If you own a tablet, chances are that you game on it. Whether it’s a thousand hours spent playing Candy Crush Saga (with an additional million-or-so hours spent waiting), getting your tactical fix in Plants vs. Zombies or unleashing multi-coloured birds on stationary pigs, it’s a significant chunk of time you’re not getting back. But there’s another reason to purchase an Android tablet: Nvidia’s Tegra technology. If you’ve missed the bandwagon, fret not, because this is absolutely the right time to jump on board.
The current version (Tegra 4) powers a very limited number of devices across manufacturers — and one of them is India’s own Xolo Play Tegra Note. Xolo’s 7-inch tablet is easily the most powerful Android tablet I’ve ever used, with its capabilities extending far beyond gaming; seamless 1080p playback (with its HDMI-out port, no less), responsiveness and speakers which are quite loud for a tablet its size. Yes, it’s a little bulkier than comparable tablets, but the trade-off is more than worth it. Retailing for Rs.17,999, this is something you’ll probably want to get your hands on if you’re looking for a gaming and media capable Android tablet. But enough about the hardware. With the imminent arrival of the next iteration of Tegra (the K1) later this year, let’s look at some of the games that will make the most of the current-gen Tegra 4 devices.
When you launch the Tegrazone companion app on your android device, the first game that is likely to get your attention is Gameloft’s Asphalt 8: Airborne. The series has been carried the mobile gaming banner for several years now, and the latest version is no different. However, PC and console racing games have simply taken it to another level, both in terms of graphics and game experience that mobile racing games simply don’t compare. But as a standalone experience on the go, Asphalt 8 will take up some of your time (and your tablet battery).
But if there was one game you should get to truly unleash the 72 custom cores and Quard-Core ARM Processor lying under the hood of your Tegra 4 device, it’s 11 Bit Studios’ tower offense game, Anomaly 2. The game runs just as well on a Tegra 4 device as it does on a PC, sporting fantastic physics effects (through Nvidia’s PhysX tech) and lighting. Graphics aside, Anomaly 2 is a great follow up to one of the best games of this kind on any platform, with intense, frantic strategic gameplay that seems to feel more at home on mobile and tablet than it does on a PC. At Rs. 300, it’s at least 300 times what you would pay for an Android game, but this is the ultimate tech demo for your Tegra powered Android device.
No list of games is complete without the inclusion of the words ‘Grand’, ‘Theft’ and ‘Auto’, therefore, for good measure, let’s throw one into the mix. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is the GTA game you’ll probably want to get unless you’re in love with the eighties, in which case, Vice City is the way to go. San Andreas is a different beast when played on Tegra 4, performing superbly with higher shadow detail and real time reflections automatically enabled (features missing in other mobile versions of the game). Controllers are supported as well, so you might want to consider investing in a MOGA Ace Power (more universally compatible than controllers from other manufacturers). If you’re controller equipped and a fan of old-school game humour, give The Cave and A Bard’s Tale remake a shot as well.
