As 2013 goes in to a wrap, we have exclusively selected the best and most downloaded games of 2013.
From Angry Birds to Despicable Me, Ridiculous Fishing to Clash of Clans, here are this year's top picks for Android players
ACTION
Angry Birds Star Wars II
This was the second Angry Birds game to be set in the Star Wars universe, with characters turned into birds and pigs, and 120 levels to fling them through. This time round, you could play as both sides, and there's a range of Telepods toys that interact with the game too, Skylanders-style.Badland
Badland was one of many well-loved indie games to make the leap from iOS to Android this year, as developers recognised the growing potential of Google's platform for games. It's a platform-adventure set in an eerie forest, with beautiful visuals, slick physics and plenty of exploration.Call of Duty: Strike Team
Activision's latest Call of Duty game was made for mobile devices from the ground up. Some elements were familiar – ie all the shooting – but new twists included the ability to swap between first-person action and a more tactical third-person view to plot your squad's tactics.Dead Trigger 2
The original Dead Trigger was a made-for-mobile first-person-shooter by developer MadFinger Games, and its sequel amped up the action: more zombies, including bosses, and more weapons to dispatch them with. The graphics were also a big draw: one of the best-looking Android games of 2013.Despicable Me: Minion Rush
This was publisher Gameloft's official game for the Despicable Me movies, putting you in the shoes of a scampering minion for this Temple Rush-style endless runner. Leaping, sliding and dodging obstacles while earning or buying costumes and power-ups proved hugely popular among children and adults alike.Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Just in time for Christmas came this Android version of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, originally released in 2004 for consoles. It's nostalgia, yes, but the game still packs a mighty punch with its sandbox gameplay. It plays nice with Bluetooth controllers too.Mushihimesama Bug Panic
Good luck pronouncing the title to this shoot 'em up, although you needed even more luck (and plenty of skill) to play it well. This was an old favourite from Japanese developer Cave, with bullets flying all over the shop, and a punishing-yet-rewarding difficulty curve.Nimble Quest
Having made its name with Tiny Tower and Pocket Planes, developer Nimblebit turned to the action genre, blending Snake gameplay with RPG-style characters and upgrades. You swiped your party of heroes to guide them through levels of increasing difficulty. It's genuinely addictive.Papa Pear Saga
The last word is the clue here: Papa Pear Saga came from the same company (King) that made puzzle phenomenon Candy Crush Saga. Where that game was a Bejeweled-style match-three puzzler, this is essentially a rewrite of another game, Peggle, firing balls to destroy pegs.Ravensword: Shadowlands
Crescent Moon Games has won plenty of fans for its Ravensword RPG games, and its latest Android instalment was very impressive. It involved exploring a vast fantasy world fighting and questing, in the vein of some of the impressive open-world adventures on consoles.Ridiculous Fishing
Ridiculous Fishing is, yes, ridiculous: you lower your bait down as far as possible while avoiding a variety of creatures, then haul it back up again catching as many as possible along the way, hurl them into the air, and blast them to bits with a shotgun. Bad in real life, but fun virtually.Ski Safari: Adventure Time
Cartoon Network's Adventure Time show appeals to kids and grown-ups alike, as does this game. It sees the stars of the show sliding down hills on their bottoms to evade avalanches, pulling stunts as they go. It captured the quirky charms of the show perfectly, whatever your age.Sky Gamblers: Air Supremacy
Namco Bandai's Sky Gamblers series has spawned a succession of visually-impressive dogfighting titles. This was the latest version, offering more solo modes than before, as well as online multiplayer with a choice of teaming up with friends, or blasting them out of the skies.Super Hexagon
Super Hexagon may have been the most hardcore Android game of 2013: a "minimal action" arcade game with a punishing difficulty level – yet intensely rewarding once you got to grips with it. Its pulsating chiptune music was also a standout mobile-game soundtrack this year.Temple Run 2
Temple Run was one of the biggest "endless runner" games on mobile devices, and the sequel did a good job of bumping up the graphics and adding more depth to the gameplay. At its core, you're still swiping to jump, slide and turn your way through paths to escape an angry giant monkey.The Blockheads
"Explore, mine, craft and build in this giant and detailed sandbox game," explained the Google Play listing for this, with the two key words being "mine" and "craft". Unashamedly inspired by Minecraft but with a 2D spin, it's an excellent sandbox to explore.Tiny Thief
Tiny Thief was a release from Rovio Stars, the new publishing business that's part of Angry Birds-maker Rovio. Inspired by classic point'n'click adventure games, it sees the titular hero exploring six quests, with some delightful puzzles and surprises in store.
