[box_light]Another year has passed and what a year it was for Android gaming!
Over the last year we’ve seen major players such as Rockstar games, Invictus and SEGA bring their latest and greatest games to Android within a few days of their iOS counterparts
We’ve seen past developers like EA and GameLoft continue to bring over their fantastic back catalog with great ports of games from iOS
And along with all these major cross platform developers we’ve also seen amazing releases from smaller studios such as Orange Pixel, Vector Unit, Politbit, Origin 8 and many, many more.
We don’t always have the time to give all of these amazing games the attention they deserve throughout the year so let us take a small step to solving that right now and bring you: AndroidSPIN’s top games of 2011[/box_light]
[tabgroup]
[tab title="Racing"]
2011 has given us some great looking and great feeling racers. Last year we saw the insane platforming racer Jet Car Stunts in our top five games of the year and this year we’ve got some far more serious games that are just as worthy.
Top 3 Nominees
Real Racing 2
Electronic Arts Inc.
Just about as serious as a racing game gets, if you’re looking for a mobile
game that comes close to the depth of Forza or Gran Turismo then it’s worth
trying out the free mode in Real Racing 2.
Need for Speed Hot Pursuit
Electronic Arts Inc.
If racing away from the cops in a souped up sports car doesn’t grab your
interest then how about chasing down those lowly racers in your equally as
powerful police cruiser. What Hot Pursuit might lack in realism it makes
up for by just being a lot of fun.
Riptide GP
Vector Unit
Stunning visuals and superb water effects make Riptide GP look like a tech
demo, but the excellent level design and sense of motion also make Riptide
GP a unique game to play.
Winner!
Real Racing 2
Electronic Arts Inc.
The level of depth in Real Racing 2 is unmatched. Along with the visuals
and tightness of the controls this feels like a full console experience
right on your phone.
Also consider:
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[tab title="Strategy"]
The list of great strategy games is a little thin on Android compared to the other genres on this list. Most strategy dependent games are more of an RPG or a puzzle game, but there are still some great games out there, and here are our top three!
Top 3 Nominees
Great Little War Game
Rubicon Development
The overly classic style of gameplay might turn away players but Great
Little War Game’s a quick and easy strategy game to pick up and it still
has the depth to keep you coming back for more
Plants Vs Zombies
Electronic Arts Inc.
One of Popcap Game’s greatest strengths is their ability to polish a game
until its gone beyond shiny and PvZ is no exception. Classy and humorous
visuals along with a wacky story and challenging levels makes for a great
combination
Sentinel 3: Homeworld
Origin8 Technologies Ltd.
The Tower defense game type has been a little played through, but Sentinel 3
is one of the finest examples of the genre.
Winner!
Plants Vs Zombies
Electronic Arts Inc.
It’s hard to beat Popcap when they sat out to do something
and Plants vs Zombies executes its goals so perfectly that
it’s hard to think of any way in which it could be improved.
Also consider:
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[tab title="Kairosoft"]
There are so many Kairosoft games released this year that they’ve practically created their own sub-genre of simulation games. Even though many of these games have started to get overly similar, there’s some definite winners in this group.
Top 3 Nominees
Epic Astro Story
Kairosoft Co.,Ltd
The most recent un-ported Kairosoft game is set in space with some overly
overt and almost constant Star Trek references in its character names.
The setting is interesting and it’s great to go exploring with Wes Smasher.
Grand Prix Story
Kairosoft Co.,Ltd
Building your own racing car and watching it whiz around the track makes
Grand Prix Story perhaps the most visually enjoyable game in the Kairosoft
series.
Mega Mall Story
Kairosoft Co.,Ltd
Only just released by the year’s end, Mega Mall Story is more than a little
bit of a throwback to the fantastic Sim Tower/Yoot Tower games and it’s
also the most unique Kairosoft game to date.
Winner!
Epic Astro Story
Kairosoft Co.,Ltd
Perhaps we’re just a sucker for the space setting, or perhaps it’s the
humorous references, but Epic Astro story makes you actually curious
about what you’ll see next, rather than just going through the motions
of some of their other titles.
Also consider:
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[tab title="Action"]
More than just shooters, action games cover just about any game where you take direct control of a character that doesn’t fall into one of the other genre buckets and the three games we have for you here are some of the most amazing games that have ever been seen on Android.
Top 3 Nominees
Samurai II: Vengeance
MADFINGER Games, a.s.
The flow of the combat in Samurai II is just as great as the comic book
art style is striking.
Grand Theft Auto 3
Rockstar Games, Inc.
They said it couldn’t be done, or at least they might have. A fantastic
port of one of the most important games in history that’s still offers
great mindless fun and an over the top story.
Reckless Getaway
polarbit
I’ve thrown the word fun around a lot here, but few games take the essence
of raw fun quite like Reckless Getaway. It’s incredible simple, not so
deep and just raw fun.
Winner!
Grand Theft Auto 3
Rockstar Games, Inc.
It’s almost unfair to list one of the greatest games of all time in this
or any other category. Grand Theft Auto III’s port is near perfect and
it’s a great example of how on screen controls can be done right.
