Welcome back to Android Gaming Weekly, our weekly recap of new game releases. We still plan to cover upcoming releases and games we’re playing, but this column is dedicated to new games that you can start playing right now. Check out our top picks and let us know in the comments section if you have any suggestions for next week’s post.

Sky

Description: Fly, Jump and Clone yourself into a fantastic adventure with SKY. In this new game developed by the same team behind Phases and The Line Zen, you’re in control of multiple characters as they run through a 3D mystical world filled with trouble.

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Rugby Nations 16

Description:  Celebrate the World Cup in style with the most realistic Rugby game on mobile – Rugby Nations 16! Live events and fantastic new gameplay will get you into the celebratory spirit just in time for the biggest Rugby event this year.

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Rage Quit Racer

Description: Fun and addicting game featuring extreme speed single and online multiplayer rage quit racing. Rage quit alone or rage quit against friends and family via online multiplayer games! That’s right with eyes twitching, shout, scream and anger all those around you when you discover that this game will smash you to bits!

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HoPiKo

Description:  HoPiKo is an intense speed run platformer where you get to save gaming. Jump from platform to platform avoiding death, exploiting shortcuts and ripping through 100s of hand-crafted levels, each one dropped into a 5-stage mini run designed to break your mind!

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Little Ponchy

Description: Story about Little Ponchy which mission is to ride a long as it can. While playing, you’ll be avoiding over bombs and attempting to beat your top score.When you enter into the red arch you will get stars to unlock new characters, also you can buy more stars via IAP.

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Hotel Transylvania 2

Description: Build your own monster hotel with Drac and all your favorite monsters from HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 2! Customize your city, enjoy adventure-filled quests, decorate your own monster hotel, and play fun mini games in the official game for the HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 2 movie from Sony Pictures Animation.

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Eternity Warriors 4

Description: Hack through enemies as the mighty Warrior, slash them with the lightning-fast Assassin or rain down fire upon them as the unstoppable Mage. Choose which hero best fits your play-style and jump into the action!

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Commander Cool 2

Description: Commander Cool 2 is a mobile jump and run that is destined to be one of coolest games in 2015! Press your screen to make him jump, then use your weapon and blast that chump. Grab some shiny coins and shoot cavemen in their groins!

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Lost Qubixle Free

Description: The Lost Qubixle is a perspective puzzle game. Your task is to reconstruct a figure from three perspectives. This game requires that you use your perception skills and that you make the best use of your logical thinking.

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Mad Dash – Canyon Run

Description:   The ultimate skill-based customizable runner! With over 10,000 unique gear and skill combinations, discover your ultimate insane combo. Inspired by the off-beat style of classic spaghetti westerns, journey into the mad (and colorful) world of Pazzo. 

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The battle for the hardcore VR market draws ever nearer with Oculus, HTC Vive and the now officially named PlayStation VR, but for the more causal VR enthusiast, Google Cardboard has been really the only sensible option to date and thankfully didn’t require more than a $20 investment.

Before you start yelling at me, yes, Samsung has had versions of the Gear VR available for over a year now, but these were all classified as “Innovator Editions” and had extremely limited device compatibility, typically just one device in fact. So while available, I wouldn’t characterize it as a viable option for most people.

Come November that all changes with the new Samsung Gear VR. No additional tag on that this time, this is the true consumer version, and it carries with it the more palatable price of just $99 rather than the $199 previous editions commanded.

Now Samsung hasn’t lost its senses completely: The Gear VR is only compatible with 2015 Samsung devices, namely the Galaxy S6, S6 edge+, S6 edge and Note 5.

Naturally, this version of Gear VR is still in cooperation with Oculus and features a few upgrades beyond the enhanced compatibility options. There is a new D-pad styled trackpad on the side of the unit, and it is 22 percent lighter than the last version which should make it much more comfortable for long term use.

And you are going to want to be more comfortable wearing it for a long time, as the Gear VR will now support Netflix, Hulu, and Twitch. Vimeo and Tivo are reportedly on board as well, but will not be there at launch. To be clear these are not all going to be true VR experiences, but will simulate a larger flat screen. Hulu was one of the few that indicated they would be releasing short-form virtual reality content.

Whether VR will actually take off remains to be seen, but it will not be for a lack of mainstream hardware offerings trying to make it happen.

Any 2015 Samsung smartphone owners going to pick up the Gear VR this November given the price drop and improved support?

