Mobile games on cell phones are becoming increasingly popular. Some are good, some are bad, and almost everyone plays them. Here are three of some of the newest popular apps on the market. It should be noted that some of these games can only be bought on an iPhone, so Android users are out of luck.

Drop Wizard

This first game is an 8-bit platformer. It is reminiscent of the arcade games of the past, when they had to use challenging gameplay instead of incredible graphics and story. The gameplay sounds easy; drop down from the bottom of the screen to the top, which causes you to shoot a magic star that stuns enemies so you can then attack them; sounds easy, right? But in fact, the game is quite challenging, sometimes annoyingly so, yet still it keeps you coming back to play more. The platforms and enemies become harder and require planning and quick reflexes, even though the only control is to tap the screen. Drop Wizard is a fun and challenging platformer that encourages you to do your best to take out enemies in one fell swoop, for only $1.99.

“This game is the bomb.com!” said sophomore Will Ladd.

Gunbrick

The next app game is… a strange one. In Gunbrick, you are a small duck-person-thing who has recently purchased a cube vehicle of destruction. In this 2D puzzle platformer/shooter, you think and shoot your way across this colorful, blocky duck world for no apparent reason other than having fun. Mind-boggling puzzles that provide a difficult challenge mix with the strange enjoyment of blasting or crushing random duck people and hostile cubes that get in your way. The controls are simple, with a flick to make the cube move and a tap to fire your cannon. All in all, the game is a fun one, one of the best platformers I’ve played in a while; worth the $2.99 it costs.

“Interesting. Can definitely keep me occupied during long waits,” said sophomore Nick Jordan.

Space Marshalls

The final game on our list is different from the last two; its a 3D shooter called “Space Marshalls”. You play as ex-Space Marshall Burton, pardoned of his crimes after the prison ship he was aboard was attacked by an infamous bandit. Now, you shoot your way through waves of space cowboys as you hunt down the escaped bandits across a dusty planet. The gameplay is fun yet not without a challenge, proving difficult if you just blast straight to the enemy. This game does have some serious downsides, with iffy controls and annoying glitches, but it does have good graphics for an app game. The game is $4.99, a reasonable price for the kind of mobile game it is.

“I like the mechanics, playability and overall feel of the game,” said sophomore Gavin Smith.