Them Androids Games?

[FriendlyFire]

I'm soon going to be on vacation for three weeks with the best computer available being a cheapo laptop with a HD3000 GPU and poor battery life, thus my PC gaming ability is going to be severely constrained. I've been looking for Android games that are worth anything (ie not Angry Birds or Click the cow-style games).

Thus far, I've bought or downloaded Anomaly HD, a chess game (not the best though, wonky touch controls), Cut the Rope, EDGE, Majesty, OpenTTD (nigh unplayable unfortunately, too small), Osmos HD, Townsmen 6 free and World of Goo. Having one of the smaller phones out there (Nexus S), there are many games I simply can't play because the screen's too small.

Does anybody here have suggestions? Looking at the top 50 games on the "Play store" is depressing.

[tossrStu]

DUNGEON RAID. It's kinda like Puzzle Quest but inspired by roguelikes -- no plot, no quests, just levelling up, fighting monsters, and an inevitable, brutal death. I haven't played the Android version, just the iOS one, so I don't know if it follows the same pricing model -- basic version is free with ads; paid-for version is a couple of quid and adds classes and races. Either version is a massive timesink and well worth checking out.

[tomeoftom]

Just get an emulator and play Advance Wars. Yeah boss.

[Ravelle]

Just get an emulator and play Advance Wars. Yeah boss.

Does it run well? Because I'm all over that.

[FriendlyFire]

Just tried it for a few minutes (thanks for the idea!) and I have to say it does. The game's smooth and any phone's resolution is better than the GBA's, so the port's actually suitable. The only downside is that touch buttons won't ever replace real buttons. Would've been awesome if you could've selected units and destinations directly through touch, but alas that'd require rewriting chunks of the game, so you're stuck with a virtual pad.

[Harlander]

If you're into roguelikes, Dweller is a pretty neat example of that for your phones.
http://www.dwellergame.com/

It's a bit fiddly with the touchscreen, especially with small icons, but then, it's a work-in-progress.

[coldvvvave]

I tried to run X-com on Dosbox( SAMSUNG Galaxy Tab 10.1) and its just unplayable. So sad.

[FriendlyFire]

I still don't understand why there hasn't been a ton of RTS games for tablets already. Can you imagine playing RUSE the way the ads showed it?

[icupnimpn2]

Will prowl through my apps here... I have a Galaxy SII so I imagine my screen is a bit larger? Sorry if I recommend things that are cramped on yours.

Battleheart - Neat, original little game that has you juggling four characters at a time in a weird cross between beat-em-up gameplay and action RPG controls. Draw a line from a character to its target, choose standard attack/buff or special ability. Mind the HP and recharge times. Choose to level up skills, purchase items, etc. There's a guy prowling RPS forums and making a game very, very "inspired" by this.

ChuChu Rocket - Sega's classic. Every bit as good as it was on the Dreamcast, possibly made better with touch controls. Great puzzle game with a lot of levels. I bought it cheap, but worth full price.

Dweller (mentioned above) - Getting better with each update, can be frustratingly easy and a little dull but is free free free and a good timewaster.

Game Dev Story - Kairosoft makes addictive sim games for a variety of quirky settings. Have sunk a lot of hours into this one and their soccer sim, Pocket League Story. Mind you that I don't give one flip for soccer or foot-to-ball. Do love video games, though, and Game Dev Story sucked me in. Don't normally like sims, for that matter. Just a lot of charm in these. Would consider their others, also.

Legends of Yore - Kinda simple roguelike with quick gameplay and better controls than Dweller. Less tiles per screen, I believe, which may make it more suitable for your phone. Has some quests that open up for different levels which helps to keep it interesting for a while, though the dungeons themselves weren't so grand last I played. I did like it enough to pay for the upgrade. One perk is that you can save your character and play in a web browser as well as on your phone, which makes this a PC game too in my book.

Whale Trail - The most rainbowy game I've played in years. Joyful. Guide a flying whale through opium dreams. Play is very simple, but the game has challenge levels and great graphics. The whale will fall if you don't touch the screen. It will rise and move counter-clockwise if you hold the screen. You try to snag scoring items and dodge obstacles, sometimes performing loop-de-loops or gaining invincibility. Polished, charming, and worth a few bucks.

