Top 10 best Android games of July 2012

With the launch of the Gold Award-winning Nexus 7 in July, Google made its biggest stamp on the tablet market to date – setting a benchmark for the 7-inch market that rivals will find tough to beat.

Plus, its arrival in such a bumper month for Android gaming has given Google Play a welcome shot in the arm.

So, whether you snapped up a Nexus 7 or stuck to your trusty ‘droid, there were stacks of quality releases in July that we’ve carefully whittled down into a tasty Top 10 for your downloading delectation.

While there’s plenty of retro guff on Google Play, every now and again a genuine classic lands that has been converted for mobile play with lavish care and attention.

In July, that game was SNK Playmore’s Blazing Star – a superior sidescrolling shooter from the hallowed Neo Geo era that’s found a perfect new home on Android and a well-deserved Gold Award from us.

Okay, there’s more than a dash of Asphalt 6’s tracks, cars, and game design padding out Gameloft’s latest entry in the arcade racer series, but the sleek level of graphical polish, tight controls, and budget price make it as hard to resist as a 75% off sale in an Audi garage.

With a staggering 150 events, more than 15 tracks, and fleet of the world’s shiniest four-wheeled beauties, Heat has tonnes of breakneck action to drift through in singleplayer and online.

I might never be able to spell the name of the HP Lovecraft’s ancient god Cthulhu without the aid of Google, but that doesn’t stop me relishing this genuinely hilarious homage to the 16-bit JRPG.

With his deific powers stripped at the start of the game, the only way evil old tentacle head can regain his strength is by becoming a genuine good guy – no matter how many random battles and role-playing archetypes he has to face.

The pick of last month’s puzzlers, WarGames: WOPR is a slightly belated (well, 29 years late) tie-in to the titular ‘80s flick about a teen hacker almost kicking off World War III.

With the lot being recounted in static head cutscenes between levels (look, there’s a fresh-faced young Matthew Broderick), the retro-styled game actually centres on an increasingly complex game of match-three puzzling against an AI-powered supercomputer with a dark nuclear-themed twist.

Another impossible to resist micro-management gem from the Kairosoft brand, The Sushi Spinnery effortlessly coasts by on the developer’s bustling pixellated business appeal.

This time you’re serving up raw fish to hard to please customers. The only way your conveyor belt-filled restaurant will stay afloat is if you delicately tweak the décor, PR strategy, and – most importantly – the quality and innovation of your delicious dishes.

The closest you’ll get to playing Diablo III on your Android at the moment, Heroes Call THD is a stunning looking hack and slash RPG that’s exclusive to Tegra 3 devices on Android.

Alongside the smart tap controls and smooth action, developer Defiant Entertainment has a welcome update to the freemium system in the works that includes a switch to a single currency and the removal of agonising wait times.

Yes, it’s a a re-skin of Casey’s Contraptions. But Rovio’s Angry Birds follow-up does a fine job of playing to the casual physics puzzler crowd without ruffling too many feathers.

You have to help Alex complete increasingly complex tasks (knocking over structures, guiding balloons to safety) by setting up cause and effect contraptions from an increasingly crammed toolbox of kit.

He might not have the toughest sounding of names on the Google Play block, but Harry the Fairy can still pack a punch in the difficulty department.

You guide Harry through a series of short and devilishly sweet mazes to rescue his winged pals from the cages they’ve been cruelly locked in, using tilt or touchscreen controls to avoid spikes, lava, and other deadly hazards.

As generous a follow-up to a much-loved strategy favourite as anyone could hope for, Great Big War Game is as packed with content as it is with tactical challenge.

Playing as either Red or Blue, you take part in elegantly constructed turn-based conflicts with mastery of the might of individual units (from eagle-eyed scouts to bazooka wielding grunts) being the key to victory. You can take the battle online this time too.

If you’re looking for a game to showcase just how sumptuous the Tegra 3 chip can make virtual worlds seem, then Puddle THD is July’s release for you.

You control a range of liquids, from standard water to slightly more volatile nitroglycerin (all dripping, splashing, and sizzling in lifelike ways), through maze-like environments – trying get as much precious fluid to the exit as possible.