They are coming. You can hear them shambling by your window. Their ragged nails scraping across your door. Their spiriting knocking and shouting of "trick or treat!" The children are almost here. Here are some spooky mobile games to keep you company while you turn off all the lights in your house and hide.
What? I did not get this far in life by handing out free candy to vagabonds who don't realize how much candy they could have bought instead of spending money on an elaborate costume to facilitate begging for mine. It makes no sense. Save the money. Buy your own candy, or maybe some spooky Halloween-themed gaming apps?
Having established my distaste for the holiday traditions, let it be noted that both of my children will be out getting candy on Thursday night, bringing it back to the mothership for proper disposal in my mouth.
What we played this week:
Spirit Stones — Gamevil — Android, iOS, Free
It's a collectible puzzle battler, like many before it, but Spirit Stones has a polish and an art style I really dig. In a genre filled with copycats, aesthetics matter.
Here's a look at the game in action:
Get Spirit Stones on Google Play — Get Spirit Stones on iTunes
Oil Rush — Unigine — Android, iOS — $4.99
A gorgeous 3D naval strategy game that really shows off just far mobile phones and tablets have come as gaming devices over the past five years. There's a free demo available on Android, if the $4.99 price makes you squeamish.
Here's a look at the game in action:
Get Oil Rush on Google Play — Get Oil Rush on iTunes
Ghost Toasters - Regular Show — Cartoon Network — Android, iOS — $2.99
It's a spooky Super Crate Box with the cast of Cartoon Network's probably award-winning Regular Show. If that sounds pretty awesome to you, then yes — it is indeed pretty awesome.
Here's what the game looks like in action:
Get Ghost Toasters on Google Play — Get Ghost Toasters on iTunes
OrcOrcOrc — Me, We Studios — iOS — Free
There might be orcs in this game, but I cannot say for sure. This is an evolution puzzle game that's as sexy and stylish as it is challenging. Evolve orcs and send them against the non-orcs atop the screen, until you die because you are just stupid orcs anyway.
Here's what the game looks like in action:
Echo Prime — Robot Entertainment — iOS — $4.99
What a neat little game. You play a space hero with the ability to tap into Echoes, alien beings who bestow upon you strange powers. Use them to blast and slice your way through countless levels of kick-ass space combat. It's very cool, and very unique.
Here's what the game looks like in action:
Fright Heights — RedSpace — iOS — Free
Just in time for Halloween, it's a people-placement scaring puzzle game, sort of like a Tetris, only with humans and horrors. Place enough scare points on each floor to clear it of visitors, then move on to the next. More challenging than it looks, but just as entertaining.
Here's what the game looks like in action:
Combat Monsters — Rubicon Developments — Android, iOS — Free
Turn-based tactics meets collectible card gaming in Combat Monsters, a particularly awesome combination of two particularly awesome things. This is what happens when the Chess Club and the Magic: The Gathering Club get together for drinks.
Here's what the game looks like in action:
Get Combat Monsters on Google Play — Get Combat Monsters on iTunes
Crystal Storm — Lightningstorm 3D — Android, iOS — Free
Because sometimes you need some match-three puzzles as a palette cleanser. Crystal Storm has a splendid Ancient Egyptian theme, fast-paced gem exploding action, plenty of variety, and it is free, which makes it much better than many not-free games out there.
This is what the game looks like in action:
Get Crystal Storm on Google Play — Get Crystal Storm on iTunes
What mobile games are keeping your mind off the creepy children lurking outside your door this week? Sound off in the comments!