40 new and notable Android games from the last 2 weeks (10/25/16

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

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Looking for the previous roundup editions? Find them here.

Games

Batman - The Telltale Series

Android Police coverage: 'BATMAN - The Telltale Series' available on Android, only first episode for now

TellTale's latest 3D adventure game tackles the company's biggest pop culture property yet: The Gosh-Darned Batman. But the adventure series does something that no other Batman video game has done: it's put the spotlight squarely on the alter-ego, Bruce Wayne. That gives the multi-part narrative a much-needed fresh perspective. As with other TellTale games, the first episode is free, but subsequent entries can be bought individually or in a "season pass" for $15. At the moment there are some serious stability and compatibility issues with the Android version.

Enter the fractured psyche of Bruce Wayne and discover the powerful and far-reaching consequences of your choices as the Dark Knight. In this gritty and violent new story from the award-winning creators of The Walking Dead – A Telltale Games Series, you'll make discoveries that will shatter Bruce Wayne's world, and the already fragile stability of a corrupt Gotham City. Your actions and your choices will determine the fate of the Batman.

PinOut

Android Police coverage: PinOut is a modern and retro, vibrant and dark, take on Pinball from the makers of Smash Hit

Mobile developers are having some great success translating classic gaming mechanisms into finger-friendly alternatives. Take PinOut: one part pinball, one part endless runner, with an infusion of Tron's trippy visual style. The action progresses in an infinite fashion as you hit the ball from zone to zone, each with a new set of paddles. The visuals and animation are great, and best of all, the game is free, with only a $2 upgrade to progress from checkpoints and no other IAP.

Pinball reinvented by the award-winning developers of Smash Hit and Does not Commute. Race against time in a continuous journey through this mysterious canyon of pulsating lights and throbbing retro wave beats. The classic pinball mechanic remodeled into a breathtaking arcade experience. PinOut is playable at no cost and free from ads. An optional premium upgrade is available through a one-time in-app purchase that will enable the ability to continue from checkpoints.

Oh...Sir! The Insult Simulator

Android Police coverage: Oh... Sir! The Insult Simulator lets players destroy their opponents in the most British way possible

No one could accuse Oh... Sir! The Insult Simulator of false advertising. It's a sort of grammatical one-on-one fighter, where two players use the same pool of words and phrases to craft a crushing insult. Players will have to use correct syntax and grammar and take advantage of their opponent's insecurities to score the most points. It's definitely an original idea, and the $2 game has no ads or in-app purchases.

The parrot is back from the dead bringing countless new insults for your disposal, Sir. Remember that silly game that parted lovers, destroyed families and turned friends into enemies? Here’s its successor that does even more, certainly with more style and more variety. And I have proof. This time you can spread affront to everyone in the world that has Internet access or - if you’re not the most sociable - you can sit alone and play with yourself. Nudge nudge.

SKYHILL

Android Police coverage: Skyhill is a roguelike post-apocalyptic survival game with an army of bloodthirsty mutants

In Skyhill, the player is tasked with getting the hell out of a high-rise after the world has ended. It's your basic survival craft-em-up with some Doom-style monsters and a 2D game field, but it takes a positive glee in seeing how many times it can make you die. The game's presentation is slick but simple and horror fans will feel right at home, but there's a bit of RPG and roguelike in the formula as well thanks to auto-generated levels and a turn-based combat. Skyhill is just $3 with no in-app purchases.

World War III was one cruel tragedy, at least for the others. You seemed to have a quite nice time, hidden in your fancy penthouse at the Skyhill Hotel... Till the impact of a bio-weapon blew away the life you once knew. Now there are mutants everywhere, and they're eager to rip you to shreds with their vicious claws. But they aren't your only problem: Your supplies are running out. You have to leave your luxurious penthouse and search for food.

The Trail

Android Police coverage: The Trail from designer Peter Molyneux is now available to all in the Play Store

Apparently people are still letting Peter Molyneux of Fable fame actually make video games. The enablers are Kongregate this time around, and they're publishing The Trail, an Old West exploration game that adapts elements from Minecraft and Don't Starve into a mobile-friendly UI. The cel-shaded graphics are appealing as well, giving the whole game a happy, peaceful look that's unique. Too bad it doesn't stop the $100 in-app currency purchases from biting like mosquitos along the Missouri.

