38 Best (And 1 WTF) New Android Games From The Last 2 Weeks (9/16/14 – 9/29/14)

Welcome to the roundup of the best new Android applications, games, and live wallpapers that went live in the Play Store or were spotted by us in the previous 2 weeks or so.

Games

Goat Simulator

Android Police coverage: [MMMBBBAAA] Goat Simulator Arrives On Android In All Its Buggy, Insane, Physics-Defying Glory

The king of kook, the duke of deranged, the national champion of nonsensical, Goat Simulator is simultaneously a free-roaming absurdity of a game and a conceptual rebuke of the Boring Stuff Simulator 2014 genre. It became a surprise hit when it was released on PC, and the mobile edition includes the same goaty goodness. You play as a goat exploring and destroying a small town, opening up crazy combos and new skins. The Android version doesn’t have the same scope or graphics of the PC version, but it’s still crazy, stupid fun.

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Goat Simulator is the latest in goat simulation technology, bringing next-gen goat simulation to YOU. You no longer have to fantasize about being a goat, your dreams have finally come true. Disclaimer: Goat Simulator is a completely stupid game and, to be honest, you should probably spend your money on something else, such as a hula hoop, a pile of bricks, or maybe pool your money together with your friends and buy a real goat.

• You can be a goat
• Get points for wrecking stuff – brag to your friends that you’re the alpha goat
• MILLIONS OF BUGS. We’re only eliminating the crash-bugs, everything else is hilarious and we’re keeping it
• In-game physics that spazz out all the time
• Seriously look at that goat’s neck
• You can be a goat

 

Anomaly Defenders

Android Police coverage: Anomaly Defenders Arrives On Android To Finish Out The Anomaly Series By Going Back To Its Tower Defense Roots

The Anomaly series is much-loved thanks to its reverse tower defense gameplay and stupendous production value. The latest entry turns things around, letting you play from the aliens’ perspective in a more conventional tower defense setting. The usual genre standards are here: try to make the incoming forces walk a wobbly path in between as many upgradeable towers as possible. Anomaly Defenders is a reasonable $4 with no in-app purchases.

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Anomaly Defenders is a fast-paced Tower Defense game where attacking human troops can damage and destroy your defenses. You have to react and counterattack enemies on the battlefield at all times. Each time you start a campaign, the unique tech-tree technologies can be tailored to your needs. Killing humans is easier due to 8 upgradable towers and special functions: repair your towers, make them go berserk, sacrifice them in explosions that are harmful to nasty humans, and use other tricks.

 

Mage Gauntlet

Android Police coverage: Noodlecake Updates Wayward Souls With Controller Support, And Ports Its Predecessor Mage Gauntlet To Android

Mage Gauntlet comes from the same developer and publisher as Wayward Souls, despite being released earlier on iOS. After playing both quite a lot, I prefer the older game: it keeps the excellent controls and upgrade system from Souls, but with a world and story that’s closer to a classic Zelda entry. The fact that it’s much easier doesn’t hurt. With an interesting tale and a big world, it’s an easy recommendation at a discounted $2, even with a few sparse in-app purchases for super-powered “cheat” items.

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Mage Gauntlet is a classic-style action-RPG, designed from the ground up for mobile. It’s inspired primarily by 90’s action RPGs for the Super Nintendo, such as Legend of Zelda: LTTP and Secret of Mana. We wanted to make a fast-paced RPG that doesn’t waste your time with fetch quests. Fight and explore your way through a humorous storyline about eccentric wizards, powerful artifacts, and dangerous monsters. Find items to customize your character’s strengths and weaknesses.

The Nightmare Cooperative

Android Police coverage: The Nightmare Cooperative Is A $3.99 Roguelike Adventure That Isn’t For The Faint Of Heart

Most roguelikes go for the standard high fantasy setting. Not The Nightmare Cooperative: this game leverages the inherent scare factor of permanent death with a much creepier feel. It’s also got a few puzzle mechanics, because the titular monsters will all move at the same time across the grid-based playing field. Your party of terrified adventurers does likewise. This title comes from Lucky Frame, the same developer who created the unconventional Gentlemen and Bad Hotel.

