Welcome to the 285th edition of Android Apps Weekly! Here are the big headlines from the last week:
- Google reportedly sent out reminders this week about Inbox by Gmail's eventual shut down. It re-confirms the April 2nd shut down that we already expected. People took to Reddit to talk about the warning and tons of people verified that they received it too. Thankfully, Google did put a bunch of Inbox features in Gmail. Thus, the transition shouldn't be too bad. Hit the link to learn more!
- A new Call of Duty game is coming to mobile. Call of Duty: Legends of War got a trailer this week along with some more information. We know it should play like a regular Call of Duty game. In addition, it'll have multiple game modes, 60fps game play, and a freemium price tag. That shouldn't surprise anyone. The game's developers are Tencent and Activision, after all. The new trailer looks fantastic and you can check it out at the link!
- Opera Browser received a fairly substantial new feature this week. It's a free VPN in the app. You simply open the app, enable the VPN, and browse privately. The feature doesn't require a login or account of any type. There are some other configurations as well. The update is rolling out to the Play Store as we speak so you can get this new feature right now. The VPN features 256-bit encryption and several regions to choose from.
- The King of Fighters: All Star is coming to Android this year. It's a freemium action RPG with side-scrolling brawler mechanics. It uses characters from SNK's The King of Fighters series. A few of those games are already on Android as ports. We don't know a whole bunch about the game yet. However, we do know that it contains a bunch of characters from most of the games and it has a freemium pricing model. We'll know more later this year.
- Google Stadia is the big announcement from this week. Google announced it at GDC 2019. It's a cloud game streaming service in collaboration with id Software. The keynote featured a bunch of neat little stats, including a powerful backbone, tons of development technologies, and some neat features for niche demographics like YouTube streamers. There is also a controller that works particularly well with Stadia. We don't know a whole lot about it right now, including its price tag. We should learn more in the near future.
Shieldwall Chronicles: Swords of the North is a new SRPG. Players can build parties from 16 different classes. You choose six heroes and do battle against the enemy. The game also features a full narrative experience, a morale system to add more mechanics to the combat, and the usual array of loot and gear to collect. The developers boast over 40 hours of total game play and the game has no microtransactions or advertising to gum up the works. It runs for $5.99. There may be a bug or two, though. It is a new game, after all.
Lens Distortions is a photography effects app with a bunch of neat little tricks. None of it is overly audacious. You can add effects like a light fog or natural light along with glass, rain, snow, or other such effects. It's not bad for sprucing up some already decent photos. However, this is not a photo editor by any stretch. There are various filter packs that range in prices, but you can demo some of them for free. There is also a subscription for $0.99 per month. However, we don't recommend that one. The subscription just unlocks the packs that you can buy individually anyway.
RBI Baseball 19 is the official MLB game for this year. The latest iteration doesn't add a whole ton from the previous year. You get current 2019 rosters, official 2019 uniforms, and some game play and physics improvements. The game itself features staples of the franchise, including a franchise mode, a bunch of MLB legends to earn and collect, and more. The game also has weekly roster updates to keep everything current. The pitching and hitting mechanics are still sore points for some players, but this is a series that gets better every year. If you try it, make sure to demo it before the refund time expires.
Hidey Hole is a fun new app for Galaxy S10, S10+, and S10e owners. It scans the r/S10wallpapers subreddit for wallpapers that integrate Samsung's punch hole camera. You can find a bunch of options there and they are all fairly unique. We didn't see any low resolution options in the app and that's also good news. This app only works for the Galaxy S10 series of devices. It simply won't work for any phone and the developer flat states that the app will crash if you try. We didn't see any problems with it and Google Play reviews are also fairly positive.
Era of Legends is a new MMORPG. It features most of the same stuff that you find in other mobile MMORPGs. That includes PvP battles, open world exporation, and tons of loot to find and collect. The graphics are fairly decent, but about average for the genre. You also get battle pets that fly you around and we quite like that. There are also some co-op quests and adventures to do. There is an auto-battle and auto-path system that takes some of the challenge out of the game. Character customization is a bit lacking, but otherwise it ticks all of the right boxes for a freemium MMORPG.
15 best MMORPGs for Android (Updated 2019)
If we missed any great Android apps or games news from the last week, tell us about it in the comments! You can also click here to check out our latest Android Authority podcasts!
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