Welcome to the 427th edition of Android Apps Weekly. Here are last week’s big headlines:
- Google is trying to make it easier to find games on your Chromebook A potential new search service helps people find games by combining a bunch of results individually. Since Chrome OS now supports Steam and is good for some game streaming services, you may be able to do a search for all services. Hit the link to learn more.
- Microsoft is going for strict integration with Android. The company recently restructured its Android development teams in the hope of providing better overall integration. The restructuring involves splitting a dedicated team that only reports to Panos Panay, Microsoft’s chief product officer. We’re not sure what the team will do first, but hopefully it’s good.
- A new Google Play Protect feature removes permissions from your unused app. The feature is already present in all phones running Android 11 and above. However, Google is porting the feature to devices running Android 10 and earlier via Google Play Protect. Some devices, such as the Samsung phone, already have the feature, but it feels good to see it reach more people.
- Piracy has increased again and has been since 2018. We asked our audience if they’ve ever pirated something before and a staggering 83% said they’ve done it before. This is not unusual, since piracy is quite easy to do and has been widespread for many years. Streaming services seem to have forgotten that their main competitors are piracy sites and not each other. Hit the links to see full details and poll numbers.
- Google is making it harder for people to find apps that don’t receive consistent updates. The company is doing this in the name of security because older apps may have features that developers have not yet patched. Beginning in November 2022, apps that target anything before the latest two versions of Android will be hidden from a growing number of people.
League of Angels: Chaos
Price: The game is free
League of Angels: Chaos is a new mobile MMORPG. Players create a character and choose one of three basic classes. Classes are Dragon, Mag and Archer. Everyone has their own style of play. Other game features include alliances, cross-server competition, equipment creation (called forging), a trade function between players, and more. The game has an automatic mode, which some genre fans will not like. Otherwise, it’s a pretty standard MMORPG. You go in search, get loot and equalize your character. Also, progress is very fast in the beginning and very slow weird mix once you go too far in the game.
It certainly has its flaws and you can buy your way at the end of various in-game challenges. Fortunately, there is very little emphasis on PvP and you can get rich if you persevere, so if you want to finish very quickly it is just a pay-to-win. The developers have the potential to make it a bit tougher, but until then it’s pretty average.
Linnaeus Icon (seven colors)
Price: $ 0.99 each
Developer GomoTheGom II recently released a seven-icon pack on the Play Store called Linios. There are seven packs in total and each is basically a different color. Each pack is priced at $ 0.99 and includes a combined wallpaper with 3,000 icons The developer also requests for new icons that should appear in each pack. Click the button below to see the developer’s Google Play page where you can find all seven packs.
Top Match considers itself a strategy game where there are matches. It plays like many mobile strategy games. You gain wealth, build a base, train soldiers and defend yourself from attack. It represents the original gameplay loop and is not something we have seen before in the genre. Our only problem is in-app shopping. You can literally buy Buff for your army, and while we don’t often like to use the awful pay-to-win phrase, this is a good example. If the developer comes up with a better way to monetize this game then this is a decent city builder strategy game. Otherwise, we think most players will leave very quickly.
Game Jolt Social
Price: Free
Game Jolt Social is a social space aimed at gamers. It works almost like any other social media site. You can post videos of yourself playing games, fan art, and other such things. You follow people, other people follow you and you make new friends that way. The app has over 60,000 communities to join, one chat function after another, and you can create your own community with your own moderation team. It already has enough users and is not really a terrible place to hang out with other gamers.
Rovio Classics: Angry Birds
Price: 0.99
Rovio Classics: Angry Birds is actually the first Angry Birds game to be re-released on Android. It has a few extra elements to keep things fresh with the original gameplay. The original game was originally on its own game engine and this variant was built on Unity. That way, developers can keep it updated without actually having to worry. Either way, this is actually the real game. There are 390 levels, no in-app purchases, no ads (whatever we’ve seen), and much more. There’s also a new Mighty Eagle mechanic that’s kind of neat. This is the same family-friendly, simple, and inexpensive arcade game we saw a few years ago. It’s really worth the $ 0.99 price tag, even if you played it 10 years ago.
If we miss a news or release of a great Android app or game, let us know in the comments.
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