The Best Android Games Feb 2014
With some of the best Android phones on the year - such as the Samsung Galaxy S4, HTC One and the Google Nexus 5 and upcoming Galaxy s5, New HTC One 2 packing some serious processing firepower, and a whole new range of exciting Android console hardware's like OUYA developers are scrambling for your download dollar.
Once you've got your fill of great games, make sure you check out our Best Android Games feature, with the best free and paid for titles from Google Play.
RYMDKAPSEL
Rymdkapsel is a space-age strategy game set in a bizarre, pixel-perfect world. You control several white rectangles as they gather resources, build food stores, research mysterious monoliths, and fire lasers at intruders.
Play store Download Link
SUPER STICKMAN GOLF 2
Master the fairway again in 20 new courses, complete with moving obstacles and customizable characters you can outfit with your favorite fedora. Super Stickman Golf 2 reinvents its popular predecessor, challenging you to play solo or with friends and become the next golf legend.
Play store Download Link
DOTS
Dots is a simple yet addictive puzzle game. There are two modes available; the original sees you race against the clock to connect as many same-colored dots as you can in 60 seconds, while the second restricts the number of moves you can make. In both, the dots you connect become yours to spend on power-ups that you can use to help you catch even more dots.
Play store Download Link
PLANTS VS. ZOMBIES 2
Crazy Dave is back with more flowers and more undead creatures to destroy in Plants vs. Zombies 2. Position your plants strategically across the game board to stop the legion of zombies coming to take over your home. This sequel's got new plants, new Finger Powers, new challenges to keep you on your toes, and of course, more zombies than you can handle.
Play store Download Link
A RIDE INTO THE MOUNTAINS
A Ride Into the Mountains has you touching and sliding to shoot foes with arrows, all the while switching from 2D side-scrolling views to top-down 2D on different levels. A Ride gives you something new to discover at every turn.
Play store Download Link
DEAD TRIGGER 2
Dead Trigger 2 is one of those games that shows you just how far mobile gaming has moved forward over the past few years. It's a zombie first-person shooter with gorgeous graphics and a more-than-passable control scheme, and it's free! The only downside? There are a lot of very expensive in-app purchases, and you'll find progressing through the latter stages very hard without spending some real-world cash.
Play store Download Link
SUPER HEXAGON
In Super Hexagon you play as a triangle, rotating your way around a pulsating hexagon to thwart obstacles rapidly flying toward you. It's almost unfairly hard to stay alive for the 60 seconds required to unlock harder difficulty levels, but you won’t stop trying.
Play store Download Link
SONIC CD
Use Little Planet's power to travel back in time and destroy Dr. Eggman's machines, which have a hold on the future. Sonic CD immerses you in the classic world of Sonic, complete with US and Japanese soundtracks, and has you on a mission to find the missing Time Stones and put an end to Dr. Eggman's madness. Will you be able to save the future by altering the past?
Play store Download Link
ANGRY BIRDS STAR WARS
Angry Birds Star Wars pits the Rebel birds against the Empire’s evil Pigtroopers in a fight to save the galaxy. With more than 200 levels, all the lightsabers, blasters, and Jedi powers you could ever want, and hidden bonuses, you’ll easily get sucked into battling the Imperial Pigs and destroying Darth Vader.
Play store Download Link
PUNCH QUEST
Punch Quest gets all of your anger out while you tap your thumbs. The arcade-style fighting game has you jabbing, slamming, uppercutting, and otherwise destroying everything in your path. Walls, monsters, and pottery are no match for your customizable character, especially when you have Supermoves and an array of fancy hats at your disposal.
Play store Download Link
KINGDOM RUSH FRONTIERS
Don't let the cute graphics mislead you — there's a serious game hidden behind these hand-drawn sprites. Accessible yet deep gameplay, unique tactical elements, and perhaps the perfect difficulty curve await you in Kingdom Rush Frontiers.
Play store Download Link
TRIAL XTREME 3
In Trial Xtreme 3, customize your rider and bike, choose one of the 112 courses, and race your friends to prove your supremacy. Tilt your way to victory, or switch to button controls for even more accuracy.
Play store Download Link
VECTOR
Taking influence from the urban-ninja sport parkour, the arcade-style game Vector has you as a free runner trying to flee a totalitarian world by sliding, climbing, and running away from The Man. Conquer all 20 levels of rooftop adventure only by using the 100 parkour moves at your disposal.
Play store Download Link
MINECRAFT: POCKET EDITION
Minecraft: Pocket Edition puts those little cubes you love in your hands at any time. While some hardcore Minecrafters might find Pocket Edition's limitations a drag, the game does a good job of harnessing Minecraft's essence on the go.