Join our pioneers on a vast journey across country unknown. Set forth to reach the town of Eden Falls - explore, craft, collect, trade, discover, and eventually settle and build. The newest game from Peter Molyneux, legendary designer and creator of the God Game genre, brings the frontier to life on your mobile device. Peter Molyneux’s previous games include Theme Park, Dungeon Keeper, Fable, Populous, and Godus.

Asphalt Xtreme

Android Police coverage: Asphalt Xtreme is out on the Play Store, with all the off-road racing you could want

Gameloft's latest racing game is all about that off-road 4x4 action... despite the fact that many of the cars in the game are actually low-slung muscle cars with rear wheel drive only. I'm not a car nut, but I know that's not an exceptionally good idea. Anyway, it has much of the same arcade aesthetics as Asphalt 8, but with more dust and fewer vehicles, though they're all licensed. Full online racing is included, as is - of course - $100 IAP.

NO ROAD. NO RULES. Break through to uncharted territory with Asphalt Xtreme. Rip around dunes, charge through canyons, drift across the mud and fly past your opponents to reach the finish line.

35 MONSTER MACHINES: Release your inner beast in a Monster Truck. Feed your passion for speed with a Muscle Car. Or just go wild on the track as you drive a Buggy, Pickup, Rally Car, SUV or Truck.
UNLEASH YOUR STYLE: All 7 off-road vehicle types deliver unique flavors of gameplay, allowing you to constantly discover fresh and challenging experiences.
THE BIGGEST BRANDS: We’ve unleashed Jeep, Ford, Mercedes-Benz, Predator, Dodge, Chevrolet and loads more of off-road racing’s best licensed motor machines.
REAL-TIME MULTIPLAYER: Go head-to-head online in 8-player simultaneous free-for-alls. You’ll be facing some tight competition, so stay on top of your game.

DC Legends

Android Police coverage: DC Legends is now available for Android from WB Games

The latest DC superhero game takes a lot of cues from Star Wars Galaxy of Heroes, Disney's attempt to turn the spacefaring franchise into a collect-em-all RPG. DC Legends is all about getting as many heroes as possible from the various DC properties, then making them beat up bad guys from the other side. (It doesn't have anything to do with the CW show.) At the end of the day that collection aspect, with upgrades for heroes, weapons, and equipment, is what it's all about. Well, that and the $100 IAP.

As the shadow of the Blackest Night prophecy falls on every world, sheer will alone cannot save the shattered DC Universe. It’s up to you to lead a team of DC’s greatest champions to victory, but know this: peace can only be restored with a strategic mind. Experience the ultimate role-playing game packed with all of your favorite DC Super Heroes and Super-Villains. Join Superman, Batman, The Joker and more in a battle against Nekron. How will your choices affect the fate of the DC Universe?

Football Manager Touch 2017

Android Police coverage: SEGA releases Football Manager Touch 2017 on the Play Store

I feel like I've written about SEGA's various flavors of soccer management games a hundred times now. I can't bring myself to care anymore. Here's another yearly instalment. It's only for tablets. It has lots of teams and a few UI changes. It costs an almost insulting $20 plus an extra seven bucks in IAP. Go nuts if you really must.

Football Manager Touch™ 2017 is the most complete football management game available on tablet. Manage real teams and real players, in more than 130 authentic leagues across the world and watch your games play out on the acclaimed Football Manager 3D match engine.FM Touch 2017 features unrivalled player data, comprehensive tactical control and an ultra-realistic 3D match-engine.

Agent A: A puzzle in disguise

Agent A drips with James Bond charm and style, complete with fun animations and cheesy storylines. But underneath that it's an eclectic grab-bag of puzzles that are laid down across the game's plot. Aside from the sneaky spy progression there's no uniting theme, but that helps keep things interesting across the various rooms and 50 puzzles. It's just a dollar (at the moment) with no IAP, and I'd pay that much just to see the swanky illustrations.

