The latest Nokia Asha devices may be light on the wallet, but they certainly don’t scrimp on features. There are thousands of apps available for Nokia Asha phones, with everything from tiny one-man developers to huge companies like EA all providing options to keep you entertained.

If you’ve bought a Nokia Asha recently, or have one on your wish list, you’re in for a treat thanks to the EA Games Gift, offering 40 free games to Nokia owners. Once you’ve downloaded the games, they’re yours to keep, for free, forever. What are the games actually like though?

To find out, it’s a simple case of opening the Asha’s menu, clicking on Games Gift, and logging into your Nokia account.

Lasting legacy

Out of all the game publishers Nokia could have teamed up with, I’m really happy that Nokia partnered with EA. They’re a developer close to my heart when I was younger, growing up with FIFA, Worms and Need for Speed on my PC and SEGA Megadrive. I certainly didn’t think I’d be seeing similar titles make an appearance on phones nearly 20 years later, let alone on one of Nokia’s most affordable handsets.

Plenty of the titles are well worth downloading too, and coming up with a shortlist of my top 10 wasn’t difficult. Fitting it all into one article was, however, which is why you’ll have to make do with my favourite five apps today, and the following five next time! 

FIFA 12

I still can’t believe FIFA has made an appearance on devices like the Nokia Asha 205. It’s brilliant! OK, it loses the isometric and TV views found on console versions, sticking instead to an overhead view, but it’s still great fun. Although it is a lot trickier than I anticipated, and I was 2-0 down against a team I’d never heard of within ten minutes of the start! I did improve over time, and even managed to muster a few shots, but I haven’t managed to win a game yet…

Worms 2010

Worms really is one of my favourite games ever, and it’s perfect for the small mobile phone screen. The action happens at a pace where fast processor speeds aren’t necessary, and the simple graphics look great whatever the screen resolution. More importantly, it means none of the fun is lost when playing Worms on the Asha 205, and if you’re only going to download a couple of games, this is definitely one I’d have on my list.

Tetris

Tetris is a game that needs little introduction, almost single-handedly launching the Nintendo Gameboy into superstardom. Nearly two decades on, it’s still completely addictive, and it really could have been designed for the Nokia Asha 205 from the outset. Considering my Gameboy cost the best part of £100 nearly 20 years ago, and couldn’t even display Tetris in colour at the time, the fact anybody can now download it for free on their Nokia Asha highlights just how far technology has progressed. 

EA Cricket 11

Out of all the games I tried playing from EA and Nokia’s Games Gift collection, EA Cricket 11 is definitely one of the most visually impressive. It features the sort of graphics more often found on far more expensive games, and it’s addictive to play too.

SimCity Deluxe

I had loads of fun creating my own city, with everything from parks, schools, hospitals and utilities, along with more mundane things like roads to connect people, housing and more. It’s not just building things either; you’ll also have to keep on top of your city before it can fall to ruin.