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Play The Nightmare Cooperative now – it’s a strategic adventure where you lead a group of unlikely comrades through some rather difficult situations. Your village has fallen on hard times (due to reckless spending by the Village Council) and it’s up to you to bring back some gold. The Nightmare Cooperative is a puzzley roguelike. You control a group of characters, each with different special abilities. The trick? They all move together, as a group. Something of a cooperative, if you catch the drift.

BombSquad

Android Police coverage: BombSquad Lets 8 Friends Blow Each Other Up In A Gorgeous Multiplayer Mini-Game Collection That Requires Every Gamepad In The House

BombSquad is a freeform take on the multiplayer Bomberman formula, with a focus on the multiplayer part. You play the game on a central phone or tablet, ideally outputting the screen to a TV. Then up to eight players connect to the device with either Bluetooth controllers or the free add-on controller app. The 3D real-time battle game has extra graphics goodness for Tegra devices, though it works on everything. BombSquad is free, but if you want to play with more than three players (and remove the ads) you’ll have to pay $5.

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Blow up your friends in mini-games ranging from capture-the-flag to hockey. Featuring gratuitous explosions, advanced ragdoll face-plant physics, pirates, ninjas, barbarians, insane chefs, and more. BombSquad supports network-play as well as 8 player local multiplayer so all your friends can get in on the action. You can even use phones and tablets as additional controllers via the free ‘BombSquad Remote’ app.

BombSquad Remote

Android Police coverage: Boogey Boy Is A Running Platformer With Randomly Generated Levels And No In-App Purchases

At first glance Boogey Boy looks like a standard endless runner, but its spooky premise, unique visual style, and varied mechanics put it a cut above others in the genre. This game has you running from a stylized Boogey Man, utilizing single-tap jumps around an environment that constantly shifts in platform style. The “vehicles” are pretty unique, too, taking the form of abilities like a piggy-backing machine gunner or a Superman cape. A complete lack of in-app purchases (a rarity for runners) doesn’t hurt.

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It’s time for bed and the boogeyman is out to get you. Can you escape your nightmares? Boogey Boy is a 3D side-scrolling runner. Escape the boogeyman by collecting batteries to activate your flashlight. Play through the boy’s dreamworlds, dodging strange and bizarre enemies. Activate special powerups to help the boy escape from the terrors of the night. Play story mode to escape and defeat the boogeyman. Play arcade mode and go for the high score.

AntiSquad Tactics Premium

Android Police coverage: AntiSquad Tactics Offers Colorful Turn-Based Combat In Both Free-To-Play And Premium Versions

Tactical games work especially well on touchscreens, and between the games in this list and titles like X-COM, we’re beginning to get some good ones. AntiSquad Tactics mixes the stylish and somewhat exaggerated character design of Team Fortress with the turn-based combat inherent to the genre. In a refreshing change, the game is available in this premium $5 version with no ads or in-app purchases, or the free-to-play edition with the usual dual currency system.

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AntiSquad Tactics gives you various missions, including infiltration, escape, elimination, assault, and a whole lot more. Sometimes it might even seem like there’s no way out, but trust us, there’s always a solution. A little bit of cunning is all you need to beat any foe, no matter what the restrictions are. Of course, AntiSquad Tactics isn’t just a lush, exciting action with lots of tactical options at your disposal. It’s also a riveting story reminiscent of movies about spies, mercenaries, and heroic Special Forces squads.

Unmechanical

Android Police coverage: Unmechanical Stars A Tiny Helicopter Robot In A Big Scary World

Unmechanical is another pilgrim from the land of Steam, where it scored high marks for creativity and atmosphere. You control a tiny helicopter-robot-thing travelling through creepy 2D levels, but don’t let the drab looks fool you: this game is much more puzzler than platformer. With organic storytelling and some top-notch 3D visuals, it will definitely turn the head of anyone looking for some slow-paced indie fun. Unmechanical is $3 with no in-app purchases.

