[Game Roundup] Our Top Seven Picks For The Best New Games Of May 2015

The biggest Android gaming news of the month was certainly the release of NVIDIA's SHIELD Android TV, and it brought with it quite a few high-profile PC ports. But since the vast majority of readers don't have one, I've decided to restrict this month's top picks to more general smartphone and tablet games. Fear not, SHIELD early adopters: you get your own picks down there below the honorable mention section.

Grim Fandango Remastered

Android Police coverage: Double Fine Productions Brings Grim Fandango Remastered To Android, On Sale For Launch At $9.99

Grim Fandango is widely considered one of the best point-and-click adventure games ever made, and now it can be had on Android for the hefty sum of ten bucks. You play a cheeky and sarcastic skeleton who works as an afterlife travel agent, or at least that's how he starts out. The 3D graphics in Grim Fandango are a bit dated, but the Dia de los Muertos style still holds some charm.

One of the most acclaimed adventure games of all time is now back, better than ever. Grim Fandango's epic story of four years in the life (or death) of Manny Calavera, travel agent to the dead, has been remastered to look, sound, and control even better than when it won GameSpot's Game of the Year award upon its original launch. Grim Fandango still stands as a classic of the genre, with unforgettable characters and unique combination of film noir and Mexican folklore.

Goat Simulator GoatZ

Android Police coverage: [Update: It's Live] So BAAAAAA-d It's Good: GoatZ Is Dragging Its Zombie Goat Survival Horror Simulation To Android On May 7th

Goat Simulator has always been something of a tongue-in-cheek critique of modern gaming, but this stand-alone expansion pack brings the parody to new heights. You play a goat struggling for survival in a zombie apocalypse... well, sort of. Survival really isn't the goal, it's more about exploring the zany map, messing with the intentionally buggy physics engine, and seeing how many of the game's obtuse Easter eggs you can find. And yes, you can become a zombie goat if you so desire.

GoatZ is the latest official addition to the Goat Simulator universe, and is a fine contender for the dumbest thing to come from Coffee Stain Studios yet - GOATS AND ZOMBIES IN THE SAME GAME. Well if you’re not already yelling at your mom to buy the game for you right away, maybe this will impress you a bit more:

Official new app from the idiots that brought you Goat Simulator
Mandatory crafting system - Craft anything in the world, as long as it’s one of the half dozen weapons in the game.
Fully fledged survival mode where you have to eat every five minutes to survive, just like your grandmother.
Turn humans into Zombies and loot some crates. Just like your grandmother.
Tons of new unlockable goats with special powers - shrink people’s heads, hang glide, wreak havoc, spit and be a goat. For real.

Knights of Pen & Paper 2

Android Police coverage: Knights of Pen & Paper 2 Makes A Saving Throw, Ventures Into The Play Store

The first Knights of Pen & Paper was a refreshingly original mix of "real" tabletop RPGs and the video games that evolved out of them. The sequel adds more in just about every dimension: the graphics are richer, the story is more fleshed-out, and the old-fashioned turn-based combat (played with fantasy graphics on a literal RPG table) is more robust. Players looking for a little meta with their monster hunting will be pleased.

Prepare to join Knights of Pen & Paper 2 in a turn-based, retro style, pixel-art adventure full of danger, intrigue, and semi-appropriate cultural references. Players portray both party and game master playing a tabletop RPG, and must assemble both their characters, and the challenges they will face. Now including races like Dwarf or Elf, assemble the party of your choice, choose quests and combat encounters, delve dungeons, craft powerful items, and complain loudly to the GM.

Atlantic Fleet

Atlantic Fleet is a high-end WWII naval battle sim that makes no apologies for its meticulous approach. It's pricey at ten bucks, but based on the long list of features, it's certainly worth the cost of admission. Several single-player campaigns, individual historical battles, a battle editor, and a "hot potato" single-device multiplayer mode add value, and lovingly simulated real ships, submarines, and planes should tickle the fancies of military history buffs.

