Awesome 'Launcher' Games For Your Android Device
We all love shooting innocent bystanders into the air, don't we?
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While it is debatable as to whether 'launcher' games actually belong to a genre of their own, one thing is clear: it's still ridiculously fun to shoot unsuspecting characters into the air for largely no reason at all. Since there are no established guidelines, we're going to play it by ear and just deliver you the best in this highly malleable category. Expect everything from pugnacious poultry to unidentifiable monstrosities. Expect fun. Most of all, expect flying, flailing and falling.
Mostly falling.
Angry Birds. The application that launched a hundred spin-offs, a thousand clones and a disturbingly large amount of merchandise. The basic premise behind Angry Birds is simple: you are the mysterious hand commandeering the sling shot-like device that will propel angry birds at the pigs who have stolen their eggs. Naturally, the pigs have their own line of defenses: ramshackle buildings that are, for some reason, anything but poultry-proof. The objective of each stage in Angry Birds is to knock down said buildings and destroy the pigs huddled within - all by throwing birds at the architecture. Naturally, you should probably also try to do it in as efficient a manner as possible but that's totally secondary.
Price: Free!
Don't play Berzerk Ball 2 unless you have a few hours to spare or a particularly understanding boss. Though many have lamented that 'launch' games are relatively spartan when it comes to features, Berzerk Ball 2 is all but chock-full of little details to obsess over. Ostensibly a simple game that will have you launching an unfortunate, soft-centered geek through the air in a somewhat violent manner, Berzerk Ball 2 will also throw things like equipment, statistics, challenges, collectibles and even a Blacksmith at you with the sheer, reckless abandon of a heavy metal concert. Violent in the way only a good cartoon can be, Berzerk Ball 2 would be too sadistic to comfortably enjoy were it not for the way the geeks will, at the end of every round, get up to walk, grumbling and whole, back to the start for more punishment.
Price: Free!
Exceptions to the natural order, it seems, can be made when you're talking about an Android game with a bright-blue penguin. Here, penguins can fly. A little. Much like in that other bird-related game, Air Penguin is a story of family. As our feathery hero, you must rescue the members of your family after you become separated by that pesky thing that is global warming. To accomplish this, you're going to have to take advantage of our feathered hero's gift of limited flight by bouncing off ice floes, riding turtles, collecting fish and avoiding maritime hazards. The tilt-based controls make it tremendously easy to get the swing of Air Penguin and, unlike so many of Gamevil's titles, it won't punish you for refusing its IAPs.
Price: Free!
If you enjoy Adventure Time, you'll probably relish Super Jumping Finn. A 'launcher' game in the truest sense of the phrase, Super Jumping Finn will have you, with the help of a dog-like creature named Jake, punting the white-hooded Finn through the air in your pursuit of the evil Ice King. There is no real explanation as to why they've decided that having Jake kick Finn repeatedly in the posterior is the best way to get Finn to his destination but very little makes sense in the Land of Oo. As you send Finn pinwheeling repeatedly through the air, you'll slowly accumulate coins that can be used to purchase upgrades and so forth. It's a weird, wonderful little time waster that will let you ride a serpentine, rainbow unicorn to glory, sometimes. What's there not to like?
Price: 2.14
An inhumanly cute little game, Shark Dash borrows heavily from games like Angry Birds or Crush the Castle: you have to break down structures to get at specific targets with as few moves as possible. Mundane as that might sound, the cutesy visuals and reasonable command of physics make it a curiously entertaining diversion. Instead of handling a slingshot and angry avians, Shark Dash will have you stretching out a bathroom-dwelling shark before rocketing him along bathtub walls in pursuit of, er, rubber duckies. There an assortment of things like speed tubes and rubber hoops that will help keep this bath time excursion fun for all ages.
Price: 0.99
If you've played Doodle Jump, you've played Sonic Jump except, maybe, without the plethora of spikes. The idea here, as is the case with many launcher games, is to keep Sonic the Hedgehog airborne for as long as possible. To do so, you're going to have to maneuver him past various obstacles and opponents with the help of the tilt-based controls. Should you progress far enough in the levels, you'll even find yourself coming to aerial fisticuffs with everyone's favorite, egg-shaped bad guy Dr. Robotnik. There's a whole lot to love about Sonic Jump regardless of whether or not you're already a fan of Sega's time-worn franchise.
Price: $1.99
It counts so long as something as flying through the air, right? The Worms franchise has been around, in one shape or another, for a long time now. People like those squishy, squeaky-sounding invertebrates and for good reason. They're charming. Worms 2: Armageddon is charming. The game puts you in control of a team of creepy crawlies, all of whom come bristling with a wide array of 2D weapons. While some games might favor those who relish flying solo more than those who enjoy multiplayer mayhem or vice versa, Worms 2: Armageddon seems set to please both factions. There's a 30-mission single player campaign
Price: $3.43