Playing Mobile Games is my new favourite thing to do… on my Gaming PC

If I had to categorise myself as a gamer, I would say without a moment’s hesitation that I am, almost exclusively, a console gamer. Despite having all of the major consoles, handhelds and a perfectly adequate gaming PC, 99.9% of my gaming is done sat on the sofa via my Xbox One or PS4.

While I occasionally delve into the realm of handheld gaming via my PS Vita and Nintendo 3DS, PC and mobile are mostly absent from my gaming life. Although I am fully aware of what it is that people appreciate about these platforms, I have never felt the need to fully explore them myself. That is until very recently.

Over the past few years, I have diverted most of my tech-related purchases into the Microsoft camp, mostly due to my digital content – films and the like – being within the Microsoft infrastructure. In the last two years this has resulted in me possessing a number of Microsoft products such as Lumia phones, Windows 10 computers and the Microsoft Band.

As most people will know, Microsoft’s current obsession is Windows 10 integration; their phones use it, their tablets use it, their PC’s use it, heck, their office toaster probably uses it. While this has led to a lot of nagging on Microsoft’s behalf to upgrade all of your devices, I actually quite like the whole setup. Knowing my PC can link to my phone, which can link to my Xbox is not only extremely useful but also pretty cool. But what I had not expected was that one feature would stand out to me as a gamer (aside from the excellent Xbox integration on PC). Windows 10’s requirement for synchronisation means that Microsoft are enforcing that all apps built for Windows 10 must work across all platforms. This ensures that Windows 10 as a multiplatform tool is the best it can possibly be across all devices, whether it be PC, phones or even the augmented reality device, Hololens.

With multi platform functionality being a requirement, content from the mobile store has made its way over to PC, bringing with it a huge library of games that are quick to install, don’t take up much room on your PC and, very often, are free. With this discovery, I found a new way to tackle both PC and mobile gaming simultaneously and, surprisingly, I found one of my new favourite ways to play.

My love affair with PC-Mobile gaming began with a game called Modern Combat 5: Blackout, a Modern Warfare clone developed by Gameloft. Downloaded out of curiosity, I sat down initially for a brief session but quickly became hooked.

Mobile games are designed to be accessible; someone on the bus doesn’t have time to read long boring tutorials or to learn the intricacies of a complex control scheme. As a below-average FPS player, this simplicity was a breath of fresh air. Missions are brief, ranging from 5 minutes to an almost ridiculously short 20 seconds, allowing for brief play sessions rather than feeling like I had to force myself forward to the next checkpoint.

Designed for touch controls – even though I played using a mouse and keyboard – the action is slower and enemies are fewer in number, meaning I could easily take my time. Headshots are easier to line up, making me feel consistently more awesome than I was probably entitled to be. For someone who is fairly terrible at both PC games in general and even-more-so at shooters, it was a perfect introduction to the genre and the platform.

The game also offers a surprising amount of depth, going against my preconceived notions of what a mobile game might be. There is a full campaign, which I have completed, as well as a number of optional side missions but the most unexpected addition was a fully functioning online multiplayer mode. As someone who rarely frequents online multiplayer shooters on consoles for fear of being obliterated, the online multiplayer offered a perfect gateway carrying over the accessibility of the main game while presenting you with everything you’d expect from your standard multiplayer shooter: a range of modes and maps, very quick matchmaking, ranked battles, player progression and a host of character and weapon customisation options.

The few days I spent with Modern Combat 5: Blackout were an absolute treat and playing it has encouraged me to explore the store for mobile games of other genres. Not only do these games provide a non-PC gamer, like myself, a means of introduction to the platform – even if it is through mobile games – it has also given me an affordable, accessible and surprisingly fun way to do so.