Gadgets
The Best Casual Games for iOS and Android [March 2021]
Which is the best platform for smartphone or tablet gaming?
Both Android and iOS have a massive library of games, and are also compatible with gaming accessories such as wireless controllers. Apple’s iOS is generally considered the superior platform for games, but we believe that both Android and iOS are equally good when it comes to the quality of available games. However, iOS has better curation on the App Store, so you’re more likely to find a fun game that you like by simply browsing around.
Casual games, in particular, tend to be a hit or miss situation; even if the game is fun, small issues such as the freemium model or frequent ads tend to ruin the experience. That’s why it’s important to find the right games to play, and it often makes sense to buy premium games or pay for ad removal in a game you might enjoy.
Finally, the bigger the screen, the better the gaming experience. While it might be convenient to pull out your smartphone to play games, a better and more enjoyable experience can be had when using a tablet. Compact options such as the iPad mini (2019) are convenient enough to pick up off your work desk every time you need a break.
The best casual games for mobile devices
Mini Metro (Rs. 349 on iOS, Rs. 90 on Android)
A game for the city planner in all of us, Mini Metro puts you in charge of planning the metro system of a real-world city. This involves connecting stations, using multiple metro lines to ensure effective connectivity, and upgrading lines and stations to ensure that it never gets too crowded. All of this is represented on a classic metro map with a dynamic soundtrack that is coordinated with the flow (or chaos) of your metro system.
It’s a simple enough premise, and doesn’t take very long to figure out. The goal is to set a score of the number of commuters you manage to transport before your system collapses due to overcrowding. Each game lasts for around five minutes initially, increasing gradually depending on your skill level, while the music and pleasant visuals are soothing and easy on the senses.
Holedown (Rs. 349 on iOS, Rs. 299 on Android)
The block-breaker game concept may be grossly overdone, but there’s no denying the therapeutic feeling of busting blocks with balls. Unlike the simple and ad-riddled versions that you’ll find on app stores, Holedown adds a bit of a plot and depth to the idea. You’re drilling through various planetary objects, and upgrading your tools as you go along. More enticing than the plot is the level of skill needed, and of course, the lack of ads in this paid game.
The main plot won’t take long to get through, but the game has enough in it to keep you coming back to better your high scores on each level. It’s an uncomplicated game that doesn’t ask too much of you beyond aiming and firing, and there’s a definite sense of joy in watching blocks getting bombarded by balls and counting down to their destruction.
Conduct THIS! (Free on iOS and Android)
A simple puzzle solver game based on train route management, Conduct THIS! Puts you in charge of getting passengers from one station to another within the timeframe, and without crashing into vehicles or other trains. The visuals are beautiful, and the game is easy to learn, with lots of maps and skill levels to keep you occupied. Each level at the start shouldn’t take you more than five minutes to play, and gets progressively more difficult as you go ahead.
Much like the classic game Railways! but visually more impressive, Conduct THIS! is free to play, and is ad-supported with in-app purchases. However, the ads aren’t too intrusive, and the free-to-play segments of the game will keep you occupied for a long time. It’s a must-have for anyone who likes railway games.
Bad North: Jotunn Edition (Rs. 449 on iOS, Rs. 470 on Android)
This game puts you in charge of defending small British islands from Viking attacks in the middle ages, but softens the sombre tone of the subject matter with neat, cartoon-like illustrations and simple tower-defence style gameplay. As the new, inexperienced ruler of a kingdom of islands, you need to make use of the resources at hand to defend the buildings on each island, while earning rewards for successful campaigns and upgrading your squadrons.
The gameplay is easy to learn, while the strategies of winning may take a while longer to master. Either way, each battle takes just a few minutes to complete, and the campaign is extensive enough to keep you occupied for a long time. It’s expensive on both iOS and Android, but is completely worth the price purely for the gameplay and graphics.
Plague Inc. (Rs. 29 on iOS, Free on Android)
A rather old game, but one that sprung back to relevance last year for obvious reasons, Plague Inc. has you take the form of a deadly disease that seeks to wipe out humanity. Your job, as the virus, is to mutate and adapt so that you can infect – and eventually kill – everyone on the planet. It sounds a bit too intense, but the premise is engaging and even educational, while remaining easy enough for quick games that don’t last too long.
Interestingly, Plague Inc. now has an expansion pack that does the opposite of the original game; you’re fighting Covid-19 itself, till you end the pandemic. Although old, play this game only for the relevance of the subject matter, and also because it’s free right now.
Asphalt 9: Legends (Free on iOS and Android)
No list of casual mobile games can be complete without the inclusion of an Asphalt title, and Asphalt 9: Legends is among the best racing games for the platform right now. Although the freemium model might get annoying, the fast-paced racing, real-world cars, and stunning graphics more than make up for it. It also works well on a wide variety of devices across price ranges.
Each race lasts just a few minutes, and the time you spend in menus is minimal; the game gets you into races of different kinds quickly and efficiently. Although, there are better racing games available on both iOS and Android if you’re willing to pay, Asphalt is casual, arcade racing at its finest, and at no cost.
