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Top 10 best Android games of March 2014

Reasons to be cheerful - one, two, Threes!

Top 10 best Android games of March 2014
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March wasn't quite as strong a month as February for Android gamers, but then few months are.

What's important is that there were still plenty of excellent 'droid games to play over the past 31 days.

We got the swift Androidification (it's a word) of the game that everyone with an iPhone has been playing, a not-so-swift Androidification of a certain bit-hitting physics-puzzler sequel, and a whole heap of interesting little gems that you may have overlooked.

We also have the odd case of a triple-A mobile exclusive (yay!) that hardly anyone will be able to play (boo!).

Only on Android, eh?

Threes!
By Asher Vollmer - buy on Android

Flappy Bird may have won the title of 'Most Buzzed-about Mobile Game of 2014' so far, but Threes! is the one that's received the most acclaim from across the critical spectrum.

Whether you're a casual Candy Crush Saga fan or a hardcore gamer looking for a bite-sized treat, Threes! is just the kind of polished, intuitive, intelligent game that can appeal to everyone.

It's simple, really: combine two matching number cards to create a single card with double the face value. Repeat until you can no longer continue.

Sorcery!
By inkle - buy on Android

This one's taken so long to get to Android, there's already an iOS follow-up on the market. That game was more like a second chapter than a full-blown sequel, though, and a pretty swift one at that.

And besides - Sorcery! is just too good a game to be able to hold a grudge against it for long.

It's a Choose You Own Adventure-type experience from one of the masters of the art, Steve Jackson. However, Sorcery! also stirs in a healthy gaming element, to the point where it's a thoroughly absorbing RPG as well as a ripping yarn.

First Strike
By Blindflug Studios - buy on Android

This fast-paced strategy gem has you plotting and executing your plan for world domination using a vast arsenal of nuclear weapons.

With multiple megalomaniacs all trying to do the same to you, in a kind of grim exaggeration of the Cold War, it's imperative that you maintain your defences as well as your stockpile of offensive measures.

First Strike is slick, absorbing, and just a little bit wrong. We love it.

Block Legend
By Dot Warrior Games - buy on Android

We haven't had one of these for a while - an RPG / match-three puzzler hybrid. Well, not for a few weeks or so, at least.

Block Legend is far better than most attempts at this kind of thing, though. It boasts gorgeous pixel-art graphics, varied stages, and a general attention to detail that betrays the developer's immense enthusiasm for its game.

Block Legend isn't remotely original, but it shows other RPG-puzzlers how it should be done.

Cut the Rope 2
By ZeptoLab - buy on Android

Let's be straight here: we're extremely surprised and more than a little disappointed that it took Cut the Rope 2 three months to swing its way to Android.

There. On behalf of all Android gamers, we've said it.

Now, we can get on with enjoying this brilliantly crisp, thoughtfully enhanced follow-up to one of the defining mobile games of the past few years.

Om Nom is back, with a number of delightfully versatile helper characters and some of the best physics-based conundrums on the Google Play Store.

Lost Yeti
By Neutronized - download on Android

Aw, look at the widdle Yeti. Isn't he cute. Couldn't you just... Damn it, how the hell do I solve this one?

That's pretty much the thought process most will follow throughout their time with Lost Yeti. It melts your heart and busts your balls. But it's not as unpleasant as that sounds.

It's all about swiping your Yeti through a series of mazey levels, avoiding traps and baddies and manipulating your environment.

Mines of Mars
By Crescent Moon Games - buy on Android

Mining games are pretty popular right now, and Mines of Mars is one of the purest examples of the genre. Take your little spaceman and dig down through the treacherous layers of Mars, excavating valuable minerals and processing them for loot.

Once you've returned these materials to the surface, you can craft new equipment that enables you to go deeper, dig faster, and defend yourself against the tougher monsters that lurk beneath.

Mines of Mars can turn into a bit of a repetitive trudge, but the sense of isolation and the idea of exploring an alien environment are extremely potent.

Epoch 2
By Uppercut Games - buy on Android

The original Epoch came along at a time when game developers seemed intent on crowbarring console-like 3D action games into mobile devices. It was a fine example of adapting such experiences to an all-touch interface.

This sequel, you'll be unsurprised to learn, offers more of the same. But given that few have followed the original's lead in the years since its release, that's no bad thing.

Popping out from behind cover, evading fire, and mowing down bad guys has rarely worked this well on mobile.

God of Light
By Playmous - buy on Android

God of Light is all about bouncing light beams off multiple mirrors, which is a familiar gameplay mechanic.

Here, however, it's executed with uncommon levels of polish. The light you're redirecting actually serves to illuminate your surroundings - which just so happen to take the form of a gorgeous fantasy world.

Add in a spacey soundtrack from U.N.K.L.E., and you have a rather lovely casual puzzler.

Rochard
By Recoil Games - buy on Android

We feel a little conflicted about including Rochard on this list, because the chances are the vast majority of you Android owners won't be able to play it. In fact, we haven't even been able to play it.

You see, it only runs on a device with the Tegra 4 chip under its hood. And, well, very few Android devices are powered by Nvidia's latest microprocessor.

There's the Nvidia Shield console, a few HP slates, a few Toshiba tablets, and... that's about it.

But we have played Rochard on PS3 and PC, where it's an ace physics-platformer. Early reports suggest that this is a faithful conversion, so if you have the gear to play it (you'll also need a control pad), do so.


Top 10 best Android games: February 2014
Top 10 best Android games: January 2014
Top 10 best Android games: December 2013
Top 10 best Android games: November 2013
Top 10 best Android games: October 2013
Top 10 best Android games: September 2013
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.