Welcome to the weekly roundup of the best new Android games and live wallpapers that went live in the Market 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

Plants vs Zombies

Android Police coverage: PopCap’s Plants Vs Zombies Finally Reaches Android – Free Download Today On The Amazon Appstore

Plants vs Zombies needs no introduction - PopCap's infamous (from the PC world) and highly anticipated game is now on Android. Available exclusively through the Amazon Appstore for the time being, PvZ is currently on sale for half price at $1.49.

Amazon Marketplace link

Android Police review: [New In The Market] Robotek Brings Lasers, Explosions, and Risk-Based Mayhem To The Palm Of Your Hand

Robotek HD is without a doubt one of the best games released in the last 2 weeks. The graphics and animations are absolutely beautiful, as is the case with every game Hexage creates. You owe me at least 8 hours of my life now, Hexage!

The game is free to play, with some unlockable elements via in-app purchases, but these are not required to finish the game if you do well. I'm not sure I like this new payment model just yet, but time will tell whether it's going to make the company more money than one-time lump sums.

The humanity had fallen. In the great robot uprising machines took the planet over. Empire of Machine is the new world order. It's time to take it back! One node at a time.

Rip through your enemies with lasers, electrocute them or fry them with microwaves. Deploy your own robots to fight for you or steal them from your enemy. Protect and upgrade your forces or throw them away in a ruthless wave of destruction.

Get experience from every battle, level up, gain power and crush the Empire of Machine!

Robotek Developer: HEXAGE
Price: Free
4.1
Download

Curling fans, anyone? Curlington HD is the first 3D curling game for Android, from what I can gather, and it looks really good.

A side note: I swear, the dev used an exclamation point after every single sentence in the Market description - I've neutered the pest in the description below and dumped them all here: !!!!!!!!!. Devs: stop overusing the exclamation point! Haven't you seen Seinfeld?

Now the top rated iPad curling game is available for Android! US App Store: 5 stars average rating.

Join the Secret Agent Curling Academy. Play in the hidden Curlington facility and master the game of Top Secret Curling. Use gadgets, special stones and the interior to your advantage. Standard curling rules with a completely new gameplay. Optionally you can also relax with a game of normal curling.

Android Police review: [New Game Review] TNA Wrestling iMPACT Brings Bodyslamming On The Go, Avoids Hitting Rock Bottom

Rule the ring with 24 TNA Superstars, including AJ Styles, Kurt Angle, and even the legendary Hulk Hogan! Master each wrestler's playbook of back-breaking strikes, slams, grabs, and finishers. Not only will you don the costumes of your favorite TNA Superstar in Career Mode, you can customize your own wrestler, from his style and stats to his body type and appearance! Decide whether you want to compete for the TNA Heavyweight, Tag Team, or X-Division championship.

Are you a diehard hockey fan? Do you have what it takes to step on the ice? Drop the gloves and test your skills in this unique 3D hockey fighting game!

LOADED WITH FEATURES
•The only 3D hockey fighting game available on the market.
•Intuitive controls for a realistic hockey fighting experience.
•Follow the interactive tutorial to learn the basics.
•Real-time damage system, see your opponent taking punishment.
•Next gen 3D graphics with HD support.
•Fight against 9 of the world’s most dangerous hockey fighters.
•Execute over 40 unique combos and punch combinations.
•Gain respect from your opponents and upgrade your character attributes.
•View your fighting stats and replay highlights to improve your skills.
•Complete a list of over 14 unique achievements.
•Online global cross-platform leaderboard to become the world’s toughest hockey fighter.
•Share your victory with your friends on Facebook and Twitter.
•Complete the game to unlock a special hardcore mode.
•Support for multiple profiles and extensive game options to adjust the game to your preferences.

BattleBalls on insane difficulty is the craziest @#$% you will see today, I guarantee you - just watch the video. I think I might need to check into an arcade rehab after this.

Smash arcade game of Chaos for 1-2 players. Do battle across a danger ridden battlefield. earn achievements, poach power-ups, destroy your enemies and sing songs of your battle deeds on Facebook

** Insane difficulty mode is solid, a must try for those with a strong stomach and lightening reflexes

Features:
- *Multiplayer (1-2 players)
- Variety of game modes
- 4 modes of difficulty (easy, normal, hard and insane)
- New features and hazards added as you progress
- *Around 80 different achievements that can be earned and posted to your Facebook wall
- Power-ups to help / hinder players
- 10, 20 and 30 round games
- Stats tracking to help you measure and improve your performance or prove how badly you just beat your friend
- Great graphics, music and effects
- Cool sci-fi theme
- Suitable for adults and children of all skill levels

* - upgrade required

Frontier Defense is a new tower defense game with pretty good graphics and animations. These TD games just keep on coming, but so far nothing can beat Tower Raiders 1 and 2 in my opinion. Let them keep trying though.

Android Police coverage: Jenga Hits The Android Market, Real World Anxiety Included

Official Jenga® for Android, 'nuff said.

This game received a lot of hype, but while the graphics are really good, I personally find it extremely boring and kind of annoying to control. Market reviews don't agree with me, though (4.8-star average). Currently $6.99.

Riptide GP is the first ever console-quality water racing game for mobile, created by Vector Unit, the developers of Xbox 360 hit Hydro Thunder Hurricane.

