Gaming is a central part of the Nokia mobile experience these days, and we're not talking Snake here either. Fast, responsive hardware together combine with a huge array of titles to choose from on Ovi Store to give plenty for any mobile gamer to sink their teeth into. Here are our choices for the best Nokia smartphones for gaming.

Games come in all shapes and sizes, of course, so narrowing down a single list of must-have features is more difficult than it might seem. But there are some essentials. A good screen is a must, and preferably the larger screen size of a touchscreen device.

For truly intuitive gaming, a built-in accelerometer is a must too, and you'll want a fair bit of power too if you're looking to run the latest high-spec mobile titles.

So which handsets in Nokia's lineup offer the best combination of features to suit the mobile gamer? Let's take a look...

High-end Nokia gaming smartphone: Nokia N8

The Nokia N8 is very much a high-end all-rounder, but most of its key strengths are particularly relevant when it comes to gaming. Anything you choose to load up on the 3.5-inch AMOLED screen will look fantastic, and the capacitive interface keeps in-game controls simple and unfussy.

Being a Symbian^3 handset it runs all the latest high-profile touch-friendly games that surface on the Ovi Store, and has loads of processing power and on-board memory to do them justice.

Check out our Nokia N8 Review Roundup

Mid-range Nokia gaming smartphone: Nokia C6-01

It's not quite on a par with the Nokia N8, but the Nokia C6-01 still has plenty of gaming prowess where it matters. By that we mean Symbian^3, a top-notch capacitive touchscreen and bags of power to back it up with.

The result is a phone that handles even the most demanding of games without fuss, with no lag or jerkiness when you tap commands or buttons on screen.

Check out our Nokia C6-01 Gaming Review

Entry-level Nokia gaming smartphone: Nokia C3-01 Touch and Type

Compromises are inevitable to some extent when you're shopping at the bottom end of the market, and so while seamless touch-only gaming on a large screen is beyond the Nokia C3-01 Touch and Type, it offers a useful compromise.

You still get touch, albeit on a smaller screen, but you also have the tactile convenience of physical buttons on the keypad, giving you plenty of control over your gaming exploits.

Check out our full Nokia C3-01 Touch and Type Review

Worth considering: Nokia E7?

A controversial choice? Possibly, but the Nokia E7's multitude of talents are wasted if kept solely to the business arena. The glorious 4in screen is just crying out for some gaming action, and the full QWERTY keyboard adds another dimension of control that even the Nokia N8 can't match.

Check out our Nokia E7 Hardware Review

How big a mobile gamer are you, and what is your Nokia of choice when it comes to indulging in a spot of gaming at the end of a long day? Have your say in the Comments below.