All Android games suck

[ardoreal]

I just say that because my wife is playing "Spider" for the iPhone sitting there on the couch.

There's all this great artwork and beautiful audio, and then I sit here with my Droid and I feel like a chump. I got no game.


To elaborate, check these out...

Bet you can tell which version is the iPhone, and which version is the Android version. I'm starting to get really sick of Android, Google's crap, and this crappy touchscreen on the Droid. I should have never traded out. The apps, games, and movies suck on this device and I'm quite frankly sick of it. I'm thinking of ditching Droid and replacing it with some cheap crappy Pearl for my company phone, and going back to iPhone.

In a world of DOES, DROID DOESN'T!!!!!

 

[rick707]

they had 1 phone on the smallest of the big carriers (tmobile) for about a year. They have had many phones available for about 3 months now and the app market has more then doubled in that time frame
its not going to be perfect over night

 

[Ripjames]

what game is that

 

[cmorty72#AC]

Give it a little time amigo.
I'm sure in the very near future (especially when Flash 10.1 rears it's head), we'll be seeing more than our share of kick-ass games coming out for android.
The market is already growing bigger with every day (now weather or not most of these apps are worth a damn and useful is a matter of opinion).

 

[bbrosen]

Android platform is built in such a way that it will limit apps to work in a very small footprint of the phones internal memory, apps will be stunted in size, graphics, etc. Also with Android, programs just run in the background, taking up valuable memory from things you do want to run. I am not sure why this is used as a mobile phone platform, it does not seem very efficient.

I have the HTC Hero, former Iphone user here so i know your pain. My hero is slow, laggy and the games are awful. The graphics all look like they are from 10 years ago.

Android has potential but no direction. I was very frustrated to learn with android you just cannot go to Google and update to the latest OS level either.

I realize Android is new, but it has such a long way to go to catch up to what is already out there. If you are a geek, and you like to fiddle with your phone all the time to manage it and it's performance, then it's for you. You have limitless possibilities for customization. But they are high maint phones.

I don't see it getting much better anytime soon, but I am stuck with my carrier for now and this phone. It is not a very well thought out OS nor is it very intuitive or natural to use.

If things do not improve dramatically to what I am used to having, then I will switch back when the time comes.

If anyone knows how to fix the HTC Hero issues, ie lagginess, freezes, slow loading, quirky screen pop ups etc etc, I could use some help.

Many times after listening to music, I will get a call, or make a call about an hour later, and when i hang up, the music will start back up again...very annoying.

Sometimes when i hang up a call, the search screen pops up, or the calander will pop up, very weird.


If I am talking on the phone, the screen goes blank, and then later, the lock screen activates. To hang up i have to 1: push the volume key to bring my screen back 2: swipe the lock screen off 3: then hang up, other wise calls do not hang up

Not sure why hanging up is a 3 step process but it is.

my dial pad keeps closeing itself out and if i have to work my way thru an automated voicemail, system, as I often do for my job, i have to constantly bring back the keypad, it won't just stay there.

I cannot do more than 1 app at a time, phone freezes, crashes, locks up or force closes one or both apps.

Any help to a frustrated new android user would help. i use a task killer but hate it because i hate to micromanage my phone all the time. I try without it but it becomes impossible to use very fast without it.

I do battery pulls, and hard resets as well as swap the phone out...any help will be much appreciated, thanks!

 

[Andrew Ruffolo]

Android platform is built in such a way that it will limit apps to work in a very small footprint of the phones internal memory, apps will be stunted in size, graphics, etc. Also with Android, programs just run in the background, taking up valuable memory from things you do want to run. I am not sure why this is used as a mobile phone platform, it does not seem very efficient.

I have the HTC Hero, former Iphone user here so i know your pain. My hero is slow, laggy and the games are awful. The graphics all look like they are from 10 years ago.

Android has potential but no direction. I was very frustrated to learn with android you just cannot go to Google and update to the latest OS level either.

I realize Android is new, but it has such a long way to go to catch up to what is already out there. If you are a geek, and you like to fiddle with your phone all the time to manage it and it's performance, then it's for you. You have limitless possibilities for customization. But they are high maint phones.

I don't see it getting much better anytime soon, but I am stuck with my carrier for now and this phone. It is not a very well thought out OS nor is it very intuitive or natural to use.

If things do not improve dramatically to what I am used to having, then I will switch back when the time comes.

