This free-to-play has some inspired aesthetics but otherwise feels like a full embrace of pay-to-win design.

Contra: Evolution looks better than the original arcade game, but it's hampered with inadequate controls.

It's a quality recreation, not a cheap knock-off.

Trials Frontier finally brings the famed stunt racing franchise to mobile, but how much does its free-to-play nature affect the game?

Crude, rude, and sometimes just downright distasteful, The Lost Reels brilliantly toes the line of acceptability, while still delivering solid on-rails shooter action.

Magikarp Jump isn't a great game so much as it is a curious, clicker-esque thing. It is laudable insofar as it takes a totally uninteresting gameplay loop and actually gives some life to it. This doesn't make Magikarp Jump feel any more like a satisfying game, but it does make it one of the more interesting Pokémon titles out there.

The danger of a game like Sketch Nation Shooter is that it relies completely on user generated content. The added concerns of only being able to upload games to Facebook provide security issues, but the developer is currently working on a solution to that issue.

Definitely one of the most difficult tower defense games out there. Beating the first level in itself is a chore, even on easy mode. With a few levels at your disposal and 3 difficulty levels to play through, you should have more than enough game to play, as long as you don't delete it out of frustration.

It's still entertaining despite the rough controls and cutscene glitches, plus it doesn't cost a thing. Not that being free is an excuse, but it certainly makes it easier to sate that curiosity.

Tomb Breaker keeps it simple with gameplay just a matter of matching up gems and nothing more. It's fun for a time, but pretty forgettable.

Quotation forthcoming.

An experience that few other games have duplicated, and I highly recommend playing it. Just do so on a system with an actual controller, as apparently for fighting games to work on iOS, they have to be actually designed for the system, or at least dramatically reworked. This is a straight port, and this is just difficult to play.

This should have been EA's chance to plant a firm foothold in the landscape of portable mixed martial arts games, but sadly MMA feels like more of a misstep. While passable, this far under-delivers on the promise that a typical EA Sports title normally brings to the table.

I did enjoy my time with Avengers Alliance, but it required a bit more patience than most freemium titles I’m used to because of all the down time. However, it’s still an entertaining game about recruiting a bunch of superheroes and fighting lots of supervillains, and who doesn’t enjoy stuff like that?

Tedious level designs and time-consuming game mechanics frustratingly tarnish this timeless classic.

With over sixty levels spread across three areas (Deep Caverns, Lava Tunnels and Lunar Foundry), and fifty eight ship parts to collect, it should keep all but the most persistent players busy for a while.

Most definitely a game that people could be playing on their next commute. It has the kind of pick-up-and-play gameplay that so many other games strive to achieve, but few perfect. Sly Fox is definitely a game that deserves a place on the homescreen.

It's a fun idea and one that tests the gray matter a lot more than something like Tetris or Bejeweled.

Not quite hitting the spot, Stargate SG-1: Unleashed is an interesting mishmash of genres but it doesn't quite fire on all cylinders.

Simply put: it’s fun and gives players good reason to stick with it.

Mechanically and visually sound, Drop That Candy lacks a certain something to make it truly stand out from a cluttered crowd.

FarmVille is bigger and brighter than ever before, but don't expect it to sway you if you're a non believer.

Still gorgeous, still oddly compelling, still grind-tastic, and still more than a little cynical.

With not much in common with its predecessor, Gravity Guy 2 is a fairly run of the mill Endless Runner.

A fast paced Match Three game mixed with simple RPG elements proves successful for Dungeon Hearts, but expect the focus to be heavily on the Match Three rather than anything RPGish.

I really, really like the idea behind Infinite Warrior, but the implementation needs some work. With controls that aren't quite so finicky, text that can actually be read, and a little gamma correction it would actually be really awesome. Until that happens it's doomed to be more frustrating than fun.

Fans of casual gaming will find themselves entertained by Sticky for awhile, but it's not even close to the quality of Angry Birds, and that's a bit frustrating.

It isn't cool, doesn't possess even a touch of originality, and doesn't tie into the movie very well at all. I just don't understand, the TRON brand is way too cool for this game. I'd be so much happier with a remake of the original Midway TRON game.

A major complaint I found with this game is the tutorial pictures that are shown before new features are added. I always found that the pictures either failed to adequately identify the "new" game strategy I was learning, or didn't seem to be incorporated into the level at all.

This game may be a AAA title for the gaming giant, but it is 13 years old, putting it somewhere in the hinterlands between classic and dated.

There are only 17 total "jobs" in the game for players to compete. This is simply too little. The levels don't take long to complete and, beside from boss battles, they aren't particularly challenging.

This is a pick-up-and-play title that is truly for gamers of all ages and types. It takes the Angry Birds physics puzzle genre and gives it a new spin.

