There are so many awesome games for Android that trying to build a comprehensive best android games list isn’t practical. What I have put together is a list of great Android games across every genre. I’ve played and enjoyed every game on this list, and while I’m certain you will recognize a number of them, hopefully it also includes some that you haven’t tried yet…
Last month, Google announced that new Play Games users would get a player ID instead of having to make a Google+ account. Player IDs are now being rebranded as Gamer ID and will act as an in-game identity. As they are unique, Google recommends heading to the Play Games app now to claim yours.
Launched last November for iOS, The Room Three is now available on Android in the Play Store. The hit mystery game has users solving and unlocking puzzles in order to progress through a vast game world…
Virtual reality is cool, but augmented reality is more practical in day-to-day usage. Microsoft’s HoloLens and Magic Leap are currently the most well-known examples of AR. There are productivity use cases for it, but there are also many fun gaming applications. One developer made an app that turns an Android Wear watch when viewed through a camera into a game.
In the past, we’ve seen developers get Game Boy Advance games working on Android Wear watches. It’s not entirely practical for a number of reasons, but it’s still kind of fun and cool. There is now a Space Defender-esque game for Wear that was released as an Android Experiments app.
Update: The WSJ is reporting that Nintendo has denied the suggestion:
There is no truth to the report saying that we are planning to adopt Android for NX
Nintendo has been keeping quiet about its plans for its NX games console, due to launch next year, but a report in Nikkei claims that the system will run Android.
The report suggests Nintendo is planning the shift away from its own operating system as a means of bringing more games developers on board after the Wii U was left with almost no non-Nintendo titles available for it …
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New data from App Annie shows that revenue from apps downloaded via the Google Play store more than doubled between the first quarters of 2013 and 2014 – and that a staggering 98 percent of it comes from in-app purchases in apps that were free to download.
Games continue to dominate the charts, accounting for 40 percent of all downloads but 90 percent of revenues, up from 80 percent last year …
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Valve Software’s official Steam client for Android devices has been available in beta since last week. Today, the stable 1.0 version was released on Android Market. You will need a Steam account to use the app that lets you chat and participate in the Steam community from your phone or tablet, get heads-ups on discounts, browse profiles, access latest news and more. Note that the program does not enable mobile purchasing of Steam games nor does it facilitate gaming on the go.
Steam is a digital rights-managed distribution system for cross-platform delivery of games, but it also provides support for features such as multiplayer, automatic updates and in-game voice and video chat. The Android version of mobile Steam client arrived on the heels of last week’s release of a companion Steam app for Apple’s iPhone and iPod touch.
Who says Android can’t do quality games? That was true in the early days but today many high-end smartphones match, and some exceed, the graphical prowess of Apple’s iPhone 4. Look no further than Gameloft’s BackStab HD, a premium hack’n’slash action game that puts you in the shoes of Henry Blake, “a man whose life was stripped away and help in his quest for revenge”. Due to complex graphics and the inclusion of four big cities scattered around an 18th century Caribbean island, this Assassin’s Creed lookalike works only on supported Android smartphones listed on the game’s Android Market page:
HTC’s Desire HD (Ace), Desire S, Desire Z (G2, Vision), Evo Shift 4G, Incredible 2, Incredible S, Inspire 4G, MyTouch 4G, Thunderbolt 4G; LG’s P990 Optimus 2X (Star) and P999 (Star, G2x); Motorola’s Droid X; Samsung’s Nexus S, Nexus S 4G, GT-i9000 (Galaxy S, i9000M, i9000B, i9000T), SC-02B (Galaxy S), SCH-i400 (Continuum), SCH-i500 (Fascinate, Galaxy S), SCH-i500 (Fascinate, Galaxy S), SGH-T959 (Vibrant), SPH-D700 (Epic 4G) and Galaxy Tab models GT-P1000, SCH-i800, SGH-T849 and SPH-P100.
Check out nice in-game footage in the below clip.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUIvpBkMNWs]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMp3nPpZM-Y]
It ain’t a typo – the episode is in fact entitled Summer Pignic, not Picnic. It’s about smashing pigs after all. So kick back, relax and enjoy the trailer. The video doesn’t reveal much apart from hinting “One bird, one mission: Save the eggs from the green pigs” (but you already knew that if you were a fan of the Angry Birds series).
From release notes on YouTube:
Get Ready for Angry Birds Seasons – Summer Pignic! The pesky pigs never break for holidays, and it’s up to you to save the Angry Birds’ eggs!
Bonus: Did you notice a redesigned Home button in the trailer? Did Rovio just inadvertently leak an iPhone 5 redesign? Just kidding…
Cross-posted on 9to5Mac.com
According to All Things D, T-Mobile USA is partnering with games service WildTangent on Android game rentals costing 25 cents per day. The game service draws from WildTangent’s service for PCs which has 25 million active users. Due later this year, it will come preloaded on select Android device and support carrier billing. T-Mobile USA is even attended the E3 show in Los Angeles this week, a first-ever for the company, to promote the initiative.
The idea here is to try games before you buy them, similar to the Android Market’s 15-minute refund policy and Google’s try-before-you-buy system. If you later buy the game, the 25-cent charge is applied against your purchase. The system is designed around the WildCoins virtual currency costing between four to ten bucks a month. Purchased WildCoins can be then used to pay for game rentals and in-game micropayments.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L12sZP22UbI&w=670&h=411]
For all the talk about the graphical prowess of so-called supertablets coming later this year with Nvidia’s Tegra 3 chip inside, we’ll have to do for the time being with the old-fashioned Tegra 2 devices. That may not be such a bad deal, because Nvidia’s dual-core Tegra 2 is a capable piece of silicon that can produce some remarkable visuals.
TouchArcade pointed at Shadowgun, a Madfinger-produced game for Android devices that takes full advantage of the Tegra 2 chip, courtesy of the Unity engine. The video you see above shows console-quality graphics running natively on a Tegra 2-based Android tablet. And yes, Apple fans, it’s coming to the iPad/iPhone near you as well. Another in-game video follows below.
PopCap Games, the maker of the popular Plants vs. Zombies game, has announced a deal with Amazon that will see Android ports of their popular titles released on Amazon’s Appstore for Android. Today, Chuzzle launched on the retailer’s mobile bazaar. Popular Plants vs. Zombies will arrive later this month, per the official press release. The good news doesn’t stop here…
