My 10 best games of the past 10 years - Simon Byron
Industry veteran lists his portable picks from the past decade
Heard about Pocket Gamer celebrating its 10th anniversary this March?
As part of the fun we've blackmailed former PG members into giving us a quick rundown of their favourite ten games of the past ten years. (We've also asked them to relive their PG moments, Simon included.)
Thing is, sometimes the character of these past colleagues is simply too strong to bend to our demands. Or they simply don't care about our carefully constructed thematic consistency.
Either way, you get instances such as this, with Simon rebelling by providing 12, not ten games. (It all balances out, though: Mike Rose was two short on his list.)
They've not been asked to rank these so don't take the order below as set in stone. Rather, think of these games as a collection of digital experiences that will enrich your life, taking you to a place you hadn't considered you'd ever get to.
Or perhaps look through the list and mock their choices.
Create your own listIf you do disagree, here's the magic bit: you can give us your list.
See the 'Create your own Top List' button at the bottom of the article? It's not a trick.
You'll need to be registered with PG (and logged in) if you aren't yet.
Click on that button and the rest should prove relatively straightforward.
(You can also create lists from within your Pocket Gamer user profile, at the bottom of the 'Logged in as [x]' dropdown menu.)
You can list your all-time favourite portable games, your favourite endless runners, shooters, candy-covered-pony-featuring titles, or even your favourite game making studios.
We all love lists. Share your thoughts and you can soon see your selection on the PG site.
What's all this, then? The Pocket Gamer 10th anniversary is a month-long celebration of the last decade of mobile games running March 10th - April 10th and featuring a stream of retrospective articles and fun stuff, supported by our friends at Gram Games, Gamevil, JoyCity, Rovio, and Nordeus. Head over to the PG 10th anniversary homepage for more information.
1
XCOM: Enemy Unknown
Supreme translation of the home version - immensely playable, despite bugs.
2
The Banner Saga
Beautiful if sometimes overwhelming turn-based combat.
3
Candy Crush Saga
I know it has its critics, but it's the game that got my mum into gaming.
4
Angry Birds Star Wars
The Star Wars version had me obsessing over three-starring everything.
5
Flight Control
The perfect introduction to touch-based gaming.
6
Broken Sword: Director's Cut
Still breathtaking in its ambition, point-and-touch so much more intuitive than pointing and clicking.
7
Minecraft - Pocket Edition
Easily the greatest babysitter ever invented.
8
World of Goo
One of the most inventive and charming puzzle games ever made.
9
New Star Soccer
Easily the best football game on mobile.
10
Lara Croft GO
Hitman was interesting, but Lara is on a whole new level. So, so clever.
11
Heads Up! Hot Dogs
The perfect party game.
12
Threes!
Hands-down the biggest drain on my mobile devices. An original idea, wonderfully implemented.