October games by vishal +Vishal Singh enjoy the games...
Eternity Warriors 4
Eternity Warriors 4 is the latest fantasy RPG in the popular Eternity Warriors series from developer Glu. It’s a fairly typical tale: you play as a warrior, a mage or an assassin travelling across the world completing quests and upgrading gear. What it lacks in originality though, it more than makes up for in style.
The graphics and animations are seriously good. The lighting effects and background textures make for a dramatic atmosphere, and the fast-paced action controls beautifully. You’ll carve up hordes of baddies in something that plays like God of War meets Diablo.
It’s clearly been developed by a team of experts at the top of their game: the production values are as high as can be found on any title in the Play Store. From player-vs-player battles to guilds that you can join in order to quest with others, and weekly events offering unique rewards and gear, Eternity Warriors 4 has a lot to offer for a free Android title.
Lara Croft GO
Following the success of last year's Hitman GO, Square Enix has given the Tomb Raider franchise the same treatment. Lara Croft GO is set within the Tomb Raider world, but it doesn’t exactly play like a Tomb Raider title: it's turn-based and focuses on puzzles rather than action.
But somehow, it works. There are 75 inventive puzzles across five chapters, the cel-shaded aesthetics are wonderful and the game is a decent length. It does feature in-app purchases, but they're cheap and not essential. It’s well worth a look for five bucks and if you don’t like it, you can get a refund.
Star Wars: Uprising
Star Wars is a Sci-Fi fantasy… just kidding, you already know what Star Wars is. Star Wars: Uprising is a recently released mobile game that bridges the gap between Episode VI and the upcoming Episode VII.
Not only do you get to play out the story ahead of the Episode VII movie release in December, you get to do it in an awesome action game with co-op gameplay. Complete quests, level up your character, learn new Jedi abilities and battle against the Galactic Empire in this free-to-play RPG. If you want to start getting excited for the new movie, this is one of the best ways to do it.
September
Dungeon Boss
Dungeon Boss is a fierce little dungeon crawler in which battles take place in a turn-based fashion. You must fight your way through a number of lesser foes to meet the dungeon boss at the end of each stage. Defeat the end-of-level beast and you'll receive a trove of gold and gems to buy various items and upgrade with.
It looks and plays in a similar way to Double Fine’s Costume Quest. The blocky art style, 3D graphics and game environments may seem cutesy, but the later levels of the game get extremely difficult. You’ll to need a pretty decent phone for it to run smoothly, though.
UNKILLED
MADFINGER Games, the folks behind Dead Trigger 1 and Dead Trigger 2, have now released Dea… er, UNKILLED, a new and completely different kind of first-person zombie shooter. In it, you blast your way through New York City streets during the onset of a zombie apocalypse, using the left side of the screen for movement and the right side for aim.
Because your weapon fires automatically once something is in your sights, the controls of the game feel incredibly smooth. There’s a cheesy storyline to follow, but the real fun is in blasting through undead hordes with extras like rockets and 'bullet-time' buffs. If you want to see what the latest tech is capable of, you need to check this game out.
Pokemon Shuffle
Pokémon Shuffle is a free-to-play puzzle game developed by The Pokémon Company (the same guys responsible for the Pokemon RPGs on the Game Boy) and is the first Pokémon game to be released on Android outside of Japan.
It's a match-three game in the same vein as Candy Crush Saga, but each stage plays out as a battle with a Pokémon. If you complete the level, you'll have a chance to catch the Pokémon you faced. Your chances of catching them will be better or worse depending on how you performed in the battle.
If you finished the stage with three moves left, for example, these will be converted to points and added to your score, increasing your chances of snagging the Pokémon. It’s a neat idea because it encourages you to play smarter and be more strategic.
August
Card Crawl
Card Crawl is a fantasy-themed card game with cel-shaded graphics. You are dealt a hand of cards depicting weapons, potions, coins and monsters, which represent a dungeon for you to make your way through. Your quest is to remove all 52 cards from your AI opponent's deck, by using your cards to fight enemies or equip your character with weapons.