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Unmechanical is all about the adventure of a little helicopter trapped in a strange, but fascinating world. Help him through to discover the secrets of the world. Unmechanical is a puzzle adventure that combines tricky puzzle solving, alluring exploration, and an engrossing atmosphere. Set in a fantastic world of flesh, rock and steel, your journey to freedom requires you to solve a great variety of puzzling challenges, and while it’s easy to pick up and play, later challenges may prove very difficult indeed.

daWindci Deluxe

Android Police coverage: A Leisurely Breeze Blows ‘daWindci Deluxe’ Wind-Painting Game Toward Android After Quite The Wait

In DaWindci, you pilot a hot air balloon as it rolls gracefully through the air, inexplicably weaving through high trees, towers, rock formations, and other things that don’t usually concern balloonists. The game is laid out a bit like a marble maze, with shifting winds that are controlled by the player taking the place of rolling physics. The bright graphics and music combine to make an oddly soothing experience, letting you forget that it took the developers three years to port this thing from iOS.

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Paint wind, hurricanes and lightning on the screen with the tip of your finger and thereby navigate your balloon through the riddles and obstacles of each level. A world full of magical equipment and incredible inventions is waiting to be explored at a slow and relaxing pace: Monumental wind turbines on the horizon, an impressive hangar door behind you and a surreal fauna and flora around you.

Cardinal Quest 2

Android Police coverage: Cardinal Quest 2 Now Generating Random Dungeons In The Play Store

The original Cardinal Quest fit squarely into the roguelike category, and this sequel’s apple doesn’t fall far from that particular tree. Procedurally generated dungeons, turn-based combat, different character classes, permanent death, and “8-bit” graphics are all present, along with in-app purchases. That said, the ones in Cardinal Quest are reasonable as far as these things go.

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Explore challenging dungeons. Encounter dangerous enemies as you grow in power and avoid the ever-present threat of death. Challenge yourself in this this FREE ROGUELIKE RPG. Cardinal Quest 2 is an approachable yet challenging roleplaying game. Dive into dangerous dungeons with unique characters and climb the leaderboards.

• Challenging roleplaying gameplay
• Choose 1 of 6 unique classes (Seriously. They all play radically differently.)
• Customize your character with loot and spells you find on your way
• Explore a deep achievement system with almost 150 achievements that will test your skill
• 3 different acts present different monsters and environments to overcome
• A unique morale system allows you to power-up your characters between dungeon dives and adds further customization

Interstellar

Android Police coverage: Paramount Made An Android Game For The Upcoming Movie Interstellar… And It’s Surprisingly Cool

Licensed games are usually pretty uninspired – see the Maze Runner tie-in below for a typical example. Interstellar bucks that trend with a unique and challenging game based on at least a little science. You guide your ship close to planetary bodies to gather fuel, carefully managing speed and vector… or crashing into the local sun. Grab your gas and you can jump through a black hole in a graphically-intense mini-game, to head for the next “home” system created by other players. Free with no in-app purchases.

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Create and customize your own unique solar system with planets, moons, asteroids and more. Explore a universe of fan-generated solar systems and black holes in the Interstellar experience. See how far you can pilot the Endurance without running out of fuel or losing time relative to Earth. Sling-shot through solar systems using real-world physics and gravitational forces. Use wormholes to jump to new systems and survive the ultimate challenge of traveling past a black hole.

Just Dance Now

Android Police coverage: Ubisoft Releases Just Dance Now In The Play Store, Uses Your Phone As The Controller For A Browser-Based Dancing Game

The Android version of Just Dance Now isn’t a game in and of itself: it’s a login token and a controller for the browser-based version of the same title. You set up your profile on your phone, then hop into a room with any number of friends from any desktop (or laptop, or TV, or whatever) browser. Hold your phone in your hand and follow along with the dancer, and you’ll earn a score based on your movement and timing. It’s a fascinating concept, and the IAP isn’t unreasonable for a party night.

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The world’s #1 dance game is now on your smartphone. Introducing an all new way to play JUST DANCE: Using your smartphone as a controller, simply connect to a screen & Just Dance. Launch the game on www.justdancenow.com on any connected screen and follow the dancers on screen. Use your smartphone to track your moves and score your dance.

• Simply launch the Just Dance app on your smartphone.
• Go to www.justdancenow.com on a connected screen and follow the on-screen instructions to link your app.
• Then, hold your smartphone in your right hand and follow the dancers on screen.

