It can get really freaking tough, but it's a surprisingly solid game. Especially considering that it's freemium.

Regular Show gets an above average game.

Dungeon Quest does a lot of things right, but ultimately forgets about one of the core components expected in any RPG, which is ironically even mentioned in the game’s title: a quest.

TipTop's plot is linear…a bunch of stupid, well-meaning heroes are on a quest to save the world. But the game itself is incredibly fun to play. The controls are good, the tempo is quick, the artwork is fantastic, and the sense of humor present in the plot just makes it even more fun.

With audiovisuals that are cute and charming without becoming dangerously twee, and a challenging and addictive core experience, Dwarven Den would be a solid recommendation even if it came with a price tag attached. The fact that it doesn’t, while still maintaining a high level of quality, makes this even more of a diamond in the rough.

A game like this could have so easily seemed like terribly bad taste but its cartoon style nature ensures that Hackycat is simply mindless fun. It’s the kind of game that easily turns “just one more go” into an hour of joy. Just remember: Don’t try this at home.

Coign of Vantage is a casual puzzle game with unique and novel gameplay.

Tiny Monsters doesn't really do anything new with the Freemium formula, but it does what it does well enough to scratch that particular itch.

Continuing the release of Fighting Fantasy titles, Starship Traveller is a change of pace from the usual, and all the better for it.

It looks like EA Sports has finally discovered how to tread the line between free-to-pay and pay-to-win. Simply put, they finally figured it out.

The Gods: Rebellion is very similar to the God of War series, but should be fun for mobile gamers looking for a similar title.

The thing to know about Super Hydorah is that it’s a game that checks the boxes in all of the right places. It’s a side-scrolling shooter with a retro feel, but just enough of its own clever ideas to make it stand out. It may not have a difficulty curve that makes sense, and its story may be very weak, but those things don’t register as problems while you’re playing it. Instead, you focus in on the tight controls, classic presentation, and inventive level design that makes this simple shooter formula work.

Pretty much the only thing holding Super Lemonade Factory back is the content - some more inventive level design and creative uses of the characters' abilities would be welcome, as this game has such promise.

The 68 levels in all provide great value.

Galactic Phantasy Prelude is still a pretty fun game, and it's a major improvement over Galaxy Pirate Adventure in just about every way imaginable, it can just be a bit of a chore to complete certain tasks. And not thanks to the difficulty but some rather questionable design choices.

Offering frantic twitch-based gaming, Hardest Game Ever 2 provides a sturdy challenge to those with fast reflexes and a love of mini-games.

Directional Dash is a fast-paced puzzle game built for quick sessions of 30, 60, or 120 seconds.

Demon Tribe is a MOBA experience which has SEGA's classic stamp all over it, but it's also a battle title with few options for the single player.

Despite such flaws, Puzzle Restorer is still well worth its $0.99 price tag. With 64 levels, plus a series of secret stages, it’s going to take a while to finish the game but it’ll be good fun getting there.

Bottle Cap Blitz is a fun arcade game that starts out simple enough, but soon adds plenty of modern trappings that change the experience dramatically.

One thing is for certain: you'll never get the feeling while playing Phoenix that the screen could use a few more bullets.

Simple to look at and play, Dots is a rather fun game about connecting as many dots as possible within a short period of time.

It's not perfect, but Spider-Man Unlimited is a pleasantly enjoyable narrative-based auto-runner.

If you are looking for a Tap Tap Revolution-like experience and are tired of playing the same old corporate stuff, give Tapic a try. It's only 99 cents, and if you like how it plays, it has as much replayability as you have music.

This sequel features beautiful new graphics, impressive fast bikes, and insane tracks to keep players satisfied.

Overall, the varied game play along with the diverse levels makes Meeblings an impressive game for anyone looking for something new.

The only real problem with Abi is its length. The game is completely beautiful, it’s got a lot of character, and its puzzles—while lite—are pretty neat. Hopefully the addition of more chapters to the game will make it a more compelling package in the future. For now though, Abi is a burst of fun that is gone before you know it.

Magic: The Gathering - Puzzle Quest is an appealing combination of deck building and match three, but the pace is a little too slow.

Even though it's on the easy and short side, there's really nothing quite like Splitter Critters out there. Tearing environment feels amazing and allows for some really creative puzzle design that is delightful to discover. Go play this game. You won't be disappointed.

Go on a light-hearted version of the quest to throw the One Ring into the fires of Mount Doom.