If anyone knows how to fix the HTC Hero issues, ie lagginess, freezes, slow loading, quirky screen pop ups etc etc, I could use some help.

Many times after listening to music, I will get a call, or make a call about an hour later, and when i hang up, the music will start back up again...very annoying.

Sometimes when i hang up a call, the search screen pops up, or the calander will pop up, very weird.


If I am talking on the phone, the screen goes blank, and then later, the lock screen activates. To hang up i have to 1: push the volume key to bring my screen back 2: swipe the lock screen off 3: then hang up, other wise calls do not hang up

Not sure why hanging up is a 3 step process but it is.

my dial pad keeps closeing itself out and if i have to work my way thru an automated voicemail, system, as I often do for my job, i have to constantly bring back the keypad, it won't just stay there.

I cannot do more than 1 app at a time, phone freezes, crashes, locks up or force closes one or both apps.

Any help to a frustrated new android user would help. i use a task killer but hate it because i hate to micromanage my phone all the time. I try without it but it becomes impossible to use very fast without it.

I do battery pulls, and hard resets as well as swap the phone out...any help will be much appreciated, thanks!

Your problem is that you use a task killer and don't close programs properly. Ever since I ditches the task killer and started using the back button to close programs, everything has been snappy, responsive and conservative on the battery. Also, I restart my phone once a day. Been extremely content since. Battery pulls are not necessary unless phone freezes. If it freezes, its probably an app that's the problem, not the phones fault. Root/rom generally produces better performance. I'm waiting until I get 2.1 to see if I'm going to root as its supposed to be more efficient. Also, download an app called proximity sensor. It's made just for hers and will fix your in call issues.

 

[ardoreal]

Your problem is that you use a task killer and don't close programs properly. Ever since I ditches the task killer and started using the back button to close programs, everything has been snappy, responsive and conservative on the battery. Also, I restart my phone once a day. Been extremely content since. Battery pulls are not necessary unless phone freezes. If it freezes, its probably an app that's the problem, not the phones fault. Root/rom generally produces better performance. I'm waiting until I get 2.1 to see if I'm going to root as its supposed to be more efficient. Also, download an app called proximity sensor. It's made just for hers and will fix your in call issues.

You shouldn't have to think about using a task killer. Nor should you have to reboot your phone, ever.

With an iPhone an app very seldom, if ever, causes a complete freeze. I don't ever remember a time when I had to hard reset my iPhone, everything just always worked. I could run a game, then run an app, then listen to some music. I could do a hundred things with it going from one activity to another. I was able to run a good IM program that didn't drain my battery either.

I agree with BGR too, that if an app as intuitive and thoughtful as Tweetie ever hit the Android Market it would crash, burn, and die from the demand. The apps suck, the games suck, the crashes and battery pulls suck.

I have had to pull my Droid's battery many times because of a hard freeze. I would customize the heck out of it but it was all always hollow, because all I did was give a makeover to something that still ultimately didn't do what I wanted it to. I'm realizing that the "open-ness" and "customizability" of Android is all just a veil. It's all hollow because you still can't do many things with a Droid that you can with an iPhone, or Pre for that matter.

I don't care about maturity and potential, I care about what it has to offer me right now. It doesn't matter that "soon I can browse my photos in a 3D gallery" because ultimately, the Droid takes sh1t pictures that look like ass compared to the Pre or iPhone. I can't thoughtfully trim video either.

I don't see EA showing an interest in Android because of the fragmented landscape and platform instability. There's no unified SDK and Google is perhaps more rigid than Apple in what their platform can do. We don't have a multitouch keyboard because some bozo sits there and thinks we should "just use it one handed". We can't enjoy apps rich in audio and graphics because some @sshole thinks we'll all pirate apps if they make it to the SD card, yet the marketing people still call it a 16GB phone. In reality it's just a 256mb phone that we pay hundreds for.

I'm sick of Android and all its garbage, I'm sick of battery pulls and the idea I should have to run a task killer. I'd dare say that's on par with Windows 95. If you have an OS that can't manage memory on its own you should go back to the drawing board because that puts you in the old Win95 days when stuff would just break for some extraneous reason.

I am generally pretty well to do, so biting the bullet really isn't all that hard for me. It's just money, I want what I want and I'm going to get a jailbroken iPhone and just deal with a 2.5G local carrier. This Droid's done for, I hate it.