There's some interesting strategy involved in Card Crawl – you have to really think about how you choose which cards to play and which to leave on the table. Should you try to slay that spider in this round and lose some health, or wait until more cards are dealt to see if you can pick up a better weapon? It’s a clever turn-based title, and it’s free to play with the option of unlocking all the features for a one-off payment of three bucks.
LEGO Batman: Beyond Gotham
LEGO has turned a number of franchises into third-person action games over the years, including Star Wars, Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings. LEGO Batman: Beyond Gotham was released on consoles late last year, but has only recently hit the Play Store – and it's great.
You battle and build your way through the DC universe, solving puzzles and changing costumes to give yourself different powers. It’s a fairly straightforward game, but the presentation, story and sense of humor will keep you coming back for more. LEGO Batman: Beyond Gotham costs US$4.99 at the Play Store and includes in-app purchases.
The Path to Luma
A genuinely good free game with no in-app purchases? Yes, that's what The Path to Luma is. This puzzle game is set on a series of small, rotatable planets. You guide SAM, the Sustainability Augmentation Model, as it wanders across each planet's surface, completing tasks to provide energy to the world.
A game about sustainable energy may sound a bit worthy, but The Path to Luma has a beautifully evocative color palette and design, and you really feel like you are bringing the planets to life through your actions. It’s not a long game, as it only has 20 levels, but it's certainly worth a play-through. Check it out in the Play Store via the link below.
July 2015
Tiki Taka Soccer
There have been a few football games for Android that have tried to recreate that Sensible Soccer style, but this is the best attempt yet. Tika Taka Soccer is far more than just a throwback however, as the gameplay is wonderfully adapted to the touchscreen.
Play flowing one-touch football, score long-range screamers and even manage a team in this unique and brilliantly playable mobile homage to the beautiful game.
Nubs' Adventure
Great-looking pixellated games are all the rage these days, and Nubs' Adventure is the latest to jump on the bandwagon. In this 2D platformer, you control Nubs, who is on a quest to rebuild his house after it was destroyed by the Reds. There are four worlds to go through, and levels weave and intertwine in that satisfying 'Metroidvania' way. There are some great boss set-pieces, and the puzzles will have you racking your brains while never leaving you frustrated.
Hitman: Sniper
The legendary anti-hero, Hitman 47, makes his second appearance on Android. This time, 47 features in a Gun Gallery sniping game reminiscent of the Hitman Sniper Challenge that came out on consoles a few years ago. Set in Montenegro, Sniper assigns you to kill targets across 150 missions. You can either shoot targets directly, or imaginatively use the environment to make them look like accidents. As you carry out the satisfyingly violent hits, you unlock weapon parts and blueprints to improve your arsenal.
Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions
The second Square Enix game to look out for this month is Final Fantasy Tactics, which is a faithful recreation of the 2007 PSP version (itself is an enhanced version of the PS One classic). Tactics switches up the Final Fantasy formula by giving you a rotating squad of characters to use, letting you use terrain to your advantage, and carrying out battles on a square-based battlefield. It's been neatly ported to Android, and is well tailored to touch-screen controls.
Siegefall
No Android games list would be complete without a few Gameloft entries, and Siegefall is the latest strategy game from the prolific Android developer. Build up a fantasy army and take on millions of other players as you seek to make your kingdom supreme. You also need to build up your defences using traps, barricades and towers, because other players want to take you out as much as you do them. Siegefall may be yet another build-and-destroy game, but it's a very good one.
June 2015
Desktop Dungeons
Rogue-likes are very en vogue these days (or rather en rogue, right?), and Desktop Dungeons jumps in on that trend. Despite being a PC port with a name that doesn't sound conducive to it being playable on a touchscreen, the fast nature and relatively small dungeon sizes of this game make it perfect for your Android tablet. Spellcast and slash your way through procedurally-generated dungeons, and defeat bosses to unlock new characters and items. It sounds great too, with music from Danny Baranowsky (Super Meat Boy) and Grant Kirkhope (Goldeneye 64).