Play store Download Link
REAL RACING 3
Challenge your friends and compete in more than 1,000 eliminations, challenges, and drag races in Real Racing 3 with over 50 detailed cars from makers like Porsche, Lamborghini, and Bugatti. It’s got stunning graphics, but it’s not a small game — you’ll have to allot at least 1.2GB.
Play store Download Link
Contre Jour
Contre Jour is a polished, classy, innovative puzzler with an absolutely sublime soundtrack. Seriously, take a listen. The gameplay is a really interesting mix of elements that you might find in World of Goo, Cut the Rope, and Portal. Players have to use various elements to move a tiny cycloptic blob creature around to gather up blue orbs scattered around the level without falling prey to pits, spikes, and other dangers. The art style is both dark and cute, and will leave a definite lasting impression.
Contre Jour offers a good mix of thoughtful and reflex-driven gameplay in a truly unique package.
Play store Download Link
Fruit Ninja
There’s an indescribable sense of satisfaction from slicing open juicy fruit with ninja-like precision - a satisfaction that has stood the test of time and remains highly accessible. Halfbrick has remained extremely diligent in keeping their original fruit-cutting game up-to-date with new content. Yes, in-app purchases have been implemented for certain power ups, but the starfruit you earn through normal gameplay can be also used to buy these bomb deflectors, bonus fruit, and new blades. There are plenty of achievements to earn over time, too. If playing on a bigger screen, there's even an option for local multiplayer.
Play store Download Link
Ingress
Ingress is a location-based game made by Google’s Niantic Labs, and odds are if you’re a hardcore Android fan, you’ve at least tried it out. Players take one of two sides in an attempt to take command of real-world landmarks using an Android app, and connect them with other landmarks in order to claim large swathes of territory. Players gain resources over time, so long as they can hold onto these landmarks against the attacks of the other side. The premise is that there's a whole other world invisible to the human eye, full of an alien resource called XM. The Enlightened are trying to use the resource as a means of reaching the alien race and entering a golden age of technology through them, while the Resistance is a little less optimistic about the situation, and is trying to defend the resource. We like to think of Ingress as competitive geocaching with a sci-fi twist.
If you’re looking for an excuse to explore your town, or somewhere you’re visiting, Ingress is a great way to do it. Beyond that, Ingress is really setting the bar for location-based gaming in the future.
Play store Download Link
Spaceteam
Spaceteam is a decidedly unique local multiplayer game. Players gather together with their various Android devices and connect over either Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. They’re then presented with ridiculously-labeled spaceship consoles, with all manner of sliders, knobs, switches, and buttons. Each player then has a message flashing telling them which control needs to be tweaked in order to save their ship from exploding. The thing is, that control could be on anybody’s device, so what ends up happening is everybody starts barking ludicrous orders at one another with straight-faced urgency. Random events can have players in a panic trying to wipe goop off their controls or re-attaching broken panels while going through these frenzied episodes.
Spaceteam will be one of the most fun party games you play, and thanks to cross-platform compatibility with iOS, everybody can get in on the fun.
Play store Download Link
Splice
Splice is an absolutely beautiful puzzle game with an amazing soundtrack. You get to play god by moving branches of cells into target formations in as few moves as possible. Each cell can only branch off two other cells, though you can drag any cell you want to another, and move forward and backwards in your move sequence with a simple gesture. Things get complicated when you’re presented with cells that shoot out another one after it, split into two, or delete all other cells further down the branch. You have to use all of those, and you can’t have too many or too few cells to make the blueprint.
Splice is a meditative and polished experience. The soundtrack alone is likely to keep you playing for awhile.
Play store Download Link
Star Command
Star Command is a sci-fi strategy game with a retro pixel art style. Players take command of a spaceship that vaguely looks like it could have been pulled out of a Star Trek movie, and recruit a crew, upgrade facilities, and embark on intergalactic adventures that usually end in a firefights with grotesque aliens. Battles take place between ships with different mini-games for each weapon system, or against boarding parties, where you need to move crew members into position, put out fires, and make sure your people don’t get sucked out into the cold void of space when there’s a hull breach. Over time, your crew increases in skills, enabling them to man the ship’s various stations with increasing effectiveness.
If you’re looking for a fun, light-hearted single-player experience with great writing and a lot of long-term progression, Star Command is where it’s at.
Play store Download Link
Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery
Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery is an odd mix of old and new in a number of ways. In terms of mechanics, it’s a point-and-click adventure game with the occasional reflex-driven mini-game thrown in. This is a fairly old genre that hasn’t seen a lot of traction on consoles, nevermind the latest mobile devices. The graphics consist of chunky, stylized pixel art in an age when 3D reigns supreme. The classic fantasy setting is contrasted by modern character language and an overarching pseudo-scientific meta-narrative. Aside from that the game is doing some pretty neat stuff associated with real-world lunar cycles. Optional in-app purchases give you new ship controls and crew outfits.