The hit(stick)man with a vendetta is back in a sequel that retains everything fans love about the series, while adding an energy system they'll hate.

Mega Drift is an entertaining way to pass a few minutes by drifting around corners.

After playing Monument Valley 2, I have an idea of why the first game got propped up to be mobile gaming's standard-bearer. At the time of its release, it was a novel experience wrapped in a breathtakingly gorgeous package. It was easy to look at, easy to play, and therefore easy to recommend to anyone. Much like an actual monument, Monument Valley was (and still is) an important landmark in mobile gaming. Monument Valley 2 seems to iterate on the things that made Monument Valley so beloved, but in doing so it feels like a duplication of effort–like a monument to a monument. It's still pretty and easy to recommend, but feels far less special.

Karateka Classic is a port of a classic fighting game that holds up rather well today.

With a quirky but unique style, Kapsula is an enjoyable mix of racing and match-3. Yes, really.

Chain Chronicle is an easy-to-learn role-playing game that successfully combines tower defense, strategy, and action.

Redford the squishy monster is back for the second time in this vibrant, fast-paced, action-packed, and fun-filled endless jumper.

Grooh is a game meant to be played in short bursts. Like a loyal dog, it will wait patiently and be happy and fun every time its owner returns. Downloading a Grooh of their own is a decision players will not regret.

Zynga's latest asynchronous multiplayer game is a fun homage to Wheel of Fortune.

Help power a hero's biplane in this casual puzzle game.

The King of Fighters '97 is an excellent port of a classic entry in the Neo Geo fighting game series.

You've waited half your life to play this.

Yes, a few cheap deaths aside, Don't Run With a Plasma Sword is another solid endless runner with a little bit of action-platformer thrown in. So throw the instruction manual out the window and give this one a try if you're a fan of the genre. Did I mention the theremin? It really is rather neat.

Even with cartoon-style animations, Devils at the Gate: Pacific War still manages to remain an entertaining tower defense game based around the conflict in the Pacific during World War II.

Originality is all but impossible in the modern age, so let's just blow over where On the Wind draws its inspirations from and how heavily. What matters is that it's beautiful to look at, fun to play, and challenging enough to keep me coming back for more than a few goes. Still, one hopes the developer's next game isn't called Voyage.

Flaws aside, Hit N' Run is a unique, well-developed endurance racer with superb graphics, animations and sound.

A great conversion of a much-loved Dreamcast game.

This game wedges compelling roguelike and deck-building systems into a slot machine to create a surprisingly strategic experience that feels perfect for mobile play.

Can be pretty fun. It's certainly not as robust as other more popular games in the genre but it offers a more unique experience. One that I'd gladly recommend to people who enjoy this kind of stuff.

It’s not a concept that automatically endears anyone but Sortee does it all well. It’s a simple yet enjoyable casual focused game, but one that will trick one’s brain more than expected. A fine combination for the grand price of nothing.

Eden-World Builder is perfect for a person who enjoyed playing with Legos as a child and wants to experience that fun in a game. The lack of objectives will probably cause some players to grow bored quickly, but others find it very liberating.

I truly enjoyed Big Cup Cricket. Its control system is spot on, consistently accurate and makes the game a joy to play.

Spin Up is a great game for fans of the genre. As with most high-score based games repetition eventually sets in, but trying to earn enough experience points for new characters should keep the player busy for a good while.

Players must whack moles quickly in this two player game that requires fast reflexes and perfect timing. What’s not to like?

Set atop pictures captured by NASA's Hubble telescope, Sky Scramble is a logic puzzle game that is both relaxing and challenging.

Such sign up issues aside, and Fridge Words is a simple yet enjoyable word game. It even throws in a quick game mode, enabling players the chance to hone their skills without requiring another person, handy for when one is away from a wi-fi or 3G area. It's hard to significantly criticize.

The 1980s arcade style comes back to life in a visually awesome but chaotic bullet hell title.

If anyone reading this likes games with a focus on micromanagement, and either loves or doesn't mind the inclusion of zombies, I'd urge them to buy Rebuild right away.

This kid-friendly puzzle game makes us wish gardening was this much fun.

DumDum is back with a renewed vengeance!

Apollo Justice Ace Attorney is a great version of a pretty good Ace Attorney game. If you haven't played one of these titles before, I'd recommend checking out the Phoenix Wright Trilogy's free episodes to see if it's the kind of game for you first. Otherwise, I have no problem recommending this game for anyone looking for a great Ace Attorney experience on iOS.