Asphalt Overdrive

Android Police coverage: Gameloft Indulges In Its Usual Vice With The Lane-Based Endless Racer Asphalt Overdrive

Gameloft’s Asphalt racing series is back… but not as you know it. Instead of white-knuckle Need For Speed-style racing, Overdrive has you running from the cops in a strictly lane-based “endless” affair, where your only control is swiping from side to side. It’s fun in a casual way, and you can’t deny that the Day-Glo 80s graphics look fantastic. But the in-app purchases for upgrades, new cars, and a power-based continue system drag this otherwise nimble machine down.

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Discover the award-winning Asphalt series’ first spinoff with Asphalt Overdrive, an intense arcade racing experience packed to go. Outrun the cops in an exciting game set in a “new ’80s” version of California. Unlock and drive 30 high-performance, fully licensed vehicles such as the iconic Lamborghini Countach and Ferrari Testarossa. Improve and upgrade your car to dominate the California streets. Challenge yourself in 7 different mission types: Escape the cops, defeat bosses, avoid obstacles, and perform impressive stunts while you race.

R.G.B.

Android Police coverage: R.G.B. Is A Simple And Deceptively Difficult Take On The Guitar Hero Formula

Guitar Hero-style music games do well on touch-based platforms, more because of the simplicity of their core mechanics than any particular design. R.G.B. keeps it very simple indeed, with only three lanes and two tap controls. But keeping the red, green, and blue robots in the correct lanes as the electronic music thumps is anything but simple as the difficulty ramps up. A single $1 in-app purchase lets you extend your musical runs with infinite continues.

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Run as far as you can in this unique, color matching, runner game. Challenge your combination skills and perception. Beat your own and your friends’ record. The one and only rule is extremely simple: swap the RED, GREEN, BLUE buddies to step on their color.

Main features:
One-finger control
Cool and simple design
Music driven environment
GooglePlay Leaderboards
Scoring share

Music composed by:
C-Slim

Nimble Squiggles

Android Police coverage: Bulkypix’s ‘Nimble Squiggles’ Isn’t Explicitly About Sperm, But The Game Can Still Help Explain The Birds And The Bees

Nimble Squiggles is a game about a group of tiny wiggling things making it through a dangerous and unknown passage to the ultimate prize: life. No, it’s got nothing to do with sex, why do you ask? Part twitch game and part puzzler, Nimble Squiggles has you guiding the little, uh, guys through various color-themed obstacles and traps, which can only be passed by units of the same color. The game is on sale at the time of writing and has no in-app purchases.

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Nimble Squiggles is a casual puzzle game for players of any age, where the player, with movement of his finger, has to help squiggles to get to a funnel and escape the levels. Squiggles are affected by gravity points, one of them is special one controlled by player, so he has only indirect control over squiggles who follow your finger. One of key concepts of the game is matching colors. Each squiggle has a specific color. Squiggle can only pass through the lane of the same color.

Dev Story /*HACK THE CODE*/

Android Police coverage: Intel’s ‘Dev Story/HACK THE CODE’ Is A Game That Has Little To Do With Actual Code—Unless You’re A Developer

Dev Story is a mix of dozens of tiny mini-games arranged in Wario Ware fashion, each one provided by a different developer, based broadly on the theme of software development. Intel is publishing the collection to try and get people interested in game development. The source code is also freely available, and you can submit your own mini-games to Intel. The best of the lot will be included in the second edition of the full game.

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Dev Story/*HACK THE CODE*/ was born when Intel challenged a small team of developers to build an open-source app. It’s a set of challenges about the development cycle, taking you on a journey from concept to launch. It’s led entirely by the developer community from around the world. And now you can be a part of it. Whether you’re looking to hone your skills or flex your coding muscle, download the code and start developing your own challenges and levels. The app is yours to take in whichever direction you choose.

FIFA 15 Ultimate Team

Android Police coverage: FIFA 15 Ultimate Team Ends Its Brief Period Of Isolation In Canada To Go Live In The Rest Of The World

Another year, another entry in each one of EA’s monster sports franchises. The 2015 edition of FIFA focuses on building a fantasy-style soccer team with real (er, real fake) players from various teams and leagues. It includes rosters from an impressive 500 teams all over the world, not to mention a new control system that includes a new through pass move. As usual with EA’s fare, the first taste is free, but you’ll have to pay up to avoid the grind.