If you like escape games, you will love Agent A. The first instalment of the Agent A series is here with free updates and more missions coming soon. Agent A, your new mission has just arrived from headquarters. As usual destroy this transmission once received. This mission is of the utmost importance so get to it effective immediately. Ruby La Rouge. Known enemy spy and perilous predator has been targeting our secret agents. Your mission is to find and capture this vindictive vixen. She’s been on our radar for some time now, however intel revealing her motivations is unclear.

Space Food Truck

Space Food Truck is an exciting interstellar culinary adventure. Basically that means it's a management game with a sci-fi-cooking theme: you manage and upgrade your ship (truck), choosing the food to sell and where to sell it. There's also a bit of FTL action since aliens will sometimes invade and you need to fend them off with semi-random loot in order to sling Galactic Tacos another day. I like the Futurama-style humor, and the premium $10 setup is balanced by having no in-app purchases.

Space Food Truck is a cooperative, culinary sci-fi adventure. 1-4 players take on unique roles aboard the Galaxy Gourmet, and they'll all need to work in concert to succeed. Just like on a real space food truck.

• The Captain charts your course.

• The Chef crafts delicious recipes.

• The Scientist researches powerful abilities.

• The Engineer repairs and upgrades the ship.

Each character begins the game with a small deck of 10 cards, which you'll play to move around the ship and do your job. You must add a card to your personal deck each turn, and you'll be reshuffling and drawing items and abilities from it all game long.

Lifeline: Flatline

Is anyone tired of these Lifeline games yet? Apparently not, because the developers continue to release new spinoffs with startling regularity. This one preserves the "communicate with a lone character through text messages" gameplay, but the setting is shifted into a new horror movie-style atmosphere. All of the old features are intact (including Android Wear alerts), and now players can see the character's heart monitor for a bit of immersive terror.

The Lifeline series takes a terrifying turn in this interactive horror experience. Every decision you make could help Wynn to safety, or lead her to an untimely end. Something has gone horribly wrong... Venture deep into a mysterious scientific facility, where a woman named Wynn has just woken up strapped to a hospital bed. She doesn't remember what happened to her - all she knows right now is that she has to get out of this place. And her only link to the outside world... is YOU.

SIM - Sara Is Missing

These sort of "augmented smartphone" games are getting more elaborate. In Sara Is Missing, your only way to track down a missing woman is by creepily going through her phone. (Her iPhone, of course because the devs couldn't be bothered to change things for the Play Store release.) Puzzles and info hunts are all presented in the style of a fictional phone, allowing you to pretend to find Sara in a surprisingly immersive way. The game is free, but please keep in mind that it's rated Mature - something that isn't obvious from the screenshots.

Sara has disappeared under mysterious circumstances, and your only lead is her mobile phone. Search for clues by investigating Sara's personal messages, notes, emails, pictures and videos while trying to piece together her final days. Unlock password protected files, uncover hidden messages and decrypt lost data and figure out out where she went, what she did, and how someone can disappear without a trace so suddenly.

The Quest

The Quest is so nostalgic for early 90s 3D fantasy games that it's got bits of Ultima dripping off of its head. Fans of this very particular brand of game will be in hog heaven thanks to the Tolkien-style story and 2.5D graphics, but anyone looking for a Skyrim-style spectacle should look elsewhere. It's eight bucks with no in-app purchases, so Quest to your heart's content without spending an extra dime.

The Quest is a beautifully hand-drawn open world role playing game with old school grid-based movement and turn based combat. In the kingdom of Monares trouble is brewing. The governor of Freymore is missing and the island is in tumult. The mages all prophesy a dark shadow looming over the safety of the kingdom. As an Agent of the king, it's your job to find out what is happening and avert any danger.

Paper Wings

Paper Wings is sort of like a 2D dogfighting game, except that there are no planes or indeed any combat. You fly your origami bird in lazy circles, catching balls and grabbing coins in a chill fashion. As a 2D game it's a bit more focused than most of the "zen" titles on the Play Store, with progression coming from unlocking birds and a promised multiplayer mode. At the moment it's free with no in-app purchases.

The life of your paper bird depends on catching all the coins. Don't let any of them fall. Paper Wings is a fast-paced arcade game about catching falling balls mid-air to keep your bird alive. As you gain points, you advance through the stages in the game. In each stage, new challenges are introduced to make the game harder and more fun. Flap the paper wings of your bird, fly high, and dive to collect all the coins.

