Have you got your Nokia Asha 501 yet? If you haven’t yet been swayed by its beautiful design, affordable price-tag and frankly stupendous battery-life, then perhaps a few words about its gaming potential might bend your ear… With forty (count ’em) free EA games available to download via WiFi, this gorgeous little smartphone is a gamer’s paradise. Let’s take a look at ten of the best. In no particular order (because they’re all amazing)…
1. FIFA 13
Everybody’s favourite football game, the latest FIFA release lets you play with 200 different clubs, complete with all your real-life champion strikers, defenders, goalies and the rest (hey, we’re techies, not pundits). Super-responsive gameplay and controls that are more lifelike than ever will let you (and your Asha 501) become this year’s soccer-champ. Olé!
2. Bejewelled 3
In case you’re one of the few outliers that have yet to play a Bejewelled game, let us explain: this is a tile-matching puzzle game that’s as addictive as it is colourful. Asha users can now join Lumia lovers and other platform users in the worldwide obsession that is the Bejewelled phenomenon, without paying a penny!
When zombies are invading your garden, what can you do? Attack them with plants, that’s what! Turn your phone into a mobile horticultural battleground with this massively popular game, which will test your reaction times and your strategic thinking while making you grin. Shaun of the Dead meets the garden centre meets the touch-screen—what’s not to love?
4. Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit
It’s a car chase, but it’s a car chase like no other: play as the cop or the racer, rocking a Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder or a Pagani Zonda Cinque, or, in fact, any of the six other kick-ass cars on offer, and burn through twenty-four different tracks, at night or in the daytime, as you face off against (or for) the law. On your marks…
A golden oldie updated for the smartphone generation, EA’s Tetris Revolution is a sequel to their much-loved Tetris Pop. As well as slotting your tiles together to advance through the game, you can use the special replay function to learn moves from masters of the game. There are fifteen difficulty levels and a Marathon Mode, so get those fingers ready!
You know the drill: Peter Parker gets a nasty spider-bite, and suddenly he’s faced with super-powers, super-villains, and great responsibility… Ten enormous levels of game-play take you, as Peter, through New York City, fending off dangers, fighting evil and swinging from webs. Is your Spidey Sense tingling yet?
Get ready for the flag to drop on this one: a host of classic Namco characters are lining up their karts to race around four huge colourful worlds, each itching to become the ultimate karting champion. Do well enough and you’ll unlock more characters, including our favourite, Ms PAC-MAN.
8. Train Conductor
From the chaotic race-track to the collision-prevention team: stop Australia’s rail network from breaking down by guiding a complex system of trains safely around the country. Drag, swipe and strategies the engines to their destinations in this weirdly compelling game. The future of public transport down under is in your hands!
Gaming isn’t just for soccer fans: Cricket T20 Fever HD lets you play international 20-20 cricket! Pitch one world-beating team against another in tournaments, as well as in ODI, T20 matches and Powerplay modes. Bat and bowl your way to stardom with your Asha 501!
Finally, we can’t forget Modern Combat 4, which, even though it’s just a demo, is well worth a test-drive. Nuclear war has left the world devastated, and now it’s the job of an elite military crew to stop a terrorist cell from killing the surviving world leaders. The USP here is that, just like in Need for Speed (above), you get to see things from the villain’s perspective. An action-packed game with very impressive graphics—and this sneak preview will show you how perfect your Asha 501 really is for mobile gamers.
Quite a bundle, eh? We think there’s something there for everybody, but we’d love to hear your opinion: which games are rocking your Asha 501 world?