Battle for Wesnoth - Yes the game is free on PC, but this is a nicely done port with basically all the features of other platforms. If you're excited by the prospect of Advance Wars, you sound like you could go for some Wesnoth. I've linked to the demo so you can tell how well it works on your phone.

Where's My Water - Gravity/physics puzzle game comes with a lot of levels. Drag your finger to create a path for water to flow through the dirt and etc. Sometimes you have to avoid poisonous fluid and divert it, or avoid fungus that will grow and block your path if it contacts water. The game becomes a matter of timing and juggling. A lot of people like it more than I do. Has had comparisons to Angry Birds but those are unwarranted. It is closer to Cut the Rope.

[darko drako]

There are quite a few decent boardgames ported to android. Try the elder sign.

[FriendlyFire]

Thanks a lot for the recommendations! I'd already looked at Game Dev Story and noticed Where's My Water, but I feared it'd be a bit shallow. Battle for Wesnoth looks interesting.

All this stuff about ports makes me long for a good Lumines clone though, that game would be amazing on a phone.

[icupnimpn2]

This thread was my tipping point and I went ahead and bought a host mode usb cable for my Samsung Galaxy SII. Should let me connect an USB mouse or keyboard. May improve DosBox style playing on the platform. Will let you know how it all works in a few days when my package arrives.

[Jams O'Donnell]

... and noticed Where's My Water, but I feared it'd be a bit shallow.

I see what you did there, you clever boy.

I'm a filthy iPhone person, not an Android person, and I really wish there was a good roguelike available for it. I think I would just die of delight if Dredmor had a mobile version, for example.

[Ravelle]

It's too bad android doesn't allow click and buy like Apple does, because I don't have a creditcard I'm not able to purchase any android games and only download the free ones.

I'm only playing Lil' Kingdom as of now because that's the only game that isn't a direct rip-off from iPhone games.

[Kamikaze-X]

huh? i can click and buy to my hearts content with the debit card from my current account.

anyway, Machinarium, one of RPS's darlings, is now available on the Play Market Android Goodle Store or whatever they are calling it.
only compatible with the higher resolution stuff like tablets, but i'd hate to try and play it on anything less than a 7" screen anyway.

[Surgeon]

I haven't played anything for a while, but these in particular are worth a look, as well as another thumbs up for Dweller.

Space Station Frontier

Sort of tower defence, but it not in the limited pathways sense.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...eStation&hl=en

Gurk II

Worth a punt for 62p.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...YnMuZ3VyazIiXQ..

[FriendlyFire]

@Kamikaze-X: Ha, I'd already used this trick:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/show....php?t=1217774
to get Machinarium on Android. It probably isn't quite as smooth as it'd be on the Market, but it has the advantage of not requiring me to buy it again (I bought it twice through various bundles and never actually played it!).

[TuesdayExpress]

After a long weekend stuck inside at the beach because of rain, I came here looking for exactly these recommendations. Thanks, there are some good gems here to pick out...random browsing of popular games was indeed depressing.

Here's one to add: Choice of the Dragon. It's a quickie; you might get an hour or so out of it, but it's a diverting hour. Text based, choose-your-own-adventure style. A buddy recommended it and it fit the bill yesterday.

Edited to add: it's free to play, and it looks like they do similar games with other sorts of protagonists.

[Malawi Frontier Guard]

huh? i can click and buy to my hearts content with the debit card from my current account.

She's talking about the service ClickandBuy.

I've only been playing with emulators on my phone for a while now. Also Triple Town, but that's on the shallow side. The store is a bit of a mess to navigate, so I can't even tell what's actually good on the platform.

Edit: Just downloaded Lil' Kingdom and goddammit those newfangled "click where the big arrow is pointing" tutorials in every single mobile/social/browser game these days. I just click the buttons and at the end I have no idea what's going on.

[Ravelle]

Appoint employee, fill the stock and click the box icon to make them sell it, it's pretty simple.

Oh and I'm a he. ;p