Twelve Absent Men

Here's a new one on me: an adventure game set in a courtroom. You could think of Twelve Absent Men as a sort of American version of Phoenix Wright (complete with Archer-style character designs), with a little more subtle humor and a very loose grasp of actual legal proceedings. One of the screenshots even shouts "Objection!" It's $4.49 and has no in-app purchases.

Twelve Absent Men is a satirical legal adventure game with comedic characters, an enthralling storyline and a polished, modern cartoon look. Solve puzzles, confound witnesses and outwit the state prosecutor in this race to that crucial verdict: not-guilty. Inspired by the legal drama genre, the game combines elements of satire and humour with the seriousness of a court of law. It is self-aware in following the “mythic” traits of legal dramas.

Starship Escape

In Starship Escape, you must escape a starship. Okay, so I'm not exactly blowing your mind, but this is a solid little platformer-shooter that reminds me a lot of the old Aliens games on the Genesis. Sneak, shoot, and bludgeon your way through the 2D stages and bosses with the help of a robot assistant, and take a minute to glance at the hand-drawn characters (not pixelated, thank God). At the moment the game is free with no in-app purchases.

A huge spaceship in outer space was captured by the enemy. Everybody is dead. Luckily you were making repairs in the most distant part of the ship and enemies didn't find you. Now you need to survive and escape. You're not a hero, you're an ordinary mechanic. Every single enemy soldier is deadly danger for you. You have to use your mind and your skills to effectively hide, evade patrols, sneak, attack and use the environment of the ship to your advantage. You'll need all your luck.

The Last Door: Season 2

The Last Door was an adventure title in the vein of early 90s point-and-click games with a story that mixed Stephen King's brand of straightforward horror with a bit of Lovecraftian flair. "Season 2" has the same pixelated graphic style and inventory system as the original, so if you've been on pins and needles to continue the story, here you go.

In Season 2 of the award-winning hit The Last Door, delve further into the madness of the Veil as Dr. John Wakefield, psychiatrist to Season 1’s protagonist Jeremiah Devitt. Setting out in search of his client who has mysteriously vanished, Wakefield is soon drawn into the haunting web of forbidden knowledge, madness, and a much deeper conspiracy hiding it all than he ever could have imagined. As his search takes him beyond England, will he find his missing client?

Undergrave — Pixel Roguelike

Undergrave fancies itself a Castlevania clone, right down to the somewhat religious protagonist with a whip-like weapon. There's a crafting element in the form of alchemical potions, which you can use both in combat and for health and ability boosts, and levels are procedurally generated. The game uses an old-school graphic style and needs a little polish (there's no controller support, for one), but at the moment it's in alpha and free.

Undergrave is a pixel art platformer game with roguelike elements about alchemy and demons, in which every playthrough is unique. In the game you control a character, which can attack enemies with a chain and throw potions or drink them. To obtain potions, you must craft them with ingredients, which you can find in chests and defeated enemies. Craft potions, fight enemies. Undergrave is in Alpha stage now, so we encourage you to tell us about any bugs you find. Our e-mail: 3dudesmig@gmail.com

Burrito Bison: Launcha Libre

Here's a fighting game that's not really a fighting game. While all the characters are Lucha Libre wrestlers, only the boss fights are actual wrestling bouts - the rest of the stages are auto-running jaunts. The art style is fun with great 2D energy, and there are three wrestlers to choose from and a host of upgrades. The game is free with $12 IAP.

Burrito Bison is here and he’s brought friends. In the latest installment of one of the web’s most popular games, Burrito Bison teams up with new friends: Pineapple Spank and El Pollo to bounce, crack, eat cake, smack, fly, and soar through the skies to fend off the invasion of gummies. Stolen by an evil chef, Burrito Bison seeks out his cookbook to take back with him to make the finest salsa in the world.

Nyheim

Nyheim is a board game with a post-apocalyptic setting, because we don't have enough zombies in this roundup yet. Through dice rolls you control a struggling population trying to rebuild their Finnish city in between mutant monster attacks and nasty weather. The game is slow and methodical, so it'll appeal to strategy fans (especially if those fans like to kill giant rats). It costs $4.49 with no in-app purchases.