Ku: Shroud of the Morrigan isn’t a perfect iOS adventure game, but it’s definitely a good one.

Waking Mars will be loved by fans of Metroidvania-style adventure games. Some of the backtracking can get annoying, but this is another fine title from Tiger Style Games.

This sci-fi multiplayer management game encourages players to work together to explore, colonize, and conquer the galaxy.

Charming and cute, Jacob Jones and the Bigfoot Mystery also offers some fun puzzles and mysteries to solve.

Splinter Cell Conviction may not live up to what its name might cause you to expect at times, but judged on its own, this is a solid action game with light stealth elements and fantastic graphics.

Edge Of Oblivion: Alpha Squadron 2 is a satisfying and entertaining way of getting a space fighting fix.

Manage a crack team of SWAT officers in this excellent strategy game.

This is a great looking game as well and it is very well animated. Players will enjoy this game's challenge and charm, and they may be shocked by how much fun they have with it.

BattleRiders has cool car combat, but it could be crazier.

Match three in your epic quest to deliver the mail across this quirky, fantasy landscape.

A multiplayer game where the goal is to mine friends’ asteroids and build attack ships to take out their moon bases in order to be the last one standing.

Art Mogul might not expand hugely upon its initial opening gambit, instead building upon that and rewarding the player with arbitrary rank boosts, but it's a fun mix of simulation and Hidden Object gaming, nonetheless.

A handful of tiny adjustments have made their way in, but it's ultimately still the same game we all remember fondly.

Learn just how fast a cartoon crab can run and jump in this fast-paced platformer.

It's a solid game, and it looks better than the majority of the casual games out there, but it doesn't offer enough of a challenge to be played through a second time.

While this may not be a truly epic kingdom, there is unquestionably more than enough depth to more than justify a free download.

Endless running through a maze? Who'd have thought it could be a winning combination?

10 years after its initial release and Fahrenheit: Indigo Prophecy still feels like a breath of fresh air for the interactive drama genre.

Despite the token system limiting gameplay, Scramble with Friends is in a three-way tie between Words with Friends and Crosswords as my favorite iOS word game.

Skylanders Cloud Patrol is actually a shining example of how a big license can jump on to the platform. Without the branding, this would still be a fun game to play, and for fans of the franchise, it integrates fairly well. The characters could have been better used, but other than that, this is a solid little shoot 'em up.

David is a minimalistic game wrapped inside of a soothing atmosphere in which the hero must defeat a number of evil creatures representing different struggles and aspects of life.

Drag Racer: Pro Tuner is a heck of a lot of fun, once you put the effort in.

It wasn't exactly easy to get through the mobile version of The Unfinished Swan, but ultimately I'm glad I did. It's a weird little game with a ton of heart and personality, both in terms of its narrative and overall design. The mobile version is not the ideal way to play, but it’s serviceable enough and I certainly recommend that folks find a way to play this game if they haven't yet.

With a great art style, exciting music, and fun, simple gameplay, PAKO is the most fun you'll have crashing a car.

Death is certain in Warp 5 Overdrive, but players will be compelled to keep on plugging away at the game before they let it get the best of them.

Spartan Strike does a great job of building on the foundation of Spartan Assault.

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

The long-running baseball simulator returns to mobile with a much-improved entry in the series.

The graphics are stunning, the concept is fresh, and the controls are tried and true.

Impatience aside and AbraWORDabrA is a great twist on the word gaming genre.

Forever Lost: Episode 3 is a fine conclusion to a good adventure series.

I've got a folder set aside for these kind of games, the 'just one more go' games that are inexpensive but compelling. Ninja Fishing will be happily residing there for a while to come.

Despite the different worlds, Civiballs lacks the usual vibrancy of similar Chillingo titles. The art is pale and washed out and the characters are lacking any charm or apparent function. That said, the mechanics are so simple and true to life I found myself making a lot more progress than I usually do on brain-benders.

Despite a snag here and there, Phantom Rift is a well-crafted and imaginative adventure RPG.

Fire cannonballs at increasingly large waves of enemies and watch the power-up earning coins come creeping in.

If a very difficult puzzle with a unique twist of integrating tetherball mechanics is something of interest, then Centripetal will be plenty of fun. Beware, its difficulty is fierce, but its addictiveness is even more fierce.

The drifting king returns as Reckless Racing 3 leaves the competition (but also multiplayer) in the dust.