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On September 23, an image surfaced online that showcased the upcoming color choices for HTC’s One A9, a device that’s bolstering some familiar design decisions, but also packing what’s believed to be a pretty solid mid-range device.

Now, according to G for Games, the A9 has been discovered out in the wild. Unfortunately, the image included in the report is only of the front of the handset, but the photo does also reportedly confirm the device’s specifications.

Based on the image, the A9 will feature a 5-inch Full HD AMOLED display, 16GB of built-in storage, and 2GB of RAM. It will also feature a Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 processor under the hood, which could be clocked up to 1.5GHz.

It’s not a complete specs list by any means, but if true, then it’s a good look at what to expect at least. If the One A9 does turn out to be a mid-range device, which is looking more and more likely these days, do you plan on picking one up?

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The BlackBerry Venice has been the star of a number of leaks lately, including reports that suggest that it’ll launch on all four US carriers in November. Despite all of those leaks, though, we’ve never known what the Venice will be known as once it actually hits store shelves. That is, until today.

According to Evan Blass, the source of many BlackBerry Venice leaks in the past, the Venice will be known as the “BlackBerry Priv” when it launches later this year. Blass also shared a new render of the Priv that shows the device with its screen slid up and its physical keyboard exposed.

.@CrackBerry That render is getting a bit tired, dontcha think? http://pic.twitter.com/UZsanau6df

— Evan Blass (@evleaks) September 24, 2015

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BlackBerry Priv certainly sounds like a strange name at first, but it’s not all that weird when you think about it. BlackBerry is all about security, and because “BlackBerry Private” might be an even weirder name, the company likely went with “BlackBerry Priv” as a way reference the security of its new Android phone, especially compared to other Android devices.

As far as specs go, so far it’s only been suggested that the Priv will sport an 18-megapixel rear camera. If the Priv is indeed slated for launch in November, though, we should get more details about BlackBerry’s Android slider soon. Stay tuned!

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We’re getting more and more info about the HTC Aero A9, and it’s looking to be a pretty nice phone. The latest leak shows off the colors the device will be available in. There’s more variety than most phones offer, which is a nice touch. There will be six colors offered, including two golds.

As for specs, we should be seeing a Snapdragon 617 processor, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of storage, a 5-inch full HD AMOLED display, a 13MP camera and a 4 Ultrapixel camera, a 2150 mAh battery, a fingerprint reader, a microSD slot, and a thickness of just 7mm.

The device will be launching sometime in November so we’ll have official specs then. What do you guys think of this device?

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On September 17, Nextbit, the company that’s building a smartphone that’s focused almost entirely on the cloud, announced that its previously GSM-only device would be gaining Verizon Wireless support. For the CDMA fans out there, the good news isn’t over just yet.

On September 23, Nextbit announced that the Robin officially supports Sprint as well. Moving forward, there are now just two versions of the handset: GSM and CDMA, with the GSM variant supporting AT&T, T-Mobile and international networks, while the CDMA variant now covers Verizon and Sprint. For anyone that has already backed the Robin on Kickstarter, you’ll now be able to choose between the two options for the final device.

The inclusion of a CDMA variant of the Robin is pretty big news across the board considering that the presence of a small manufacturer like Nextbit on Verizon, or even Sprint, is pretty uncommon. Usually these phones find their way to GSM networks only, so any Verizon or Sprint subscribers out there wishing they could get the Robin, your wish has been granted.

Do you plan on picking up a Robin?

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New apps need lovin’ too, right? Every day there are thousands of additions to the Google Play store, but many go unnoticed and never receive the attention they deserve. We’ve shown in the past that this community can discover great apps and propel them to new heights. Our weekly Fresh Meat column highlights new apps with fewer than 100,000 installs. Browse our new Android app picks below and let us know which ones you enjoy.

Minimal Todo

Description: Minimal todo is a very light and useful app, allowing you to add todos easily and quickly. It follows the Material guidelines completely.

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Oink

Description: The Oink app is a free to use app that allows families to setup and manage payments for all family members. Teens and tweens can manage their funds using the COPPA compliant Oink app.

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Pay with Rewards

Description: MasterCard Pay with Rewards ™ allows you to use your rewards to reimburse purchases at millions of participating locations worldwide. This app allows you to connect an eligible MasterCard card and configure when and where your rewards will be redeemed for purchases.

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Android Pay

Description: Android Pay is the simple and safe way to pay with your Android phone at over one million store locations across the US (and soon in apps).

