It seems that the older I get, the less I like video games. There was a time (a long time ago) when I could entertain myself for hours (or days) with a stack of quarters in any arcade nearby. In the 80’s and 90’s I wasted countless hours playing Myth and Myth II on my Mac or Rock Band on my son’s Xbox.
But, around the turn of the century, I realized that clicking, typing, and furiously cursing alone in a dark room wasn’t the best use of my time. And so, over the past two decades, I have devoted very little time and energy to gaming on any platform.
Selfless in 2019
So when Apple launched its Apple Arcade video game subscription service in 2019, I didn’t want to pay $ 4.99 for video games, so I ignored it. But, when Apple introduced its Apple One offering last month with up to six Apple services (Apple Music, Apple TV +, Apple Arcade, Apple News +, Apple Fitness, and iCloud) for a low price, I signed up immediately. .
Better than I expected in 2021
So since I now have a free Arcade subscription, I watch Arcade games and enjoy them more than I thought I would.
I really like that a lot (if not most) of the games are available on all of my devices. For example, I can start playing a game on my iPhone, then pick up where I left off on my Mac, AppleTV, or iPad. It’s pretty cool.
I also enjoyed playing games on my AppleTV using a bluetooth game controller with two gamepads and multiple buttons, triggers, and keyboards. You can use some Xbox and PlayStation controllers, but since I don’t have either, I bought a GameSir T4 Pro wireless game controller for $ 35.99 from Amazon.com, which works great. .
My $ 35 GameSir T4 Pro game controller.
Finally, I love that iOS 14 creates an Arcade folder in its app library, which makes it easier to find Arcade games that I have downloaded on my iPhone (28 so far).
The Arcade folder in my iPhone’s application library.
To browse Arcade offerings (over 100 games with new titles added almost every week), open the App Store on your iDevice, Mac or AppleTV and select the Arcade tab.
Games worth playing more than once
Here are some of the games that I liked enough to play more than once:
Zombie Rollerz: Pinball Heroes is a wacky combination of classic pinball games and tower defense.Warp Drive – Teleport Racing is a racing car game with a new twist: find a shortcut or a hidden route, and you can teleport instantly to another part of the track .Marble It Up: Mayhem is a beautiful marble maze game with camera control and great physics.
Marble It Up: Mayhem is beautiful and fun to play.
What is golf? is a wacky take on miniature golf.
What golf is fun for all ages.
One more thing: Apple is offering three free months of Arcade for a limited time when you buy a new iPhone, iPad, Mac, iPod touch, or Apple TV. So why not visit Apple.com and start your one month (or three month) free trial today?
–
