In this day and age that we all live in, nobody has any time free any more. Jobs take priority, family take priority and responsibilities take priority, leaving you with little time to enjoy the finer things in life. For so many people, video games sit so far down in their list of priorities, that they can only play the best of the best games out there; the Call of Duties, the Halos, the Assassin's Creeds. You are well aware that there are thousands more games, but you'd be damned if you could play them.
Now what if, somehow, you could arrange every aspect of your life so they flowed perfectly together, so you could fit every element of your life in a perfect order so everything you wanted to achieve was fesable? Impossible, you would say, and probably rightly so. However, not all games require your upmost attention for hours on end, especially not since services like the Apple and Android markets have exploded in a whole host of cheap, accessable games for your mobile phone.
Mobile phone games are perfect for the everyday person, the person who only has 10 minutes every here and there to get their gaming fix, or maybe the person who isn't confident enough in their own ability to warrant purchasing a £40 game over a 59p bargain. The success of games such as Doodle Jump, Tiny Wings and Angry Birds display clearly the need for easy, pick up and play games that will satisfy your gaming cravings with little input on the users part.
There are, however, people like me and many others out there who feel shortchanged by the shallow gameplay that many of these games offer. Brilliant for a quick fix, but ultimately will not give you the quality and depth of gaming to truly satisfy you throughout your daily commute. Surely there must be games out there which will keep you satisfied for longer in short bursts?
Indeed there are, which is where I glide gracefully onto the point of this arcticle. Time Management games are a genre of games that have come into their own light thanks to the accessibility of touch-screen devices such as the iPhone. However, chances are you've never played one. These are the games where you have to race against the clock to complete objectives, build combos and advance through the levels.
The most notable time management game available is probably Playfirst's Diner Dash, the first of their 'Dash' series of games. This game is available everywhere, from the XBLA to your smartphone, and is probably one of the finest examples of a simple concept sapping time away from every person who stumbles upon it. This game flourishes with the simple touchscreen controls offered my the smartphones of today, and there is no surprise that many games have sprung up with similar concepts, and many have done it better.
If this sense of challenge in your ten minute breaks somewhat excites you, I have compiled a small list of games that will draw you into this type of 'hardcore-casual' gaming.
Airport Mania: First Flight - A fantastic time management game based, you guessed it, in an airport environment. You are tasked with landing planes, unloading passengers, fixing and refueling the planes, reloading passengers and letting them take off again, all while trying to match up the plane colours and manage the runways effectively. Easy learning curve moving into a challenging game balanced with an in-depth upgrades system make this game a no-brainer at 59p. Oh, there's also a free Lite version if I haven't convinced you enough.
Cooking Dash - One of Playfirst's 'Dash' series, and spiritual successor to Diner Dash, you are tasked with seating customers and cooking up the dishes they request. Fast paced with a wire array of food options spanning across five different themed restaurants, this game will keep you addicted for hours trying to reach the Expert scores. In addition, the game has a Challenge Mode where you can pick a difficulty and a restaurant, and just continuously serve to try and beat your highscore. Oh, it also has a Lite mode. Get to it!
Sally's Salon - All of you uh.. aspiring hairdressers out there will love working at Sally's Salon. With an in-depth upgrades system and an easy but quick learning curve, this game will challenge even the best gamers. The controls can get you a little frustrated at times but it's by far the most challenging game on this list. There is a free demo of this game on the marketplaces so don't forget to try before you buy.
If you do decide to try one or all of these, I hope you do feel satisfied, however long you get to play each break. I'm currently trying a new game, Wedding Dash, so a review isn't far away.
-Fire
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