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Attack of the Clones: Console Knockoffs in your Pocket

We’ve come a long way since the early days when ‘Angry Birds’ demonstrated that mobile gaming could be more than just casual. While not on the pedigree of home consoles, Android games have certainly gained more credibility since the smart phones infancy. 

Companies like Gameloft now bring console like quality to mobile gaming, which is nice when you want to spend a dollar or less on a AAA title. That’s not to say they’re original. A huge amount of these games happen to be imitations or just blatant rip offs. 

Hence this list: a comprehensive guide to the world of Android clones. From the shameless to the much more shameless.

mario kart clone

Mario Kart Series 
Clone: BB Racing
Cost: Free

Some people are disgusted with the fact that Nintendo recycles its properties like a syphilitic horse. You can’t exactly blame the N for re-hashing their assets. After all they own a huge amount of the most iconic franchises of all time. You wouldn’t want James Bond to stop being a spy, and he’s been around for nearly 62 years. Not only did Nintendo invent the kart genre of racing games, but they perfected it over and over.

Of course the red plumbed is never going to whore himself out to non-Nintendo systems, so the odds of playing Mario on your phone are pretty low. That being said, BB Racing is an excellent imitator. With gorgeous graphics, tons of fun original weapons and karts, the game is a pleasure to play on the bus. The best part being that it actually has tight controls which is saying a lot for a touch screen racing game.

diablo 3

Diablo 3
Clone: Dungeon Hunter 4
Cost: Free

Dungeon Hunter 4 is to Diablo 3 what Michael Cera is to Jesse Eseinberg. The graphics looks stunning on a decent screen, with flames burning like the fires of Mount Doom. You can pick from four different classes and level them up in a very similar fashion to Blizzard’s opus. Although be prepared to shell out a few extra dollars if you want to make deep progress in the game.  They milk you for micro payments at every turn. 

dr.mario

Dr.Mario
Clone: Dr.Droid
Cost: $0.99

There isn’t much complexity to this blatant Dr.Mario rip off. You play as an Einstein looking doctor instead of Mario, which looks like the creators Googled the word ‘scientist’ and copied the first results they found. Still one can’t help but get a tinge of nostalgia while playing this game. The controls are actually half decent, and the game play is very reminiscent of the NES classic. 

left4dead

Dead Island / Left4Dead
Clone: Dead Trigger 2
Cost: Free

It’s a tough pill to swallow, but it needs to be accepted that touch screens weren’t build to handle FPS. The controls never seem to be responsive enough to offer any kind of competitive experience. That being said, Dead Rising 2 comes pretty damn close. It shoots automatically when aiming at an enemy, which takes some getting used too, but ultimately makes a lot of sense. This combined with the closest Android’s will ever come to a joystick controls makes for an enjoyable experience. Not to mention there’s a lot of lovable zombie action going on here. 

cod

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Series
Clone: Modern Combat 3: Fallen Nation
Cost: $4.99

It’s not as pretty or as fluid as Call of Duty, but it deserves to be called the next best thing. If killing terrorists with modern weapons is your cup of tea, then consider yourself British. A large arsenal of modern weapons, and tight sniping action makes this is pretty decent CoD clone. Of course multiplayer on a portable system is a lot less accurate than at home. You’re bound to be frustrated more than once that you get shot while still trying to stop aiming at the floor.

In the part 2 we find clones for Warioware, Halo and more! Coming next week!

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