Android games round-up – Draw Slasher, N.O.V.A. 2 HD, Angry Birds Summer Pignic, Herman the Hermit, Galaxy on Fire 2 THD

This week’s batch of Android games includes a couple of graphically lush 3D epics, a couple of stylish casual oddities and an update to the biggest smartphone franchise around. Not a bad week at all, in other words. Enjoy!

Draw Slasher

This stylish little action game made its debut on iPhone a couple of years ago, but such are the quality of its graphics it still looks great now that it’s been released on Android. You play the part of a ruthless ninja who must take on hordes of pirate monkey zombies. Yes, that’s pirate monkey zombies. While the action is slick and visceral, all you’ll find yourself doing is swiping the screen to direct your agile hero’s attacks. Still, if it works for Fruit Ninja… Topping it all off is the aforementioned graphics, which benefit from a detailed black and white art style. It really is very impressive, and serves to bolster the fun-if-limited gameplay.

N.O.V.A. 2 HD

Initially an Xperia Play exclusive (though still released a good five or six months after the iPhone release), Gameloft’s Halo-aping first person shooter sequel has now made its way to the Android Market. The goal is similar to the first N.O.V.A. – run through a series of sci-fi levels as a gruff space marine, blasting everything in sight with your surprisingly grounded arsenal. The sequel also introduces online multiplayer to some already potent single player action. If you can get on with those virtual analogue controls, this is one of the better FPS games on Android right now.

Angry Birds Seasons: Summer Pignic

Rovio has launched its latest seasonal level pack for Angry Birds. This time you take part in tense and gritty first person shooter… only kidding. You ping birds at pigs. It’s Angry Birds, but with a distinctly summery feeling. For those of us in the UK, that might require a bit of explaining – the sun’s out, and there are bonus flowers to hit. A new level will be locked every day, much like the Christmas edition. We should also note that the original Angry Birds has also been updated with a new level pack, called Mine & Dine. That’s a whole lot of swine-bothering to be getting on with.

Herman the Hermit

Absolutely nothing to do with a second rate Mancunian pop band from the sixties, Herman the Hermit is a casual platformer that sees you hopping across floating clumps of rock. While it’s a rather unusual premise with a rather unusual lead character, the game certainly looks the part. There’s a lovely sun effect in the background and some pleasantly detailed foreground graphics. Like Draw Slasher, the game leans entirely on a fairly simple core mechanic, but it’s fun enough and pretty enough to get away with it.

Galaxy on Fire 2 THD

Here’s another of those Android games to have been optimised for Tegra 2 handsets. What makes it all the more tantalising is that Galaxy on Fire 2 was gorgeous to start with – Fishlabs’s extra tweaking has pushed an already technically impressive game into console levels of sharpness. The game itself is an epic space combat and trading game where you fly about the galaxy running missions and improving your ship. It’s a massive, absorbing game, and this THD version could be the best one yet.