Also consider:
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[tab title="Shooter"]
There was a time when people couldn’t imagine playing shooters on consoles and moving from the keyboard and mouse towards game controllers. Now we’re going through that same cycle again with touch based games and while the technology still has a little way to go we’re starting to see the technology really coming in to its own.
Here’s our varied list of our top three shooters of the year.
Top 3 Nominees
Dead Space
Electronic Arts Inc.
Dead Space on Android isn’t a port of the PC and console versions but it
also wasn’t treated like a B list game. The story fits in with Dead Space
cannon and the entire game was given the attention it deserved.
Shadowgun
MADFINGER Games, a.s.
Shadowgun is nothing if not technically impressive. Even attempting to
emulate a game in the style of Gears of War is an incredible undertaking
and Shadowgun is amazing able to pull off a great part of the feel of that
style of combat.
Modern Combat 3
GAMELOFT
Gameloft like to go big and with the most recent entry in Modern Combat
they did just that. The single player story is enjoyable with its completely
off the wall story but the real accomplishment is the accessibility of the
multiplayer
Winner!
Dead Space
Electronic Arts Inc.
It’s amazing that Dead Space captures the tense atmosphere of the console
games without feeling like you’re getting any less than the full experience.
A great story and the interesting combat make Dead Space a fantastic
experience
Also consider:
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[tab title="Platformer"]
Perhaps the hardest category to judge each year is that of the platformer mostly because of the sheer number of high quality games that appear every year, so be sure to check out our “Also consider” list at the bottom for some absolute stunners that barely missed the top three.
Top 3 Nominees
Robot Unicorn Attack
[adult swim] games
Robot Unicorn Attack is one of the original auto scrolling mobile
platformers and it’s kooky premise, colorful visuals and unending playing
of Erasure come together in a way that few games achieve.
Sonic CD
SEGA of America
Heralded by some as the greatest Sonic game that Sega ever created. Sonic’s
first adventure on Android turns out to be (after a rocky start) one of the
best versions of this classic game
Cordy
SilverTree Media
If you’re looking for a cutesy, amazingly well animated platformer then
Cordy is a great pick. The free price gets you the first four levels with
the others purchsed through in-app billing.
Winner!
Sonic CD
SEGA of America
Not just a perfect port of the amazing Sega CD game, but it also improves
on it. Different soundtracks, an unlockable character and no jarring load
times like the original make this the best platformer of 2011
Also consider:
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[tab title="Puzzle"]
It’s quite amazing that after many years of puzzle games across multiple systems that developers can still come up with such unique ideas for this genre, even though two of these nominees focus around water.
Top 3 Nominees
Sprinkle
Mediocre
It might come across as a water tech demo for Nvidia with some puzzle
elements added on as afterthoughts, but the levels are enjoyable and the
later ones start to get downright devious.
Where’s My Water
Disney
Where’s my Water brings creative levels and an equally creative goal:
bathing an Alligator.
World of Goo
2D BOY
A three year old puzzler that’s seen its fair share of knockoffs over the
years, but none of them has surpassed the original’s personality.
Winner!
World of Goo
2D BOY
World of Goo is a classic game which might not feel as original as it did
back in ’08 but it’s level design is near perfect and the gameplay feels
like it was designed for touch screens.
Also consider:
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[tab title="Free"]
It was a hard choice deciding if we should even have a free category, but we feel that as we don’t create full reviews for free games (you can just go out and try them) that we need a place to celebrate some of the great releases that we’ve seen over the past year. So be sure to check out all of the top three and don’t forget our additional recommendations down below.
[We define 'free' games as ones with no cost on the market and where the largest portion of the content is available without a purchase]
Top 3 Nominees
Greed Corp
Invictus
Nothing says a strategy game like a hex grid. Greed Corp HD boasts some of
the best strategic gameplay and jazzy ragtime music in recent memory.
Race of Champions
Invictus
While you might have to pay for the multiplayer section of RoC, the single
player mode is surprisingly robust and wouldn’t feel out of place with the
paid racers we’ve seen this year.
ZENONIA 3
GAMEVIL Inc.
Winner!
Greed Corp
Invictus
At $5+ Greed Corp HD would be a steal, a lengthy campaign, full multiplayer
and some fantastic strategy make this one of the best games of 2011.
Get it!
Also consider:
[/tab]
[tab title="GOTY!"]
Finally we’re down to our finalists, where each category puts its winner forward to decide who is AndroidSPIN’s 2011 game of the year!
Finalists
#8
World of Goo2D BOY |
#7
Epic Astro StoryKairosoft Co.,Ltd |
#6
Plants Vs ZombiesElectronic Arts Inc. |
#5
Sonic CDSEGA of America |
#4
Greed CorpInvictus |
#3
Real Racing 2Electronic Arts Inc. |
#2
Dead SpaceElectronic Arts Inc. |
Winner!
Grand Theft Auto 3
Rockstar Games, Inc.
From the controls, to the action, to the story – GTA 3 is the complete
package. The changes made to function with mobile devices are a milestone
that other developers need to look at meeting, both with the controls and
with the saving/pausing.
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[box_dark]Did we miss one of your favorite games of 2011? Let us know in the comments below[/box_dark]
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