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FIFA 15 Ultimate Team by EA SPORTS features over 10,000 players from over 500 licensed teams. Plus, over 30 real leagues and stadiums. Build a dream squad of footballers and put them to the test. From the English Premier League, La Liga, and MLS, to the German Bundesliga and beyond. Take the thrills with you wherever you are with the most authentic soccer game on Google Play.

 

Star Wars: Commander

Android Police coverage: Star Wars: Commander Is Like Clash Of Clans With Wookies And Storm Troopers

Disney continues to spin the Star Wars brand around the roulette wheel of gaming genres, and this week it’s landed on simplified tower defense and real-time strategy. Star Wars: Commander is pretty much exactly what you’d think it is: you build a base, recruit some redshirts (sorry, wrong franchise!), fight off a few walkers, and wait for some unlikely and high-profile Star Wars characters to show up with text dialogue only. Naturally it’s packed to the exhaust ports with in-app purchases.

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Charge into battle on distant planets, and lead your troops to victory in this action-packed, combat strategy game. Build a base, recruit an unstoppable force, and challenge players across the Star Wars universe in Star Wars™: Commander. During a time of Galactic Civil War, competing forces need allies for their cause. The Rebellion rallies for justice and freedom, while the Empire seeks control of the galaxy. Where does your allegiance lie? Will you side with the Empire’s strength and relentlessness, or the Rebellion’s heroism and resourcefulness? The choice is yours.

Beach Buggy Racing

Android Police coverage: Vector Unit Is Back With The Turbocharged Sequel Beach Buggy Racing, But You’ll Have To Pay For Every Mile

The original Beach Buggy Blitz was a solid “endless racer” with some fantastic graphics for the time. For the sequel the developer expanded the core gameplay into a full Mario Kart-style racer… and expanded the IAP system into something of a nightmare. While its technical aspects are impressive, including a paid 4-player splitscreen mode designed for play with HDMI-out and controllers, the grind for power and currency will make all but the most patient (or spendy) players frustrated.

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Beach Buggy is back with an explosive sequel. Drive into an action-packed, surprise-filled world of off-road kart racing mayhem. Race against a field of rival drivers, each with unique personalities and special abilities. Build a collection of crazy powerups, like Dodgeball Frenzy, Fireball, and Oil Slick. Unlock and upgrade a variety of cars, from dune buggies to monster trucks. Test your skills in 6 different game modes on 12 imaginative 3D race tracks, against a pack of tropical-loving rivals with a serious case of road rage.

Tactics Maiden

If you’re as tired of the “old school” pixelated look as I am, here’s an indie RPG that bucks the trend. Tactics Maiden uses time-honored tactical turn-based RPG fighting mechanics, not unlike Sega’s Shining Force, to tell a new story with no small amount of self-awareness. And best of all, the game uses hand-drawn 2D sprites that look great on modern screens. The first few battles are free, with a single $5 in-app purchase unlocking the full story.

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Tactics Maiden is a fast-paced, turn-based strategy RPG where the player has to conquer enemy outposts scattered throughout the battlefield. What sets Tactics Maiden apart is a very strong enemy AI and flexible character builds with skill points that can be redistributed at will. Each battle presents its very own challenges, so the player has to refine his strategies and his army of heroes and mercenaries constantly.

Auro

Auro is kind of like a mix between an old-school game of Dungeons and Dragons and… checkers. Well, if checkers had weapons and spells. RPG mechanics make leveling up your character through the story fun, and some surprisingly expressive pixelated graphics and animation are quite charming. Randomly-generated boards and monsters should keep you coming back if that isn’t enough. Auro is $3 with no in-app purchases, and its low-intensity visuals make it a good fit for older devices.

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Dinofarm Games – creators of 100 Rogues – are pleased to present Auro: A Monster-Bumping Adventure. Auro introduces a whole new kind of gameplay: *Bumping Tactics* – the strategic use of movement, magic spells, and straight-up bumping to kill monsters, gain points, and become a master Bumper. Set in an original fantasy universe, guide the brash, spoiled Prince Auro through procedurally generated dungeons, with only a handful of tactical spells – and your wits – to protect you.