Help a party of survivors lead the progress of Nyheim's rebuilding while rats, crises and harsh northern weather all attempt to finish off what the pandemic started.

Roll dice and match symbols to progress on your quest*
Search the districts of the city for supplies and survivors*
Balance the needs of your party and headquarters*
Fight monstrous rats and solve or weather crises*
Complete your new home task by task*
Attempt different approaches with Nyheim's features*

Galaga Wars

Galaga is back! Sort of. This reinterpretation of the classic space shooter is more or less the same, with a 2D playing field and pew-pew gameplay, but with fancy 3D graphics and a few social elements that allow you to "rescue" your friends. There's also a full 3D "hyperspace" mode that plays a bit like an endless runner, which is nice for variety. What's even nicer is that Namco-Bandai managed to exercise some self-restraint and kept the IAP to just $3 in this free game.

A galaxy on the brink of destruction. Infinite waves of alien enemies. One heroic ship. You know what to do. Fire up the engines, power up the laser chambers as the iconic space-faring shooter returns for its 35th Anniversary in a shower of laser blasts, breathless barrel-rolls and smoking missiles. The survival of the universe is once more at stake. They have an alien motherfeet of immense proportions, endless waves of ships bristling with high-tech weaponry and of course the sheer power of the boss Galaga...

The Forgotten Room

Good grief we're getting a ton of horror games this week - maybe it's because Halloween missed our bi-weekly schedule? This one is a fairly standard adventure game with pre-rendered environments and puzzles in the style of Myst, only creepier. Your job is to track down a missing girl in an abandoned mansion. Two dollars gets you in with no in-app purchases.

Play as paranormal investigator John "Buster of Ghosts" Murr as he explores yet another mysteriously creepy house. This time he's on the case of Evelyn Bright, a 10 year old girl that went missing whilst playing hide and seek with her father. Will John solve the mystery of the missing girl and discover what really happened in the forgotten room? Tune in right now to find out.

Cowboy vs UFOs

Cowboy vs UFOs (not aliens, why would you ever think that) is a stylish little shooter in which you play a cowboy shooting down extraterrestrials from the saddle, on a horse which is apparently running on its own tiny planet. It's not much more complex than "point at stuff to shoot it," but there's a charm in the 2D graphics and the game has a ton of collectible weapons, mounts, and other wacky elements. It's free with IAP that only goes up to five bucks.

The Wild West is under alien attack from Dark Space. Wanted cool gunslinger. Maybe you are the space COWBOY who can save the Wild West before it’s too late. Fight the UFO invasion as cowboy legend Johnny Wrangler, before the space aliens succeed with their dastardly plan. Shoot quickly, but accurately space UFOs: this is a real cowboy shooter game with cool guns. YeeHaa. Move your space guns. Bang, bang.

Danger Dodgers!

In Danger Dodgers you control a variety of livestock that are being mercilessly assaulted by meteors, among other things. Avoiding incoming stuff is pretty much the only gameplay element, but the 3D graphics have a goofy component that's endearing in its awfulness in a sort of Flappy Bird way. It's free with $2 of IAP, almost exclusively for procuring new skins to run around in.

Choose your character, dodge the meteors, and don't get squished.

Free to play.
Eclectic Cast of characters from across the world, and across the internets.
Share and compete with your friends.
Easy to learn, but hard not to get squished.
Come back daily for gifts, challenges and new characters.

Pettson's Inventions 3

It's been three years since we saw this physics-based mobile series on the Play Store, and it doesn't look like that time has been used in making a lot of new elements. This game is more or less the same as the other ones, with an education-focused mix of building and testing to solve each "invention," which is basically an elaborate puzzle. Fans of Goldberg machines will be happy, but everyone else can play the older games instead.

In the third game about Pettson’s Inventions you get to explore Pettson and Findus farm while completing even more of their amazing inventions. Enjoy 36 brand new inventions divided into 6 different areas, each with it’s own unique theme. Construct a ferris wheel in the woodshed, create an egg-painting machine in the henhouse or build a wake-up invention by combining an apple, a dog and some paint. Look for the missing bike parts and see if you can complete the final mission, to fix Pettson’s bike.

