Android is on the up. According to market research firm Nielsen, Google handsets grabbed 27% of new smart phone purchasers in the US in the first half of 2010, creeping slightly ahead of iPhone. And with the Android Market heading toward 100,000 apps, it's not as though Apple fanatics can scoff at the lack of choice anymore.

So what's out there for gamers at the moment? Well, if you've just purchased a shiny new Android device, here are ten titles, you must play. Most of them offer a free 'lite' version so you can try before you buy.



I tested all of these on the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10, which is a strong choice for gamers due to its powerful processor and huge 4-inch screen (it's also a really nice, comfortable phone to hold, and took some impressive photos during my E3 foray).

I also tried several on the impressively diminutive X10 Mini, an astonishingly compact handset complete with slide-out QWERTY keyboard, impressive battery life and a very good display. This one wouldn't run some of the most demanding titles (the slight downside of Google Android is a certain amount of device fragmentation with different handsets running different versions of the OS, and offering different specifications), but it was great with puzzle titles, and will suit emailing and texting fanatics who want a teeny phone they can occassionally play games on.

Anyway, here's the list, and feel free to add your own in the comments section..

Robo Defense

(Luips Labs, $2.99)

Prevent waves of enemy robots from gaining access to your base by carefully placing a range of weapons units in their path. There are plenty of 'tower defence' games available on the Android Market, but this is still the best, thanks to its honed design and perfectly judged learning curve. It's addictive stuff, but if you start to feel like broadening your military prowess, try UniWar or the Worms-like Armoured Strike.

Hungry Shark

(Future Games of London, £2.49)

The concept behind this aquatic eat-'em-up couldn't be more straightforward – you're a shark and you have to keep chomping on other sea life to survive. This involves using the accelerometer controls to explore the ocean, gobbling up passing fish and swimmers, while avoiding the poisonous jelly fish, exploding mines and other nasties. Basic then, but quite fraught and challenging when you get into it, and the eating sound effect if satisfyingly crunchy.

Zenonia

(Gamevil, $5.99)

An amazingly rich and detailed RPG, with loads of weapons, spells and quests, and some truly lovely visuals. Korean mobile developer Gamevil is an absolute master of small screen interactive entertainment and this is its magnum opus. I particularly enjoyed the sometimes fruity English translation, which at one point involves an enemy warrior being referred to as a prick. You don't often get that in Final Fantasy…

Turbo Subs

(I-play, $1.99)

Your job here is simply to keep the customers in your sandwich shop happy by serving up their favourite baguettes as quickly as possible. Controls involve tapping the screen to take orders then tapping again to produce the goods. Okay, it's yet another 'time management' title in the style of Diner Dash, but this one's stylishly presented with nice touchscreen implementation and a calmingly rhythmic structure. And when you're ready to take on more challenging multi-tasking responsibilities, try one of the many air traffic control titles, like Logisoft's Air Control or Camel's Flight Director, or the rural equivalent, Farm Frenzy.

Everlands

(Hexage, £1.50)

This sweet animal puzzler pits your range of mild-mannered forest critters against evil bees, bears and owls in a tile-based cross between Top Trumps and a tactical RPG. Each beast has different attack and defence values and you need to strategically place them on the grid to combine forces and defeat enemy creatures. It's thoughtful, quaintly designed and genuinely challenging – especially considering the at times rather eccentric English text translations.

Hyper Jump

(Camel Games, $1.99 (limited offer))

The iPhone classic Doodle Jump has started a mini trend for vertical platformers, in which gamers simply have to keep their character leaping heavenward for as long as possible by hitting platforms and power-ups. Hyper Jump is a nice variation, with lovely LittleBigPlanet-style handcrafted backgrounds, fun sound effects and smooth accelerometer controls. It sometimes refuses to boot up on the Mini X10 – a reasonably common problem judging by the Android forums – but on most Android handsets it's a cute micro gaming treat.

Pocket Racing

(Measured Software, £2.49)

Racing games still provide something of a technical challenge on smart phones, where reduced screen real estate and limited controls can often make for a flddly unintuitive experience. Which is perhaps why Measured Software has taken the genre back to basics with this top-down Sprint-style racer, in which you compete only against your own ghost data, or the performance of a mate downloaded from the web. There's no accelerator, just tap left or right to steer round the five circuits. The handling model is fun and the visuals pleasingly sparse. Many players are holding out for refinements such as AI drivers, ramps and other features of top-down classics like Micro Machines, Nitro and Supercars. Hopefully, the developer will deliver in subsequent updates…

Shoot U

(Camel Games, £1.80)

Games that look as though they've been hand drawn by eight-year-olds are still all the rage following the success of Line Rider and Crayon Physics, and this is a fine implementation of the familiar graphical style. Players must fire ragdoll characters out of a cannon to hit a red star, getting the trajectory and speed just right and avoiding obstacles. Each stage presets a different range of physics-based challenges, and all are presented as simple line drawings on a crinkly brown paper background. Daft, but fiendishly more-ish.

Radiant

(hexage, £1.50)

Souped-up retro shooters have proved popular over the last few years with Geometry Wars and Space Invaders Extreme leading the charge. Radiant is a decent Android equivalent with vintage neon-style aliens pulsing down the screen as you blast them to pixels. The controls are simple – the autofire feature means you just have to move left and right – but some depth is provided by the weapons shop that lets you spend your credits on laser guns and smart bombs. It's not the most visually stimulating title in this shoot-'em-up sub-genre, but it's quietly engrossing for fans of Phoenix, Galaxians and the rest.

Bonsai Blast

(Glu Mobile, $2.99 )

We had to include at least one 'match three' puzzler so here's a slick Zuma clone from Glu Mobile. The gameplay is probably hugely familiar: you must stop the line of coloured balls by firing marbles at the chain – group three or more similarly hued orbs and they disappear. The touchscreen controls work well and it's all nicely presented with lovely traditional Japanese garden backdrops. I found the in-game Google ads to be a little intrusive but I guess I'll have to get used to that.