Top 10 best Android games - paid apps

The paid-for development scene is alive and well and charging people money, with plenty of pro-level game entertainment on hand to help you happily spend all day staring at your mobile telephone.

Thankfully, Android's a world of bargains - most of the finest examples of paid-for Android games come in around the psychologically negligible 'micro-transaction' cost level, with the majority of developers selling their works for a couple of dollars, tops.

So, now you've been gently acclimatised to the possibility of having to pay for something, pay for these things - the 10 best paid-for games on Android today.

1. Robo Defense, $2.99

What people who like to categorise things would refer to as a 'Tower Defense' game, Robo Defense has you micro-managing the stock inventory during a war.

You win points for killing enemies, you spend points on upgrading your weaponry to fend off the next, more aggressive assault. Unlike many Android games, the difficultly level feels perfect - this has obviously been tested and tested and tested.

2. Armored Strike Online, $3.99

A quite superb turn-based strategy shooter thing, based on ancient classics like Death Tank and Worms. Everyone has a go at shooting, everyone waits to see if anyone else died, then the remaining living forces have another go. A superb game really brought to life by touchscreen controls and online play.

3. Radiant, £1.50

A modern take on the age-old Space Invaders theme, only dragging it all into the modern era with flashy, vibrant graphics and numerous ship upgrades to keep the game changing and growing as you progress. Works better on second-gen Android phones with a bit more processing power to keep everything running smooth.

4. Flight Director, $1.99

Our favourite of the many line-based air traffic control simulators, thanks to its smart use of satellite data to bring an added aura of reality and a sense that actual human lives are at risk to the action. Also has very small plane sprites, if you still call them sprites these days, allowing for super-precise plane placement.

5. Space Physics, $2.99

An utterly insane little game of physics and drawing, where players have to draw shapes on the screen - which then come to life - and hit certain awkwardly-placed trigger points. You draw a wheel and it starts rolling. Draw a lever and you can fling boxes around the place. It's an incredible achievement.

6. Zenonia, $5.99

If you've had enough of two-minute-wonders based around puzzles and words, try Zenonia. It's a role-playing game, one created in the traditional, complex, character-enhancing style more common to 'proper' games systems. Quests, items and battles combine to make one of Android's most engrossing and long-lasting challenges.

7. Colorix, €1.99

Initially looks rather similar to the billions of other gem-based puzzle games out there, but Colorix wins by ramming loads more technical play into its approach. Complex combo bonuses and the challenge of placing 'special' gems makes it much more challenging, while it's all presented in an extremely pro style. A tiny bit of money well spent.

8. Buka, £1.50

If you're going to play games on a touchscreen phone, you might as well play ones that utilise the screen properly. Which Buka does, by having you pressing and poking enemies, while dragging the poor, confused Bukaaround the screen to protect it from attack. The ideal game for those who've given up on buttons altogether.

9. Shoot U!, $2.99

A very odd-looking, hand-drawn physics game, Shoot U! has player firing a little person out of a canon - and trying to manage the laws of momentum and gravity to crash the poor chap's body through walls, over walls, under walls and into the welcoming glow of the target. Very clever and technically brilliant.

10. Sky Force, £1.99

Probably of most interest to men who used to stand around in amusement arcades instead of working or going to school during the 1980s, Sky Forceis a take on the classic 2D scrolling shooter. It's been lovingly squeezed into Android, with 3D elements poking out of the background to be avoided or, more likely, destroyed.

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