Gameloft Classics For Android Relives 20 Years Of Mobile Gaming

It may have recently been overshadowed by higher-profile companies dipping their fingers into the smartphone gaming cookie jar but Gameloft's name has always been associated with gaming on phones back to a time when those phones weren't even smart. The France-based studio has, since then, branched out to other gaming platforms but its mobile legacy isn't something it can forget. In fact, to mark its 20th anniversary, it is releasing the Gameloft Classics collection to remind Android gamers just how far back that legacy goes.

When you talk about old school phone games, most will probably think of Nokia's iconic Snake game. That may indeed have been one of the first time sinks back in the old "feature phone" days but when the world moved on to slightly more powerful phones with colored screens, Gameloft was ready to jump on that new world with a plethora of titles.

Some of the games in the Gameloft Classics might not even sound familiar to today's mobile gamers but they were quite a hit back when phones didn't even have touch screens. That's why you shouldn't be surprised when J2ME (Java 2 Micro Edition) games like Motocross: Trial Extreme and Hero of Sparta show up with on-screen D-Pads and buttons.

There are also touch-based games that paved the way for some of Gameloft's long-running franchises. These include the likes of sci-fi shooter N.O.V.A., Hotline Miami-like Gangstar, and, of course, Modern Combat.

30 games make up this 20th anniversary Gameloft Classics collection and you can get all of them for free in a single swoop. Mobile gaming has definitely changed in the past two decades and Gameloft itself has been involved in not a few controversies and industry dramas. Here's to 20 more years of gaming, on mobile and everywhere.