• Explore 12 futuristic water raceways
• Unlock and master 6 screaming fast jet skis
• 3 game modes: Race, Hot Lap, and Championship
• Grab massive air and perform dramatic stunts to earn boost
• Alter your environment mid-race with interactive triggers
• Earn Achievements, post to Leaderboards, and race against your Friends' best split times with integrated OpenFeint™ support
• Designed specifically for phones and tablets using NVIDIA’s Tegra2, the world’s first mobile superchip.
• Easy and fun to pick up and play – delightfully challenging to master

Icarus-X is a Full 3D Vertical Shooter featuring fast paced action and epic boss battles.

I've attached the video for the real-life version of Solitaire Chess. This Android game is pretty much that, but on your phone or tablet.

Simple to learn, impossible to master, addictively fun - Solitaire Chess by ThinkFun is a new logic puzzle based on the rules of Chess. For chess newbies and experts alike, Solitaire Chess can be played quickly as every move must be a capture. Early challenges may seem easy, but soon you’ll find yourself in deeper waters, pushing your mind and thinking hard about your moves to try and solve each puzzle.

The streets of Mission Hill are as deadly as it gets. Build up your gang from the toughest bunch of STREET SOLDIERS, ex-cons and wanted crooks roaming the blocks. To survive and thrive in these dangerous neighborhoods you need to TAKE OUT RIVAL GANGS before they get to you first. HUSTLING and dealing, SHOOTING and stealing is the only way to take these streets, earn COLD HARD CASH and OWN THE CITY.

First we had Angry Vikings from ZaxisGames, and now we have Happy Vikings from HandyGames. And it actually looks quite fun - just watch the video.

Get aboard your dragonship and raid foreign lands for valuable loot! It’s your job to stack and arrange the loot into combos and chains to earn points and dominate the world! Experience the might of those who reside in Valhalla's great halls. Combine ancient runes to earn favours from the Nordic Gods of Old! Prove your worthiness and strength and earn your right to enter the Gates of Valhalla as a Happy Viking!

Happy Vikings FREE Developer: HandyGames
Price: Free
4.3
Download

MrMixit is a spin-based matching game where you must frantically mix record labels against the clock. Freak and tweak the turntables to assemble symbols but beware, thousands of challenging cross-cut puzzle combinations can throw you for a serious loop. So grab your headphones and try your hand at DJing groove puzzles while you bask in the beats of the latest street-style electronica.

Turn you android phone into a battle field and snipe all your enemies. You are an elite army sniper and an unsung hero in the war against new terrorism.

Combining the fast pace of action games with the satisfaction of a precision sniper shot, Army Sniper offers exciting gameplay like never before.

From pelya, the same developer who brought us the brilliant Heroes Of Might And Magic 2 emulator.

GemRB (Game engine made with pre-Rendered Background) is a portable open-source implementation of Bioware's Infinity Engine.
Supported games: Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale series, Planescape:Torment.

Yet another game released by pelya, the HOMM2 emulator dev.

UfoAI is a squad-based tactical strategy game in the tradition of the old XCOM PC games. Build bases, research new weapons and purchase aircraft to shoot down alien ships. Then command your tactical ground squads in a turn-based battlescape that gives you pin-point control of the assault.

Needs 500 Mb RAM and a large screen - if your device is older than one year it will not run this game!

Classic bocce game now comes to android platform.
Slide your finger on the screen to throw the balls.Practise more and try to control the direction and strenth.

Provides:
* single player mode with AI
* multi player mode with your close friend.

Rebirth is a falling block puzzler with stunning visual effects. You have to create quads of the same color while keeping track of the sweeper.

Fight with your friends against dangerous monsters in the colourful fantasy world of TibiaME.

Features:
- It’s online - since 2003
- Classic 2D RPG experience
- Collect & trade 300+ items
- 14 map updates per year
- 150+ different monsters
- 200+ challenging quests

TibiaME – MMORPG Developer: CipSoft GmbH
Price: Free
3.2
Download

(Please note this will only work on Xperia PLAY devices).

The million-selling Backbreaker Football is back with a vengeance - and this time YOU tackle! Backbreaker 2 again raises the bar for graphics, physical animation and pure fun. You spoke, we listened: tackling, trucking, jumping – it’s all here! Take down the ball carrier in Vengeance Mode, or fight your way to the endzone in the classic Tackle Alley mode. Whatever you do - this is the best Backbreaker yet, so enjoy the ride!

Now, this is not really a game per-se, and I normally wouldn't include a dice app, but it has such incredible physics and feel that I had to do it. Look at the video to see what I'm talking about.

Live Wallpapers

In Shark Reef Live Wallpaper you see sharks, streamlined and ferocious predators, swimming in deep blue waters. Small exotic fishes swims around the coralls trying to avoid getting caught. The artwork is made to give you an unique experience with a bite.

Android Police review: Text Clock Pro Indulges Our Literacy With a Dynamic, Readable Timepiece

Keep track of the time in style with Text Clock Pro. This live wallpaper displays words to tell the time by lighting up characters. The clock updates in five minute increments. With the pro version, you get access to more customization options.

Live wallpaper with different animated effects changing minutes and hours at digital watches (like flip clock, rotates, drops, notebooks) and weather information.

Androids. Eating apples. Get it? GET IT?

Your android is hungry! Keep it fed with this Pac Man style Live Wallpaper. Watch as your Android chases down and eats pesky fruits hiding on your homescreen.

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 between Monday and Sunday this week
  • 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: oh.no.its.the@androidpolice.com.

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