Atlantic Fleet is a turn-based tactical and strategic simulation of the Battle of the Atlantic during World War II. Take command of surface ships, submarines as well as carrier and land based aircraft in a deadly struggle for control of the shipping lanes.

Unique blend of deep strategic planning combined with quick tactical decisions
Play as the Royal Navy and her allies or Kriegsmarine (German navy)
Up to 10 versus 10 ships in combat
Individually saved games for each campaign and faction
Multiplayer Hotseat for Single Battles
Sink ships with realistic buoyancy physics, not with hit-point bars.
Target specific ship subsystems to sink or cripple the enemy
Destructible ships, subsystems and visual damage to ships
60 historical ship classes representing over 630 ships and 350 submarines
Submarine warfare, wolf packs and convoys
Carrier operations and land-based air strikes

Portal ® Pinball

Zen Studios continues its expansion into all kinds of pop culture, but this one should be familiar to gamers already. This collection of two tables stars the characters and environments of Portal, Valve's hugely popular first-person puzzle game. Old and new versions of Aperture Science are available, and if you look closely you'll see Chell, Wheatley, and the various mechanized inhabitants of the lab, all looked over by GladOS. These tables are also available as IAP in the main Zen Pinball game.

Zen Studios, in collaboration with Aperture Laboratories and Valve, is proud to present the “Aperture Science Heuristic Portal ® Pinball Device”, proving that persistent experimentation is not only the hallmark of good science for the benefit of mankind, but also incalculably fun. Guide Chell and Wheatley through test chambers by navigating portals, using aerial faith plates, defeating turrets and facing other obstacles.

Sunburn!

Android Police coverage: Noodlecake's Sunburn! Is Your Chance To Grab A Bunch Of Friends And Fly Into The Sun

In Sunburn, you play as an astronaut stranded in space trying to rescue your former shipmates. Using a tether and a jetpack, it's your job to get them to safety without falling into the gravity well of suspiciously small and common stars littered around the stages. Gameplay is a physics-based mix of the circular gravity in Angry Birds Space and the odd complications of an astronaut daisy chain. $3 with no in-app purchases.

Your ship is gone. Your crew is scattered. One option remains. Gather your crew... and jump into the sun. Reunite your shipmates and hurtle toward the end in 50+ distinctly dangerous gravity puzzles. You control the captain of a spaceship that is suddenly struck by a comet and destroyed. With no way to get home, the ship's crew is forced to face reality. They're doomed to die. There's no way out. But no matter what their fate may be, one thing is decided for certain. No one dies alone.

CHAOS RINGS Ⅲ

Android Police coverage: Square Enix Brings Its Latest Original RPG, Chaos Rings III, To The Play Store For $20

It's a rare day that we see a truly new Square Enix game, and an even rarer one when that game doesn't include in-app purchases. So mobile RPG fans would do well to check out Chaos Rings III, even with its enormous $20 price tag, if you want a new entry in the company's only high-end mobile series. The story in part three is only vaguely connected to the first two games, but the interesting combo attack-based combat should feel familiar to fans.

CHAOS RINGS is a full-scale RPG series for smartphone devices that was first introduced worldwide in 2010. As part of a continuing series, CHAOS RINGS OMEGA was launched in 2011, followed by CHAOS RINGS II in 2012. The rich game world, deep storyline, and high-quality soundtrack have been praised throughout the world, recording over 1.1 million downloads across the series. To this day, CHAOS RINGS firmly maintains its position as the best RPG series available for smartphones.

Honorable Mentions

NVIDIA SHIELD/Android TV Games

That's all for May. There should be plenty of gaming news this month thanks to E3 in a couple of weeks, though mobile gaming continues to have a pretty sad presence at the world's biggest video game trade show. We've also got plenty of new games lined up for the next editions of the Bonus Round and the bi-weekly game roundup, so stay tuned.