The best Android games this week - Hitman GO, Rival Knights, and Random Heroes 2

Every Friday, Pocket Gamer offers hands-on impressions of the week's three best new Android games.

Hitman GO
By Square Enix - buy on Android (£2.99 / $4.99)

This is not your average Hitman game. Baldy bloke Agent 47 looks like a chess piece, and his hunting grounds resemble architectural models. Complete with green felt grass.

It's still about sneaking past guards, hiding in potted plants, and offing jerks, mind you. But it's inspired by tabletop games (both in a visual sense and the way that guards wait for you to move before continuing their patrols).

So, what you end up with is a turn-based stealth game. It's a satisfying sneak-'em-up, but without the stress of getting busted by a wandering guard.

Plus, Hitman licence or not, this is an imaginative puzzler that feels right at home on the touchscreen, and comes with a vast catalogue of levels. We called it a "clever and refreshingly original puzzle game that's satisfying to win" on iOS.

Random Heroes 2
By Ravenous Games - buy on Android (69p / 99c)

Hobo with a Shotgun isn't just a cult exploitation flick. It's a potential loadout in Random Heroes 2. Same goes for Jester with a Bazooka and Princess with a Flamethrower. We'd watch those.

Whatever weapon you pick, this is a chunky pixel-art platformer about hopping through simple levels and gunning down aliens with a grin on your mug.

But despite the title, these heroes aren't exactly random. Instead, you buy them - and your guns - from a shop that often feels a little pricey.

But with that warning out of the way, let it be known that Random Heroes 2 is a perfectly playable run-and-gun platformer that we said "is everything that a retro mobile platformer should be" back on iOS.

Rival Knights
By Gameloft - download on Android (Free)

Rival Knights is essentially CSR Racing: Medieval Edition. Both games feature short straight tracks, rhythm-driven micro-games, and IAPs. But only one measures horsepower literally.

And, of course, only one ends with a metal-clad knight taking the business end of a lance to the chops.

Gameloft's game owes a debt of inspiration to iOS knight-poker Joust Legend, though the controls are simpler here. You just tap to go, tap with good timing to speed up, and then wiggle your lance to hit the enemy's weak spot.

It can get quite repetitive, and it's laden with monetisation nonsense, but there's no escaping the fact that this is fun and satisfying - and seeing your foe's ragdoll body crumple up like a sack of potatoes is always a giggle.