Gadgets
Microsoft Partners With Inworld to Bring AI Game Development Tools to Xbox
“At Xbox, we believe that with better tools, creators can make even more extraordinary games,” Haiyan Zhang, GM, Xbox Gaming AI, said in a blog post. “This partnership will bring together: Inworld’s expertise in working with generative AI models for character development, Microsoft’s cutting-edge cloud-based AI solutions including Azure OpenAI Service, Microsoft Research’s technical insights into the future of play, and Team Xbox’s strengths in revolutionizing accessible and responsible creator tools for all developers.”
The aforementioned AI design copilot is a toolset that will help game designers turn prompts into scripts and dialogue trees. In contrast, the character runtime will enable dynamically generated plot beats and quests. We’ve already seen heavy AI integration in games by way of procedural generation — a more recent example being the 1000+ planets in Starfield. Not to mention, enemy AI has been around for way longer.
Inworld made headlines in August when it launched a modded story mode for Grand Theft Auto V, Sentient Streets, in which players had to investigate the rise of a bizarre AI-worshipping cult — a segment loaded with characters that spoke in AI-generated dialogue, on the fly. The mod was later taken down by publisher Take-Two, leaving a permanent strike on the creator Bloc’s YouTube channel. As per The Verge, Inworld’s AI technology can also be used for narration in top-down RPGs to warn players about any events awaiting off-screen and respond to questions like we’ve seen in the past year with AI chatbots like ChatGPT and Bing Chat. Microsoft has also been heavily banking on artificial intelligence, having made a $10 billion (about Rs. 83,254 crore) investment in OpenAI. The company has also integrated AI tools into its popular suite of services and also added an AI copilot to Windows.
Despite being a Microsoft-affiliated AI toolset, it would be interesting to see whether titles using them will be allowed to thrive on other platforms. In July, Valve claimed that it would be cracking down on games that included AI-generated assets if the developer didn’t own the copyright to the piece of art. For the uninitiated, when you insert a prompt to create something in AI, the software simply repurposes existing assets found online and mushes them together — basically stealing from other artists and writers without appropriate commercial licenses. Infringing them would lead to the game not being distributed on Steam, forcing the developers to seek proper licenses for the asset by reaching out to the AI companies involved. It’s unclear how Microsoft’s partnership will play out — as long as AI content is being used as a catalyst to innovate and create something new, it should be fine.
Gadgets
BSNL Offers Free 4G SIM Upgrade: Here’s How to Get It
In a post on X shared by BSNL’s Andhra Pradesh (@bsnl_ap_circle) unit, the company confirmed that BSNL users can upgrade their older 2G or 3G SIMs to a 4G SIM for free. Not only will the upgrade be free, but a promotional image shared with the post suggests that users who opt for the upgrade will also receive 4GB of free data that will be valid for three months. It is speculated that BSNL is aiming to boost its upcoming 4G services with this offer. The announcement was first spotted by Telecom Talk.
To access the free data offer and the free upgrade, BSNL users are requested to get in touch with executives at BSNL’s Customer Service Centre, franchisee or retailer stores, or contact one of their Direct Selling Agents (DSA). The promo image also adds in a finer print that the offer is available with certain terms and conditions, but hasn’t detailed any, so far.
Reliance’s Jio recently launched the 4G-supported Bharat B1 feature phone in India. The handset is priced at Rs. 1,299 in India. Alongside 4G connectivity, the phone comes with JioCinema and JioSaavn applications pre-installed.
The Jio Bharat B1 is equipped with the JioPay application, which is said to allow users to make UPI payments. Aiming to increase accessibility, the phone supports 23 languages overall, including multiple regional languages.
Gadgets
Realme GT 5 Pro Teased to Feature 3,000 Nits Display; More Details Revealed
Realme, via Weibo, announced the arrival of the Realme GT 5 Pro in China. The display of the handset is confirmed to offer 3000 nits peak brightness. It has also been teased to offer heat dissipation with a surface area of around 10,000mm2. It is confirmed to ship with Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC. The post doesn’t specify the exact launch date of the smartphone, however, given the release of the teasers, the launch could be just around the corner.
The Realme GT 5 Pro has been in the news a lot lately. It is expected to feature a 6.78-inch (1,264×2,780 pixels) AMOLED display and is tipped to come in 8GB, 12GB, and 16GB RAM options along with 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB inbuilt storage options.
For optics, the Realme GT 5 Pro is said to have a triple rear camera unit comprising two 50-megapixel sensors and an 8-megapixel shooter at the rear. The camera setup might include a Sony LYTIA LYT808 sensor, an OmniVision OV08D10 secondary sensor, and a Sony IMX890 telephoto sensor. For selfies, there could be a 32-megapixel sensor at the front. It is said to carry a 5,400mAh battery with support for 100W wired charging and 50W wireless charging.
The Realme GT 5 Pro is expected to come with upgrades over Realme GT 5. The latter was launched in China in August with a price tag of CNY 2,999 for the base model with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.
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