10 Great Free Games for Android
By Barb Dybwad (from Mashable) on July 7, 2010
The Android
Market may not be quite caught up to its Apple App Store counterpart
just yet, but it's certainly no slouch either. Gamers looking for
a free fix on the go won't be disappointed, as a number of fun and
entertaining apps are available, with more being introduced all the time.
At the low, low price of free, these apps won't break the bank even if you want to try them all. We aimed for a bit of genre diversity when building this list, so hopefully gamers of all stripes will find something to like here. However with only ten slots, we're sure to have missed some gems out there -- be sure to let us know about your favorite Android freebies in the comments.
Without further ado, let's play some games!
Fans of classic
text-based adventures like Zork or even those who
enjoyed
the Choose Your Own Adventure book series as children will find much
to be delighted by in Choice
of Games's
Choice of the Dragon. You play as the titular dragon, facing weighty
decisions from whether to kill or leave a halfling undisturbed to more
personal choices like what color your body is and whether your wings
are leathery or scaly.
As you make
choices in the game, your stats are adjusted accordingly along several
axes: brutality vs. finesse, cunning vs. honor, and so forth. The actual
adventures you encounter are imaginative and the choices interesting,
with a healthy dose of wry humor often adding to the entertainment value
of this game.
Adventure awaits you as an Android robot on a quest to find The Source that powers everything on a mysterious island. You can roll, jump and fly through 40 different levels and take out encountered enemies with a stomp attack.
Featuring a
gloriously retro art style combined with creative characters, atmosphere
and gameplay, what Replica Island may lack here and there in terms of
polish it more than makes up for in terms of gumption.
3. Sudoku
Free
Sudoku
fans and number nerds, check out the aptly-named Sudoku
Free app. It features four levels of difficulty and an intuitive
interface
controlled by your choice of on screen keyboard, QWERTY keyboard or
trackball. This version is ad-supported, and also features a number
of user-changeable settings, hints for when you're stuck and a results
leaderboard at the end of each match based on how long each puzzle takes
to complete.
4. Bebbled
If you're
a fan of Bejeweled-type gem-matching games, Bebbled is a recommended
free puzzler for Android users. Featuring freestyle and online modes
as well as "campaigns" that prevent specific challenges and
levels to work through, the essence of gameplay is to match colored
tiles or "bebs" in chains of two or more. Tapping a chain once
selects it, twice removes it from the game board, and points are awarded
based on the length of each chain.
There are a
number of free Chess apps out there, and while we certainly can't
claim to have tried them all we can definitely recommend Aart Bik's Chess for Android.
The display and controls are simple and straightforward; you can use
the touchscreen, physical keyboard or trackball if your phone has one
to make moves. The app also suggests possible moves to you; after you've
selected a piece, potential move squares are highlighted in green.
The app also
records and displays each game move as it's made. You can even export
ongoing games to PGN (Portable Game Notation) or FEN (Forsyth-Edwars
Notation) formats, both standard notations for describing specific board
positions in chess matches.
This simple
yet addictive app is essentially Pictionary for Android handhelds. The
multiplayer game connects you with other online players who take turns
drawing to illustrate the chosen word for the remaining participants
to guess. Each game contains 10 rounds, and players rotate between
drawing
and guessing.
Some other nice features include the ability to use voice recognition in making
your guesses, the ability for the drawer to send out a "close guess"
signal which makes the other players' phones vibrate to indicate
the most recent entry is on the right track, and the option to change
the paintbrush color and thickness in draw
mode.
The actual
gameplay in this online multiplayer role-playing game is fairly simple,
but the ability to level up your character and battle against other
real players within the game's universe nevertheless make it compelling
and addictive for frequent short burst sessions. You go on missions
such as "Drain an Animal" or "Terrorize the Park"
to gain "blood" and experience. Missions are completed simply
by clicking a button, with the game providing feedback on how each
mission
affects your character's rise to power.
Missions
require
"energy" which only builds up over time, leading to Vampires
Live being a more "pick up and play for a few minutes" style
of game rather than a "dive in for a few hours" type of title.
You can also attack other players as well as band together to form
clans.
At level 7 and above you can even enlist the help of "slaves"
to accrue more blood on your behalf.
8. Bonsai
Blast
This puzzle
game features a unifying "Zen garden" theme and over 90 levels
of gameplay. Using a "marble blaster" that can be moved to
nearby stone slabs within the garden, players shoot colored marbles
towards a chain of steadily advancing baubles. Match three of the same
color marbles to remove them from the chain and prevent the march of
the stack toward the yin-yang "drain" which ends the game.
You can play in adventure mode which presents new challenges in each
level, or go for the longest time to stay alive in survival mode.
9. Bistro
Cook
In the
venerable
tradition of Diner
Dash,
this app is an action strategy game in which you're challenged with
cooking and serving up orders to customers in a timely fashion. You've
got a shelf full of food and a four-burner stove on which to prepare
french fries, fried eggs, chicken legs and whatever combinations your
bistro patrons request.
A yellow meter
beneath each food item placed on a burner tells you how much time is
left to finish cooking it, followed by a red indicator meter that tells
you how long you have to deliver the item to its proper plate before
it burns and must be tossed in the trash. It's a simple, fun and
familiar
game mechanic for anyone who has played these types of titles before.
10. Cestos
One of the
original multiplayer games for the Android platform, Cestos is still
one of the classics. You face off against an online opponent to be the
last person with at least one marble left remaining, with various maps
determining how each player's marbles may be destroyed.
In each round of the game, you simply tap and drag from each marble to define a trajectory and distance for the object to travel when action commences. The other player does the same for their set of marbles, and once set in motion, the marbles obey simple laws of physics, ricocheting off other marbles or barriers and being misdirected by objects in the environment like mines. At the end of each match you have the option of going back for a rematch against your most recent opponent; if you both approve, you can go head-to-head once again.
What's your favorite Android game? Let us know in the comments.
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