If you’re looking for something new and different, Sword & Sworcery is definitely a good place to start.
Play store Download Link
Once you've got your fill of great games, make sure you check out our Best Android Games feature, with the best free and paid for titles from Google Play.
The Best Android Games
RYMDKAPSEL
Rymdkapsel is a space-age strategy game set in a bizarre, pixel-perfect world. You control several white rectangles as they gather resources, build food stores, research mysterious monoliths, and fire lasers at intruders.
Play store Download Link
SUPER STICKMAN GOLF 2
Master the fairway again in 20 new courses, complete with moving obstacles and customizable characters you can outfit with your favorite fedora. Super Stickman Golf 2 reinvents its popular predecessor, challenging you to play solo or with friends and become the next golf legend.
Play store Download Link
DOTS
Dots is a simple yet addictive puzzle game. There are two modes available; the original sees you race against the clock to connect as many same-colored dots as you can in 60 seconds, while the second restricts the number of moves you can make. In both, the dots you connect become yours to spend on power-ups that you can use to help you catch even more dots.
Play store Download Link
PLANTS VS. ZOMBIES 2
Crazy Dave is back with more flowers and more undead creatures to destroy in Plants vs. Zombies 2. Position your plants strategically across the game board to stop the legion of zombies coming to take over your home. This sequel's got new plants, new Finger Powers, new challenges to keep you on your toes, and of course, more zombies than you can handle.
Play store Download Link
A RIDE INTO THE MOUNTAINS
A Ride Into the Mountains has you touching and sliding to shoot foes with arrows, all the while switching from 2D side-scrolling views to top-down 2D on different levels. A Ride gives you something new to discover at every turn.
Play store Download Link
DEAD TRIGGER 2
Dead Trigger 2 is one of those games that shows you just how far mobile gaming has moved forward over the past few years. It's a zombie first-person shooter with gorgeous graphics and a more-than-passable control scheme, and it's free! The only downside? There are a lot of very expensive in-app purchases, and you'll find progressing through the latter stages very hard without spending some real-world cash.
Play store Download Link
SUPER HEXAGON
In Super Hexagon you play as a triangle, rotating your way around a pulsating hexagon to thwart obstacles rapidly flying toward you. It's almost unfairly hard to stay alive for the 60 seconds required to unlock harder difficulty levels, but you won’t stop trying.
Play store Download Link
SONIC CD
Use Little Planet's power to travel back in time and destroy Dr. Eggman's machines, which have a hold on the future. Sonic CD immerses you in the classic world of Sonic, complete with US and Japanese soundtracks, and has you on a mission to find the missing Time Stones and put an end to Dr. Eggman's madness. Will you be able to save the future by altering the past?
Play store Download Link
ANGRY BIRDS STAR WARS
Angry Birds Star Wars pits the Rebel birds against the Empire’s evil Pigtroopers in a fight to save the galaxy. With more than 200 levels, all the lightsabers, blasters, and Jedi powers you could ever want, and hidden bonuses, you’ll easily get sucked into battling the Imperial Pigs and destroying Darth Vader.
Play store Download Link
PUNCH QUEST
Punch Quest gets all of your anger out while you tap your thumbs. The arcade-style fighting game has you jabbing, slamming, uppercutting, and otherwise destroying everything in your path. Walls, monsters, and pottery are no match for your customizable character, especially when you have Supermoves and an array of fancy hats at your disposal.
Play store Download Link
KINGDOM RUSH FRONTIERS
Don't let the cute graphics mislead you — there's a serious game hidden behind these hand-drawn sprites. Accessible yet deep gameplay, unique tactical elements, and perhaps the perfect difficulty curve await you in Kingdom Rush Frontiers.
Play store Download Link
TRIAL XTREME 3
In Trial Xtreme 3, customize your rider and bike, choose one of the 112 courses, and race your friends to prove your supremacy. Tilt your way to victory, or switch to button controls for even more accuracy.
Play store Download Link
VECTOR
Taking influence from the urban-ninja sport parkour, the arcade-style game Vector has you as a free runner trying to flee a totalitarian world by sliding, climbing, and running away from The Man. Conquer all 20 levels of rooftop adventure only by using the 100 parkour moves at your disposal.
Play store Download Link
MINECRAFT: POCKET EDITION
Minecraft: Pocket Edition puts those little cubes you love in your hands at any time. While some hardcore Minecrafters might find Pocket Edition's limitations a drag, the game does a good job of harnessing Minecraft's essence on the go.
Play store Download Link
REAL RACING 3
Challenge your friends and compete in more than 1,000 eliminations, challenges, and drag races in Real Racing 3 with over 50 detailed cars from makers like Porsche, Lamborghini, and Bugatti. It’s got stunning graphics, but it’s not a small game — you’ll have to allot at least 1.2GB.