 

[Ripjames]

not to dog on iPhone, because I did love my iPhone, but I had to reboot it every day or I would have trouble, and than still times I would have to reboot the phone because it was sluggish. I don't think my hero is any better or worse in this respect. Once android lets us run apps, (officially) from the SD card we'll start seeing apps on the market of the same quality as those on the iphone app store

 

[Jeremy]

You shouldn't have to think about using a task killer. Nor should you have to reboot your phone, ever.

With an iPhone an app very seldom, if ever, causes a complete freeze. I don't ever remember a time when I had to hard reset my iPhone, everything just always worked. I could run a game, then run an app, then listen to some music. I could do a hundred things with it going from one activity to another. I was able to run a good IM program that didn't drain my battery either.

I agree with BGR too, that if an app as intuitive and thoughtful as Tweetie ever hit the Android Market it would crash, burn, and die from the demand. The apps suck, the games suck, the crashes and battery pulls suck.

I have had to pull my Droid's battery many times because of a hard freeze. I would customize the heck out of it but it was all always hollow, because all I did was give a makeover to something that still ultimately didn't do what I wanted it to. I'm realizing that the "open-ness" and "customizability" of Android is all just a veil. It's all hollow because you still can't do many things with a Droid that you can with an iPhone, or Pre for that matter.

I don't care about maturity and potential, I care about what it has to offer me right now. It doesn't matter that "soon I can browse my photos in a 3D gallery" because ultimately, the Droid takes sh1t pictures that look like ass compared to the Pre or iPhone. I can't thoughtfully trim video either.

I don't see EA showing an interest in Android because of the fragmented landscape and platform instability. There's no unified SDK and Google is perhaps more rigid than Apple in what their platform can do. We don't have a multitouch keyboard because some bozo sits there and thinks we should "just use it one handed". We can't enjoy apps rich in audio and graphics because some @sshole thinks we'll all pirate apps if they make it to the SD card, yet the marketing people still call it a 16GB phone. In reality it's just a 256mb phone that we pay hundreds for.

I'm sick of Android and all its garbage, I'm sick of battery pulls and the idea I should have to run a task killer. I'd dare say that's on par with Windows 95. If you have an OS that can't manage memory on its own you should go back to the drawing board because that puts you in the old Win95 days when stuff would just break for some extraneous reason.

I am generally pretty well to do, so biting the bullet really isn't all that hard for me. It's just money, I want what I want and I'm going to get a jailbroken iPhone and just deal with a 2.5G local carrier. This Droid's done for, I hate it.

If I was as angry as you... I'd go back to iPhone. While I agree with *some* things you say, you have to understand each platform has their own unique pros and cons. Nobody claimed Android to be a gaming machine nor will it ever be. At least not in the near future.

As for all of your lockups and battery pulls and task killer talk, I have no issues with any of that on my Nexus One or my iPhone 3GS.

 

[Jared DiPane]

I would have to say that since owning an Android, I have yet to be forced to pull the battery out of the device due to it freezing. Now on my BlackBerry, yes I had to do that, and sometimes frequently.

I agree with Jeremy in that I have never seen the Android described to be a gaming interface or brag about any of the gaming capabilities. I think the developers are concentrating where the market share is, and honestly thats still in the iPhone and Blackberry markets, as the Android appears to just be on the up and up.

I use Task Killer, and I have never had an issue with it, works like a charm since day one. Set it to not kill the apps I want to run and it works like a champion for the rest of the apps running.

 

[weirdkid]

I don't have problems that bbrosen describes unless I'm trying a new Rom. Which is usually resolved with a wipe and reflash.

As for games, you could try out Air Control, I find it pretty fun.

 

[bbrosen]

Your problem is that you use a task killer and don't close programs properly. Ever since I ditches the task killer and started using the back button to close programs, everything has been snappy, responsive and conservative on the battery. Also, I restart my phone once a day. Been extremely content since. Battery pulls are not necessary unless phone freezes. If it freezes, its probably an app that's the problem, not the phones fault. Root/rom generally produces better performance. I'm waiting until I get 2.1 to see if I'm going to root as its supposed to be more efficient. Also, download an app called proximity sensor. It's made just for hers and will fix your in call issues.

I have used it stock apps only to see if an app caused the problem. and I also used it without a task killer. HTC reccomends useing a task killer. If I do not use a task killer it becomes almost impossible to use, very quickly. Without a task killer, the android platform does not close out programs when i need or want them closed. backing out, yes i use the back button, but that still does not stop the program from running, ie the music app, thats stock.