Galaxy Dash: Race to Outer Run

Galaxy Dash is a pretty typical endless runner, but the visual design and general polish caught my eye. You’re a space captain picking up some spare change across three lanes, swooping in and out to avoid rocks and other rogues. Blasters will help you clear a path Asteroids-style, but only until you run low on energy. The usual dual-currency IAP system is in place, but a single purchase removes advertising, and the game has an interesting system of hardware and crew upgrades. The bright graphics owe a lot to the spaceships from Lilo & Stitch.

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Become the most infamous galactic smuggler in Galaxy Dash. Galaxy Dash combines the exciting gameplay of an endless runner with the thrill of space combat. Use lasers to blast your way through obstacles, engage in ship to ship combat, and collect valuable loot.

• Dodge space hazards or blast your way through.
• Destroy enemy smugglers and steal their cargo.
• Level up your Crew to enable special powerups.
• Unlock and upgrade powerful ships.
• Complete missions to increase your rewards.
• Colorful and vibrant HD graphics.
• Challenge your friends for the high score.

The Tower

In The Tower, you build a tower. That probably seems a little obvious, but the mechanics are unique: each level of the tower slides back and forth across the one below it, and the player anchors the level by tapping, trying to get it to line up in a roughly vertical shape. Imagine it as a cross between Jenga and one of those arcade prize machines. For the moment, The Tower is free with no in-app purchases.

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Build the tallest tower in the world to reach the sky with a power of one-tap gameplay. Beat your friends, unlock new towers, discover all locations.

Black Stories

Black Stories is basically 20 Questions with an Are You Afraid of the Dark theme. You play with two or more real players on a single device, with one serving as the game master. He or she presents a riddle, and the other players have to solve it with yes or no questions. The one to solve it becomes the next game master. The game includes a single deck of riddles, with more available as an in-app purchase – the single one available at the moment is $1.

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Black Stories is a set of electrifying, dark and sometimes gruesome riddles. It is a social game in which players are confronted with a challenge to solve intricate mysteries and enigmatic deaths. Black Stories are designed so that they teach the players how to think laterally, or how to analyze facts abstractly.

• From the collection of Black Stories players choose one as their task.
• One of the players becomes the Game Master, takes the phone and, as the only one, reads the solution of the riddle.
• Other players have to solve the mystery, aiding themselves with asking simple questions on which the Game Master could only answer yes or no.
• The player who solves the riddle fastest wins. Now he becomes the Game Master.

Octagon

Equal parts endless runner and marble maze, Octagon should please gamers who enjoy twitch gameplay and thumping electronic music. Using an octagon instead of a circle turns a game that might have been fiddly (in a Super Monkey Ball kind of way) into an 8-lane runner, which makes the action much more manageable. A single $1 in-app purchase removes ads and gives you level saves and an endless mode.

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Octagon is a minimal arcade game where you have to move fast or be left behind. As the floor moves beneath you, spin your world around to dodge speed bumps. Flip upside-down to avoid holes, surf on top of the Octagon—whatever you can do to survive the mad race through this trippy 8-sided tunnel. An energizing soundtrack by Sqeepo and psychedelic color bursts keep you in the zone on your race to the finish. But with each round over after just 60 seconds, only super-fast reflexes will beat this very challenging game.

Huerons

Huerons is a puzzle game that tests the player’s spatial awareness, in the same way those triangular wooden peg games do. Each board is filled with dots, which will all combine into one when an adjacent hole is pressed. Clear the board down to a single dot to beat the puzzle… but don’t get comfortable, because new colors and other twists will keep you scratching your head. Unfortunately your moves are limited, which creates an energy-based IAP that refills slowly. Purchasing any amount of moves removes the advertising.

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Huerons are tiny colored circles. Merge them by clicking on an empty cell next to them until there is only one Hueron on the board. There can be only one … It is an addictive puzzle game based in flat and minimalistic design philosophy. 100 different puzzles around 9 unique Huerons, which behave differently bringing an element of puzzle, strategy and surprise to the game.

Linken

Remember that puzzle from elementary school where you have to make a box with an X inside without going over any line twice? Linken takes that idea and expands upon it, asking the player to connect all of the similar tiles until each dot on the board has at least one connection. (Watch the video, it’s tricky to put into words.) Each board can have multiple solutions, and winning will let you buy hints, but there is a bit of a grind for power-ups and currency to push in-app purchases.

