Ten reasons why mobile games are completely awesome

If you have been coming to this site for any length of time, you should have realised by now that we are more than a little bit keen on mobile games; in fact we are die-hard proponents of the little darlings.

Yes we may be quick to rip the heart clean out of any less deserving mobile game but there is no getting away from the fact that by and large we think they're awesome and deserving of much more respect.

Too many times we've been reading a gaming site or magazine only to come across the same out of date maxim preceding every bit of news about mobile games. This is usually along the lines of 'now we all know mobile games are a bit rubbish but...'. We click away with disgust or cast aside the publication like a filthied rag thinking to ourselves, "have you even played a mobile game since Snake you artless dog-brained bum-bailey!"

Actually that's a bit of a rosy retelling; our insults are seldom so Shakespearean in tone and are usually peppered with a good deal of four-letter words but the point remains.

So here is our totally uncompromising, and more than a little unreasonable, list of reasons why mobile games are completely brilliant in every way.

And the ten reasons are...

1. Because you always have your phone with you. Almost everyone has the same ritual before leaving the house - 'keys, wallet, phone'. Mobile games can really brighten those redundant moments in life that would otherwise be spent staring listlessly at the station clock or waiting for that always-late friend to finally show up. Don't believe us? We defy anyone to deny Tower Bloxx's time-sapping powers.
2. Because games don't have to be 30 hour epics. Mobile games don't try to impress you with their grand scale, they merely want to make you smile for 15 minutes at a stretch and that is something that in this dark modern age of decay, none of us should undermine. Just try firing up SolaRola without cracking a smile at least once - it just isn't possible.
3. Because mobile games are changing the tired stereotypes. Mobile games are most often played on the move so that means that the whole 'kids glued to the sofa with a catering-sized bag of pork scratchings in one hand and a controller in the other' stereotype doesn't stick. Then there's the fact that a large portion of mobile titles are puzzle games and everyone knows that puzzle games are like broccoli for brains. Surely 3 in 1 Numbers is better for exercising the old noggin than Shoot Stuff 5.
4. Because mobile games are more varied than console games. How many times have you filled the oversized metallic boots of Joey the space marine and set off to an alien planet to shoot the tentacles off of Jimmy the evil and very ugly space cretin + mates for fifteen levels, invariably using a pistol, a machine gun, a bigger machine gun, a shotgun and a rocket launcher before taking part in a protracted end of game boss battle where you have to continually nuke a giant monster in its soft bits until it shrivels into a slimy heap and you watch the credits roll with the inert beseeching submission of an unloved child? Too many, that's how many. Now try to recount the amount of times you have taken part in the ingenious and imaginary sport of extreme window cleaning? Not enough we'd wager. Still not convinced? Give Crazy Window Cleaners a go and you will see what we mean.
5. Because mobile games are never caught in a technological slump. Most people upgrade their handset about once a year, which means that as innovative new connected concepts, control methods and visual tricks are invented you never have to wait long to experience them. In the home console market you need to wait years for the next generation to roll around before you can sample the hardware advances that have been made since you bought your last box. Consider at the new N-Gage platform for example. Many of you probably already have a handset capable of running the new platform and if not, it is sure to be one of the available options the next time you upgrade your handset.
6. Because opposable thumbs are something to be thankful for and frankly most of us don't do enough with them to keep them in good shape. Remember, opposable thumbs are responsible for taking this race to the moon; without them we still wouldn't have invented the TV remote or have worked out a way of eating soup without making uncouth slurping noises. Do your species proud and give your thumbs a workout on Urban Attack.
7. Because an army of middle-aged women can't be wrong. Remember, these are the people that carried you for nine months, nursed you, sewed your name into your underpants, dabbed your scrapped knees with Dettol and made peanut butter and banana sandwiches for your school packed lunches. Do you want to be the one to disagree with them? Thought not. We think it's only right that you honour their hobby by giving 5 Card Slingo a go.
8. Because mobile gaming is a cheap habit. How much do you pay for a console game? Is it £30 or £40? Mobile games cost ten times less than that amount. Just think, after buying about six mobile games at a fiver each instead of six Xbox 360/PS3 games at £40 each you will have saved enough to buy an iPod Touch. You could get the ten best games of 2007 for a mere £50.
9. Because the future is bright. Apple's iPhone, Google's Android and Nokia's new N-Gage platform could all revolutionise mobile gaming as we know it by offering developers uncomplicated but powerful development platforms. If you don't get involved now, in eight months time you might find yourself counting down the days to the release of a hot looking sequel for Heroes Lore: Winds of Solita without ever having played the original, and no gamer worth their salt wants that.
10. Because we say so and we should know. We spend every day playing mobile games; most of us have thumbs that could flatten a steel ball bearing into a doll sized side plate. You know that age-old phrase 'I've played more mobile games than you have had hot dinners'? We invented that phrase.

So there you have it, ten uncompromising, totally subjective and generally biased reasons as to why everyone should love mobile games a little more than they currently do.