Giving us two different prices is also a rather blatant form of game gouging, especially when there are a healthy amount of in-game purchases to be had. Even with these complaints, Icebreaker: A Viking Voyage is still worth a look, especially if you have three bucks to blow.

We feel the same way about Generations as we did about Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate last year: it's a fun game that requires far too much grinding. We only wish there were more new things to talk about instead of just the same old hunter's song and dance.

Axiom Verge is a clear love letter to the Metroids and Super Metroids of the world, playing just like those classic exploration platformers and doing the genre justice.

Ultimately Hyper Light Drifter is a great adventure game that begs to presented in a better way. A more clearly defined story and more intuitive exploration would make this game the adventure that it wants to be, but without those things Hyper Light Drifter falls flat.

Frozen Synapse requires a bit of time to adequately pull off a mission, since learning all of the squad’s commands and finding a strategy that works just doesn’t happen within minutes.

Hitman -Sapienza doesn’t live up to the free-form assassination sandbox that the previous episode set up. The frustrating lack of freedom and save issues really hurt the experience however. Despite it being a better looking and ultimately more immersive setting than any of the first three missions, Sapienza falls flat in its mission structure.

With a very apparent lack of any flair or no fighting animations, Yomi remains a methodical, thought-provoking card game at its core — it’s just that there isn’t anything else to really keep you coming back for more.

If this turn-based strategy title can get its hooks in you, you’ll probably find yourself getting sucked deeper and deeper into its many intricacies. But, thanks to its unappealing aesthetics and focus on subtle game mechanics, getting in isn’t easy.

If you’re looking for a basic game without a lot of bells and whistles and a high difficulty, Crush! might be right for you. However, if you want something that’s a bit flashier, more skill-based, and more fun, look elsewhere.

Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime tried for a bold experiment with its control scheme, and though this sets it apart from other similar games, it’s ultimately an experiment that needs to go back to the drawing board.

It’s worth the download even if it gets repetitive after a spell. There’s nothing wrong with a pick up and play puzzler, especially if you love ordering combo platters.

The Last Guardian is an interesting and frustrating game that can’t decide if it wants to be modern or retro, and that constant argument brings the entire experience down a notch. While I was willing to deal with the limits of the previous era to enjoy the perks of the current one, I can understand where others might grow weary of the experience.

Orborun is a first rate title to just pick up and play for a few minutes. As a morning pick me up or as a jolt of gaming espresso, it won’t steer you wrong. Its true pleasures lies in pushing your device, as well as your coordination, to its limits.

Garden Warfare 2 does nothing new outside of those new maps and the hub area, which really isn’t that much. This sequel feels like a “complete edition” of the first Garden Warfare only with different maps. The weak campaign and lackluster multiplayer modes outside of Gnome Bomb aren’t doing it any favors either.

A bit of perseverance goes a long way with Bridgy and Bonner, so try to keep the faith even if everything falls apart around you. Once you find the patterns of what actually works, the train should be headed in the right direction.

If you can get past the occasionally finicky controls and lack of things to do, and if you’re really into just wheeling around and mastering this two-fingered skate system, you may find that Touchgrind Skate 2 shreds gnarlier than most; other gamers, however, will probably find more fun digging back through the huge library of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater titles.

Tales of the Adventure Company functions well, but its marriage of RPG and puzzle gameplay have been done many times before, and many times more strongly, in the past, leaving this as one party you may be better off leaving at the inn.

Smarter Than You’s base idea is certainly fun, but its execution needs a lot of work to make it anything other than a brief time-waster barely worth the efforts it takes to download it.

Gravity Rush 2 seems to offer mind-bending action with an unique set of powers via its heroine Kat, but the major fault of the game lies in a story that’s unclear and features outside of gravity powers that aren’t anything new or complex.

The minimalist audio/visual style is a nice enough way of presenting the game, but the fun factor here is just as minimalist as everything else.

“Serviceable” is the word when it comes to Warhammer Quest. Its job is to be a turn-based dungeon crawler, and that it is. What it doesn’t do, however, is find a way to light that fire in a player’s belly, the hunger for loot and the thirst for the blood of the unrighteous.

Ultimately, this is a cool effort from an already established iOS talent. While I don’t think Kyubo, as it exists now, has the right combination of influences and elements to come together into something that will set the world on fire, I do think that it’s a great bit of experimentation and will likely lead to something even better.