Fury of the Gods is tough at times, at least until learning the value of using abilities over straight tapping, but it’s more than enough fun to make up for it. The small stable of gods to play as still offer plenty of levels to enjoy and plenty of abilities to unlock and upgrade.

Aside from a few questionable decisions regarding real time clocks and internet connections, Dungeon Hunter 4 is probably the best dungeon crawler on iOS to date.

As much as The Frostrune evokes excellent “puzzle room”-style games, it doesn't quite match the high standards set by games that came before it. It still offers a lot of the same puzzling action, but doesn't quite do so with the clarity to make what you're doing feel purposeful or satisfying.

A decent game, but there's just nothing too special about it, sadly. Fans of combat racing games might enjoy this one, but this is hardly the best game in its genre, either.

Tiki Towers 2 is the full package for the physics puzzle fan. It's charming to look at and offers an enjoyable challenge while mixing it up every now and then to ensure that the game always feels fresh. Sure it might be liberally borrowing some World of Goo elements but it's borrowing from one of the greats which is no bad thing at all.

A game that suffers more in its execution than it does its technical capacity.

The Witcher Battle Arena might look pretty, but it's all too simple and lacking in fun.

The 3D endless runner genre could use more games like Zaxxon Escape, ones that try to do something new with their concepts. It doesn't always succeed, but it is still a fun take on the genre.

Though short and a bit simple, Mighty Switch Force! Hose it Down! is fun to play, and has personality to spare.

Crazy Taxi: City Rush is well-adapted for mobile, but the deluge of ads may make players feel like they're circling Times Square.

When you're actively in a match of Pokémon Duel, it's a solidly strategic board game that effectively evokes Pokémon. Unfortunately, there's a boatload of garbage you have to sift through every time you want to get to this part of the game. In its current state, this trade-off is hardly worth it, but I can easily see an update or two cleaning up a lot of the rough edges to make Pokémon Duel not only more playable, but a pretty great experience in general.

There's a fun, casual soccer game here, but it's hampered by some slow timers wrecking the momentum.

This app is serviceable if you need some sort of golf game on your mobile device but can't bring yourself to support anything associated with Tiger Woods.

Though the game is extremely fun, it is certainly not worth its current $4.99 price. When you top that off with the additional lure of microtransactions within the game itself, it makes me wonder why it even costs anything to begin with.

Dark Avenger certainly isn't the deepest or most compelling action RPG on the App Store but it can be good fun in short bursts.

It starts so well, but Earn to Die 2 fails to have the traction or originality in the end.

While Smurfs' Village has been in the App Store for a while now, it's getting a second life with the Smurfs movie coming out soon. Unfortunately the Smurfs deliver very little gameplay by limiting the amount of paly time in the game actively doing anything other than looking at Smurfs wander the forest.

It might be briefly fun but Jelly Splash is an idea that we've all seen a few too many times.

What was old is new again, as the MLB attempts to taking baseball gaming back to its retro roots. Too bad nothing has changed since 1986.

It looks gorgeous, but Back to Bed is actually a fairly simple and uneventful puzzle game.

The Prince of Persia series gets yet another modernized port, and the App Store is all the better for it.

If you like Canabalt style games and are looking for a twist on the genre, you'll enjoy Dead Runner. It's fast paced, looks nice, and has that great OpenFeint leaderboard that I know you want to crack.

If you can enjoy a good "B" movie or Zombie flick from time-to-time, this will be right up your undead alley.

Overall Super Turbo Action Pig is a well-developed, solid, pick-up-and-play experience, worth its "salt" (sorry, I couldn't resist). Its quality animations, graphics and sound are enticing, but the monotony of its current game play can overshadow its overall appeal.

Incredible Jack has an endearing heart but it isn’t enough to outweigh its unforgiving nature.

There's a fun block busting game within but it's hampered by some awkward controls.

The next installment in the series, Jacob Jones and the Bigfoot Mystery: Episode 2 is fun but it's all too short, and ends before you get a chance to sink your teeth into it.

Max Gentlemen seems pretty quirky initially but that appeal wears thin soon enough.

Heck, if Mistwalker simply adjusted the amount of resources given for taking down enemies (giant boss-like bugs grant 2. Yes, 2) it could make a huge difference. As-is, though, it pales in comparison to other examples within the genre. Even with the inclusion of Blades.

One of those games that's certainly very interesting, but I don't necessarily think it is all that entertaining as a game. The weirdness will wear off at some point, and unlike Katamari Damacy, the core gameplay mechanics don't lead to anything that's fun to play down the line.

It was enough of a throwback to remind me why I liked old school games, but forward-thinking enough to make up for those old games' shortcomings.

While fans of the Katamari series who can't get enough of the gameplay will love this one, and newcomers will get a chance to see why these strange little games keep getting made, this is hardly fresh. For a series that's so original in design, isn't it time to toy around a bit with the game design? Just mixing up new levels isn't going to cut it.