Cannon Flight

The trailer for this game presents the idea of blasting a rodent out of a cannon as much more epic than it actually is. It's a lot like Pilotwings thanks to the mouse's wingsuit, with the objective being to explore the 3D levels and grab as many collectibles as possibly while in the air. Apparently it's based on some "4D" movie, but I've never heard of it. At least the game only costs a dollar with no IAP sneaking around.

Always wanted to fly like a bird? With Cannon Flight you can experience an explosive adventure with Ed Euromaus and his friends…at dizzying heights. A cannon fires you into the air, where you will be challenged to use jump pads, trampolines and your wingsuit to prove your flying skills. Do you have what it takes to perform risky manoeuvres in the air? Collect letters and coins to unlock new levels and playable characters with unique abilities.

High Risers

If the original Donkey Kong switched to an auto-running format and got rid of the gorilla and the barrels, it might look a lot like High Risers. Your character runs madly through the various floors of improbably-designed high-rise buildings, with jumps and bounces relying entirely on timely taps. Unlocking environments and skins is the only real motivation, but that's OK, its simple and fun. IAP tops out at six bucks.

How to succeed at work without really trying: Bounce off the walls. Get as high as you can. Always bring a golden parachute.

High Risers uses the "Read the contents of your USB storage" & "Modify or delete the contents of your USB storage" permissions. These permissions are used to save screenshots for sharing, and also by our ad networks to cache video ads.

Keepy Ducky

Apparently this casual game is based on a minigame created in Minecraft. The graphics are certainly Minecraft-inspired, but thankfully the gameplay itself is a little less complicated: shoot the ducks to keep them in the air. It's the exact opposite of Duck Hunt. As you'd guess from the title, it has the same semi-random cosmetic unlock system as Crossy Road and in-app purchases that go up to $2.

Two years ago YouTuber iBallisticSquid invented his legendary Minigame KEEPY DUCKY for a funny stay in the world of Minecraft. Now it is your turn to relive this adventure full of ducks, snow and animal companions on your own Phone, wherever and whenever you want. The concept is simple, but nonetheless a challenge - Keep a duck in the air for as long as possible by shooting it with snowballs. As soon as one of them lands on the floor, the game is over und you are ready for another round.

Construction Simulator PRO 17

The word "pro" in the title of this game implies that it is for, or at least aimed at, professionals, and therefor a "simulator" could be used to teach real-world construction techniques. That seems dubious, but Construction Simulator Pro does have 17 different vehicles and 20 different contract types to fill, so at least it's not wanting for variety. It's $5 with $20 of IAP, but at the moment it has serious loading issues according to the Play Store reviews.

Have you ever had a chance to operate concrete pump, bulldozer or even a tower crane? Now it's your time to learn to operate heavy construction machines thanks to Construction Simulator PRO 2017. Start up as an unexperienced contractor taking small contracts from the city. Earn cash, upgrade your fleet and gain experience to buy your own lots of land and raise buildings to sell them with profit. Become a construction tycoon and shape the city to your liking.

Bloons Supermonkey 2

This is a game about a monkey superhero. That doesn't give you a lot to go on in terms of gameplay, so I'll spoil it a bit and tell you it's a top-down space shooter. I can only assume that the saccharine title is so that the monkey can pop floating balloons instead of shoot people, but his non-specific powers and upgrades are about as endearing at the $50 in-app purchases in this $3 game... which is to say, not very.

Endless legions of colorful bloons in outlandish shapes and patterns are invading Monkey Town and only Super Monkey can stop them. Equip dozens of powerful weapons, unlock never-before-seen Super Monkeys, and use dozens of screen-clearing powerups to pop every bloon and achieve a perfect diamond ranking.

Fast-action, pop everything fun-fest
50 vibrant levels, each with unique bloon waves
Colorful, easy to control family fun for new gamers
Intense skill-based diamond challenges for hardcore players
90+ weapons including epic powers like Doom Gauntlets, Sidewinder Ace, and Yeti
40+ bloon shredding powerups like Explosive Shots, Parallel Universe Monkey, and the Sun God
Compare level ranks with your friends

Dexter Slice

It's been three years since the disappointing conclusion of Showtime's serial killer drama Dexter, and apparently someone thought it was time to wring some money out of the license. But for a show about police investigations and amateur butchery, it's odd that this game is about twitch puzzles in which you apparently cut your own fingers off. It's an impressively awful use of the brand, made no better by the fact that they couldn't even get Michael C. Hall to do the voiceover. $4 with $1 in-app purchases.

