Anyone who plays mobile games should be familiar with Gameloft. It's arguably one of the best developers and publishers of mobile games in the world today, with more award-winning games than I could count with the help of a university-level maths graduate. But as we all know, award-winning premium quality costs money – so your average non-Lotto winning Joe is limited in the number of Gameloft games he can play.
But very soon, in a deal that brings joy to my little mobile-game-reviewing heart, VLive! and Gameloft will be getting together to offer Vodacom customers the deal of a lifetime. When it goes live, you'll be able to sign up to access more than 200 Gamesoft titles on VLive! Do be aware, though, that some games won't be available to iOS and Windows Phone users.
And, a little birdie tells me Vodacom will be kicking off the new deal with an introductory offer where you get your first week free and pay just R4.99 per week from then on to download a new game every week.
Plus, you won’t pay any data charges downloading the games on your mobile phone or tablet. That’s a helluva deal whatever the state of your wallet!
In the meantime, here's a round-up of the current top games available on VLive!
Real Football2014
Rating: 4/5
While FIFA is hands-down my preferred choice for football on a console, on a mobile device my allegiance is to this one. It’s a big call, but it’s also the right one. With Real Football’s improved graphics, animation, gameplay and what the creators call 'true football atmosphere', they’ve created an engrossing mobile football experience better than any other. And once you’ve honed your play in the new Skills Lab Mode, you can swagger onto the pitch and star banging them in like Messi on a hot streak.
Asphalt 8: Airborne
Rating: 5/5
If you’re looking for a racing simulator, give this game a miss. But if you like your petrol thoroughly mixed with adrenalin and power slides, then you’ve just discovered Nirvana. I love the seat-of-your-pants, arcade-style racing, the joys of turbo boost and, of course, forcing your rival into a wall at high speed as you blast by. In fact, if there’s a game that finally does swallow me whole and leaves no life left to live outside its highways and byways, then it’s this one. Goodbye real world, it’s been… er… real.
Danger Dash
Rating: 4/5
I like running as long as I don’t have to put on shorts, trainers and actually run. Obviously, this limits my efforts to pretty much the occasional beer run to the kitchen while the rugby’s on. However, when I crank up Danger Dash and see those hungry tigers on my tail, I can run all day and most of the night too.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2
3/5
If you liked the movie, you should love the game. Of course, you play Spidey and get to run around solving crimes and meting out justice to bad guys. But perhaps the best part is you get to go web slinging through the city and – this bit is my favourite – run up and down buildings. The fun factor is enhanced with great graphics and since the city is pretty big for a mobile game arena, there are plenty of places to explore. One drawback though is that you must be connected to 3G or Wi-Fi to play. If not, you can’t even start it.
Assassin’s Creed III
4/5
Few mobile games are either this well produced or include quite so much variety of gameplay. You take on the role of colonial-era American Connor Kenway as he seeks to avenge the burning of his village by killing an awful lot of British Army 'Red Coats'. If it sounds epic, it's because it is epic and will keep you playing for more hours than is strictly healthy. My only one complaint is that the controls are a bit too fiddly and complex, which makes them hard to master. But that’s all part of the challenge of becoming the best assassin you can possibly be.
What is VLive?
The VLive site is available to all Vodacom customers, giving you access to loads of fun stuff, such as music and games. Plus, it's free to browse on your device and won't use any of your data. Simply go to www.live.vodafone.com on your browser to check it out.
