Top 5 Android games for showing off your handset

Android is growing as a gaming platform.

There are still glaring issues, of course – hardware fragmentation and a woeful Android Market chief among them – but things have undoubtedly progressed.

Simple Java ports are no longer seen as acceptable, the quantity of 3D-rich iOS game ports is growing and the conversion process is shortening.

So which are the best games for showing off your new Android phone? Here are five technically impressive treats that might make older handsets groan (if they run at all), but each will shine on high-end examples like the Samsung Galaxy S.

I thought I’d start with Homerun Battle 3D because, as well as being a fun and attractive game, it runs on the oldest Android handset of them all – the original G1. As long as you kill every other app that might be running in the background, that is.

It’s still technically impressive today. Your big, three dimensional batter clobbers each pitched ball with fluid grace. The camera tracks, pans and swoops around your player dramatically, adding vital fireworks to what is a pretty simple game.

While there are technically superior games on Android (as we’ll see), Com2uS deserves praise for it’s the inclusive nature and vibrant style of its game engine.

We must all know about the phenomenon that is Angry Birds by now. It might be a bit of surprise seeing it on this list, though – as pretty as it is, Rovio’s game is hardly an obvious technical marvel.

Look closer, though, and there are some pretty demanding physics going on as disgruntled avian warrior meets wood, glass, and stone. Rovio has worked harder than any other Android developer to get its game running nigh-on-flawlessly on a broad selection of Android devices.

Angry Birds is one of those rare games that has managed to stray outside of traditional gaming circles and into the mainstream. Showing your non-gaming friends a copy of this famous game running perfectly on your Android phone is bound to impress.

Gameloft has come in for some severe criticism for the handling of its high-end Android conversions, but their best efforts are still among the most technically impressive examples on the platform.

Take N.O.V.A., the finest FPS on iPhone which has now become the finest FPS on Android. It’ll still stutter a bit even on supposedly high-end HTC hardware, but let it loose on Samsung or Motorola hardware (like the Galaxy S or Milestone) and it sings.

N.O.V.A.’s Halo-aping action still packs a potent punch, set in a dramatic sci-fi world with plenty of pyrotechnics to gawp at. It’s probably the best game on this list to show the hardcore gaming mobile-sceptic in your life.

If N.O.V.A. evokes a console-like feeling on your Android, then Backbreaker Football is pure arcade bliss. The fluid action, chunky 3D graphics and near-instant fun somehow remind us of the kind of potent thrills enjoyed at Multiplexes the world over.

Much of its appeal lies in the staggeringly accomplished engine, as your American Football player weaves through successive waves of angry defenders en route to the end zone. Every tackle, jink, and touchdown is displayed in crisp, detailed 3D.

It all moves incredibly smoothly, too, even on hardware that could be called 'mid-range.' As well as providing eye-candy of the highest order, Backbreaker Football is an excellent game to have stored on your Android phone.

Reckless Racing (Polarbit)

Reckless Racing isn’t just a fine technical showcase for your Android phone – it’s one of the best-looking mobile game ever made.

It’s got detailed 3D graphics, moving at a beautifully smooth framerate (provided you have a decent handset); it’s got subtle lighting effects more commonly seen on console racers; it’s got convincing water effects; it’s got accurate car physics that replicate the hustle and bustle of amateur off-road racing to perfection.

As if that weren’t enough of a technical showpiece, the game also features online multiplayer over wi-fi.

Put simply, this is a technical marker for where mobile gaming should be heading over the next few years. No Android game banishes the memory of dodgy Java ports better than Reckless Racing.