The mobile version of Arkham Origins delivers just enough Bat-action to keep fans happy, but falls short overall due to a restricted fighting system.

When played in chunks throughout the day, Kingdoms & Lords is a fine, mildly engaging way to kill some time. Just be sure not to try and dig too deep too fast.

Top Eleven 2015 - Be a Soccer Manager is a fairly simplistic interpretation of soccer management.

Given its inevitably repetitive nature, Demons' Score is tough to recommend. It starts out so well but it's not long before it becomes apparent that it's all just too steep a price to persevere at, no matter how uniquely quirky the story might be.

Many problems from the PC version persist, but Space Hulk is still an entertaining strategy game.

A fun little game with an interesting concept behind it. In some ways, it's successful in its mission to make you feel the anxiety of only having one life. But then when you consider that you can practice an infinite number of times before you play any level, some of that tension goes out the window. Also, the game is naturally a short one, so you won't get a whole lot of play time out of it.

The overall game play doesn't change or progress much from game to game. Mower Ride is fun, but really only makes the cut as a quick diversion.

In the end, Rock(s) Rider isn't a failure; it just comes up a little short. With a little patience players can learn to work around the controls (for the most part), but a little tweaking would make a much-needed difference.

So long as the curious don't download Little Masters expecting a rivalry with Gary Oak, and accept that it's a freemium game, they should still enjoy themselves. It's certainly not a major time-sink but it can make waiting more bearable in short bursts.

Cubed Snowboarding is quite the challenge to try and tackle, if only because of its unorthodox and confusing controls.

Knock-Knock is a hide-and-seek survival game where players must help navigate a sleep-deprived lodger through a creepy cabin until dawn arrives.

Ambitious titles are great because they test the boundaries, but when they try to do too much, things fall apart and make them much harder to appreciate.

Artificial Superintelligence is a fine spin on Reigns. It takes a few storytelling and conceptual risks, but that's about it. If you loved Reigns and are looking for a fun take on its formula, this game could very much be for you. You shouldn't come to this game looking for much else though.

This was a great first effort from a developer that shows real talent and promise. At the very least, they deserve a chance to show us what else they can do.

It just seems that the battle mechanics could use a little tweaking before the next episode graces the App Store.

Rival Stars Basketball is a fun mixture of basketball and card collecting but its energy system will annoy.

Surprisingly fun and challenging.

Possibly one of the most gorgeous iOS platformers currently in the market. Players looking for a lush, detailed visual experience won't be disappointed. Progressing through the game will take some time and frustration, but unlocking new environments to enjoy almost makes it worth it.

Clash of Puppets is best enjoyed by those with a gamepad and patience.

Remade for iOS devices in stunning 3D visuals, Final Fantasy IV: The After Years falls short of expectation.

Superfrog HD does justice to its Amiga-based ancestor, but the game's virtual controls make it a slippery little critter.

Tempo is essentially one cinematic action scene after another, but player interaction is too minimal to feel like an integral part of that action.

What might seem fun for a few minutes will quickly turn dull in this uninspired cover shooter based on the forthcoming movie of the same name.

Shinobi III is a very fun action game that holds up well to this day, and while the controls are an occasional nuisance, they do not detract enough to take away from the game's action fun.

Another Genesis game brought to iOS by Sega, but its twitch-based gameplay often falters on the platform with its controls.

If you're even the slightest of fans of poker games, you really should give Poker with Bob a whirl. It'll certainly be remaining on my iPhone for a while to come as it's so convenient to drop in to play a few hands whenever you've got a spare five minutes.

I've been enjoying what Galaxy Pirate Adventure has to offer quite a bit, but it didn't take very long for me to wish there was more. Mining, escort missions, anything. Anything to break up the monotonous loop of travel-shoot.

Pointless exploration and super-repetitive environments aside, Brandnew Boy is one heck of an action game.

Though Death Golf shows early promise, the lack of variety, repetitive mechanics and frustrating movement controls hold it back from reaching its aspirations.

Swords & Poker Adventures is a mishmash of Poker and RPGing, but it lacks anything particularly exciting.

Bigfoot: Hidden Giant isn't the finest of examples when it comes to Hidden Object gaming. I'd have appreciated more thought provoking puzzles and more responsive controls, but there's still some fun to be had within that flawed exterior.

The moral of this story is that if you are desperate for some football action, Gameloft would love to sell you a copy of NFL 2011.

It wasn't quite worth $2.99, but for free, every RPG lover should at least give it a shot. Then you can go for a more polished game like Zenonia or Inotia 2.

While the game's structure and stance system make Kids vs. Goblins somewhat interesting, the overall lack of control is frustrating. Too much, it gives the sensation that I'm just here to watch the proceedings, not to actually interact, and in a strategy game, that lack of command makes this hard to recommend.