Your phone or tablet might be cool, but it could be a lot cooler with the right apps. So what? Spend like mad until you find the apps that suit your needs? Nah, just read the weekly Google Play App Roundup here on Tested. We strive to bring you the best new, and newly updated apps on Android. Just click the app name to head to the Play Store.

I find that I don't often have cause to stray from Chrome on Android. While it's not always been the fastest browser, it has improved markedly in recent years. It's also deeply integrated with my other Google stuff. I think to be interesting, a browser has to bring some distinct features to the table, and Pyrope Browser. This is a revamped version of the CyanogenMod browser (sometimes known as Gello) that runs on all Android devices. It's based on Chromium, but there's a lot of cool stuff going on here.

The first thing you'll notice about Pyrope Browser is how minimal the on-screen UI is. There's a URL bar, favicon, tabs, and overflow menu button. If that's too much, you can even enable immersive mode with hides the system UI (status and nav bar) unless you swipe to reveal them. Tapping on the favicon for a site shows all the permissions and security information on that domain. Pyrope Browser has built-in ad-blocking on a per domain basis, so this is where you can enable ads for sites you know and trust. Because this is Chromium under the hood, you also have access to Incognito Mode for sketchy browsing.

One of the most useful things in Pyrope Browser is the edge navigation, which you will be asked to enable the first time you stumble upon it. Swiping in from the left or right can be interpreted as a forward or back gesture. This can interfere with pages that have edge gesture navigation, but I've found it still usable in those instances. The edge gesture navigation is particularly useful in Pyrope Browser because it loads pages so fast. As you drag inward, you can see the other page slide over. The browser flashes for a moment as the page reloads, and you're all set. Pyrope Browser is definitely faster at loading pages than Google's standard Chrome releases on Android. Devices running Qualcomm Snapdragon chips can take advantage of special APIs that increase performance even further

Some of the more exotic features include power saving modes, restricted access to webview data, and night mode. That last one is quite interesting. Pyrope Browser simply inverts all the colors on the page. Most pages are black text on a light background, so it's much easier on the eyes in the dark. However, it's smart enough not to invert the colors on a page that uses a dark background by default.

Pyrope Browser is free, and it might be just the alternative browser you've been waiting for on Android.

Time Locker is a top-down scrolling shooter, but don't make too many assumptions. This game has a unique take on that genre. See, time only moves when you do, but the direction of your movement doesn't matter. You can essentially pause time, consider your next move, then back away to inflict more damage on the same cluster of enemies or zip around them. Don't lag behind too far, though. The darkness is on your heels, and it doesn't stop with everything else.

The gameplay in Time Locker is unusual enough that you'll probably need a few runs to get a feel for it. In the first run, the game uses simple directions to tell you what sort of things you can do. Most of the time, you'll be scrolling upward to make your character, a low-poly bear, walk forward. As you walk, you fire projectiles that blast apart the enemy creatures in your way.

When you stop, so does everything else on the screen. Your projectiles, the enemies, their projectiles—all just frozen. At this point, you can examine the lay of the land, then move forward again… or to the side or back. Time (and the bullets) continue to flow no matter which way you move, as long as you're moving. This allows you to avoid enemies rushing toward you that you won't be able to take out in time. Some of them even chase you, requiring careful maneuvering to take out.

You continue running and shooting until you either run into an enemy or are swallowed up by the edge of the map, which creeps constantly upward behind you. It's the only thing that isn't stopped when you are. The thing that makes Time Locker truly engaging is the power up system, which grafts new weapons onto your character as you play. Simply take out a blue enemy and grab the power up it drops. They add all sorts of cool weapons like missiles, homing shots, and laser beams.

Along the way, you'll find coins. The coins can be traded for special, more powerful characters that have better weapons (I'm a green dinosaur with twin blasters in the screen above). You only get three runs with each, but do well and you'll earn enough coins to get another special character. If you buy the $3.49 IAP upgrade, you'll earn coins faster. Plus, the game does gift you coins daily. It's sort of a tweaked Crossy Road setup.

Time Locker has a neat low-poly design, which is increasingly common these days. I quite like it, though a dark mode might be nice for playing in a dark room. Even if you don't but the upgrade, there are no ads to pester you, and the game is genuinely fun. You should check this one out.

You started out as just a henchman in an NES-style shooter, but then you happened across a time machine. What follows is a quest to repair your time machine and get back home. Or not. The story mode is only one possible way to play Retro City Rampage DX. Don't let the retro graphics fool you, this is a true open world game in the grand tradition of GTA.

The game is played in a top-down perspective (like the first few GTA games, coincidentally). There are a few different control schemes for walking and driving, but I'd say the thumbstick is best for both. The controls aren't super accurate, but they don't really have to be—Retro City Rampage DX is rather forgiving with its blocky retro style. A pixel one way or the other isn't a huge deal, but the gameplay is fairly rich.

The thumbstick is on the left, then your buttons are on the right. There one for stealing a car, one for shooting, and one for jumping. Note, you might want to increase the size of these buttons in the settingd; I found them rather small. You have the option of switching instantly to dual-stick shooting mode if there are a lot of targets, but you can also press and hold the fire button to lock onto a single target and fire continuously as you move. Jumping lets you avoid cars (which will try to run you over) and dodge bullets. If you land on an enemy while jumping, you cause damage, a bit like Super Mario.

Each mission you take on comes in a series of stages, which will take you to a ton of different areas. It's not all just in the usual cityscape, which helps keep the game fresh. There are 60 missions, and you get to start over at checkpoints throughout the stages if.when you are killed. Some of these missions are quite challenging too.

When you're on a mission, an arrow at the edge of the screen points the way to each objective. Amusingly, distances are not measured in miles or kilometers, but in pixels. This is a game that gets the pixelated look very right. It look and feels like an old NES 8-bit game, at least on the surface. The gameplay and writing feels much more modern—it's actually a very amusing game. If you don't want the story. there's a sandbox mode where you can just cruise the city and get into trouble. Past story missions can also be played as standalone adventures.

Retro City Rampage DX launched on Steam several years ago, and it's still there with a list price of $10. It's only half that much on Android for the same game. It's a good deal, and there are no in-app purchases.