20 best Android apps and games this week

Welcome to this week’s roundup of the latest, greatest Android apps and games, covering smartphones and tablets.

All these apps have been released for the first time – i.e. not updates – since the last roundup. All prices are correct at the time of writing, with “IAP” indicating use of in-app purchases.

You can read the previous Best Android Apps roundups for more recommendations, but if iOS is your platform of choice, check the Best iPhone and iPad Apps roundups. On with this week’s selection!

APPS

Meerkat (Free)
In the battle for live-video-broadcasting supremacy, Meerkat is hampered by not being owner by Twitter, unlike rival Periscope. Still, in its favour is beating Periscope to Android with its app, which enables you to stream video to Twitter or tune in to other broadcasters.

Microsoft Hyperlapse (Free)
Remember when Instagram launched an app to create nifty time-lapse videos? Now Microsoft has unveiled its take on the idea: initially as a beta preview that you have to sign up for on Google+. It looks good though: stabilising your footage as it goes.

Wear Fitness Personal Trainer (Free)
Launched by Vimo Labs, this is one of a number of apps looking to use smartwatches for fitness purposes. It’ll track your exercises in the gyms – rep-counting included – while the parent app helps you create new routines to get the most out of your activity time.

Fruit Ninja: Math Master (£4)
Game or education app? Well, both. Aimed at 5-7 year-olds, this is a new version of the Fruit Ninja game that throws maths into the mix: addition, subtraction, multiplication as well as sequences and shape recognition. It’s a clever take on the original.

DeeMe (Free)
Does anyone need a “new way to instant message” at this point? DeeMe hopes so: it’s throwing photo editing into the mix, encouraging people to add “amazing typography” to their shots before pinging them to friends.

Desire42 (Free + IAP)
There’s been a rash of apps aimed at couples in the last year or so: some focused on social networking – a way to privately share texts and photos (of babies, for example) – and others focused more on sex. This is the latter: a way for partners to send dares back and forth to spice up their love lives.

Dreamstime: Sell Your Photos (Free)
No, don’t sell the private photos you sent to your partner. Although that’s probably an app too. Dreamstime is a way to sell your mobile snaps on a popular stock photography service, creating your account and uploading from your smartphone, then keeping track of your stats.

Livescribe+ (Free)
You’ll need a Livescribe 3 smartpen for this, as well as its partner Livescribe Link app. It’s worth investigating though: an app for viewing, converting and sharing the notes you’ve scribbled with the pen peripheral, including storing them in the cloud to access across several devices.

VoxelMaker (£3.95)
VoxelMaker looks a bit like Minecraft, although its developer prefers to pitch it as “a 3D version of pixel art”. Either way, it’s building things with colourful virtual cubes, with your models then able to be exported to other creative software. Bags of potential, in the right hands.

Adidas Smart Ball (Free)
Another app that needs a peripheral: Adidas’ new miCoach Smart Ball, which has sensors to measure how well (or not) you kick it, and can then feed them back to the app. If you haven’t got the ball, this isn’t useless though: it provides football tips and can even video your foot-wallops for analysis.

GAMES

Seabeard (Free + IAP)
Freshly sailed from iOS, Seabeard is a cute, characterful game that’s the best mobile attempt yet at an Animal Crossing-style title. You explore, perform tasks for villagers and rebuild your island village while playing deceptively-challenging mini-games.

Knights of Pen & Paper 2 (£3.99 + IAP)
The first Knights of Pen & Paper game was excellent: a knowing take on old-school roleplaying games (as in sit-round-a-table ones). This sequel is even better, retaining the humour while expanding pretty much everything around the gameplay.

Lego Star Wars: TCS (£4.22)
If you’ve got the space on your device – 735MB at least – this is a treat for Lego and/or Star Wars fans. It bundles together the two Lego Star Wars games with bricky versions of pretty much every major character from the film double-trilogy.

Marvel Future Fight (Free + IAP)
Lots of Marvel characters and lots of fighting sums up why this game should be in your present AND future. It’s a polished brawler packed with characters, and ripe for tactical thinking rather than (virtual) button-mashing.

Earn to Die 2 (Free + IAP)
Standing proudly alone in the “endless-driving-while-squashing-zombies” genre, Earn to Die now has a sequel. The key addition to this side-scrolling game is a proper story mode, as well as more paths to take through its levels as you bash undead out of the way.

Grim Fandango Remastered (£7.87)
If you have fond memories of adventure game Grim Fandango, you’ll want to shell out straight away for this mobile remake from developer Double Fine. Newbie? It’s well worth the price: a deep, satisfying adventure with lots of original touches.

Bears vs. Art (Free + IAP)
Not even the edgiest modern artist has (yet) hit on the idea of letting an angry bear loose in their gallery. That’s the idea of this game though: you play said bear, Rory, as he tries to destroy “pointless pieces” in 150 galleries. It’s a clever puzzler at heart with planning, not blind rage, the key to success.

Empires & Allies (Free + IAP)
Once king of the social gaming hill thanks to FarmVille, Zynga is still trying to find its mobile mojo in 2015. Could the answer be … a Facebook game that was shut down in 2013? Let’s see: it’s a polished combination of base-building and battling.

Mortal Kombat X (Free + IAP)
Finish him! The Mortal Kombat franchise has spawned some good and some not-so-good games down the years. This latest mobile incarnation fits into the former camp, thankfully: a meaty beat ‘em up that works well on the touchscreen – although in-app-purchase avoiders won’t be keen.

Goat Simulator GoatZ (£3.99)
Remember Goat Simulator? If you thought it’d be a short-lived novelty, then think again: this new spin-off adds zombies into the mix, as well as limited crafting (“Craft anything in the world, as long as it’s one of the half dozen weapons in the game …”) It’s ridiculous, of course, but there’s still a spark about it.

That’s my choice, but what Android apps and games have you been enjoying this week? The comments section is open for your recommendations.