With a bit more polish Apotheon could have been truly worthy of Godhood, but as it is, this is one very flawed, very mortal game.

Cling Thing won’t blow you away with originality. But it’s hard to dispute that this is a solid, well made little title that pays homage to a lot of other titles, and makes something of its own out of it all. Anyone who’s a fan of this kind of game will definitely get a lot of value out of Cling Thing.

If you want to play Pokemon on the go, play the real games, play the card games, or play a game you’ve made up in your head, but do yourself a favor and don’t bother with this free-to-play pile of Trubbish.

While LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga might be a pretty beefy game packed with content, the biggest downside is that you’ll have to spend $14.99 to unlock all of it. As it stands, you only get Episode 1: A Phantom Menace with this 800 MB download. If you decide to get each episode, then you’ll have to shell out $2.99 per episode.

Hand of Fate mixes deck-building with hack ‘n slash dungeon crawling in a way that’s fluid enough for casual fans to enjoy, but lacks the complexity for veterans of either genre to really sink their teeth into.

Pac-Man Championship Edition 2 shines in all the same ways as Pac-Man Championship Edition, just with a light that's a little duller. Levels are still fun, they're just not as fun. The action still has a funky, flow-y groove, just not as funky or flow-y.

The team behind Etrian Mystery Dungeon should have spent a little more time making its gameplay deeper than its labyrinths.

Street Fighter V's core skeleton is sturdy, but beneath those bones lies a barely beating heart. With almost no single-player, limited multiplayer, a tiny cast, and unstable online, this feels like an Early Access beta that Capcom had the gall to try to price as a completed game.

While this isn’t the most fast-paced title on the app store, its colorful artwork, easy difficulty curve and large amount of content make Blowfish Meets Meteor a good choice for anyone looking to kill some time by bouncing a ball into bricks.

As disappointed as I was in the experience, I can’t help but look forward to future installments. There’s a lot of promise in Spiral and I’d like to see where the story goes and whether or not Pixel Hero Games will tighten up the controls. For now, I’ll rate Episode 1 with a modest 6.5. Let’s hope that subsequent episodes warrant higher scores.

If you've never played Devil May Cry 4, or miss the glory days of the series where Dante was fun, combat was deep and challenging, and things weren't so stupid edgy and serious, this low-priced special edition offers fun aplenty.

The character models are impressive, the levels are dark and mysterious, and battles are legitimately fun most of the time. However, the constant repetition of the game’s format and the crippling loading faux pas bring this Contest down a few notches.

Far Cry Primal is an incredibly interesting game that really nails the feeling of danger and survival at times. The game’s nearly non-existent, thin plot and tedious crafting system however hold it back from being great.

Grandpa and the Zombies was a nice surprise. I was expecting a generic, half-assed puzzle game, but I had quite a bit of fun playing it.

Jungle Rumble’s strong, rhythmic core and marvelous visual presentation help it stand out from the crowded iOS jungle, but its basic gameplay and lack of depth wrap vines around it and drag it back down to the jungle floor, leaving us with a game that’s a little above average, but a little short of being truly great.

Exploration is a great deal of fun right up until the denizens of the newly discovered planets drag you into their own problems, which aren't all that impressive in the grand scheme. Nobody said being a Pathfinder would be easy, but it probably would have been a bit more tolerable if it wasn't so mired in managing tedium.

Baby Nom Nom will tease your brain and fingers into satisfaction while at the same time making your heart feel nice since you’ve contributed a little bit of good to the world.

It’s a shame when you come across something like Pocket Titans; with more polished gameplay and aesthetics, this could have been a really fun game. As it stands now, it is likely destined to be forgotten among the many mundane apps available for the unwary gamer.

Resident Evil: Revelations 2’s first episode is a welcome return for the franchise, but it’s a little lacking in the depth department.

While no changes to the game's story mode, this is just the HD remaster of the already Ultimate version of Dead or Alive 5.

Ultimately, what prevents Block Block Block from achieving puzzling glory is not in its gameplay, but everything else.

Marvel Puzzle Quest: Dark Reign isn’t completed at the moment but is still fun to try out for the time being. There will be a lot more levels and things to do as the game is continually updated in the coming weeks, but for now the it’s good enough to give a try.

