These are the best Android games from October 2015
Plants vs zombies vs minions vs space marines
October, October. Where the last vestige of summer's light dies off and we plunge into a prolonged spell of darkness and cold.
Still, mobile games, eh? Gotta love 'em. There have been a few sweet Android treats released this past month or so.
If you've missed any of these, make sure you download them pronto.
There's nothing to do outside, after all.
PruneBy Joel McDonald - buy on Android
Prune is the last game we gave a PG Platinum Award to - that's full marks, don't you know. Ten out of ten. Must have.
So it shouldn't surprise you to see it topping our list of recommendations in the month that it arrives on Android.
It's a truly beautiful, zen-like puzzle game with a serene tree-planting theme and a gut-punch of a narrative resolution. Buy it now.
Minions ParadiseBy EA - download on Android
Following on from the beauty of Prune, we have a freemium game about silly yellow creatures who babble and laugh at farts like children. Who says there's no variety in gaming anymore?
EA gets the freemium formula just right, giving you lots of entertaining mini-games and micromanagement tasks to complete without hounding you too much for real-life pennies.
Of course, if you despise the whole minion craze, you should probably give it a miss. Grumpy.
The Walking Dead: No Man's LandBy Next Games - buy on Android
No Man's Land bears no relation to Telltale's excellent choose-your-own adventure Walking Dead tie-in series. It's very much its own beast.
This is a free to play turn-based action strategy game that has you manoeuvring a small group of survivors through zombie hoards.
Fans of the show will be interested to learn that it ties in nicely with the series, with a certain crossbow-wielding redneck in charge of the whole post-Terminus operation.
Bridge Constructor StuntsBy Headup Games - buy on Android
This is the latest game from the beloved Bridge Constructor series. It's a great deal more stunty than before, would you believe.
You're still making structures to help you cross gaps in familiar casual physics-puzzler style, but this time they're death-defying ramps rather than sensible bridges.
Adding to the thrill, you now have control over the crossing vehicle, adding a whole new level of twitch skill to the formula.
Herald of OblivionBy Tin Man Games - buy on Android
Oh Tin Man Games, will your mastery of the gamebook genre never end? Not with Herald of Oblivion, it won't.
There's a distinctly sci-fi flavour to its latest effort, owing to the fact that it's a Warhammer 40,000 tie-in. That means there are gruff space marines, big guns, and not a whole lot of jokes.
If you're looking for action, this isn't the game for you. But if you want a tight future-gothic story over which you have a certain amount of influence, look no further.
Need for Speed: No LimitsBy EA - download on Android
Okay, so technically this was released in September. But it was the very last day of September, and it's a really good arcade racer, so we didn't want Need for Speed: No Limits to fall between the cracks.
This is another slice of over the top console-quality gaming for your Android phone. It's fast, gorgeous to look at, and wonderfully over the top.
Yes, there's a touch of the old freemium grinding required to see everything the game has to offer, but the core action is solid enough to bear such repetition.
Dariusburst SPBy Taito - buy on Android
Dariusburst SP has taken three years to make its way from iOS to Android, but it still looks and plays great, in a chunky retro kind of way.
It's actually a conversion of an even older PSP game, but that just means it's got a proper beating 2.5D shmup heart. This is classic arcade stuff.
So, fly right, shoot stuff, collect power-ups, shoot more stuff, die, repeat. Sound like your sort of thing? Jump in.
Minecraft: Story ModeBy Telltale Games - buy on Android
Telltale makes excellent interactive story games based on popular modern IPs such as Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, and The Wolf Among Us.
As you may have noticed, this is all pretty adult stuff. If you're a kid who wants to be told a compelling 3D story with choices and consequences and a little light puzzling, you have to look elsewhere.
Minecraft: Story Mode finds a solution to that problem, combining Telltale's gift of the gab with the eternally popular Minecraft universe. If you have no interest in Minecraft, however, you might want to give this a miss. Go and watch Countdown or something.
CavernautBy EinheitB - buy on Android
Cavernaut is a proper old school thrust-based game. Think Lunar Lander, but with a modern endless climber structure set in a range of twisty-turny caverns.
It's a game that requires the utmost precision as you make minute adjustments to your craft's course and propulsion, utilising gravity and inertia to your advantage.
There are also upgrades to install and plenty of knick-knacks to collect as you look to delay your inevitable death
Sonic Dash 2: Sonic BoomBy Sega - download on Android
An endless runner starring Sonic might sound awful to the Sega faithful, but really, is there any '90s video game icon better suited to this modern genre?
Just like the first Sonic Dash, Sonic Dash 2: Sonic Boom places you behind Sonic and his personality-free chums as you run, bash, and collect your way through a bright world at speed.
Really, do we need any more from our Sonic games these days? Probably, but it's a start.