Chaos Rings III
Easily the greatest RPG saga designed specifically for smartphones and tablets, the latest entry in Square Enix's fantasy JRPG series makes some big changes in the interface and graphics departments. It's a lot more vibrant and colorful than previous games in the series, and sees you forming a party of teenage heroes to head out into the world and hunt imaginatively-designed monsters. It's one of the deepest, most rewarding, and most expensive games on Android, demonstrating that the mobile platform is capable of more long-term 'hardcore' gaming.
Earn to Die 2
The sequel to the hit driving-zombie-platformer has arrived. In this game, you drive a vehicle - modded to the max with murderous weaponry - across apocalyptic 2D platformer levels, trying to take out as many zombies as possible. There are now ten vehicles to choose from, ranging from sports cars to the classic ice cream van of death, and the story mode has been extended. Whereas the original game took place mostly in desert, this sequel takes you through urban landscapes like factories, highways and subway tunnels.
Kung Fury: Street Rage
This game tie-in to what could be the best worst movie of the year is a hilarious throwback to street-fighting games like Double Dragon and Streets of Rage. You control maverick Kung Fu cop Kung Fury as he battles his way through time in an attempt to stop the Nazis and Hitler (a.k.a Kung Fuhrer). Everything from the 'box art' in the Play Store, to the music, to the CRT filter over the game oozes 80s goodness,and the fast-paced two-button combat is hopelessly addictive.
Bird Climb
Why is it that games infinitely better than Flappy Bird that are in the same genre insist on having their names closely associated with that game? That's the case with Bird Climb, which is a nicely presented one-touch infinity runner (or flapper) where you move on a vertical rather than horizontal plane. In this game, you can bounce the eponymous bird off walls so long as you avoid the jagged bits, and can even play it multiplayer with a friend. Can games like this stop revolving around birds though, so we can sooner forget about the irritatingly popular Flappy Bird?
May 2015
Does not Commute
Every now and then, a game comes along to the Play Store that just screams for smartphones to be taken seriously as a gaming platform. The offbeat and beautiful driving game Does not Commute is such a game. You drive various cars on missions around a 70s (meets futuristic) town, interacting with the town’s strange residents. You’ll control bikes, hot dog vans and speedboats as your initially relaxing missions descend into vehicular chaos.
Adventures of Poco Eco
Artsy and musical, Adventures of Poco Eco is a charming 3D(ish) platformer in which you control the titular Poco in his quest to recover their lost ‘Sounds’. It looks and sounds amazing, and buying the game for 1.99 USD also gives you access to the LP from its music producer Iamyank. While the puzzles aren’t too complex, it’s a perfect, relaxing game to wind down with after a hard day’s work.
Lara Croft: Relic Run
Mere weeks after the original Tomb Raider was released in the Play Store, Square Enix have gone and put Lara Croft in a game that’s probably much more accessible to the average smartphone gamer. Relic Run is, simply put, Temple Run starring Lara Croft. The game looks fantastic, complimenting the twitchy-fast endless-running gameplay that works so well on handheld devices. It’s not just a matter of ducking, jumping, and parkouring either, as you’ll encounter classic bosses and even ride the occasional vehicle.
Football Manager Classic 2015
SI Games has listened to the tablet owners crying out for a full, deep version of the world’s most popular football management sim. Unlike Football Manager Handheld, this isn’t some quick-fix game you can play during a toilet break, but a true replication of the PC version - with a 3D match engine, proper transfer system, and all the other micromanagement you’d expect from Football Manager. Finally, the management sim Android has been waiting for.Download it here.
Mortal Kombat X
Dismemberment, beheadings and bone-breaking. These are just some of the lovely things you’ll be doing in the Android version of the latest super-gory fighting game in the legendary franchise. ‘X’ features several new characters, as well as old favorites Scorpion, Johnny Cage, Sonya, Sub-Zero et al. The game is adapted for Android, so the gameplay is largely about timing your swipes to execute complex combos and, of course, fatalities. Some may be put off by the ultra-violence, but others will find it bloody brilliant (we went there!).
What are your favorite games from recent times? Let us know in the comments.
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