Top 10 best Android games of October 2012

As well as bringing a nightmarish hurricane to the US and a slightly unseasonal chill to Britain, the month of October saw the relatively muted launch of PlayStation Mobile.

As you may or may not know, Sony's recently opened game store serves customers rocking PlayStation Certified Android devices and the handful of people who own PS Vitas (ouch).

If you happen to be the proud owner of one of the 12 PS Mobile-compatible devices, then you are probably whooping right about now.

If, however, you don't happen to own one of those dozen devices, console yourself with the news that I have compiled a list of the ten best Android games of the last month just for you.

And here it is.

There's no better way to celebrate the passing of 30 years since Ian Livingstone's interactive Fighting Fantasy books burst onto the scene than by picking up the first Fighting Fantasy Android entry, Blood of the Zombies.

You read (utilising many of the skills you are demonstrating right now), make tough choices, fight via dice rolls, and die a lot, but this new Fighting Fantasy title is never less than compelling. Oh, and violent.

An epic action-RPG with an unabashed comic heart, The Bard's Tale is a cracking conversion of the 2004 console title.

Although we criticised the iOS version for its somewhat awkward touch controls, Android gamers can plug in a controller - or enjoy the Xperia Play-optimised version - to keep the witty banter and monster slaying flowing more smoothly.

If you're tired of all those deadly serious sports apps telling you how many miles you've run (or not run, in my case), what you need is some super-cute Moevation.

Burn Your Fat With Me is a slice of health-centric gaming with a manga-flavoured bit of icing on top.

The game uses a giggly, doe-eyed Moe anime character (Mayu) to motivate you to complete sets of sit-ups and press-ups to progress through the sweet romantic storyline.

After putting management sims to the side for a second and forging ahead into the role-playing realm with titles like Dungeon Village and Kairobotica, Kairosoft has now taken its solid RPG template into Pokemon territory.

If you're going to go head-to-head with Nintendo's legendary turn-based battler series, mind, you need to get the basics right.

Fortunately, Beastie Bay's mixture of exploration and creature collection is positively inspired, with only its slightly yawnsome scraps spoiling the magic.

A freemium casual title that's generous with its content should give you reason enough to download it, yet Swing Shot's slapstick turn-based animal combat actually makes it an essential purchase.

The aim of the game is to use an arsenal of cuddly animals hanging from branches to fling rocks, boomerangs, and even wood-chewing bugs at enemies dangling opposite until they tumble off.

The spectre of the Myst series on PC hangs heavy over this generic, yet oddly compelling, puzzle-adventure title.

In Cryptic Kingdoms HD, you'll do a lot of running back and forth with strange objects between HD-rendered locations to see what fits where.

You'll also have to remember a lot of complex patterns, though your desire to see what weirdness comes next will definitely keep you playing.

Perhaps the most traditional RPG ever produced for smartphone - complete with a table for heroes and the Dungeon Master to sit around - Knights of Pen & Paper uses pixel art and zany characters to bring its adventure to life.

Part-parody, part-affectionate homage to the original Dungeons & Dragons, this is a straightforward turn-based battler (with lots of focus on grinding and levelling-up) that manages to feel fresh due to the knowing style and genre nods.

Aqua Kitty - Milk Mine Defender
By Tikipod - available on PlayStation Mobile

One of the standout titles from the PlayStation Mobile launch, Tikipod's tribute to Defender asks, 'what would happen if a cat was put in control of a submarine and tasked with fending off waves of robot attackers?'

To discover the answer, you'll need to spend some quality time with this old skool side-scrolling blaster, which boasts a sharp 16-bit look and a chiptune soundtrack that'll make the eyes of ageing gamers go all misty.

Rebel
By PomPom Games - available on PlayStation Mobile

If you fancy a change of pace from blasting enemies in the face at break-their-neck speed, then how does the idea of running away from their bullets grab you? Good.

In Rebel, you are cast as a prison escapee, who is being relentlessly pursued by trigger-happy opponents. The only way to defeat them is by getting them to accidentally fire at one another.

It's a simple enough high-score chaser, yet the Minecraft-style visuals and slick one-stick control system make it a surefire winner for pacifist players everywhere.

Zombiewood might present you with as many in-app purchase opportunities as undead enemies, but it's hard to deny the high calibre of top-down shooting that Gameloft's kill-'em-up provides.

With California overrun by zombies, you play a stuntman blasting his way through scenes of undead slaughter at the behest of an off screen director.

The action is unrelenting, the dual-stick shooter controls are finely tuned, and there's an unhealthy array of cartoony brain-hungry foes to dispatch.