When comparing Minecraft - Pocket Edition vs BombSquad, the Slant community recommends BombSquad for most people. In the question“What are the best local multiplayer games on Android?” BombSquad is ranked 2nd while Minecraft - Pocket Edition is ranked 5th. The most important reason people chose BombSquad is:
BombSquad consists of a bomb-based multiplayer gameplay (somewhat similar to Bomberman) that is geared towards a party setting. Throwing bombs at your friends (who are in the same room or online) while you simultaneously try not to get blown up yourself makes for great fun, especially in large groups.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Completely new experience with each generated world keeps the game fresh
Each new world a player starts is randomly generated, making for a different experience every time a new world is started. There are 38 biomes - snowy, cold, medium/lush, dry/warm, and neutral biomes, each with numerous sub-biomes (such as mountainous, rivers, forested, swamp, beach and more). These biomes each have their own set of blocks and configurations, and each frozen river biome will be different from the next frozen fiver biome you see.
Pro Great freedom of expression thanks to the sandbox gameplay
In Minecraft you can really do whatever you want. If exploring different landscapes is your thing, creative mode lets you do that. Building castles or villages, or even sculptures, computers (complete with redstone logic), or unique builds can be done such as roller coasters or replicas of objects like the Enterprise from Star Trek.
For more combat focused gameplay, enter survivor mode and you can fight monsters, gather resources, craft weapons, build traps and farms and much more.
Pro Local multiplayer option for when there is no internet connection
Minecraft can be played with other people locally over Wi-Fi. This is great for those that have friends or family they would like to play with locally, or when there is no way to connect the device to the internet.
Pro Plenty of fun customizable skins for those interested in customizing their look
Minecraft for Android offers player skins, so users can customize their avatar's look. While some of the skins are free, there are others that cost money through in-app-purchases offered as skin packs. All skin packs are $0.99 a piece.
Pro Active development means plenty of new features and fixed bugs
There are updates to the game all the time, new features do get added at a good pace, which means that not only do bugs get fixed but that the game will constantly be growing as the platform grows with it, which allows more demanding features to be added with time.
Pro Plenty of expansive mods available if the core game gets too boring
Minecraft can be modded in order to bring extended functionality to the game. Using mods created by the community, users are able to theme the game to their liking, such as theming the game to look like Grand Theft Auto or adding extra crafting objects.
Pro Addictive gameplay makes the title difficult to put down
There is always one more thing that the player can get done before turning off the game. Building a structure and wanting to complete it - oh but you ran out of materials. Well you will therefore need to go down into the caves again. Oh you died in a cave and need to go back before your items disappear - better get down there again. And so it continues. There is always one more thing to do before you are "done", which is the underlying appeal of the game, never wanting to stop playing.
Pro Monika
This is cool!!
Pro Good controller and button mapping support allows the game to be easily played with many different controllers
For those who would like to play with a controller, support was added in July 2015. Anyone with a HID supported controller can easily connect through Bluetooth. They can then go into the games settings to map which buttons they want to use. This customizability means that you can now adjust the controller to your liking when using an HID controller.
Pro Do not log
Pro Fun party game mechanics makes this a great game to play at gatherings
BombSquad consists of a bomb-based multiplayer gameplay (somewhat similar to Bomberman) that is geared towards a party setting. Throwing bombs at your friends (who are in the same room or online) while you simultaneously try not to get blown up yourself makes for great fun, especially in large groups.
Pro Intuitive mechanics allows the game to be an easy title for anyone to pick up and play
The mechanics of the game are quite easy to understand. This way anyone to wants to try it out will not have to deal with hours spent learning the game. Great for a party with many players, or across multiple different platforms from home, since just about anyone can grasp the mechanics quickly.
Pro Good cross platform compatibility means you can play against anyone, no matter what platform they play on
BombSquad can be played cross platform on Android, iOS, PC, and Mac. This way no matter the platform the player prefers, they can still play with their friends.
Pro Large amount of game modes keeps the gameplay fresh
There are 12 online and local co-op missions in the game that allow for up to 4 players. There are also player modes (like tower defense or football), as well as a couple of PvP modes, such as free for all or versus. Sadly, the only single player modes are co-op modes played with an AI.
Pro Innovative and versatile control schemes allows for a wide selection of methods of controlling the game
BombSquad is one of the few games that has succeeded in innovating android gaming. You can set a tablet or an android TV as the screen, while using the remote app on your Android or iOS phone as the controller. They connect to each other via WiFi, which allows for responsive controls over wireless.
Pro Momentum based gameplay allows the player to utilize their movement to their advantage
During gameplay, players can utilize their momentum by hitting harder or throwing farther. So starting from one side of the screen and then reaching the other as you perform a throw or hit can give a lot more strength to their throws or hits.
Pro Immersive mode support allows the game to display in full while being played on an Android device with a software navigation bar (stock Android)
BombSquad has built-in immersive mode support for playing games in full screen on devices that have software navigation keys. This is done by the OS, hiding the navigation bar while playing the game, so it plays fullscreen.
Pro Heaven for modders
With some Python knowledge, making new gamemodes is very easy. With a little more work, you can totally flip the game on its head with new characters, powerups and maps.
Pro SHIELD games and K1 compatibility affords the game even better performance
Bombsquad is SHIELD games compatible and nVidia K1 optimized. This makes for a good game to test out the graphics capability of a Shield device or the Nexus 9, as the K1 offers 50% more detailed graphics.
Cons
Con Laggy multiplayer gameplay
Depending on the speed of your device and graphics quality, this game tends to lag and load slowly when using the multiplayer function.
Con Not as deep as other versions
Minecraft - Pocket Edition does not have as much content as other versions due to the app needing a limited size for mobile devices and their small storage. This means there is missing content in the mobile version over the PC or console versions. It is getting comparative better, but still is lacking due to the platform.
Con Not enough support for IOS
Con Not much fun when played alone
While this game has a single player campaign, playing alone isn't as much fun as the multiplayer. Single player mode tends to be extremely difficult, which does detract from the enjoyment of the gameplay. Also, being that the game is designed to be played in groups, to play against 3 other AI players in not as fun or as unpredictable as playing against human players.