobile gaming has those, too! There’s Nintendo’s own Dragalia Lost. It’s set in a world where the royal family has the ability to transform into dragons, if they have a pact with them. You begin the story as the seventh prince, who has yet to make a pact with any dragon, but must set out to do so immediately when the protection around his city begins to fail.
Another Eden: The Cat Beyond Time and Space is also a popular, large-scale RPG available on mobile. The story was written by Masato Kato (who also wrote Xenogears and Chrono Trigger). If that’s not enough, the game’s beautiful soundtrack is by Yasunori Mitsuda, who also worked on Xenogears and Chrono Trigger. That’s some good stuff! Another Eden has 26 main story chapters focusing on the protagonist, Aldo, and his sister, Fienne, and involves time-travelling through both the past and the future, as well as dealing with the present.
If you want something cute, colourful, and inspired by a classic, how about Egglia: Legend of the Redcap? Strongly influenced by Legend of Mana, you must revive your world by finding precious eggs. Each has had a part of the world sealed into it, and can be restored by hatching it on the map. Explore and gather resources with movement based on a roll of the dice, like a cross between a board game and a strategy RPG.
Story-driven games
But maybe what you like are story-driven games, which the mobile platform is often criticized for not having. But the market is growing all the time, and if you have a look, you’ll find some very special story-driven games waiting for you on your phone and tablet. Like the beautiful GRIS, which will be coming to iOS this month! A game about dealing with grief using light platforming and puzzles, it’s hard to know if this is a game, a storybook or a piece of art.
GRIS – iOS coming August 22! Forgotton Anne is also an iOS exclusive, and takes place in a world of “Forgotlings”. Personified socks and toys and scraps of paper…items that have been lost or forgotten in our own world. With hand-painted backgrounds, Forgotton Anne has a charm reminiscent of a Ghibli movie. It’s a game by Square Enix. We had to look it up to make sure Miyazaki really had nothing to do with it!
Forgotton Anne – iOS And lastly…only because soon this list will be too long…is To the Moon. An emotional tale of an old man’s dying wish to go to the moon. This is another game that, like Gris, feels like it may be as much ‘artistic expression’ as ‘game’. It was born of Canadian game-designer Kan Gao’s response to his grandfather’s struggle with his failing health. You must explore old Johnny’s memories to understand his life’s dream, and help him see it come true.
Still not convinced to make mobile gaming your own? As always, we want you to enjoy games in your own way. Especially if you are here for farming games in particular, please check out our list of farming games on console.
- Aug 10, 2019
No sooner do we write an article about console accessories than do a flood of new controller designs for the Switch hit the market! Like everything we’ve shown before, all of these new controllers are licensed by Nintendo. We’re talking some cute stuff here, guys.
This Spyro-themed Nintendo Switch controller…well, what can we say? Just LOOK at it! And it will release on August 31st; just in time for the release of the Spyro Reignited Trilogy on the Switch on September 2nd. The reasons to want it are immediately obvious to us…we all want it. One of our spuds got starry-eyed even though they’ve never played Spyro! This controller is currently available on Amazon. It’s by PowerA, and you can bet we’ll be looking into them to see what other goodies they carry. We’ve already spotted a Switch case that matches this controller!
Also new to the market are two Pokemon-themed GameCube-style controllers. The Pichu and Jigglypuff designs are brand new, adding to the nice selection already on offer by PDP. The Pichu design is available on Amazon already, but the Jigglypuff design is yet to be found. They will release on October 31.
If you love these themed controllers, don’t overlook our article on even more ways to customize your console.
- Aug 1, 2019
If you’re a gamer (and you probably are!) it’s likely because you think playing games is fun. You know what’s not fun? Carpal tunnel syndrome. Your family complaining about your game or television’s volume isn’t great either. Dropping your handheld console and picking it up to realize it’s damaged? Not the best experience.
Comfort Grips
There are accessories that solve or greatly reduce the incidence of such issues! What’s more, they can significantly improve your gaming experience in the process, and many of them are surprisingly affordable. Those featured today are licensed by Nintendo. Voiding your warranty is not a fear, here!
One type of accessory that is near and dear to these potatoes’ starchy hearts is the comfort grip. Ever since finding a cozy, densely squishy grip called Dream Gear for the 3DS (comes in multiple colours and reduces the chance of the 3DS being damaged if dropped) these potato gamers have been big fans.
The Switch already has many comfort grip options too, including colourful rubbery ones like the Dream Gear for 3DS. This time, we chose the firmer GoPlay Grip for the angled hand holds. It offers less protection, but makes handheld gaming a joy. It keeps your wrist position straighter and your grip more secure due to the shape and texture of the rubberized hold. The joy-cons can be removed easily with the grip still attached so that you can use it as a stand to play in tabletop mode. If you decide to get the packaged set, the grip will also come with a carrying case which the Switch will fit into even with the grip still on.
Comfort grips can be great for anyone, allowing you to hold the system in a more comfortable way, but tend to be especially helpful for those of us with bigger or longer hands. Portable gaming suddenly feels so much better. These spuds are in love!
Audio Controller
Released for sale very recently is also the first integrated audio controller. It has an audio jack, into which you could plug earphones or even a full headset (if using an integrated voice chat feature as in Fortnite). In shape and layout, it is nearly identical to Nintendo’s own pro-controller, though it is a third of the price.
Keep in mind that it cannot be played wirelessly, and it doesn’t use rumble or motion controls. If those features are important to the games you play most, PDP’s Faceoff Deluxe+ audio wired controller probably isn’t for you. But if you want to be able to play your Switch docked and still keep the sound to yourself in crisp quality, and at whatever volume you like, this isn’t a controller to overlook. It also comes in 4 colour options.
These are just the accessories we’ve tried ourselves…there is an entire world of options out there to let you customize your playing experience and improve your physical comfort at the same time. If you know of any gems, or discover new ones, please tell us about them!
We’re sure the upcoming Nintendo Switch Lite will also soon have a plethora of great accessories. You can even pre-order the Lite itself right now!
