We’ve done all the legwork for you by installing and testing anything and everything. Here are the best new apps and games we’ve come across on Android. (Check out the gallery above for images.)
Anomaly 2
If you’re sick and tired of tower defense games, Anomaly 2 might be just what you need to break free of the boredom. This game turns the tower defense trope on its head by putting you in control of a convoy of powerful military vehicles traversing level after level of alien defense turrets — Anomaly 2 shows you what tower defense is like from the other side.The game takes place against a backdrop of alien invasion, and humans lost. Your goal is to assemble a team of scientists and retrieve a superweapon that can vanquish the alien menace once and for all. At your disposal are a number of vehicles with their own distinct attacks and strengths. This isn’t just about brute force, though. Your units can flip back and forth between two different modes, one of which is usually a giant walking robot.
Building and transforming the squad is imperative to survive in Anomaly 2. You need to understand when each mode is called for based on the positioning and type of towers you’re going up against. There are also multiple paths you can take to the goal, which can be the difference between a clear victory and crushing defeat.
Anomaly 2 is a 1.5GB download, and your device needs to have some horsepower to run it — this is a very pretty game. The level of detail in the background and the units is stunning. Even zooming in there are no corners cut and no hints of rough edges. This, along with the compelling gameplay is enough to justify the $4.99 price tag.
CM Installer
Cyanogen Inc. hopes to make a viable business out of the popular custom ROM, and part of the strategy involves making it easier to get CyanogenMod installed on devices. After a bit of testing, the CM Installer app was recently added to Google Play for everyone to enjoy. Well, technically you can only enjoy it if you have one of the supported phones.The CM Installer currently works on the Nexus 4, Galaxy Nexus, Nexus 7 (2012 and 2013), Nexus 10, Nexus S, as well as most versions of the HTC One, Galaxy Note II, and Galaxy S4. The app is paired with a desktop PC client that pushes the actual installation files to the device. CM Installer for Android explains the process of getting the device ready to be detected by the PC and acts as a connector with the desktop client.
All you have to do in order to get started is install the app and let it scan the device. It will direct you to the website to grab the Windows client, which downloads the correct ROM, recovery, and Google Apps package. When the app says it’s time to plug the device in, the desktop client will start the unlock and installation process.
You don’t have to have an unlocked bootloader ahead of time — the CM Installer can do that for you. Some devices might need to have the process run after the bootloader unlock, but a Nexus should make it through in one shot. If things go smoothly, the entire process can be completed in just a few minutes. After the ROM is installed, it will get OTA updates from the CyanogenMod project automatically.
[Read on for our full coverage of CyanogenMod Inc. and the CM Installer app.]
Rayman Fiesta Run
Rayman Fiesta Run is a side-scrolling platformer, but don’t write it off quite yet. Unlike most other platformers, this title has a very interesting, fluid brand of gameplay. With a series of taps, you send Rayman leaping and sliding through the varied levels like a choreographed dance.This is a platformer without all the extraneous bits — it’s just about timing your moves correctly and playing the level perfectly. How do you know if it’s perfect? You don’t just have to survive each stage in Rayman Fiesta Run, you also have to collect the glowing Lums floating throughout the stage. There are 100 per stage, and the more you collect, the faster you’ll unlock more levels.
The controls start off very simple and the game adds new elements as you progress. It never really gets complicated, though. You have a jump control, attack, and a long-press to hover. Just timing these skills correctly blends together into a series of movements that really flow. The gameplay almost looks like a pre-rendered animation.
The level design and graphical quality is also excellent. Rayman Fiesta Run is $2.99 in Google Play, and it’s one of the coolest platformers you’ll find.
Flyne
You might recognize the design style used in Flyne — it comes from the developer of the popular (and banished) Twitter client Falcon Pro. Flyne is an offline news reader app with a little dash of social integration. It’s very smooth and minimalist with just the right kind of flourish.Flyne (pronounced like the second half of the word “offline”) has a number of built-in feeds in various categories like architecture, science, entertainment, and so on. When you download the app, it allows you to load up any of these feeds to see how the app works and get an assortment of content.
If you want to add your own Feedly feeds or content from your Twitter timeline, you’ll have to buy the features. Rather than sell Flyne for a flat amount, the developer lets you just buy the features you want — Twitter access is $1.99 and Feedly is $0.99. You can see all your content at once, or dive into specific categories from the slide out navigation panel.
The app’s interface is minimalist with the content taking up the entire screen. Even the action bar is transparent when you’re reading. Swiping left and right navigates between stories, but you can skip through the feed more quickly by scrolling through an article list accessible on the right.
The offline aspect of Flyne lets you choose sources to be cached automatically in the background. There is a setting to control the size of the cache, but a few feeds can easily be saved for you to read without a connection.
Plants vs. Zombies 2
It arrived on iOS a few weeks earlier, but Plants vs. Zombies 2 staggered its way onto Android recently. This game is almost a genre unto itself — most people that play games on a mobile device have played at least a few minutes of Plants vs. Zombies. The sequel has the same general vibe, but there are a lot of extra things grafted on, and of course, there are new zombies to shoot and plants to do the shooting. [For more check out our full PvZ2 review.]Plants vs. Zombies 2 takes place across three different historical periods — ancient Egypt, the pirate seas, and the old west. All these eras are completely crawling with zombies, which doesn’t seem to jive with recorded history, but whatever. You’ll still plant sunflowers to power your warmachine of pea shooters, cabbage-pults, Wall-nuts, but now there’s real money on the line.
This time the zombies are after your brains and your wallet, but the Android edition of the game is much more forgiving than iOS. You need to earn stars by completing challenges to unlock each world, but the number you need is nearly half that of the iOS version. Other items are also much easier to unlock. So you won’t be as tempted to pay money to unlock things, which is always an option. Dropping a few dollars on Plants vs. Zombies 2 will still speed things along.
In addition to planting seeds to take out zombies, there are special powers to invoke in the form of plant food and pay-per-use gesture attacks. The plant food is gathered during the game and gives one of your plants a more powerful special attack. The gesture attacks (like flicking the undead off the screen) cost you some in-game cash, and you can buy more if you need it (the game is very clear about that).
The level of polish has been kicked up a notch and the overall look is great. The game assets are super high-resolution and render clearly even on a tablet like the Nexus 10. Plants vs. Zombies 2 is free, so everyone should at least give it a shot. [Read Geek's Plants vs. Zombies 2 guide]
Aviate
The Play Store has been overflowing with alternative Android homescreens for years, but Aviate is the first one that’s really trying to do something different. Most of the third-party launcher apps simply take the default Google framework and bolt new components on, but Aviate is a completely new experience.[Read Geek's full Aviate review.]
Aviate is designed to learn from your habits and usage to provide the apps and data you’re most likely to need before you need them. It’s a little bit like Google Now for your homescreen, but it keeps things simple.
There are three panels in Aviate. The main one has your favorite apps plus spaces for 2-3 small widgets. To the right is a panel with app collections as organized by Aviate. You can change them, but it seems to get these right most of the time. The far right panel is the full app list.
The thing that sets Aviate apart is the automatic “Spaces.” Aviate chooses a collection of apps and widgets that makes sense for the morning, work, evening, and so on. You can access this by swiping upward at any time. Just like with the collections, you can organize and alter the layouts however you like, but Aviate is fairly good at selecting content. It will also pull up a Space for restaurants and stores when you’re out.
Aviate is a very attractive homescreen with a Google Now card vibe. The default theme is light, but a dark version is also included. Even though the app is still in beta, the responsiveness and features are impressive. Aviate is free, but you’ll have to get on the waiting list or find someone with an invite to get access.
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