Play store Download Link
Contre Jour
Contre Jour is a polished, classy, innovative puzzler with an absolutely sublime soundtrack. Seriously, take a listen. The gameplay is a really interesting mix of elements that you might find in World of Goo, Cut the Rope, and Portal. Players have to use various elements to move a tiny cycloptic blob creature around to gather up blue orbs scattered around the level without falling prey to pits, spikes, and other dangers. The art style is both dark and cute, and will leave a definite lasting impression.
Contre Jour offers a good mix of thoughtful and reflex-driven gameplay in a truly unique package.
Play store Download Link
Fruit Ninja
There’s an indescribable sense of satisfaction from slicing open juicy fruit with ninja-like precision - a satisfaction that has stood the test of time and remains highly accessible. Halfbrick has remained extremely diligent in keeping their original fruit-cutting game up-to-date with new content. Yes, in-app purchases have been implemented for certain power ups, but the starfruit you earn through normal gameplay can be also used to buy these bomb deflectors, bonus fruit, and new blades. There are plenty of achievements to earn over time, too. If playing on a bigger screen, there's even an option for local multiplayer.
Play store Download Link
Ingress
Ingress is a location-based game made by Google’s Niantic Labs, and odds are if you’re a hardcore Android fan, you’ve at least tried it out. Players take one of two sides in an attempt to take command of real-world landmarks using an Android app, and connect them with other landmarks in order to claim large swathes of territory. Players gain resources over time, so long as they can hold onto these landmarks against the attacks of the other side. The premise is that there's a whole other world invisible to the human eye, full of an alien resource called XM. The Enlightened are trying to use the resource as a means of reaching the alien race and entering a golden age of technology through them, while the Resistance is a little less optimistic about the situation, and is trying to defend the resource. We like to think of Ingress as competitive geocaching with a sci-fi twist.
If you’re looking for an excuse to explore your town, or somewhere you’re visiting, Ingress is a great way to do it. Beyond that, Ingress is really setting the bar for location-based gaming in the future.
Play store Download Link
Spaceteam
Spaceteam is a decidedly unique local multiplayer game. Players gather together with their various Android devices and connect over either Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. They’re then presented with ridiculously-labeled spaceship consoles, with all manner of sliders, knobs, switches, and buttons. Each player then has a message flashing telling them which control needs to be tweaked in order to save their ship from exploding. The thing is, that control could be on anybody’s device, so what ends up happening is everybody starts barking ludicrous orders at one another with straight-faced urgency. Random events can have players in a panic trying to wipe goop off their controls or re-attaching broken panels while going through these frenzied episodes.
Spaceteam will be one of the most fun party games you play, and thanks to cross-platform compatibility with iOS, everybody can get in on the fun.
Play store Download Link
Splice
Splice is an absolutely beautiful puzzle game with an amazing soundtrack. You get to play god by moving branches of cells into target formations in as few moves as possible. Each cell can only branch off two other cells, though you can drag any cell you want to another, and move forward and backwards in your move sequence with a simple gesture. Things get complicated when you’re presented with cells that shoot out another one after it, split into two, or delete all other cells further down the branch. You have to use all of those, and you can’t have too many or too few cells to make the blueprint.
Splice is a meditative and polished experience. The soundtrack alone is likely to keep you playing for awhile.
Play store Download Link
Star Command
Star Command is a sci-fi strategy game with a retro pixel art style. Players take command of a spaceship that vaguely looks like it could have been pulled out of a Star Trek movie, and recruit a crew, upgrade facilities, and embark on intergalactic adventures that usually end in a firefights with grotesque aliens. Battles take place between ships with different mini-games for each weapon system, or against boarding parties, where you need to move crew members into position, put out fires, and make sure your people don’t get sucked out into the cold void of space when there’s a hull breach. Over time, your crew increases in skills, enabling them to man the ship’s various stations with increasing effectiveness.
If you’re looking for a fun, light-hearted single-player experience with great writing and a lot of long-term progression, Star Command is where it’s at.
Play store Download Link
Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery
Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery is an odd mix of old and new in a number of ways. In terms of mechanics, it’s a point-and-click adventure game with the occasional reflex-driven mini-game thrown in. This is a fairly old genre that hasn’t seen a lot of traction on consoles, nevermind the latest mobile devices. The graphics consist of chunky, stylized pixel art in an age when 3D reigns supreme. The classic fantasy setting is contrasted by modern character language and an overarching pseudo-scientific meta-narrative. Aside from that the game is doing some pretty neat stuff associated with real-world lunar cycles. Optional in-app purchases give you new ship controls and crew outfits.
If you’re looking for something new and different, Sword & Sworcery is definitely a good place to start.
Play store Download Link
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