Barricade the doors, lock all the windows and make sure you’ve got the cat in – it’s time for our update on the best Android apps of the week!
After the tumultuous events of the last seven days, it’s little wonder that honest, hard-working folk want to avoid the rioting mobs and spend more time in the comfort and safety of their own homes, and what better activity is there to indulge in than downloading the finest apps and games on your Android handset?
As always, we highly recommend that you download Barcode Scanner from the Android Market to make the acquisition of these digital delights that little bit easier. You can use the app to scan each QR code and access the relevant section of the Android Market immediately. Failing that, clicking the link in the title of each app works just as well.
Approx £2
The name Silpheed will make crusty old retro gamers sit up and take notice – the game is part of a series that stretches back to the ‘80s, and has graced the Sega Mega CD and Sony PlayStation 2. This mobile-exclusive release packs amazing 3D graphics, epic music and loads of amusing audio chatter from your wingmen as you go about your merry business blasting hordes of alien scum. The action is gripping, the missions are reasonably varied and the level of polish is astonishing. The release of the game is made all the more poignant by the fact that Takeshi Miyaji – the creator of the original Silpheed – died a few weeks ago at the tragically young age of 45.
Sixaxis Controller (Root Required)
Approx £1.00
If you’re a serious Android-loving retro gamer then you probably already know about the brilliant Wii Remote IME application, which allows you to use your phone’s Bluetooth connection to communicate with a Wii Remote Controller. Seeing as Sony’s PS3 pad uses the same wireless data protocol you’d think we’d have seen a similar app sooner, but we’re not going to complain about having to wait. Sixaxis Controller allows you to use the PS3 pad as a wireless keyboard, essentially giving you accurate and responsive control in any app that allows you to map buttons. The only bugbear is the need to have a rooted device.
Free
Just in case you thought Facebook couldn’t become any more invasive and omnipotent, here comes an app which attempts to connect you even more robustly to your ever-growing horde of Facebook pals. The official line is that it’s an effort to overthrow your traditional SMS conversations, with all Facebook chats, messages and other communication being channelled through the app itself. You can also arrange group chats and get the app to send you a text message when you get a fresh reply, just to make sure you don’t miss a tantalising piece of gossip regarding that girl you used to sit next to in biology and haven’t seen for nigh-on two decades.
Minecraft – Pocket Edition (Xperia Play)
Approx £4.30
It’s been a long time coming, but Minecraft for Android is finally here. All of the life-sapping addictiveness of the home computer edition has been shoehorned into this Xperia Play exclusive, ensuring that long-suffering fans simply have no hope whatsoever of escaping the allure of survival in a block-rendered world. It’s important to point out that although it’s already amazingly compelling, this mobile edition isn’t quite up to the standard of the PC version – yet. Still, the Xperia Play’s dedicated controls make it quite an experience, and if you’re unsure you can always grab the free demo version, which offers the same gameplay but lacks the ability to save your game.
Free
Passports, currency exchange, dodgy food and cockroach-infested hotels – let’s face it, you have enough things to worry about when you’re aboard without having to sort out your transport. Car Rentals.co.uk’s new Android app is here to take the sting out of organising a set of wheels when you’re aboard, and allows you to book a car from 50 suppliers in over 15,000 locations all over the globe. What’s more, you can do all of this from the comfort of your smartphone. Sadly there’s no app available yet which can tell you which meal is going to give you the runs or which hotel has the lumpiest beds, but we hear they’re working on it.