Sqwords boasts about the replayability of the game focusing on improving your time, but where’s the fun in that? You already know where the letters go, of course you’re going to improve your time so it’s kind of pointless. There might be some replayability there, but it’s of a low quality, keep-you-busy kind of replayability.

I had fun with this, but I could also see how it could get under the skin of some who are growing tired with hipster pixel art games. Case in point: developer I Fight Bears makes “Games For People With Beards.” Granted, that’s a joke. But I can’t tell whether or not there’s a line in Fist of Awesome that divides between satire or pandering.

Despite its flaws, though, Epoch 2 has plenty to offer. Lots of missions, lots of replay value, and lots of loot to unlock. Its twitchy controls, shallow gameplay, and brutally greedy in-game shop, however, detract from what could have otherwise been a solid gaming experience.

Considering its price, Amplitude is an solid alternative for those who don't want to break bank for the new Guitar Hero or Rock Band games and their pricey peripherals.

Dying Light’s core gameplay is solid and offers a uniquely thrilling sort of fun, but for every moment you spend having a good time, you’ll spend just as many frustrated by its shortcomings.

The Walking Dead: A New Frontier didn't just have an ambitious title, it also had a great deal of promise. The start of the third season was as memorable as anything Telltale had done before, but the story took turns in some strange directions that didn't have the payoff hinted at early on. Given Telltale's track record, we're not writing off the future of The Walking Dead, but A New Frontier's finish certainly raised questions as to whether or not Telltale has anything exciting left to say about this world.

What Telltale has been able to do from strictly a narrative standpoint is up to the company's usual high standards. Enjoying those moments is an absolute challenge though, as so much of the rest of the game just doesn't work properly. Telltale has earned our trust to eventually rectify these qualms, but Batman's adventure is still off to one of the roughest starts we've seen from the developer.

For fans of the franchise, Worms 3 delivers what you’d expect. There’s nothing here that succeeds or fails by leaps and bounds. Rather, this latest release is another solid, incremental inching forward of one of gaming’s longest-running franchises.

I still can’t figure out if Freak Tower has any kind of method to its madness, but at this point I’m ok with its crazier than thou swagger.

Kirby and the Rainbow Curse was obviously an experimental platformer in every sense of the word, and while some aspects of the experiment completely succeeded (the claymation looks so good), the most important parts fell short of expectations.

If you’ve got a younger sibling who’s into the show, they’ll probably have a blast with Ski Safari Adventure Time… for a little while. Its repetitive gameplay and the prohibitive costs to its in-game shop will deter players for playing it too long, which is a shame given how fun-loving and imaginative the source material is.

My Coldfire Keep experience had its share of highs and lows due to the game’s horrific double tap flaws. Now that the issue has been resolved, my dungeon crawling days will continue in this kingdom. Hopefully the only further bugs will die by my sword and not from a future App store update.

The match variety and creation suites are awesome and the 2K Showcase mode is a great trip down memory lane, but the overall "WWE Universe" experience that the game touts doesn't quite translate yet. WWE 2K16 is a solid competitor, but it's not a main event talent.

While it adds some great extra controls, the game lacks in the customization found in most iOS titles.

Building on the base game’s careers is a time-honored Sims expansion tradition, and "Get to Work" is a worthwhile addition. It does make the doctor and detective career paths more fun, and managing a retail store is a much-needed challenge. It’s only when you try to do it all at the same time that "Get to Work" suffers.

Once the Jedi Mind Trick of nostalgia and Star Wars love wears off, you'll realize there are plenty of better multiplayer shooters out there that aren't as far, far away.

The new modes feel designed to give cooperative and competitive-minded players new challenges to tackle, which is great if you’re a dedicated player who has already logged dozens of hours playing the core game. On the other hand, casual players will feel left out with the continued lack of matchmaking, and those hoping for a more robust chapter in Destiny’s story aren’t going to feel fully satisfied fighting through Skolas’ rebellion.

Dead Rising 4 sees the franchise's original hero forced back into action in a sequel that's bigger than any entry in the series before, yet feels more empty and bereft of excitement than its predecessors.

It lasted for a little bit, but as with a lot of free-to-play titles out there, staying power was not its strong suit. While there are certainly things to unlock and grind for, it doesn’t feel like there will be any gameplay-related payoffs to work your way towards. But Giant Boulder of Death is certainly a good enough time to give it a look.