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Linken is a beautifully designed and brilliant game, solve puzzle by connecting and linking each shape into a complete path. Play through 400 handmade levels from simple to deeply challenging and get rich yet relaxing experience through carefully crafted puzzle. You are going to scratch your head and need to think in a different way. There is no age restriction to play Linken, kids, teenager, even adult will find Linken richly defined and satisfying.

DONT PLAY THIS GAME

You could take the view that Don’t Play This Game is either interesting or pretentious, and whatever you choose, you’re right. It’s a series of puzzles asking the player to complete the title phrase in various interesting ways, using everything from Scrabble-style tile movement to word pictures to sliding blocks. For those who love brain teasers, it’s probably worth the single dollar purchase with no IAP. Everyone else can follow the instructions in the title.

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DONT PLAY THIS GAME. Seriously, DONT PLAY THIS GAME Okay fine, PLAY it… (DONT) PLAY through 45 puzzling Levels of DONT PLAY THIS GAME goodness. Can you (NOT) PLAY all 45 Levels?!? With no rules and instructions in the GAME, are you up for the challenge?

99 Problems

Alright, masochistic gamers, here’s another one for you. Tap the screen to make the square jump in a consistent manner. Avoid hitting All The Things. Do not pass go, do not pay for in-app purchases. And no matter what you do, do not make Jay Z jokes.

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99 Levels of minimalistic, jumping action.
Tap to jump.
Stay on screen.
Avoid Blocks.
Good luck.

GA Collected 1-3

We’re big fans of Tin Man’s various Gamebooks. But they can be rather expensive, especially if you try to binge play them. Luckily for you, the developer is now bundling some of its older titles into “Collected” miniseries. The price for each pack of three is ten bucks, bringing the individual price down to just above $3 USD, which is more than reasonable for hours and hours of Choose Your Own Adventure-style role playing. Collection 1 includes An Assassin in Orlandes, Siege of the Necromancer, and Slaves of Rema, and collection 2 has Revenant Rising, Catacombs of the Undercity, and The Wizard from Tarnath Tor.

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An interactive fantasy adventure. It’s a Gamebook Adventure.

 Containing the first three titles of the critically acclaimed interactive fantasy gamebook series in which you, the reader, control the direction of the story. Along with a realistic dice-based battle system to fight creatures, a great story and beautiful artwork, Gamebook Adventures Collected will give you many hours of gamebook adventuring.

GA Collected 4-6

ICE

ICE is technically a strategy game, though it’s unlike any I’ve seen before. You control an army of abstract units moving from base to base, trying to quickly overpower multiple enemies and capture new territories. The basic format is kind of like the turn-based view in Wing Commander: Armada, but played out in real time. A single $3 in-app purchase removes advertising and adds a larger playing field.

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Quick and addicting real-time strategy. Beautiful, not-so-simple, just awesome. Control your army of ant-like ships. Capture connected enemy bases (remember that you can’t simply capture a non-connected base – this would be too easy.) You win when you control everything, you lose when you lose everything. Good luck. Works really well on tablets and devices with big screens.

RPSwipe

What happens if you mix the gameplay mechanics of the incredibly popular number games Threes and 2048 with the time-honored tradition of Rock, Paper, Scissors? It would look something like RPSwipe, a two-player game that uses the familiar formula on the newfangled sliding grid board. The game has no in-app purchases, and you can play solo against the computer or take turns with a local human opponent.

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RPSwipe is a twisted Rock, Paper, Scissors game. “Rock breaks Scissors, Scissors cut Paper and Paper covers Rock” are the main rules of the game. You swipe in any direction trying to make blue tiles beat red ones to increase your score. The game has three gameplay modes (Single, Vs Computer and Vs Human) that can be played with fixed amount of turns (40, 80, 160) or infinite.

Escape the Hellevator!

Locked room games tend to be on the dull side, at least for me. But Escape the Hellevator has an interestingly gruesome story behind it: you’re an ER patient being tormented room to room by a zealous priest. You’ll have to get through each one by exploring the full 3D environment and solving whatever fiendish puzzles the developer has cooked up. Hellevator is a free download, but you’ll have to shell out $2 to access all the levels.

