By GARRETT BABB
Staff Writer
Mobile gaming is oftentimes one of the most overlooked platforms in the gaming community, typically looked down upon for its low-performance capabilities and a small selection of quality games. But there’s a stark difference between mobile games and console/PC gaming that people oftentimes overlook, far more people have access to getting mobile games than they do any others. So typically as kids growing up before they finally get that new console for Christmas, they played games on their phones and tablets for entertainment. That being said, with most kids beginning their gaming hobbies on their phones or Ipads there were a few standout games that drew in a lot of players and got people hooked. One of these games was Pixel Gun 3D, an fps mobile game initially released on May 2nd, 2013. This game became incredibly popular for its smooth and satisfying mechanic coupled with its easy accessibility because of its status as a mobile game. There were several different game modes available including a campaign mode, hunger games which were called “deadly games”, and several other typical FPS style game modes like capture the flag and team deathmatch. But not only were there many options for game modes to play, but the game also kept a strong incentive for players to continue playing. With a variety of weapons to grind for and a currency system that kept players as poor as possible at all times, players had to play the game consistently if they wanted to get all the best weapons and gear. Because of this grindy aspect of the game, there are many players who (including myself) would play the game pretty regularly and with these regular players, you would often find yourself playing with the same people game after game. This was accompanied by the ability to use in-game text chat, an add friend, and even a clan feature in the game it was very easy to make new friends and play with people you met on the game. This only kept players coming back more and more as they had friends they made online who were always grinding out new weapons and gear that you could play with. But although all of these different mechanics, game modes, and progression systems have been seen before in the past, this game had an incredible way of tying it all together to make a mobile gaming experience that I had never seen before when I was a little fifth-grader playing it for the first time. This game will always be a source of great nostalgia for me and was one of the first games that really hooked me when I was young, and I know that there are many young kids who played this game when they were little who could say the exact same thing.