Location Based Games Will Rock Your World

This article was written by Phil Black: Android enthusiast and Phandroid reader.

It’s a normal day as Chandler walks down the street. BZZZZZZZZ….”OMG!” he exclaims as his new G1 vibrates. He pulls out his phone to see a notification that an enemy is close at hand! Should he whip out his cell phone and thrash it about in the sky? Aim his camera and unload sniper-style? Turn around and run down the street as fast as he can? Depends, what game is he running in the background?

With the recent development of Android and the T-Mobile G1, game developers have jumped on board, taking advantage of the always-connected internet, GPS, Google Maps, etc. to create some the most innovative games the entertainment industry has ever seen. Imagine a world that wherever you go, anyone can be a virtual enemy. MMTRG, they’re called. Some say that acronym stands for Mobile Multiplayer Trans-Reality Game. I don’t need to know what it stands for, I just want to see what they can do!

NavBall

The game? 11 players each team, 2 teams total. The purpose? Shoot the soccer ball in the net. Arrange all 11 players in a strategic arrow that appears on your phone. Shoot the ball in the net. Building or car in the way? Work around it. You have to work fast before the other team shoots their goal! First team to get the most points in the allotted time wins the game!

I could really see this game taking off quickly. What a fantastic way to meet other people. What about starting your own Facebook group to have people in your school, town or workplace to start up weekly NavBall games? I think this game has a ton of potential and am looking forward to getting it in my hands.

Note: I’ve tried to contact the developers but to no avail about release information, or plans to support the game in the United States.

Parallel Kingdom

This could be the most anticipated game not only on Androi… but on ANY platform. My explanation would do no justice to its awesomeness, so take a look at these videos taken directly from Parallel Kingdom’s website.

My apologies readers: this article would have come a lot sooner if I hadn’t spent half the day watching that video. Anyone else get the chills when that music started up?

I have been in contact with the PK developers and although their blog hasn’t been updated in a little while, this project is definitely still in action and being actively developed. Head on over to their website to sign up for their beta! Can you tell I’m just a little excited for this one?

I’m more of a casual gamer than glued-to-my- TV-for-6-hours gamer, so this is my kind of game – slow and casual – fits the bill for me. I could be shopping in downtown and all of a sudden I have to whip out my phone to protect my village, or, to pull a scaredy-cat move like the player up above and RUN LIKE HELL!

WiFi Army

WiFi army has gotten more attention than the majority of other upcoming Android games, albeit not in awhile. The game seems to be lacking in a few ways… there doesn’t seem like enough aspects or angles compared to “the others” but I’ll let you decide for yourself. Take a look at this video for more info about the game:

Build your army, use multiple weapons, create co-op teams. This game has already taken off to the sky and has many supporters. Always be on the look out!

Slash Wars

Receive a notification when a Slash Wars player is in range. First one to vigorously swipe their phone like a fool in the air wins! I’d just like to say that I would REALLY enjoy seeing 2 people walking down the street, and all of a sudden pulling out their cell phones and whipping them in the sky! Haha, I could only imagine… Technology used with this game: the accelerometer, Google Maps/GPS, bluetooth, and the always-connected internet connection.

Note: It appears that their blog has been wiped clean (http://slashwars.com) for who knows what reason. If you do a friendly Google search, you’ll be able to find a Cached version of their blog.

Still not good enough for you? Take a look at this non-MMTRG-game (too many g’s?). Now we’re thinking outside the box. Er…inside? Currently in beta and not released to the public, yet… (Thanks mmtrg)

levelHead v1.0, 3 cube speed-run (spoiler!) from Julian Oliver on Vimeo.

So which one will be your first download? The simple ON-GAURD! Slash Wars, the more complicated but in-depth Parallel Kingdom, the secret-scoping WiFi Army, or even the more “real-life” NavBall?

Regardless of which one(s) you choose… its safe to say that you’ve probably never played games like these before… at least not with your phone!