Best Android tower defense games

Plants vs Zombies is one of the classic free-to-play tower defense games and its sequel might be the shining star of the genre. Plants vs Zombies 2 sees you employing the services of assorted shrubbery to defeat an approaching zombie army.

PopCap delivers a colorful, addictive, well-balanced strategy game with near-endless replay value. It's continuously inventive and each stage has its own set of unique traits, which means that progressing through them always throws up new challenges.  

As far as free-to-play games go, Plants vs Zombies 2 is pretty generous in terms of the unlocked content that is freely available. And it's also a helluva good time. 

Defense Grid 2 HD is a more realistic tower-defense game, with a modern military theme. In comparison to its cutesy competition, it certainly has more grit, but it also has excellent gameplay.

There is a lot of tactical depth to the game, which may make it difficult to get into if you've never played a tower defense game before. However, I suspect that genre veterans will relish the challenge it presents.

Defense Zone 2 HD costs US$2.99 for the full version, but there is a light version available if you want to check that first. It’s definitely one of the best tower defense games on Android.

Castle defense is another free-to-play title. Set in a fantasy realm, it’s one of the older tower defense titles and there’s nothing exactly revolutionary to be found here. But Castle Defense nails the basics of the genre and acts as an excellent starting point for those who are new to this type of game.

The enemies walk along a fixed path which you must line with towers to prevent them reaching the end. The graphics and audio are just okay, but with more than 100 levels, three difficulty settings and an exciting upgrade system, Castle Defense will still keep you coming back for more.