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Experience an exciting new take on escape puzzle games. Real-time 3D allows players to swipe the screen to look around, while each item you pick up can be examined and/or interacted with in a similar fashion. Assume the role of Clarence Ridgeway, a dying man being rushed to the E.R. in a hospital elevator. Enter a frightening priest who forces Clarence to relive his sins on each floor as he plummets to his final judgment. Can you survive the drop to live another day?BACK TO WORK

Blocus

It’s like Breakout, if every single brick, paddle, and ball was constantly exploding. A few extras like upgradeable balls flesh out both procedural and designed levels in Blocus, and putting the correct spin and placement on the projectile will make it shoot even more balls at the blocks. If you want a cross between a classic arcade game and a hit of acid, this is probably as close as you can get.

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Blocus is a frantic endless brick breaker game, much like Arkanoid or Breakout. It can also looks like a fireworks simulation. There is a lot of visual effect and the game feel very much alive. You can also make make your paddle shoot by catching the ball on the same side several times. And this shot can be upgraded with the experience you gain each time you play.

 

 

Treasure Fetch: Adventure Time

Good grief, Cartoon Network, cool it with the Adventure Time games – they’re getting even more desperate and annoying than the cartoon. No less than eight out of eighteen CN Android games feature Adventure Time characters. That being said, a Snake-style game featuring Jake the dog (allegedly a dog, anyway) at least matches the whimsical nature of the show itself. The puzzle game is paid, despite also having in-app purchases.

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Adventure Time Treasure Fetch is a fresh take on the classic Snake game. Snake your way through the Grass Lands, Candy Kingdom, and Ice Kingdom using Jake’s stretchy powers. Feed Jake to make him grow. The more apples you eat, the longer Jake gets. Apples aren’t the only super fruits. Snag watermelon swords to slash enemies in your path. And peel banana portals to let Jake warp through his own body.

Battle for the Galaxy

This week’s selection of free-to-play sci-fi base builders and real time strategy games with generous helpings of IAP also comes in a non-Star Wars flavor.

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Take command of the most advanced forces in the galaxy, and battle for supremacy. Battle for the Galaxy is an exciting mixture of base building, resource management, and strategic combat. Build your base and resource capacity, create a powerful upgradeable army, and attack enemies to earn medals and steal their resources. Band together with other players to form a corporation, and compete with other player teams to rule the leaderboards.

The Maze Runner

The official Maze Runner game is an endless runner. This thing would get zero points for originality even if it wasn’t a rip-off of Temple Run, made as a tie-in for yet another Hunger Games wannabe. The game is free with in-app purchases, because of course it is.

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Unlock the mystery of the Maze and race to survive in the official The Maze Runner game. Join the community of Gladers are trapped in the center of an ever-changing deadly maze. Run for your life while dodging falling boulders, fiery pits, and gushing aqueducts. Collect clues to unlock the Maze and complete new levels. Choose your runner for speed and stamina, and race the clock to escape before the Maze seals shut.

WTF Game(s) Of The Week

Run Criki

This game stars a Rastafarian cricket who’s on his way to Uruguay to partake in some legal weed. Apparently no one told him about Washington or Colorado. It’s an endless runner – way to break the stoner stereotype, little cricket guy! Too bad the powerups include psychedelic mushrooms and fast food.

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After the legalization of marijuana in Uruguay,the pothead cricket decided to leave Netherlands to return to his country. In this new runner game you will find magical brownies, weed ,hashish and other stuff to make your trip back to Uruguay more enjoyable. What does criki have for you?

• Unique Characters
• Fun graphics
• Exciting situations
• Power Ups to enjoy your trip
• Unexpected events
• A lot of humor
• Rankings with users from all around the world
• Share your trip with your friends

Know A Worthy New App? Let Us Know!

If you have an application in mind for the next issue of the roundup, feel free to send us an email and let us know.

Important: there are 2 requirements in order for the app to be considered, listed below.

• the app’s launch date has to be no longer than 2 weeks ago
• it has to be original, ground-breaking, well-reviewed, interesting, fun, etc – the cream of the crop

Now, if and only if the above requirements have been satisfied, fire up an email to this address: [email protected].

1 sponsored placement per week is available (your app would be featured at the top and marked as sponsored) – please contact us for details.