We are in the midst of an ongoing pandemic that has had an unprecedented impact on our lifestyles. We are now glued to our personal mobile devices more than ever before, whether for work or for leisure. It goes without saying that mobile games, though always popular, have gained far greater prominence in recent months as more and more people have taken to mobile gaming due to socialising restrictions imposed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
Mobile phones are without doubt an indispensable part of our lives today. They are a complete all-singing-all-dancing handheld package that, quite literally, makes the whole world accessible at our fingertips. Nowadays, mobile phones are used by the young and the old, and everyone in between alike. The easy availability of internet services across the world and specifically in the most far-flung corners of India has helped mobile games to flourish. Ever since the famous ‘snake game’ on the first mobile phones, mobile gaming has made incredible progress and has gathered a user base like never before.
Mayfair Green, who writes for lifestyle website FactoryTwoFour, enumerates the various benefits of mobile gaming on mental and physical health. Gaming has been proven to boost one’s mood, improve brain power, enhance problem-solving skills and bring people closer together. And games have done precisely that during this pandemic, which has been an extremely stressful and difficult time for all of us. Mobile games have been providing us with countless hours of fun and thrills.
Today, there is an unending variety of games that one can play on their mobile phones. Whether it is 2d character design or 3D games, video game artist uses cinematic concept art and 2d backgrounds to make video games more appealing and create curiosity in human to play them. From car racing to the arcade, to the first-person shooter, to puzzles to fantasy sports, you would be spoiled for choice. All you need to do is download the respective game app, and you’re all set!
In this blog, we look at some of the most popular games this year:
1. Call of Duty Mobile
This is the mobile version of the immensely popular Call of Duty. Call of Duty is a first-person shooter game that was developed by TiMi Studios and published by Activision and Garena. The game witnessed one of the world’s largest launches in gaming history, having generated more than 327 million dollars in revenue and logged over 250 million downloads by June 2020. Call of Duty Mobile, just like its other variants, follows a battle royale format of gameplay and the mobile version includes maps, modes, characters, and weapons from across the Call of Duty franchise. Its variety of gameplay options and immersive experience have made it one of the most liked games of all time. Its popularity has led to the creation of the Call of Duty: Mobile World Championship 2020.
2. Fantasy Cricket
India, as we all know, is a cricket crazy country. Fantasy cricket is part of the gaming genre of fantasy sports and this format of the ever-popular sport is a hit among cricket fans and enthusiasts. Fantasy cricket, in short, is an online, virtual version of cricket that is played through a fantasy cricket app. Playing fantasy cricket is very simple and you can find a handy tutorial here at https://www.mpl.live/fantasy-cricket/how-to-play. The basic gist of fantasy cricket is, you need to select an upcoming cricket match and create your own virtual cricket team consisting of real players. You will then earn points on the basis of how your selected players perform on the actual match day. Fantasy cricket is a game of skill and your ability to achieve a high rank on the leaderboard hinges on your ability to create a star team by putting your cricket knowledge to the test!
3. Genshin Impact
Genshin Impact was one of the best games of 2020 and is tremendously popular. It is an open-world action role play game developed by miHoYo and features a fantasy open-world environment with an action-based battle system that uses elemental magic, character switching and players use in-game currency to buy virtual items to use while playing. It offers great versatility to players and has earned more than $393 million in two months following its launch.
4. Minecraft
Arguably one of the most versatile and flexible games available today, Minecraft can be played both as a single-player and as a multiplayer game. Developed by Mojang, Minecraft is a game that is set in a three-dimensional world consisting of blocks and infinite terrain where players can extract raw materials, craft tools, and various other items, build structures from houses to castles, and a host of other activities. There are no levels in this game; the objective is to build, explore and survive. The game offers players the flexibility to play in cooperation or in competition with other players in the same world. There is also a creative mode that offers unlimited resources to players. Players also interact with block-like creatures and mobs. The open-world format of the game as well as the two modes of gameplay, namely survival and creative, give players a high degree of autonomy and control.
5. Rummy
It is well known that card games have been tremendously popular for centuries, and now it is easier than ever to play card games with your friends from the comfort of your home on your mobile phone. Rummy is one of the world’s most popular card games. So popular is this game that there are several variations of rummy across countries and cultures. Even though each variation has its own set of rules, the general format of the game is the same throughout. To play rummy, players need to form valid combinations of cards, called ‘melds’ and this is done through the process of picking and discarding cards by turn. These melds may be consecutive cards of the same suit (called runs) or they may be a combination of cards of different suits belonging to the same rank (called sets). The internet has only accelerated the popularity of rummy in recent years.
These are just some of the games that are widely played today and will continue to gain more popularity in the near future. Playing mobile games is an excellent way to combat the COVID blues by having fun with friends and family alike. Happy gaming!
