It might look cool, but Stormblades is pretty shallow.

Pippa & Dips' shadowy visuals can't mask its rough gameplay.

This deck-based arena bullet hell shooter has a lot of fun ideas that stop being fun once you die, and you die a lot in Heck Deck.

Star Wars: Uprising seems initially cool but turns very samey.

This Diablo-like is kind of interesting, but is a little too rough and shallow to feel worth sticking with.

Cupcake Carnival does all the right match-3 things but it's a format we've seen a little too often by now.

Stealth-action is a perfect fit for the Riddick universe. Too bad the kinks weren't worked out prior to release.

Work your way up in terms of stardom with the help of Kim Kardashian and a series of energy bars.

There's nothing fundamentally wrong with Rum Run's simulated sea trade but its execution is just too dull. It sinks it.

Throw in the hefty price tag of $2.99 and it’s tricky to recommend Super Mad Matador above others. For $0.99, it might feel more worthwhile but as it stands, there are too many better and cheaper Endless Runners already out there.

Being a superhero really shouldn't be this unexciting.

There are too many caveats and pain points involved in playing this sandbox murder-simulator on iOS for it to feel rewarding.

Almost all physics games reach a point where they feel too chaotic to be fun, and Hang Line is no exception. The game’s early levels show a lot of cool promise, but that falls away quickly to reveal levels full of unpredictable and annoying hazards that feel like they’re there to try and suck money out of you.

It’s unfortunate that Virtual Families 2 suffers from such problems, as the foundations are quite solid. The language might be a little odd (adopting an adult? Really?) but with a bit more focus on fun rather than humdrum day to day activities, Virtual Families 2 could be something quite special. Here’s hoping that the promised updates shake things up a bit.

Garfield: Survival of the Fattest is a freemium town building kind of game, and one you've seen before.

There's no game with quite such promise that gets squandered on something so frustrating to play like The Other Brothers.

2-Bit Cowboy has a lot of great ideas, but they just never quite pay off.

Buoy Boy is an endless floater that lacks a much-needed spark.

Galatikitties, while cute in concept, is proof that not everything in the world can be made better just by sticking cats in it.

Frog Orbs has some interesting elements to it, but only those looking for new takes on Missile Command should really check this one out.

Gameloft has another crack at turning the Iron Man franchise into a fantastic game. This time round, it's an Endless Runner/Flyer.

Sonic Jump Fever isn't a bad game, it's just not a particularly interesting take on Doodle Jump style sensibilities.

This puzzle game follows a familiar format, but has a good sense of level design and mechanics to keep things interesting.

For all intents and purposes, Stagehand accomplishes what it sets out to do. The unfortunate thing about this though is that its ambitions fall well short of what most mobile titles shoot for these days. Even though Stagehand's unique take on the platformer is certainly new, everything else around its design make it feel painfully old.

Quest for loot in this breakneck, bite-sized adventure.

Fallen World is a hack 'n slash title with familiar visual influences, but control issues and its brief length ultimately hamper it.

Unfortunately there's little to love here, which is a pity, because the game formula itself is one that has plenty of promise. But with so much lag and such intrusive ads, you'd have to be both incredibly patient and incredibly lucky in order to make any real progress in the game and have decent hopes of winning a few rounds. Even if you're a fan of the territory-grabbing mechanic, give this one a miss.

Build a card army and battle over a beautifully illustrated landscape in this free-to-play, deck-building, strategy game.

One thing is for sure, Omium is a telling experiment in shoot-em-up games.

Galaxy on Fire 3 - Manticore is a great-looking shooting gallery with a lot of ways you can grind out progression. If that's what you're into, this game may be for you. If you were looking for a more open-ended space game that felt challenging and deep, you will not find what you're looking for here.

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.

I really wanted to be able to recommend Bashi Blocks, but I just can't. As great as it looks and as much as it offers, the controls still manage to drag it all down. With an update or two this might be a serious contender, but it's not quite there yet.

Pulse Racer is a rhythm-based game where players fly along generated courses to collect notes that are synchronized to the music that plays.

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

Lode Runner Classic is not really essential for anyone that isn't in love with the series, and while the game does pack loads of content, that's really just it – there's little redeeming value here.

The potential chaos that Colt Express is designed to have you enjoy isn't satisfying when it's just you versus the computer. In its current state though, that's just about the only way you can play the game at all. As a result, Colt Express is a pretty frustrating package.

Virtual pets are great for people that can't or won't take responsible care of a real one. Still, even fake pets should feel more alive than Pixel Buddy.

Drift Girls combines racing and dating. It does neither particularly well.

Celleste's style can't save its tedious gameplay.

Doctor Who: Legacy is an ok match-3 puzzle game, but it lacks some much needed personality, despite that great license.

It's pretty to look at, and the puzzles are so-so (some are patently obvious; others require the fortunately-included help system to EVER figure out). Just don't expect too much out of it. There may yet be room in America for Rex the Dog and Mr. Moles, but City of Secret wasn't the best way to introduce them.

Hopefully an update makes Zen Training more exciting. It does have a lot of potential, but it appears that maybe it was released too soon. Anyone dying to spend $0.99 on a simple color matching game may want to consider it, but most gamers may wish to wait for a few improvements before committing to a purchase.

Blood Brothers 2 is built on a simple, solid foundation, but its free-to-play system doesn't play fair.

There's a fun and regular multiplayer side of things to Mad Skills Motocross 2, but the career mode is clouded by some overpowered in-app purchases.

Word Monster might be decent for word game fans that own dozens of word games, but I want a little more out of the game.

