Top 10 Android Games of 2012: FPS Titles, Adventure Games, Arcade Ones and Action Hits
2012 is just hours away from ending and we’re here to show you a nifty top 10 of the games of the year. Some games we’ve played on Android, others on other platforms, but in some we’ve had contact with all these titles at some point during the year. We’ve had a lot of shooters this year, some classic brought back to life, Gameloft had a ton of releases, so did Glu Mobile, while EA had a few gems on its hands as well. Rovio can’t miss our top 10, since Angry Birds shined brighter than ever with two new franchizes started. Let’s see the best 10 games of the year, right here, at Androidpipe.com.
Mass Effect Infiltrator was launched around the time of the debut of Mass Effect 3 and it was supposed to be tied in to the title, a bit. You could even import https://androidpipe.com/files/some intel points from infiltrator to mass effect 3, helping you get better alliances and thus a better game ending. infiltrator relies a lot on taking cover to shoot, so basically there’s not a single major gameplay part that you’ll do without cover. the sniper system is pretty cool and you even get biotics, the special powers that allow you to lift enemies in the air or throw an energy ball at them. the game offers about 4-5 hours of fun, plus extra missions and a few tough to beat bosses. it’s well worth the purchase for $4.99 and you can download it from here.
9) Angry Birds Space
Till the point when Angry Birds Space was launched, the entire franchize looked the same: various colourful landscapes and shooting birds from a slingshot. Rio brought some new characters and new environments in the mix, but it didn’t dare to change the game mechanics. Well, Space did that and they brought in the whole idea of gravity and rotating around a planet in a certain pattern. They brought totally revamped birds, lots of planets to explore and crisper graphics than ever. The game also got a bird harder, it got some NASA tie-ins and some Mars Rover treats at some point. It was a very fun title that people may have forgotten about, since it was released this Spring. You can download it from here for free and give it a go.
Max Payne Mobile is the remake of the first Max Payne title in the series, that reached its third installment this year. This Rockstar gem was the first to introduce bullet time back in 2001 and now it’s back on mobile. We played with it on the Samsung Galaxy S III and had a lot of fun with this title. The dark, creepy atmosphere is here and this third person shoot has enhanced graphics that are excellent on a quad core device. There’s a bullet time option available through a button that you press to perform that move. Max uses dual pistols, a machine gun, even throws a molotov cocktail at some point. The story is filled with painkillers, mobsters, creepy conspiracies and lots of action sequences. You can even tweak the controls for a better experience. The title goes for about $3 (actually $1 for the holidays) and you can get it from here, for hours and hours of fun.
Dead Trigger is the repeat success from MadFinger Games, a FPS that follows on the footsteps of Shadowgun and brings in zombies as the enemies. Initially priced at one dollar, the game is available for free now and it has a control scheme similar to Shadowgun. The idea is that you’re part of the survivors of a zombie apocalypse and you join other survivors, as you hunt for supplies, save other innocent people and find new weapons. The weapons included in the game are an AK47, 9 mm pistol, Scorpion, Walther P99 and various machine guns. The gameplay is fast paced and waves of zombies are big enough to put you in a tough spot and make the gameplay pretty hard. The game is still a very fun one and the graphics and lighting are top notch. The title can be downloaded from here.
Wild Blood is most likely the most complex game of the year, a hack and slash RPG with strong action elements, priced at $6.99 and based in a medieval setting. It’s made by Gameloft and has you playing as Lancelot, one of King Arthur’s knights who has to fight Arthur’s sister Morgana and her demons. Other famous characters like Merlin and Queen Guinevere are involved here and the game is so big, it takes up 2 GB of storage. It’s also based on Unreal Engine and has a fantastic graphics, especially in the level where you’re strolling around some gardens in the sky. Aside from the single player title that gives you 10 regions to explore and many hours of play, there’s a multiplayer mode, with a 4 versus 4 combat option. You meet in a medieval arena and you do magic, use swords, bows and axes to beat the opponents.
Speaking of which, you’ll also use a big sword throughout the game, as well as a bow, dual axes and magic, all of them upgradable. It all feels like Game of Thrones, which is very cool and if you want to experience that, the title is up for download here.
This summer, the biggest blockbuster movie was without a doubt The Dark Knight Rises. It didn’t come as a surprise when Gameloft also released a game to go hand in hand with the movie. The title was priced at $6.99 and it totally fits the story of the movie. We tested the game on a Nexus 7 tablet and it looked spectacular. You will rescue Thalia Al Ghul, track down Selina Kyle, drive the Bat Pod and even end up in the Pit, after Bane breaks your back. There’s even the challenge of climbing that wall and having to deal with armed guards with your bare hands. Aside from Batman’s martial arts, you’ll use a bunch of gadgets, such as smoke grenades and the grapple hook will also be there all the time. Batman can level up, learn new tricks and combos as he progresses.
