Pocket Gamer 20th anniversary: 2007 - The iPhone's arrival gives us a glimpse at the future of mobile gaming
It had a screen you could touch!
Today, our trip down memory lane takes us to 2007. It was only the second year that Pocket Gamer had taken up its spot on the internet, and it proved to be an important one. Not only did some great stuff arrive on mobile, but it was also the launch of Apple's iPhone, promising touch screen controls rather than a dinky keypad and clunky buttons. While it didn’t immediately find its feet, it was certainly a look into the future.
But before we dig into all of that, it's always good to set the scene. To get our heads into the 2007 mindset by reminiscing about what else was going on culturally. In film, sequels dominated once again with Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End and Spider-Man 3 among the highest-grossing. It also saw the start of Michael Bay's awful Transformers movies, a rodent with culinary skills in Ratatouille, and Will Smith slapping zombie/vampire things rather than beloved comedians in I Am Legend.
In music, Linkin Park released Minutes to Midnight, while country icon Carrie Underwood put out Carnival Ride, and Avril Lavigne her third effort, The Best Damn Thing. They were all the best-selling albums. Personally, I was listening to Bloc Party’s A Weekend in the City and Yours Truly, Angry Mob by the Kaiser Chiefs. Neither of which I listen to much anymore. How tastes change with age, right? Oh, and shout out to Sawdust by The Killers, a B-sides and rarities compilation that's actually far better than anything post-Sam's Town.
On the console and PC gaming front, there was one massive standout for me: BioShock. We're 19 years on, and I still regularly revisit Rapture. It's one of my absolute favourites. That's hardly a rogue shout, of course. But it's beloved for a reason. 2007 also saw other classics release, such as Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Mass Effect, and The Orange Box, which included the delightful Portal. All great. They're not BioShock, though, are they?
And now that you're back in 2007, listening to What I've Done while moaning about noobtubers and screaming whenever Martyrdom caught you out on Call of Duty, let's check out what was going on in the mobile world. As I said at the top, the iPhone made its debut. Ultimately, this led to a huge shift with touchscreen controls taking over. However, it didn't take off immediately. The App Store wouldn't arrive until the following year, meaning Java-based games were afforded a little more time in the sun.
Urban Attack
Up first, we have Urban Attack. It's something you need to see in motion to truly appreciate. While certain screenshots make it appear as though it were designed in Microsoft Paint, there's actually a lot more visual flair going on than you might think. It had stellar presentation and grid-based shooting mechanics that effectively see you engaging in high-stakes whack-a-mole.SolaRola
LocoRoco fans, lean closer to the screen with intrigue. SolaRola wears that inspiration proudly on its sleeve. Well, it would if the little blob you control had any limbs. Anyway, it tasks you with rolling through squishy worlds that seem to twist and contort with every movement, challenging you to solve a series of puzzles and platforming sections.
Critter Crunch
Finally, we have Critter Crunch, a delightful offering with an absolutely beautiful art style. You play as Biggs, a fluffy little guy who possesses a long tongue that they use to create foodchains by tossing smaller creatures into the mouths of bigger ones. Doing so causes them burst, alongside any of their similarly coloured kin. It's essentially a matching puzzler with a touch more skill and a ton of personality.