Games for your itchy trigger finger

It has been more than 20 years since “Wolfenstein 3D” changed video gaming by giving players the perspective of someone shooting a weapon.

These games, called first-person shooters, have become commonplace. They’re not everyone’s cup of tea, but it should be no surprise that they have found their way to mobile devices.

If you’re new to first-person shooters, or just enjoy a bit of retro gaming, the original “Wolfenstein 3D” game, which has been ported to iOS devices as a free app called “Wolfenstein 3D Classic Lite,” is a good place to start.

You play an agent trying to escape from a German castle during World War II, navigating a labyrinth of rooms and corridors, shooting any bad guys who come your way. There are doors to open, puzzles to solve, food to eat and medicine for your injuries. It’s a classic game.

The game’s vintage shows, admittedly. There’s no up or down control, and the graphics are shockingly blocky, especially when compared with what you will see on a high-definition television. Also, you should not expect moving music, hours of play or breathtaking visual or audio effects. Having said that, I still regard “Wolfenstein” as a personal favourite. It’s simple and has drama.

In contrast, “Modern Combat 5: Blackout,” $7 (Rs 423) on iOS and Android, is jammed with detailed graphics, sophisticated controls and fast-paced gameplay. The setting is more modern: a militarised unit fighting terrorists. Its graphics are so good that you’ll see features like rippling water and haze. You may find yourself looking around the game just to admire the buildings and characters. It’s also so fast-paced that you’ll probably lose pretty quickly the first time you play it. And the second.

Unlike “Wolfenstein,” this game really is 3-D. You can walk around and over the scenery, and to shoot, you have to aim your weapon both left and right and up and down. This makes it confusing to control at first.  With one thumb, you move around by gesturing on the touch screen, while the other aims your weapon and fires.

The game offers hints about the gestures you use to take cover, leap over barriers and so on, but even for a seasoned gamer, it took a while to get used to the controls. Once you get past the learning curve, there is plenty on offer, like multiplayer events where you can play and chat with other users.
If these apps don’t appeal, a simpler game is “Blitz Brigade.”

Free on iOS and Android, it has a cartoony style and bits of dark humor. It’s set in World War II, and it, too, has full 3-D controls and online multiplayer settings.

The game’s main interface is a weakness. It’s overly complex, with a bewildering array of menus and control screens. But I like the game’s playing style, which features short bursts of action rather than the longer set pieces in “Modern Combat.”

The free iOS and Android game “Enemy Strike” is even simpler. It is set in a science fiction world, and your character moves automatically from place to place as you combat an alien invasion. Its screen controls are very clear, so you’re not likely to tap the wrong one by mistake.

While it still delivers the kill-or-be-killed nature of a first-person shooter, “Enemy Strike” can quickly become a little boring.

You do get different weapons and different targets to destroy, but the actual mechanics of targeting and shooting villains don’t change from one setting to the next.