Life is Crime Archives - SLee and Topher

Mobile games are fun, but if you’re like me, you don’t have a lot of time to play them at any given time. Fortunately, the game structure of the new hit Android app Life is Crime is serendipitously conducive to this pattern of gaming.

Like the Facebook game The Sims Social, you have limited resources in Life is Crime, specifically energy and stamina. Use up your resources, and you won’t be able to do very much until you get some more. Again, much like The Sims Social, you can buy more energy and stamina, or wait until they replenish on their own.

Thankfully, they do replenish. This means you can use them all up, put your Android device down, and come back for some more action a few hours later. By rationing your gaming in these mini-sessions, you can quickly make a name for yourself in the Life is Crime universe without dropping wads of cash on in-game purchases.

Here is a breakdown of SLee-style mini-sessions in Life is Crime.

Grab the Cash When Life is Crime Loads

Life is Crime loads you in your safe house, where you are greeted with a menu of some general stats. In the middle of the stats, there is an option to “Collect.” This is money you earn for controlling locations. Tap the button to get your money. After you get your money, accept any friend invites or gifts available, and then…

Hit the Streets

After tapping the large, obvious button, you are loaded in your “Gamefeed.” You can use this to see what your friends are doing or find people to fight, but there are more productive things to do in your mini-session in Life is Crime.

You can get more done by going to the Map. Pick a location close to you (the closer locations will use less energy, therefore maximizing your productivity) and see if there is anyone with a similar rank on the leader board at this location.

2 Reasons to fight someone with a similar rank:

If you fight someone with a higher rank, you will most likely be demolished.
If you fight someone with a much lower rank, your rep will take a temporary hit for picking on small fries.

When you find someone with a similar rank, tap on their name to see their stats. If your attack and defense are better than theirs, you can probably when a fight with them. Tap “fight” to be taken to the fight screen; then duke it out until you win.

In each round, a few things happen:

You burn one stamina point.
You (potentially) earn money.
You earn XP.
(If you fight with someone through the location menu instead of the friend stream) you earn points on the leader board for that location.

When you win the fight, you will earn extra money, XP, and location points. This is the fastest way to move quickly up the leader board.

No More Stamina? Start Using Energy

After you use up all your stamina, it’s time to start using your energy.

You can contact a dealer for a delivery of stolen goods or drugs. Drop these at the location to get more money and location points.

Use your remaining energy to steal, rob, or whatever other activity is available at your location for more money, XP, and location points.

When all your energy is used up, you won’t be able to do anymore money-making activities until your next mini-session. Before you’re done, you can head to the shop to see if there are any items that you can upgrade with your newly-earned money.

Come back a few hours later when your energy and stamina have recovered and repeat these steps. Using these mini-sessions in Life is Crime, you will quickly rise in the ranks of the criminal underworld.

Do you have any other tips? Leave a comment below.

If you are interested in making your own Android apps, you can get started quickly with Android Apps for Absolute Beginners through my referral link. Even if you don’t have any experience programming or making apps, this book will get you started in this growing market. Click here to get it on Amazon.

Hard-boiled Android-toting gamers are in for a treat with Life is Crime, a new, location-based massively multiplayer online (MMO) role-playing game (RPG).

The content and feel of Life is Crime is very similar to Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto series, particularly Chinatown Wars (which you can get through that referral link to Amazon for Nintendo DS or Sony PSP). After creating your own character, you are tasked with rising in the ranks of the organized crime world in your city.

Life is Crime is Location-Based

The novelty of Life is Crime is the integration of location-based technology. Using your phone’s GPS, Life is Crime notates your location and loads a map of where you are in real-time. The maps include various shops and businesses nearby where you can participate in various criminal activities.

If the information is available, the game will load the real-life names of the restaurants, bars, or businesses in your map. While some might oppose the similarities with reality, integrating this level of detail into the game creates an unprecedented link between your life in the real world and your activities in the game. In the Freudian sense, it’s uncanny.

Because of this connection with your location, the game evolves as you move in real life. The locations and activities available when you are playing at home will be different than the ones when you are at the office or a local coffee shop.

Life is Crime Uses Location for Multiplayer Interaction

Life is Crime is not the only massively multiplayer online (MMO) game by a long shot. It is, however, the first game that I’ve seen that handles multiplayer interaction depending upon each gamers location.

As more people start playing Life is Crime in your area, there is more competition among the various locations in your city with leaderboards and player-versus-player fighting. In Life is Crime, you aren’t playing against random people anywhere in the world; you are playing with and against people in your city or neighborhood, interacting with the same real-world locations.

Life is Crime is a free download through the Google Android Market. Start your criminal career today.

For more information, see the listing in the Android Market and the official Life is Crime site.

Use Mini-Sessions in Life is Crime to Maximize Progress