Classic games that leapt to mobile

Unless you live under a mushroom, you are likely to know that one of the biggest computer gaming events last year was the arrival of Nintendo’s Super Mario Run on iPhones and iPads. While versions of the game have been available for consoles for years, Mario had never made the leap to non-Nintendo devices before now.

So how big a deal was it? It was 40 million record-breaking downloads in four days big.
Super Mario Run is popular for two reasons: It is built around the exploits of everyone’s favourite computer game plumber, Mario, who has been a franchise over the years.

The iOS game is an auto-runner, meaning Mario keeps running throughout the game, jumping small obstacles and bad guys. Your one control is to tap the screen to make Mario jump higher, or perform spins and other stunts as you tackle ravines, squash baddies, collect coins and so on. It really is easy to do — but this doesn’t mean the game is easy. It needs careful timing to jump, plus knowing what to jump onto to complete each level with maximum points.

The full Nintendo trick book has been employed to turn what is a simple game into a rewarding experience. The graphics and animations are cute. The retro-designed bleeps and tunes in the game are exactly right.

All of this got me thinking about other games that had made the leap from consoles and personal computers to mobile devices.

A classic is Tomb Raider 2, featuring the character Lara Croft. Square Enix, the maker of Tomb Raider, took a different route to Nintendo when it ported the game from consoles to iOS and Android: It didn’t reinvent anything apart from the controls. Most of Tomb Raider 2’s original graphics, sounds and challenges from the PlayStation 2 game are right there in your pocket, including the square-looking terrain and the rattling tea tray sounds of Croft’s elderly butler.

When it comes to first-person shooter games, I focused on Max Payne. This game, which debuted in 2001, was the first of its type to incorporate bullet-time-like special effects, much like those that amazed us in the “Matrix” movies. And, yes, that whole graphical look and feel is part of the mobile gaming port of this classic film noir-like PC and console game.

The graphics of this game look even better on the high-resolution displays of modern devices than in other versions, but the onscreen controls don’t quite match up to the finesse one can achieve with real physical gaming controllers. You may find your fingers slipping all over your phone’s screen as you try to make it through tricky combat sequences.

It’s hard to talk about classic computer games without mentioning Grand Theft Auto, which took shoot-'em-ups and driving games and mashed them up into something weird and wonderful. There are several mobile ports of the original console games, but Grand Theft Auto Vice City is the best in my mind, because it has a dash of 1980s neon colouring in it to add to the retro feel.

Lastly, who can think of classic computer games without that grinning three-quarter yellow circle popping into their mind with a ba-doing sound? I refer, of course, to Pac-Man.

There is an amazing reinvention of the game available on iOS and Android for free in the form of Pac-Man 256. Forget the 2-D simplified mazes of the original; this game uses tech to turn Pac-Man into an infinite game, with mazes that generate in real time as you race through them.