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Top 5 Android games that could do with an HD overhaul

Five games that need to look sharp

Top 5 Android games that could do with an HD overhaul
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Following on from Hexage’s commendable decision to issue HD versions of all of its Android games, we though we’d take a look at the wider Android Market and see which games would benfit from the HD treatment.

The general standard of Android handsets is now extremely high, and there are a lot of them out there. Now is the perfect time for developers to consider giving their games a lick of paint for devices with bigger screens and meatier processors.

Our list is a mixture of classics and games that disappointed. All would benefit greatly from some extra technical TLC.

Which Android games would you like to see given the HD treatment? Let us know in the comments section below.

Zenonia (Gamevil)

Zenonia remains one of the finest games on Android, without a shadow of a doubt. The only trouble is, I remember it looking a little fuzzy even on my old G1.

It’s not that the graphics are bad – far from it. The anime-esque art style is wonderful, bringing the classic 16-bit action-RPG bang up to date. It’s just that it all looks a bit ‘low res.’

2D sprite-work of this quality really pops when it’s rendered sharply, so a simple bump-up of the resolution (and maybe one or two extra lighting effects) would do wonders for the game on high-end devices.

Furry Legends (Gamelion)

Furry Legends? That rather forgettable 2D platformer with the dodgy controls? Yep, that’s the one.

The reason we’ve picked this one out for potential HD treatment is because there’s already been an HD version (of sorts) released, and it's a much better game than this one.

It's available on Samsung’s bada platform, so there’s no reason it couldn’t make the switch to high-end Android devices too.

To be honest, it’s not so much an HD version as a completely different game, complete with lush 3D visuals and sympathetic accelerometer controls. But if Gamelion were to sell it on Android under the HD moniker, you wouldn’t hear us complaining.

Pocket Racing (Measured Software)

Pocket Racing was something of a surprise package when it turned up earlier in the year, with its polished arcade handling and remarkably well developed online features.

One area where it perhaps shows its humble origins is in its graphics. Next to the stunning Reckless Racing, it looks a tad… well, plain. True, most games look plain next to Polarbit’s masterpiece, but we’d still love to see an HD version doing this fine game justice.

It wouldn’t need a radical overhaul – the game’s functional style has a certain charm to it, after all – but some sharper, more detailed visuals would be just the ticket.

MiniSquadron (Supermono)

MiniSquadron falls into the same category as Zenonia – an absolutely brilliant game with a lovely art style, but put it on a large-screen Android device and it looks like the screen’s been smeared with a fine layer of Vaseline.

On the four-inch Super AMOLED behemoth that is the Galaxy S the issue is glaringly obvious, but even on the 3.7-inch Motorola Milestone I used to review the game it all looks “slightly blurry and low-res.”

The game’s ultra-slick brand of arcade blasting is simply begging to be updated with correspondingly sharp graphics. MiniSquadron’s cartoony vapour trails and distinctively detailed planes deserve to be seen in all their glory.

Guitar Hero (Glu)

In my recent Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock review I pulled Glu up for opting for a lazy Java conversion rather than making full use of the Android platform.

When you consider the lush riff-matching gameplay offered by the official iPhone version, it’s hard not to feel short-changed (literally as well as metaphorically) by the Android efforts to date.

Guitar Hero HD on Android wouldn’t even have to be a conversion of the iPhone edition (which was made by Activision Blizzard itself). We have plenty of faith in Glu’s abilitiy to produce a rich, 3D experience with plenty of top-quality (and properly synched) music tracks.

It just needs to get on and do it.

Jon Mundy
Jon Mundy
Jon is a consummate expert in adventure, action, and sports games. Which is just as well, as in real life he's timid, lazy, and unfit. It's amazing how these things even themselves out.