KOPLAYER is a free Android emulator which allows mobile gaming on your PC’s desktop.

It’s a bulky 300MB download – VirtualBox and an Android image, mostly – but installs easily enough, and within a minute or two your virtual Android device appears.

KOPLAYER opens with a quick tutorial, explaining some of its basics. We would have liked more detail, but even this level of documentation is more than you get with some of the competition.

You start with only a few basic apps – Gallery, Music, Settings – but full access to the Play Store means it’s easy to find and add more.

Whatever you install is generally easy to control with the mouse, and it’s also possible to play games with the keyboard, gamepads and more.

Find and install apps from the Play Store

Built-in video recording is a KOPLAYER highlight. Click the Record button, start playing a game, and KOPLAYER saves the footage to your local PC (not the Android file system).

Click Stop when you’re done, and you can view the file, or share it on YouTube and Facebook in a click or two.

Simple folder sharing allows transferring files between your PC and virtual device. Just click “Shared Folder”, point the program at a PC folder, and it’s immediately available in the Android file manager CyanogenMod.

A left-hand toolbar gives quick access to key features like volume adjustment, screen captures or the “full screen” option, and there are a few basic settings available (choose your preferred resolution, set a Boss Key).

KOPLAYER doesn’t have the advanced features of some of the competition (no virtual GPS sensor), and there were some problems on our test system (Ctrl+mouse wheel to zoom didn’t work for us). But it’s easy to use, and the built-in video recording is a definite plus. If you’re new to Android emulators, it’s worth a look.