You will fight snipers, stay away from their sights and glide using your cape all over the dark and rainy Gotham city. A very nice title, that sticks to the story of the movie. You can download it from here.
Angry Birds Star Wars is seen by many as the best game of the year, but the Angry Birds frenzy is not as big as it used to be, so there are actually other titles to look up to. This doesn’t make the Star Wars released any less fun, since it’s the best release in the Angry Birds series since the original game came out. It’s even better than the very original Angry Birds Space, keep that in mind! The title was launched on November 8th and it pairs the classic storyline and Star Wars characters with the Red, Yellow, Pink, Brown and Black birds, making each of them either Chewbacca, Leia, Han Solo or Luke. Birds now wield light sabers, shoot laser pistols, have Jedi powers or use the brute force of Chewy to get around. Pigs are now Stormtroopers and you’ll even have to face them in the Death Star at some point.
The title gives you a crazy number of 131 levels, plus 20 more when the cold planet Hoth update was released. Even R2D2 and C3P0 made it to this game, as special bonus level characters. The levels are very fun and this is a must play title, if you’re an Angry Birds/casual puzzle fan. You can get the regular Angry Birds Star Wars from here for free or the HD one from here for $2.99.
Modern Combat 4 was launched recently and we had a tough choice putting it on third spot, since it was one of those titles that could have easily reached the first spot and nobody would have been upset by it. This FPS is seen as the mobile alternative to Call of Duty and it’s one of Gameloft’s best games ever. It’s priced at $6.99 and it takes around 2 GB of storage on your device. The story goes like this: a group of terrorists bombs big towns and they kidnap the US president, so you have to fight them, save the bigshot and thwart their plans. The cool thing is that you get to play on both sides of the barricade, as both the terrorists and the SWAT team. 12 missions are available, taking you to places like Barcelona, the Arctic or the headquarters of an official conference building the States. The graphics are fantastic, with very realistic smoke, a variety of well done weapons with realistic recoil and even some vehicles to play with.
You can also play a multiplayer mode with 12 players, that reminds me of the good old Counter Strike. This extremely fun game can be download from here and be sure to try out the variety of in game weapons.
It was very hard to choose between this game and Need for Speed Most Wanted for the title of the best game this year. One was extremely fun, had loads of stuff to do in it, a great multiplayer mode and the other simply kept me glued to the screen. The glue won… But NOVA 3 is the greatest achievement in graphics, sound and gameplay this year, that’s for sure. From the starting sequences with the main character sliding on a glass building to the battles on an alien spaceship or the multiplayer mode where you control a mech, everything is so much fun! NOVA 3 is the best shooter I’ve seen on a mobile platform and this also includes all the portable consoles you can imagine. It would kill on the PS Vita, but you’ll probably never see it there… You play as futuristic Earth soldiers with costumes like the ones in Crysis and you have to fight alien enemies known as the Volterite. 10 levels are available taking you to various locations and you even have special powers, that will throw the enemies around.
For me this game is much better than Shadowgun. You can get it from here for just $1 today!
Need for Speed Most Wanted is the champion of the year 2012 when it comes to gaming on both Android and iOS. It’s so much fun and although it lacks some of the elements of the PS Vita version, it’s still the best racing game on mobile ever. It totally surpasses the quality of the Asphalt 7 title, in both soundtrack and graphics. The lighting effects are brilliant, cars are well done and have visible damage and their variety is welcome. You can cruise around in a Lamborghini, Hummer, BMW, Porsche 911 Carrera and a ton more vehicles. Nitrous effects are fantastic and not exaggerated with a blue screen like in the latest Asphalt. Plus we add the police chases in the mix, for some extra salt and pepper. You can ram into police cars, hit their road blocks and race at night, trying to get the right time in the time trial race.
You will pick your own race from a big area called Fairhaven, with races going on at night, at day time, at dusk and in a variety of locations. Perfect game? Almost, but very, very close! The speed sensation is great and when racing to Skrillex things get exciting. You can get the game from here.
This ends the gaming year 2012, that brought us a lot of goodies, a lot of nifty titles and more. In 2013 we’ll see even better games, remakes, ports and newcomers. I wonder what the hit game will be next year… Maybe a shooter or RPG this time?
