GAMING LIFE

Retro gaming relived

Give a new lease of life to some of your favourite classic games.

Fancy taking a trip without ever leaving your sofa? We hear memory lane is lovely this time of year. No matter when your gaming journey started, we’ve all got our favourite classic must-plays; ones where the theme tune or loading screen are enough to transport you back to a simpler time.

These gaming memories needn’t live in the past. There are plenty of great App Store games ready to give you a hearty serving of nostalgia topped with an impressive modern twist.

Digital reinvention

You don’t get many games more retro than chess, but Really Bad Chess is the age-old board game, with a few modern tweaks thrown in. Because who doesn’t want eight queens on the board?

Knight to E5? OK, but which knight?

Here, you still have to capture your opponent’s king to win, but the distribution of pieces is different. It’s not just an untraditional set-up, it’s different between every round. Sure, trading in six of your pawns for an army of bishops might sound like an easy way to victory, but each mishmash of pieces comes with its own checkmate-seeking challenges.

Arcade nostalgia

Here you are, cruising through space, minding your own business when a giant horde of aliens appears in a cloud of bad tempers. Don’t worry, you’ve got blasters and years of experience of playing arcade favourite Galaga to lean on.

Destroying alien enemies, this is what you’ve been training for your whole gaming life.

Updating this classic, in Galaxy Attack: Alien Shooter you have to fight your way through wave after wave of alien invasion. The otherworldly opponents move in increasingly tricky patterns and have their own arsenal – and oversize motherships – ready to return your fire.

The longest run

Everyone’s favourite bright-blue hedgehog has got to be pretty tired by now. The little fella’s been running since 1991 and shows no sign of slowing down. His latest athletic adventure, Sonic Dash 2: Sonic Boom tasks you with guiding Sonic and his chums – including the much-loved Knuckles and Tails – through a variety of endless worlds.

Listen carefully, and you can hear the sound of Sonic-based nostalgia.

This isn’t your typical jog around the park. Sonic’s path is littered with all sorts of obstacles and dangers and it’s your job to swipe and guide him clear of bombs, drops, Badniks and booby traps. Oh, and don’t forget to collect those classic gold rings while you’re at it.

A grand tour

We can’t tell you how many hours we spent growing up, huddled round, facing off in increasingly heated races with our mates while playing Mario Kart. Sure, we might be all grown up now, but that doesn’t mean our karting days are over. Far from it.

Drift, drive and dodge; can you master the three-Ds of Mario Kart Tour?

Thanks to Mario Kart Tour you can race your way through classic and new Mario Kart tracks directly on your iPhone or iPad. You can even reignite some old rivalries with an online multiplayer mode. Just watch out for those pesky shells and banana skins.

Camp cute

Grab your tent, we’re off for an adventure. Fortunately, this camping experience doesn’t involve any rain-sodden hiking boots or communal toilets. Instead, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp does away with all the nasties and focuses on the niceties: this is glamping at its finest.

Explore and expand your campsite to make it as welcoming as possible to others.

To ensure your camp stands out from the crowd, craft your own furniture, unlock a whole host of decorations and discover all manner of seasonal and themed items.

Many varied visitors will come with their own requests. Fulfil these and not only will your campsite continue to evolve and grow, you’ll get a lovely warm feeling inside.