By McKinley Noble | 09-14-2012 | 11:00AM
As mobile gaming continues to make leaps and bounds with every new tablet or smartphone design, Tegra technology is leading the pack when it comes to high-end graphics and console-quality effects. In fact, Android games in general will likely be defined by how amazing they look while played on Tegra-capable devices such as the Google Nexus 7.
For those of you who want to get a glimpse at what your Android gadget can really do, NVIDIA’s TegraZone is a valuable resource and good place to start.
TegraZone
By Nvidia (Free)
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Nvidia’s biggest innovation in mobile gaming is so advanced that the Android market is still catching up. But with thousands of apps to choose from, it can be hard to pick out the ones with the best graphics and tech. That’s where TegraZone comes in to single out the cream of the crop.
Instead of setting out into the Wild West of Google Play’s app library, this points you to every new THD (Tegra High Definition) title that’s released. There’s constant news updates, exclusive videos, and more content to boot, so you can see the difference between normal Android games and their Tegra-powered upgrades.
Dead Trigger
By Madfinger Games (Free)
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Among thousands of free Android games, first-person zombie shooter Dead Trigger actually started out a paid app that become infamous through piracy. Ironically, it became so popular that developer MadFinger decided to turn it into a free-to-play experience. It hasn’t hurt the game in the least, though, as it’s still a blast to play.
Tegra Bonus: Smoke, rain, and haze swell through the air when you play Dead Trigger on a Tegra-powered device, adding some real depth to this shooter’s atmosphere. Even the water effects are hard to miss when a zombie corpse falls face-first into a puddle of sludge.
Horn
By Zynga ($6.99)
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Although demonic creatures and mammoth, towering giants have ravaged the world of Horn, every landscape still looks amazing.
Mixing the sword-based combat of Infinity Blade with puzzle-heavy dungeon designs, this adventure game is a console-quality experience that really goes for broke on the cinematics and scenery. Looking at the richly designed environments, huge enemy models, and amazingly detailed graphics, it’s clear Horn is a mobile game that just wouldn’t be possible without Tegra technology.
Tegra Bonus: Originally unveiled during Google I/O to showcase the graphical capabilities of the Nexus 7, Horn on Tegra features richly detailed settings, which are brought to life with advanced shadow effects, lens flair, and even individually-rendered leaves on trees.
Beach Buggy Blitz
By Vector Unit (Free)
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If you’ve ever needed to justify your tablet or smartphone as a worthy substitute for your console, Vector Unit’s Beach Buggy Blitz works well as both a tech demo and a racing game. Aside from all the colorful racetracks to explore, there’s plenty of incentive to keep improving throughout the courses. After all, if you’re good enough, you can unlock everything in this free app without playing a single dime.
Tegra Bonus: Beach Buggy Blitz legitimately looks like a different game when you boot it up with a Tegra-powered tablet, adding in water effects, detailed lighting, and even motion blur effects, giving the gameplay an even better sense of speed.
Zen Pinball THD
By ZEN Studios (Free)
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Pinball is far from the hottest thing around these days, but ZEN Studios actually found a way to make it interesting with their various arcade-themed titles. Not only do the impressively stylized tables display fantastic physics, but the level of detail in the design is uncanny. ZEN Studios has plenty of individual themes to buy, too, like Avengers, Street Fighter II, and X-Men pinball tables, all with unique effects.
Tegra Bonus: With Tegra-technology, Zen Pinball THD looks very close to its PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 counterparts, with extremely life-like lighting and entertainingly over-the-top special effects.
Shadowgun THD
By Madfinger Games ($4.99)
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Sure, Gears of War look-a-like Shadowgun hit the mobile market over a year ago, but the original version’s still one of the most impressive third-person shooters around.
Tegra Bonus: What makes the THD version so much better is how the environment changes in the middle of a gunfight. Stray bullets clip the water with real-time effects, floodlights cast detailed shadows, and explosions have some nice additional flare.
The Dark Meadow
By Phosphor Games (Free)
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If you’re itching for a good horror experience that doesn’t involve being neck deep in scattered zombie parts, Dark Meadow: The Pact is hands-down our best recommendation. It’s a first-person game that takes place in an abandoned hospital, populated with nightmarish abominations that wouldn’t look out of place in a Silent Hill tour. At the very least, you’re not completely defenseless—melee combat gives you a crossbow and a sword to fend off all the hideous creatures.
Tegra 3 Bonus: Dark Meadow’s grim setting is wonderfully detailed with harsh lighting, decaying debris, and some creepy ambient sound effects. Playing it on a Tegra 3 device also fills out the game’s world with additional trimmings, like the rampant foliage that’s grown throughout the bare insides of the gutted hospital.
