Space Miner - GameClub

I skipped this game a number of times in my search for good space games. Thought it might be to arcade style, and a kids game until I decided to give it a look. This little gem is easy to figure out. The developers use a lot of humor as your crazy uncle sends you out on various missions and to destroy space robots. And mine lots of ore to make money to save the family business. Mining isn’t tedious like most space games, plus this game has Lots of different missions from different sources other than mining. Controls are perfect, and the game is much deeper than it appears. All that money you make from mining actually can be used to upgrade your old clunker ship into something powerful, and new. Give it a try!

I played this game for the first time many years ago, during what you make call the “Do you have any games on your phone?” phase. I might not have realized it back then, but I now see the amazing game that these guys created. Depending on how you count, I have played though this game 3 or 4 times at this point, and have enjoyed it every time. Despite its simple nature, (shoot asteroids, shoot robots, upgrade, repeat), this game is consistent fun and always calls me back. With the update to platinum edition, the amazing original had been improved even more, with greater length, proper scaling on larger screens, (at least the iPhone SE size), and more robust performance. The story, while simple, is well written and contains humorous characters that can lead to some genuinely entertaining and funny interactions. Simply put, despite its repetitive nature, this game is unending fun, well polished, and shows how developers can create and support truly great games without fancy graphics and constant advertisement. The best game on the App Store. Period.

I first played this years ago on my 3GS. I remember it being good. I recently upgraded to a 7 plus and reinstalled this game. There was a massive upgrade since I played years ago and the campaign is now about a third longer. Roughly 4 hours on easy. There is also a new game+ mode and a few difficulty levels. And achievements (not just the Game Center kind). And a hilarious well written story. The list goes on. Simply put, skip all the games with micro transactions or constant ads and play a real video game.