The Rhythm of Fighters can't capture the excitement of its beat-em-up equivalent, due largely to a lacklustre soundtrack.

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

Republique was a promising Kickstarter project, and with the launch of the first episode of the finished game it remains just that: a promise.

Crossroad Zombies is a rough draft of a cool genre mash-up.

That being said, Giant Sumo Stomping Ninjas is a decent casual arcade game with few frills and straightforward gameplay.

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.

While they are certainly not the first party to every attempt such things, there probably isn't enough meat to the demo to justify forking out the money.

A Noble Circle is an intriguing if weird rudimentary 2d platformer, with an urge to be considered as art.

World of Thingies: Puzzle is a lot of fun when it allows itself to be, but it's hampered by unfair boss fights and greedy free-to-play mechanics.

WinterForts' exceedingly unoriginal gameplay will leave players cold.

It might help to try and view Dreamjob Kid’s Doctor – My Little Hospital as more of a time management game than a simulation, but even then it’s kind of middle-of-the-road. It can be strangely hypnotic for a while though, even if the overall experience feels somewhat sterile.

There's only so much fun to be had before it becomes forgettable.

For it's modern take on a classic, Laser Walls HD will provide a new way to experience the game, but many will be just as happy with their paper and pencil.

This platformer has neat ideas, but doesn’t execute on them in the best ways.

Heroes Charge is a very middle-of-the-road RPG that's unremarkable, but an okay pick if you can't get enough of mobile-based RPGs.

It's just a shame the developers haven't given players much of a hook and instead chosen to show the behind-the-scenes mechanics that power the genre, rather than forcing them to sift through a series of pre-deterrmined events.

A strategic tower defense-cross-endless runner, Naughty Kitties is slow going but forgivably adorable.

Sir Questionnaire’s lightweight roguelike action would be more enjoyable if not for a few bugs.

Style over substance isn't always a great trade off.

This racing game shows some detailed destruction but getting the game to create these moments just doesn’t feel all that great.

SimCity BuildIt is a competent city-building game, but its free-to-play trappings are borderline monstrous.

It looks cute and it plays alright, but Mountain Goat Mountain isn’t really anything new.

Cannon Crasha features plenty of cannons, but not enough fun.

For those who never played First Samurai the first time round, there's unfortunately not much to love here. It's just too set in its old ways, keenly demonstrating just how much things have changed in the past 20 years.

Hope's Quest's mildly inspired look only makes its gameplay seem that much less inspired by comparison though.

Has a clever plot and some whimsical characters, but it lacks a lot in the important areas. While $0.99 isn't that much to pay for a game, players do expect some sort of return in the form of challenging gameplay and enough content to distract them for hours. Sadly, Beatdown! doesn't provide much in these two areas that will give players much of an ROI.

With a slight adjustment to the units, The LeftOvers could be a home run for Motiga and Tinfoil Fez, but until then, it feels more like a demo than a full game.

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.

This airborne city building game stays aloft, but doesn't quite soar.

Negotiate underwater passageways in this somewhat forgettable submarine exploration game.

Never have super heroes felt less empowered.

I feel like forging elements is really more of a dwarven gig, but Elfcraft is still an enjoyable (if ultimately forgettable) puzzle experience.

There's evidence of good game design here, so I at least look forward to the studio's next project. Hopefully, it's a little more developed than Ninja Tap.

Everything about Letters From Nowhere 2's design suggests keeping the player happy but to the detriment of any real challenge. Consistently, there's that sense that we've been here before.

While Jelly Defense is pretty formulaic, it is fun for a time, until the difficulty level ramps up and players step away out of frustration. It's unfortunate as early levels are quite fun but trial and error does not make a great game, it just annoys.

The ideas behind Force Arena are strong, but the game's free-to-play design, slow pace, and awkward controls make it hard to stick with. As much as I want to keep jumping into games to blast away as Han Solo, doing so just doesn't feel particularly good.

Bouncing the skull around the random environments that border on hallucination is fun in the way that throwing sparkling confetti in the air and watching it float around randomly is fun. There isn't much focus to the game, but it is kind of interesting to see what it will do next.

A totally square puzzle game.

Ice Cream Nomsters is too much labor and not enough love.

Cowboy Guns is a game that has a good heart, but it feels like it's missing a lot of that, if I may be cliche, polish that the best games have. If it had a lot more of it, this could be worthwhile. Otherwise, it just doesn't feel worth it.

This game is a competent homage to the classics of the genre and it brings some unique mechanics to the table, but the execution is fairly bland and the controls are sticky.

King of Thieves is a fun mash-up of platforming and PvP based exploration, but it's hindered by a big freemium issue.

Any way you cut it, Mandala Memory is and will always be just a simple memory game. It very well may be the prettiest, most ambitious memory game on the planet, but it's still a memory game.

The game's short and simple gameplay is bolstered by a reasonably enjoyable animations.

This skating game is so narrowly focused that the minor issues it has stick out more than they might otherwise.

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 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.

Light-hearted and intriguing, Circus Life has a ton of promise but is plagued with repetitive gameplay and freemium frustrations.

What saves Lightspeed Bit Bit for me are the Obstacle Mode puzzles, in which the ship must be guided through a maze of moving bars.

This simple space sim takes some cues from Elite, but some balance issues make hard to stick with for too long.

It's pretty basic stuff, but there's still some brief fun to be had with this freemium focused shooter.

This action roguelite will make you unhappy if you try to take it too seriously right now.

Matchlings just commits the sin of being the same as other games that have come before it.