This is just a high maint os platform is all it is, designed for the geeks, i am just not used to all the fiddleing with the phone. especiallly dureing my work day when i am busy. It's a great os if you like to play with your phone and customize to your hearts content and if you like to micromanage the thing, but for everyday normal business use, like me, it's cumbersome and a time vampire. I will wait to see what Taiwan says about these issues via the US corporate office. I am stuck with the phone anyway so not much i can do really, i am just trying to make my android experience better.

I would like to root but according to the peeps at xda the version i have has an anti root software level? Does that make sense? There are quite a few with my software that cannot root, I have celluarsouth as a carrier, no one seems to be able to root these cdma phone. I have tried, several times, no luck.

Proximity sensor works but not for what i need, when I pull the phone away from my face, it deactivates while i try to select the key touches.

 

[MBSMD]

I've had my Droid for a week. I don't use a task manager and haven't had a need to - I've had no slow downs or freezes. Can't say the same for the BlackBerry I used to use.

As for app sizes, all platforms except the iPhone store apps in main RAM. The BlackBerry is the same way and so is the Palm AFAIK. But my understanding is that Google will be addressing that limitation. Games of course will benefit the most from that change.

But, if you really want games, get an iPod touch. There's 3 years of development head start that Apple has over Android. Even the Pre/Pixi is only just now getting 3D games.

Personally, it doesn't matter how many apps the iPhone has... if it doesn't run on my preferred carrier (VZW), all the apps in the world would do nothing for me.

I do hope more developers move to Android though. BB is still #1 in sales in the market and iPhone is #2 with a bullet. Even WinMo has more users than Android. So I'd say for where Android is in the market, it's doing quite well. Bigger app selection than webOS for sure.

 

[GForceZA]

I have been using Android now since May 2009. I bought my G1 after longing for one since the moment I first laid eyes on it.

With respect to gaming, I've never really seen my phone, and more specifically, Android, as a gaming platform.

Android Phones are marketed as Smartphone's with the ability to multi-task, and give you the ability to customize the phone to exactly your liking, even on a non-rooted phone.
It keeps you connected and pushes data to you in a way that no other competitor achieves or matches. It performs everything that a "phone" needs to do, and does it well!
In my opinion, this is why it is a cut above the rest.

If you want games, get an iPod Touch, DS etc.
I wouldn't recommend the iPhone, because at&t have a terrible network, terrible customer service and a really dumb marketing campaign. The other issue is Apple's refusal to even listen to suggestions from its customer base, something that Google has done. At least give it USB support, a removable battery etc...
With the iPod Touch, you have a great music and gaming platform, and with Android, a great way to stay connected - ie. the best of both worlds. The touch has a much better battery life and screen for music and gaming, whereas the phone can used for the obviously important communication etc.

As we all know, the battery life on both the iPhone and Android phones tends to be rather bad. Logic tells me that relying on one device to play music, play games, surf the net, check Facebook, Twitter etc, receive and make phone calls, is just going to mean poor battery performance at the end of the day...or more precisely, midday

I've never been a fan of jamming everything into one device, because its never going to be perfect - at least not at this time. Something will disappoint. And if it fails/runs out of battery life, you're left with nothing.

I'm really happy with my G1 and iPod Touch combo.

 

[thevoiceless]

I really think that either storage space or a legitimate Apps2SD solution from Google should be the next step forward. We've got the nice screens and processors, the dual microphones and accurate trackballs/trackpads...we need more storage space so that developers can actually take full advantage of the hardware and software. With that, I think the whole Android experience as a whole would improve dramatically.

 

[TvTechGuru]

Dude it's not a PS3, you're expectations are way to high!

 

[jim_h#AC]

I really think that either storage space or a legitimate Apps2SD solution from Google should be the next step forward. We've got the nice screens and processors, the dual microphones and accurate trackballs/trackpads...we need more storage space so that developers can actually take full advantage of the hardware and software. With that, I think the whole Android experience as a whole would improve dramatically.

I completely agree. Coming from Symbian, I really miss the option it gives you to install software in internal or external memory - your choice. There's no practical reason why this can't be implemented in Android, other than Google's reluctance. I think this will be more of a showstopper for people as Android becomes more popular. Having only 100+Mb internally for installations and an almost empty 2Gb SD card on the Hero is a bit of a joke really.