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Adobe Captivate Prime

Description: With the Adobe Captivate Prime App, take your learning with you, wherever you go. Download your training, consume it even when you are offline and be assured of your progress getting tracked.

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Misfit Link

Description: The Misfit Link app lets you use any Misfit Flash or Misfit Link to take a selfie with your phone camera app; control your music with Spotify, Pandora, Soundcloud, or Google Play Music; or advance slides in a presentation.

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Inkboard

Description: Inkboard is an easy and fun way to draw on pictures or blank canvas with life-like creative tools. Draw on photos using realistic drawing tools: Pens, markers, highlighter, pencils, crayons and erasers.

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FanDuel

Description: FanDuel brings you one-day fantasy sports leagues for real money. Winners get immediate cash payouts. No season-long commitment. Join public leagues or play with friends. Over $10 million paid out every week! Entry fees start from $1.

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CBS All Access

Description: Watch full episodes of your favorite TV shows live & on-demand with CBS All Access! Stream your local CBS broadcast (select markets) or catch up on full seasons of hit shows like NCIS, The Good Wife, The Young and The Restless & ad-free classics like CSI:Miami.

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 TPG by American Red Cross

Description: The TPG App is the mobile version of the Compendium of Transfusion Practice Guidelines, a review of blood usage guidelines published in English in peer-reviewed journals from the Red Cross.

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Earlier today, an image leaked that showcased the Nexus 6P and all of its colored options, preparing those waiting to see what Google officially announces on September 29 for their color of choice. Now the Nexus 5X from LG has received the same treatment in a pair of leaks.

The first of which showcases the front and back of the handset, showcasing that familiar black front, along with a white back plate that features a camera that sticks out a bit, a fingerprint reader, that bold Nexus logo, and the standard camera flash.

The other image shows the back of the handset again, but this time with a little more color. Below the Quartz White option there’s the Ice Blue and Charcoal Black variants. Just as it was with the Nexus 6P leak, we can’t see the front of the colored options, but the safest bet at this point is that they’ll be black, too.

If you could buy any of the three options right now, which color would you go for?

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It’s been quite the year for Pebble already, with a return to Kickstarter with the Pebble Time and Pebble Time Steel netting them over $20 million. This in the face of an ever growing number of Android Wear watches, the launch of Apple Watch, and new Tizen-based offerings from Samsung.

Pebble was holding one more piece of hardware up its sleeve this year, and today announced the Pebble Time Round. As the name suggests, the Pebble Time Round diverts from the now familiar rectangular Pebble screen in favor of the more traditional round face that is proving popular with many buyers. Along with the change in shape, the Pebble Time Round is considerably thinner and lighter than previous models at just 7.5mm and 28 grams, down from 9.5mm and 42.5 grams on the Pebble Time. This will make it the thinnest and lightest smartwatch on the market when it launches in November.

Beyond the physical changes, the Pebble Time Round isn’t diverging greatly from the existing Pebble Time lineup. It is using the same color e-paper display and will offer days of battery life. Pebble also touts that a 15-minute quick charge will be able to give you another juice for another full day of battery life.

The Pebble Time Round comes in either Black, Silver or Rose Gold finishes and is paired with a 14mm or 20mm quick change leather band, with additional metal options to be introduced later in the year.

For Pebble Time Steel backers that have just received their rewards from the Kickstarter project, Pebble is offering you the ability to trade in your Pebble Time Steel for the Pebble Time Round when they are available. Details of the exchange program can be found on Pebble’s help site, but the basics are that you will have 30 days with the Pebble Time Round to make up your mind on which you prefer and can then choose to keep either watch without spending any more than you did on the Kickstarter, or you can keep both and receive a $50 discount on the Pebble Time Round.

The Pebble Time Round will retail for the same $249 as the Pebble Time Steel and is available for pre-order today shipping in November.

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Yesterday a render of what is believed to be Google’s upcoming Nexus 6P leaked, along with images of the packaging for not only the 6P but also the smaller Nexus 5X. Now that we’re nearing Google’s September 29 event, the Nexus-branded leaks just keep on coming in.

In the latest image, by way of Android Police, we have a pretty clear look at what the color options will be for Google’s upcoming flagship. There will be four to choose from: black, gold, white, and aluminum. The aluminum variant is the one that’s on the far left, while the white option is the one hunkered down with the other models.

Unfortunately, as the original report notes, these colors might not be available everywhere at once, and maybe not even at launch.

Which color do you want to make your next daily driver?

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