Video games companion apps

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With smartphones being heavily used these days and the apps that are available on them, why not have games connected to our smartphones? The good news is, game developers have already started utilizing this. What type of app is this called? Let’s find out.

Companion App

You might be wondering what a companion app is. It’s simple, it basically is an app that acts as a second screen to a game, television or even tablet. There is a lot of potential for these kinds of apps because it can enhance videogames or at least make games easier to play.

Some things they might offer is customization of certain aspects of a game. If it is a racing game for example, you might be able to customize a car you have in the actual game with upgrades and different visual looks. A Call of Duty type game might allow you to customize weapons, and other games might allow you to find hidden things with an app. Not a lot of games utilize this, but some do and you can bet that more will be on the way.

Grand Theft Auto V Companion App

You better believe that Grand Theft Auto has an app to go along with the main game. It is called the IFruit app and it has multiple uses that you use it for with different aspects of the main game. You might be wondering why Rockstar called the app IFruit. Well within the game of Grand Theft Auto V, they kind of poke fun at the two biggest types of smartphones in real life which is Apple and Android. Within the game, instead of calling it the IPhone (Which is trademarked of course) it is called the IFruit and instead of Android it is called the Drone.

Grand Theft Auto V is the first game in the series to officially have different kinds of animals in the game and there is a decent range of them. There are cats and dogs and if you go out into the country side, you will see wild animals such as mountain lions, coyotes, and deer as examples.

As you start in the game, one of the 3 main characters in the game will have a dog. The character’s name is Franklin and the dog’s name is Chop which is a Rottweiler. You’ll see why you come into possession of the dog in the story, but Chop certainly does come in handy at times during the game.

One of the things the IFruit app will allow you to do is train the dog Chop. In the app, you have to keep Chop happy by doing different things. You have to feed him and give him water, you can play catch with him and teach him to do certain things such as sit, find things, and more. There are other activities in there that are quite interesting as well such as keeping other dogs away from Chop’s lady dog friend. Kind of funny actually, but not as easy as you think.

Chop from the IFruit app
Chop from the IFruit app

Again, the happier is Chop is in the app and the more you train him, the more responsive he will be in the actual game itself. Chop comes in very handy when you are exploring and people decide not to be nice to you. I also like the fact that Chop can ride with you in a vehicle. You can send him to find stuff nearby if there is anything. Sometimes he’ll find some useful stuff such as hidden items, health, weapons and ammo, or he’ll find nothing that is useful to you. If you have GTA 5 and you haven’t done anything with Chop yet (aside from the story), you should give it a shot with the app. You can download it via Google Play Store for Android phones and the App Store for Apple.

There are other things you can do with the app as well as you can such as doing some customizations to your vehicle via LS Customs, go to the Rockstar Store to check out what they have and buy things that might interest you there and even have access to some of the past Grand Theft Auto games. Definitely worth checking out.

Different areas of the IFruit app
Different areas of the IFruit app

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Watch Dogs Companion App

The open world game Watch Dogs has an app to go along with it as well, but it is certainly different from what is offered in the GTA V app. One of the biggest things touted in this game is the ability to hack and so the app does center around this as well.

You’re what’s called a ctOS Operative in the game which gives you direct access to Police Department in the game as well as other resources. You are then tasked with taking down other players in the game as you have these resources available to you. It is not as easy as you think as the other players do have the ability to hack into things making your task harder.

One interesting thing about this app is that you actually don’t need the game itself to use it. You do have to connect with others though who have the game and are playing at any given moment, but that usually isn’t a problem these days.

I for one have not spent a lot of time with this app as I’ve been playing others games instead, but will go back and certainly try and give it some more time. I do like the idea that you have hackers that you have to stop in order to keep law and order in the city of Chicago in the game.

More apps to come

As this newer generation starts to mature and more games come out, you can definitely bet that more and more developers will be utilizing today’s technology to enhance the experience of their games.

The Crew will have a companion app very soon that will allow you to tune your car, access the very large map, connect with friends and more. I’m sure the developers will have more surprises in store for the app once it is finally released.

If you have any of the games that I’ve mentioned above, definitely give those apps a try. I think it certainly comes in handy in the case of GTA V with Chop and customizing your car. These apps make the main game more accessible especially if you are away from your console and not able to play the main game. I like the idea of customizing my car in Grand Theft Auto thanks to the app if say I’m on vacation that way when I come back, I’m able to try out my new customized ride. These apps are usually free to download so they are easily accessible to try out.

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