 

[Andrew Ruffolo]

I have used it stock apps only to see if an app caused the problem. and I also used it without a task killer. HTC reccomends useing a task killer. If I do not use a task killer it becomes almost impossible to use, very quickly. Without a task killer, the android platform does not close out programs when i need or want them closed. backing out, yes i use the back button, but that still does not stop the program from running, ie the music app, thats stock.
I highly doubt they recommend a task killer. Task killers mess up their alarm program (verified multiple times in the hero and eris forums. The music app DOES close for me, it just saves your spot automatically. I can shut the phone off and turn it on, open the music app and voila, I'm on the same song I last played DAYS ago. Its not the phone, its the user. You must stop music play first before hitting the back button.
This is just a high maint os platform is all it is, designed for the geeks, i am just not used to all the fiddleing with the phone. especiallly dureing my work day when i am busy. It's a great os if you like to play with your phone and customize to your hearts content and if you like to micromanage the thing, but for everyday normal business use, like me, it's cumbersome and a time vampire. I will wait to see what Taiwan says about these issues via the US corporate office. I am stuck with the phone anyway so not much i can do really, i am just trying to make my android experience better.
Whatever you say. I'm not THAT techy. I'm not constantly fiddling with it. I'm not going to argue this point though, cause I do happen to have a lot of free time this month. Its less frustration for me than my Pre was. My LG dar gave me no problems except a laggy keyboard all the time with no fix and a lack of features.
I would like to root but according to the peeps at xda the version i have has an anti root software level? Does that make sense? There are quite a few with my software that cannot root, I have celluarsouth as a carrier, no one seems to be able to root these cdma phone. I have tried, several times, no luck.
Correct, the Cellular South phones have not been rooted.
Proximity sensor works but not for what i need, when I pull the phone away from my face, it deactivates while i try to select the key touches.

Thats what a proximity sensor does. On any phone with a proximity sensor, when you are in a call, the screen shuts off (or goes to a black inopperable screen) when the phone it close to your face. Pull the phone away and the screen turns on, or a functional screen reappears. Since this program is using light conditions to predict proximity, it works great during the day, and OK at night (meaning the black screen comes on, but doesn't shut off, hit back button and you are at your usual screen again).

 

[Andrew Ruffolo]

I completely agree. Coming from Symbian, I really miss the option it gives you to install software in internal or external memory - your choice. There's no practical reason why this can't be implemented in Android, other than Google's reluctance. I think this will be more of a showstopper for people as Android becomes more popular. Having only 100+Mb internally for installations and an almost empty 2Gb SD card on the Hero is a bit of a joke really.

Its coming for those who don't want to root. Will it happen overnight, probably not, but they are working on a way to have the applications encrypted and saved to the SD card. The problem with just saving them to the SD card now is that they aren't protected and can be extracted and published online without the programmer's permission. Not a biggie on things like free apps, but a biggie on paid apps. Apple and Palm have both used regular storage space for applications, allowing gaming to be a better experience only limited by the phones storage. Android games "suck" because of this limitation.
You can root your phone and use a program like Apps2SD that saves the apps to the SD card freeing up your space (you will have to redownload each app).

 

[bbrosen]

Actually, they did reccomend I use a task killer. By the head of the US tech support at the corp level. There is no stop, quit or exit option with the music player, all i can do is pause and use the back button, which i do. Then for good measure i use task killer. Hours later ater placing or rxing a csll and hang up, up pops the music player, playing out my speaker. What am i doing wrong

If i try to multitask my phone freezes, why can i not play music and surf? Or open up a pdf and have music or a navigation program running, if i am operating this device wrong please trll me.

I was informed by htc they cannot help with my phone problems because not enough people have complained about their phones being slow, laggy nor have enough people complained about multitasking problems to address them with any kind of software fix.

They reccomended i try to find third party apps to fix these issues. How a third party app will fix these issues i dont know. I am open to suggestions. I comb the market twice a day looking for apss that might help and try lots of different things looking for the right combo along with settings and programs.

After i have been on a call, the screen. Goes blank, then after awhile the lock screen activates. While on a call. To hang up one should only have to hit the hang up button., via the hardware button on the phone. I have to hit the volume button or menu button to bring my screen back on, then swipe the lock screen off, then hang up via soft or hard key. If there is another way let me know

My previous phone could surf and play music at the same time, or open a pdf and navigate or any multitasking i needed flawlessly. I am not used to micromanaging clearing of caches and task killers an experimenting with combinations of settings and programs just to do the basics.