Dexter: Slice is the spiritual successor to the popular 2010 release Slice HD. As with the previous game, Dexter: Slice presents players with an onscreen field of EXTREMELY SHARP cutlery. Moving each knife reveals buttons that must be quickly pushed before the blades slide back into place. The longer you play, the more challenging the puzzles become, sometimes involving as many as ALL 10 FINGERS - eventually requiring a masterful combination of careful planning, limber fingers and quick reflexes.

Guardian Codex

The latest overdesigned mobile RPG from Square Enix is Guardian Codex. See, no mention of Fantasies, Final or otherwise. But it hardly matters: we get the same turn-based strategy and ridiculous character and monster designs we see in any Square-Enix RPG. The hook here is that there's 4-player co-op multiplayer for the over-the-top battle system, plus some whiz-bang 3D graphics and monsters to catch. It's free with IAP that tastefully tops out at only eighty bucks.

A brand-new title from the creators of Guardian Cross, the hit series with over 8 million downloads. Up to 4-player multiplayer mode. In the year 2030, the world is split between the Empire and the Resistance. As one of the Resistance's agents, you are sent into the virtual reality Codex with a vital mission: find the extinct legendary “Guardians.” The Resistance’s goal is to transfer the virtual Guardians into the real world and use them to defeat the Empire. Immerse yourself in the Codex to better understand the Guardians and save the world.

DragonVale World

I'm informed that DragonVale is a hugely popular entry in the "build a village and collect stuff" genre, and this sequel brings it into the world of 3D (at least in some places). Also, there's sex. Lots and lots of dragon sex. Well, implied sex and Pokémon-style eggs, anyway. Players are encouraged to combine and breed new kinds of dragons through standard upgrades and trading, and expand their villages to unlock more dragons. As with all of these collect-a-thon games, it's free with $100 in-app purchases.

We’ve hatched an all-new DragonVale game. Enter a magical 3D world of dragon-filled adventures. Warning: You may find yourself hopelessly addicted to hatching and caring for your own adorable dragons. Collect over one hundred delightful dragons, build a park for them, and watch the visitors pour in. Customize your dragons with enchantment spells to change their appearances and abilities. Trade with players from around the world as you build your ultimate dragon paradise

Villagers & Heroes 3D MMO

There have been a ton of games that have tried to grasp the possibly mythical "Mobile WoW" crown, none with any particular success so far. Villagers & Heroes dispenses with almost all of the pretense by being a more or less complete riff on Blizzard's MMO, including graphics that look like they're about a decade old. Unlike WoW it's free, but in-app purchases that go up to $100 mean that you won't get the coolest stuff without spending an inordinate amount of time or money on the game. The cross-platform hook isn't much to go on, either.

Welcome to the Best 3D MMORPG on Android. Join hundreds of thousands of players worldwide in an epic MMO in a massive 3D world filled with swords, sorcery, dungeons, dragons, wizards, warriors, quests galore, countless beasties, and people from all over the globe.

• Free to Play: persistent world, 3D MMORPG in real-time.

• Epic Lair Battles against the Elders of Mallok to get the best raid gear

• Thousands of challenging Story-Driven Quests, voiced by professional actors

• 8 fully customisable character builds to play - Defender Warrior, Fire Wizard, Holy Priest, Assassin, Swift Warrior, Ice Wizard, Shadow Priest, and Bow Master

• Unique character customization options

• Craft and trade thousands of weapons, armor and items

• Gnomish Augmentation, Fishing, Mining, Bug Collecting, Smithing, Tailoring, Cooking, Foraging, and Carpentry

• Player Housing with Ranching and Gardening

• One-of-a-kind seasonal event zones

• Consistent updates with an active development team

Heroes of the Dungeon

Heroes of the Dungeon, in addition to holding the trophy for "most-generic title" on the Play Store, is a top-down dungeon crawler in Diablo style. There are a ton of dungeons, enemies, and heroes to be had, including standard single-player and multiplayer modes, and the graphics are smooth and colorful. But of course the upgrade and gear grind feed into the pay-to-win model with $100 in-app purchases.

