Androidpimps – all about android games

Google finally released the Nexus 7 here in Germany and now a lot of people ask me if I can recommend it as an android gaming device. So let’s take a look under the hood of the newest device from Google. I ordered the 8GB version, because I thought that would suffice since it’s enough on my phone. Boy was I wrong, since I always used big SD cards I never realized how much space the additional data that is outsourced there takes up. In reality the 8GB version gives you 5.5 GB to install stuff and if you hit 500MB you get a warning that some services won’t sync anymore. So you have 5GB and the limit for games on the Android market is 2GB, go figure. You can’t install more than 2 or 3 big games on the device and since you will probably want to play high end Tegra games on it, you will uninstall and reinstall the games a lot. I doubt that even the 16GB Version would be big enough for daily usage for me, but at least you could install a handful of different games on it. I’ll also do this review before I root the device, because that is how most users will use their device. Root would bring additional features like the ability to use Joypads per Bluetooth or screen recording, but it can’t fix some hardware problems on the device.

The Hardware

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After years of waiting Cave finally published their mobile games on the Google Play store. The shoot’em ups from Cave are often considered the best in the genre and now you can decide for yourself, if the wait was worth it.

Both games are on sale for the first week for 4,99€you can find them here:

Espgaluda II Play Store link

DoDonPachi Resurrection Play Store Link

A while ago EA released Mass Effect 3 for PC and consoles and completed the epic RPG space saga.
They also hired Iron Monkey studios, the team behind the great Dead Space mobile version, to deliver this top notch spin-off for mobile devices.
In Mass Effect Infiltrator you play a rogue cerberus agent that fights through a secret facility. Besides the fact that you get a awesome 3D game for your mobile device, the game also links with your Mass Effect 3 data and you can boost your galactic readiness (a very important value, that influences which ending you get) by playing it. With the mobile game it is way easier to boost your rating to get a different ending (there are 16 in total), otherwise you’ll have to play a lot of multiplayer.

If you don’t play Mass Effect, this game should still be worth it if you enjoyed Dead Space. It is one of the best looking games at the moment and it runs on a huge variety of devices. Maybe the high production value even pulls you into the Mass Effect universe. That is the best thing a mobile game spin-off could hope for and with a quality game like this, it’s very possible. This little smartphone game could pull you into one of the best space sagas, that the video game world has seen yet.

The game is available in the Play store for ~6,50€
Europe/ U.S.

The award winning indie game Machinarium from Amanita Design made a lot of buzz when it launched in 2009. Because of the high art quality this adventure game became a success and is often the prime example that the genre is still alive and kicking (which is kind of proven now thanks to the Doublefine Adventure Kickstarter).
In Machinarium you play a robot that can stretch itself or shrink and collect and use items to solve puzzles in the typical point and click style.
Since the game was developed for PC’s in the first place, you need a high resolution device to play it, it is optimized for tablets with 1024×600 or 1280×800 and higher screens. It runs on 720p phones, but the click areas will be very small and could be a problem.

Anyway, if you are looking for a really great adventure for your shiny new Android device, go get Machinarium for 2,99€ at the Play Store. In my opinion it is the best point-and-click adventure you can buy for your Android device at the moment.

Spacetime Studios just released the long anticipated Dark Legends, a MMO that is playable on mobile phones and on the desktop.
After Pocket Legends (here’s our review) and Star Legends this is their third mmo game release and with every release they refined the formula to create exceptional mmo experiences on mobile phones. This time the game is set in a vampire environment and mixes elements of browser games into the realtime gameplay we know from their other games. With this method they create a deeper story and they can limit your daily progress through it, so it’ll last a while and they have a new revenue stream, should you get addicted to the game you can get more action points through in app purchases. It’s an interesting concept and suits the mobile plattform well, with this mission based approach it’s much easier to just drop in and out of the game, when you have time for a quick mission.
What I also really like is that the game asked me if I wanted push notifications. Since I can deactivate them, when I stop playing the game regularly, the game will stay longer on my device. Smart move.

You can download the game through the Google Play Store or you can download the desktop version through the Chrome Web Store.