PUZZLE
Bejeweled Blitz
Part of the rush of freemium games on Android this year, Bejeweled Blitz was a reengineered version of the classic match-three puzzle game, with rounds lasting 60 seconds each, and the emphasis on power-ups and high-score tables of friends to compete against.Blip Blup
Blip Blup was a hypnotically-addictive puzzle game from UK studio ustwo, which sees you tapping to fill a screen-full of tiles with colour. The complication being walls and obstacles that get in the way of your colour-pulse's path. More than 120 levels to work through provided plenty of challenge.Cut the Rope: Time Travel
Cutesy monster Om Nom's proper Cut the Rope sequel will hit Android early in 2014, but this intermediate game proved a hit in 2013, with a time-travelling theme and similar action: cut ropes to solve physics puzzles across six locations, while feeding sweets to the monsters.Doctor Who: Legacy
The latest Doctor Who game was instantly familiar to anyone who's played Puzzle & Dragons – one of the few mobile games to be making as much money as Candy Crush Saga. It sees you swapping colourful orbs around to attack monsters while building a team of the Doctor and his companions.Dots: A Game about Connecting
Dots was the most addictive Android game this year, thriving on the simplicity of connecting same-coloured dots on a grid in 60-second rounds. Twitter and Facebook are plumbed in to compare your scores to friends, and there is also an untimed mode for practice.Dr. Newton: The Brain Adventure
British developer Brainbow was hoping to become the new Dr Kawashima-sized brand in the brain-training world, with Dr. Newton: The Brain Adventure. It's a familiar mix of mini-games and score-tracking, and very polished – perfect for short daily bursts of brain workouts.Hundreds
Circular puzzle game Hundreds sees you tapping on circles in each level to make them (and the numbers inside them) bigger – adding at least 100 points overall without them touching. Which sounds slightly tortuous written down, but the game's genius is its stripped-down simplicity.Juice Cubes
Essentially Candy Crush Saga with square-shaped fruit rather than sweets, but it's very well done. Published by Rovio, it features hundreds of levels of fruit-matching puzzling, with combos, Facebook integration and in-app purchases used to buy power-ups when it gets too tough.Kami
Kami is a beautiful, relaxing game based around folding colourful virtual paper in squares, trying to fill the screen with a single colour in as few moves as possible. No time pressures or impossible levels trying to make you buy in-app purchases. A marvellous de-stress tool.Pixel Defenders Puzzle
This addictive puzzler sees you matching pixels and characters to make more-powerful characters, who then attack enemies at the top of the screen. If you've ever played the (also gripping) Triple Town, it's a bit like that but with extra fighting, and a fantasy-RPG theme.The Room
Atmospheric puzzler The Room passed the 1m sales mark on iOS in mid-January before crossing to Android. The gameplay involves exploring a beautifully-crafted 3D room solving puzzles with tactile touchscreen controls, providing a genuine challenge for your grey cells.
RACING / SPORT
Angry Birds Go
The latest Angry Birds game was controversial for its enthusiastic adoption of pretty much every free-to-play gaming mechanic going, but underneath that is a genuinely impressive karting game with smooth handling, well-crafted tracks and familiarly-fun characters.CSR Racing
Freemium drag-racing game CSR Racing roared onto Android with its blend of buying, upgrading and racing a range of cars from Audi, BMW and other manufacturers, with an emphasis on customisation – and in-app purchases used to fund the action.Fast & Furious 6
Social publisher Kabam was the latest Fast & Furious licence-holder, aiming to do for the cars'n'guns movie franchise what it had already done for The Hobbit. Which is? This involved more racing, customising cars and trying to work your way up the global leaderboards.FIFA 14
Even FIFA went free-to-play this year with in-app purchases to unlock all the single-player modes, and for packs of players in the Ultimate Team mode. Otherwise, it was business as usual: slick action, thousands of licensed players, and inventive touchscreen controls.Flick Kick Football Legends
The original Flick Kick Football was fantastic, but returned this year as a freemium game with a retro look, and an emphasis on team-building as well as goal scoring. The gameplay was richer too: besides pinging shots you also have to master tackling, intercepting and passing.Fluid Football Versus
Another polished football game, with more of a focus on multiplayer matches as well as a single-player mode. As in its predecessor, it sees you trying to score goals by drawing lines for your players' runs, then (hopefully) flicking the ball into the net. A real tactical challenge.Football Manager Handheld 2014
The latest Android version of the world's best football management franchise adds more depth, a redesigned user interface, the ability to create your own club (yes, with you as the star striker if you're in that frame of mind), and the ability to manage in more than one country. Engrossing.Real Boxing
One of the best-looking sports games on any mobile device, this sees you battling through a 30-fight career mode against 20 beefy boxers, while training your fighter up in between matches. The chunky boxers and smooth animation made for impressive fight scenes.Real Racing 3
Another game whose switch to freemium was controversial, but after some tweaks to its timers, Real Racing 3 really impressed. Dozens of cars, hundreds of events and genuinely console-quality graphics, plus clever asynchronous multiplayer races to compete against offline friends.
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