Top 10 best Android games to show off your new LG Nexus 4

Although it’s unlikely this week’s phone launch will match the "sold out everywhere" drama of its Nexus 7 tablet predecessor, LG’s Nexus 4 handset has still been impressing the critics with its solid, Google-branded design and powerful innards.

Fuelled by a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro quad core chip clocked at a stonking 1.5Ghz, LG’s debut entry in the Nexus line is capable of pushing some serious pixels across its generous 4.7-inch display.

While the lack of an Nvidia Tegra 3 chipset, like that powering the Nexus 7, means TegraZone exclusive titles like the beautiful Horn are currently incompatible, there are still stacks of top rated Android titles that early adopters can use to dazzle their jealous buddies with.

We’ve handpicked 10 of our favourite graphical gems, but let your Nexus 4-toting pals know in the comments if there’s a corker missing you think they should download.

Real Racing 3 might be shaping up to take home the "driving sim of the year" award, but its development team has already shown off its arcade chops with this nitrous-fuelled mobile spin on the console hit.

Astonishingly fast, dripping with quality, and crammed with content, Need for Speed Most Wanted will look breathtaking in motion on the Nexus 4 and the fine-tuned tilt controls mean its a dream to play too.

Intelligent, mature, and packed with witty characters, Broken Sword's point and click adventuring hasn’t aged a jot and this touch screen friendly Director’s Cut once again makes it an essential purchase.

Switching between journalist Nico Collard and American witness George Stobbart, you’re tasked with solving the murder of media mogul Pierre Carchon and unravelling an international conspiracy.

With a generous hint system and decadent HD visuals, this is the premium adventure for Nexus 4 owners.

It’s taken a hackneyed licensing deal to do it, but Rovio has finally got its mojo back with the stellar Angry Birds Star Wars.

The classic slingshot gameplay remains faithful to the original formula, yet the addition of Luke, Han, and an ineffective C3P0 heavily breaths Vadar-like life into the franchise. Make sure you pick up the HD version to see the twin suns of Tatooine shine their brightest on your LG handset.

The obliteration of the human race has never been as well rendered as it is in Plague Inc’s trail of global infection, making the Nexus’s 4’s roomy display one of the best ways to manage the apocalypse.

A faster, more user-friendly version of the original Pandemic flash internet game, this Gold Award winning freemium strategy title gives you the twisted opportunity to unleash a deadly Plague on the world and then tweak its genetic code to slip under the each nation’s radar.

A touch screen friendly attempt to recreate the dark beauty of Xbox Live legend Limbo, Oscura is one of the most graphically dazzling titles you can use to showcase your new phone’s ultra-screen sharp screen.

With a smart swipe system making each leap feel more natural than a virtual d-pad, controlling your light shard hungry imp across 12 increasingly fiendish levels is also intrinsically satisfying – with a slow motion system further taking the edge of tougher stages.

Eschewing the dialogue trees and lengthy exposition of the epic Mass Effect console series, Infiltrator is more of a by-the-numbers third-person shooter – albeit a stunningly presented one to push the Nexus 4’s quad core processor.

Developed by the team behind the, arguably more solid, Dead Space Mobile, this title gives players a short yet action-packed spin off to the main games with a robust cover system and a blend of gunplay and biotic powered action.

Yes, it’s shallower than a lone puddle in the Sahara, but you’ll be hard pushed to find a more satisfying shooter than Dead Trigger.

Although there’s a thin story, and lots of freemium weapon and character upgrades to invest you in the action, it’s the endless zombie head exploding that will truly keep you hooked. The console quality graphics don’t do any harm either and, while you’ll miss out on the fancy Tegra 3 particle and water effects, it’ll be drop dead gorgeous on your Nexus 4.

It might not be much of an upgrade, gameplay, wise to its predecessor, but Asphalt 7's pin sharp, HD visuals put it ahead of almost every racer on Android (Most Wanted exluded).

Plus, with a single-player career mode taking in 150 events over 15 tracks, there's more than enough Burnout-style arcade drift-heavy racing to keep Nexus 4 owners behind the virtual driving wheel for months to come.

Given its self-aggrandising title, you’d be forgiven that the creators of Great Little War Game might have overreached itself with this ambitious sequel.

Rubicon Development knows its strategy stuff, mind, and the biggest war game on Android is a must have for Nexus 4 owners. With resource management almost entirely automated, you’re left to deploy Grunts, Scouts, and Bazooka troops in epic tactical, turn-based battles between the hostile Red and Blue forces.

A genuine, bonafide, Android classic, ShadowGun still reigns supreme as the best Gears of War impersonator on mobile.

The Unity 3D graphics have a chunky, Unreal Engine quality and there’s a half decent storyline to hinge the frantic third-person action on. Madfinger has also recently updated the game with a free expansion pack, loaded with four new levels, tweaked visuals, and vicious new enemies.