Recruit heroes to your roster and challenge rival guilds. Master your skills in the dungeon or face defeat in various combat modes. Solo campaigns, boss battles, PvP, and GvG competitions await you on your adventure. Become Lance the Beserker, as he sets out on a journey in the war torn world Nirvash. It all began during a great battle, between righteous warriors and the dark magic deriving from a dragon. After much bloodshed, conspiracy keeps four kingdoms separated.

Trainers of Kala

If the heaving cleavage on the app icon for Trainers of Kala wasn't a clue, it's going for a mainstream general audience, or at least the wallets of those players. It's a mix of a lane-based tower defense game (without the actual towers, just monsters vs monsters) and card collecting plus deck building a la Hearthstone. Art is solid and endearing and there's multiplayer aplenty, but IAP going up to a whopping $105 kills any enthusiasm I might have for the competitive aspects of the game.

Fearless trainers duel in real-time multiplayer battles, using cards to summon powerful creatures and cast spells against each other until one prevails. Collect and upgrade dozens of cards to build the most powerful battle deck, then select your favorite trainer and step into the Tournament of Kala. Defeat all opponents to rise to the top and become one of the best players in the world.

Evil Dead: Endless Nightmare

The Evil Dead franchise is getting a new lease on un-life thanks to a TV show, but all the creativity and charm from that series seem to be absent here. While the 3D graphics in this FPS are impressive, it boils down to a bog-standard shooter with very little variety to be had. Those who love the series might as well check it out - it's free, of course - but even they won't spend a hundred bucks on in-app purchases.

Evil Dead: Endless Nightmare is a chilling, 1st person, endless runner with cutting edge 3D graphics and an atmospheric soundtrack. Prepare to be immersed within the horror of Evil Dead. Equipped with iconic Evil Dead weapons such as the chainsaw or shotgun, players must escape the cabin and defend themselves against Deadites, falling trees and swinging vines within the forest. Collect blood droplets, upgrade weapons and prepare to battle against the evil witch to bring the nightmare to an end.

The Uncertain

The latest adventure game to hit SHIELD (exclusive) is yet another port from a Steam title. The Uncertain takes place in a post-apocalyptic world populated only by robots, who live in and among the ruins of humanity. Though the game is episodic, it takes more of a conventional approach than newer "walking simulator" titles. The graphics and atmosphere are impressive, but early reviews on the Play Store say it has some serious control and bug issues. It's also quite expensive at $15, but no more so than the PC version.

Imagine making moral choices in a world devoid of morality. Logic rules this world, and every decision is just a set of zeros and ones. Most concepts take a whole new meaning, and some get completely abolished. Luckily reasonable beings, even if not human, always have a choice. The Uncertain Episode 1: The Last Quiet Day is an episodic story-driven adventure game set in a post-apocalyptic world.

Appisodes: Runaway Shuttle

Holy crap, Disney is still making "appisodes" for that Tomorrowland bomb of a movie? Apparently so. The Appisodes are actually based on the cartoon that comes from the property, and this one has a few minigames set in that universe. It's fit only for very young kids by the look of it. The game is a hefty five dollars with no IAP.

In the Miles From Tomorrowland Appisode featuring "Runaway Shuttle" preschoolers experience the magic of watching, playing and interacting directly with their favorite Disney Junior TV show in a whole new way. They will touch, tap, swipe, tilt, shake and talk their way through an episode by watching and completing various fun-filled interactive activities. It’s a fully immersive interactive TV episode that reinforces developmental values.

Fantastic Beasts

Here's the VR companion game to WB's latest attempt at billion-dollar franchise, Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them. You'll need a Daydream or Cardboard headset to play, of course.

Ready to see the wizarding world as you've never experienced it before? Then step through Newt Scamander's case and explore the spectacular world of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them in a breathtaking virtual reality experience. Meet and interact with Beasts, complete spells and immerse yourself in the magic like never before. Fasntastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is in theatres starting November 18. ©2016 Warner Bros. Ent. All Rights Reserved. J.K. Rowling's Wizarding World TM J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

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