If you're going to be supporting app development on Android (and you should), you might as well pay for the best content you can. That's what the Google Play App Roundup is all about. This is where you can come every week to find out what's new and cool on Android. Just follow the links to the Play Store.

Most browsers for Android seem to focus on adding more features, but Firefox is focusing on something else with the aptly named Firefox Focus. This is a stripped down browser that preserves your privacy and offers a fast browsing experience.

When you open Firefox Focus, all you have is a bar in the middle of the screen for a search term or URL. The default search engine is Yahoo, which is kind of weird at this point. You can change it to Google, and I'm sure most people will. The app has an interesting purple and pink color scheme with a gradient sweeping across all the UI elements. Gradients usually look pretty old-fashioned, but I think it kind of works here. Firefox Focus has a neat 80s vibe.

Firefox Focus uses ad-blocking and do-not-track by default on all pages. Additionally, it saves no data locally. While you're browsing, there's a floating action button in the lower right corner with a trashcan on it. You can tap that at any time to close your page and delete all browsing data. Additionally, there's a notification whenever Firefox Focus is running. There's even a "Stealth" mode that prevents screenshots and app previews in overview. You can turn that off, though.

You only get a single page at a time in Focus, so no tabbed browsing. That makes sense considering the mission of Focus to provide simple, fast browsing. The overflow menu shows you how many trackers were blocked on each page, and there's a toggle right there to shut blocking off. That's useful on pages where there's ad-block detection that blocks you from seeing content. The menu also includes options to open a page in Firefox or your default browser.

Using Focus for all your browsing is tedious seeing as there's no bookmark system, history, or tabbed browsing. You can set it as default, if you want (there's a toggle in the settings). However, it's a good choice for opening links from other apps as it'll block all tracking and doesn't keep history. Some of the privacy features are a bit heavy-handed, but that's what you get in a privacy-oriented browser.

Sega recently launched a number of retro games on the Play Store for free (sort of), and among them is Altered Beast. It's a true classic, and one of the best titles available on the old Genesis/Mega Drive platform. Now you can play it on your phone, and it won't cost you anything if you don't mind dealing with some ads.

Altered Beast is a side-scrolling action game set in ancient Greece. You play as a warrior who has been killed in battle. Zeus resurrects you, imbuing you with great power so you might rescue his daughter Athena. The aforementioned power is what makes Altered Beast so neat.

In each level you have to collect blue orbs by defeating certain enemies, and each one makes you more powerful. Collect three of them and you transform into a beast, and it's a different beast in each level. In the first level you become a werewolf, in the second you're a dragon, the third is a bear, and so on. Each beast has its own powers and abilities, which you need to figure out quickly upon unlocking. Soon after you get your third power-up, you'll reach the boss battle at the end of each level.

The controls are all available on-screen, but there's controller support as well. If you use the on-screen buttons, be warned you're going to be at a bit of a disadvantage. Altered Beast is an arcade-style game with limited lives and hitpoints for your character. There's a d-pad on the left for movement, and three buttons on the right for punch, kick, and jump. You need to keep track of where you're pressing, because even a slightly mis-timed press can get you in trouble. The game is easier with a controller, but it's still very challenging. I've only managed to get to the third stage. The only helping hand for gamers who aren't used to such punishing gameplay is cloud saves, which save the game state whenever you want.

This port of the game appears to be from the Genesis/Mega Drive version of the game, which has some subtle visual differences. The graphics and sounds are straight out of the 16-bit era. It has the distinctive "Rise from your grave" voice synthesis at the beginning and epic music. The sprites are blocky, but detailed enough to be playable, even by modern standards. I mean, retro graphics are still a thing almost 30 years after Altered Beast was released.

If you want to play Altered Beast free, there will be a full-screen ad before each new game. Additionally, it's online only and the cloud save feature forces you to watch an ad every time you use it. You can remove those limitations with a $1.99 in-app purchase.

Ketchapp has become a master of simple but compelling gameplay on mobile. I still play several games from this developer that I've covered in the past, and I might be adding Rider to that list. This is a 2D driving game that's played with a single finger for input. Just press the screen to accelerate, jump, flip, and (eventually) crash.

Rider is essentially an endless runner, but you're driving instead of running. To accelerate, press and hold the screen. Your vehicle will take off along the randomly generated track, but keep an eye on upcoming jumps and hills. When you get some air, pressing the screen instantly causes your vehicle to rotate and do a flip. This gets you extra points when you land it, but you're at risk of landing upside down and exploding. That's game over, as is landing short of the track when going off a jump.

It seems at first like Rider is all about going fast like other endless runners, but it's actually a more strategic game. You aren't penalized for letting off the gas. In fact, it's necessary sometimes to avoid hitting a jump at the wrong angle. The glowing track can be deceptive sometimes, too. There are places where the ground will fall out under you, and others where it realigns after you pass over to form a jump. There are a lot of variables, and they'll eventually get the better of you.

The endless mode is the "main" part of this game, but there are also levels to complete. I actually had more fun with these. They're shorter, and usually have clever layouts. The goal is simply to reach the end in one piece with a gem bonus when you do.

The game gives you missions to complete, which provides a sense of progression in the randomly generates tracks. These might be things like score between 8 and 12 points in two consecutive runs, or land a double flip. You get gems for this, which are also earned simply from picking them up on the track. Gems can be exchanged for a new vehicle, which is randomly selected. They run the gamut from bikes to sci-fi sports cars.

Visually, Rider is like a low-poly version of Tron. The colors are all neon, and the vehicles and backgrounds are all made of simple geometric shapes. There are also some cool lighting effects and everything is buttery smooth. The game also unlocks more themes as you play, and it cycles through whichever ones you want.

Rides is free with ads. You can get rid of them by making an in-app purchase for gems. They run from $0.99 to $20, but you don't have to buy any of them if you don't want to.