That is the problem with Ooga Jump, it doesn’t have the staying power. The gameplay isn’t varied enough to be the full experience it wants to be.

If you’re hungry to play a real-time strategy game on your iPad, one not marred by free-to-play restrictions and the like, Machines at War 3 does an adequate job of translating that experience to a touchpad-based device and of providing a complex game for strategists to sink their teeth into. This complexity, however, comes with a lack of depth and a steep learning curve, both of which detract from what is otherwise a strong iOS RTS experience.

Rise of Iron is a strange hiccup in Bungie’s progress towards making Destiny a better overall experience. SIVA is an interesting villain that is ultimately never explained or explored. The majority of the content here is the actual Plaguelands themselves, and all there is to do is a couple of fetch-quests and patrol missions. Everything in this expansion seems to revolve around tedious grinding; grinding to finish the Iron Record book and get more rewards, grinding to get your light level up to do the raid. Whereas Taken King did so much to improve Destiny in every way, Rise of Iron feels like a big step back.

Battle Supremacy falls quite short of the standards set by World of Tanks.

If you've got some friends who like blowing each other up and don't mind wearing out their fingers punching in spell combinations, you could probably have a decent enough time. If you're looking for something with more depth to it, or are hungry for a solo adventure, Magicka 2 is one spellbook best left locked in the library.

Visceral's first attempt at a Battlefield game isn't a bad one, but there's little here to be excited about beyond an actual functioning online component.

There's a good game in there somewhere, it's just fighting to be free for most of the time.

Stack Rabbit’s freemium mechanic is a necessary evil to enjoying the app. Although you will probably sail by the first 10 levels without a hitch, you will lose energy and will have to wait a half hour to replenish one carrot.

In short, while the Himmapan level is nice to look at and chock full of things to do, it's held back by a lack of defining features linking it to Bangkok and lopsided mission design.

For a penultimate episode, "Thicker Than Water" doesn't ramp up the stakes quite as much as some of Telltale's earlier efforts. With so little changing during the events of this fourth chapter in The New Frontier, it's hard not to be disappointed by the time seemingly squandered in this episode. Granted, the final moments accelerate things to a worthy climax, but save for those 10-15 minutes, everything that transpired in "Thicker Than Water" could easily have been folded in to the previous or upcoming episode. Hopefully Telltale was saving all the fireworks for the upcoming final chapter, as it would be a shame for A New Frontier's strong start to end with a whimper.

For the first time in years, I was left wondering if my video game's disc was scratched, only to remember that I was playing a digitally downloaded game. While this is meant to be a proper sendoff to Street Fighter IV, intending to hold us over until the release of Street Fighter V, Capcom has given us the worst-playing version the game to date.

Fright Heights feels like a money grab from the get go, thanks to its game of chance mechanic and the frequent reminders of upgrade options. I would have shelled out a few coins if this app really gave chills up and down my spine. But currently I feel nothing but indifference, and that’s really nothing to be scared about.

The tried-and-true Lego video game formula works well in Lego Jurassic World, but it’s not much better than the first Lego Star Wars was ten years ago.

There are too many cars to drive, and unfortunately F1 Challenge doesn’t go the distance.

The universe is huge. It instills such a feeling of insignificance and it is incredibly fun to think of all the possibilities when arriving in a new place, but when it inevitably requires the patience to do the same things over and over, the wonder of exploration loses out on some important magic.

Bill Killem isn’t the most memorable app on the block, but if you dig endless runners that come with a twist, it’s definitely worth a look. Maybe aliens will eventually win the war on Hollywood, but at least Bill has a few tricks up his sleeve to keep us entertained.

If only a virtual thumbstick or something similar was implemented, the game would be a lot more fun to play. But as it stands, it’s kind of just a cumbersome shooter with pretty graphics and an upgrade system designed to entice you to spend your money on in-app purchases.

Although Angry Birds Transformers doesn’t reach stratospheric heights due to its repetitive gameplay, there are other elements that should keep you intrigued for the long run.

When you strip away the silly executions and crowded, dense maps, Hitman is still a solid stealth experience.

Maybe the developer is trying to tell us the best things in life usually involve more than one person, and thanks to my middle aged failings I’m not going to argue.

Joining Hands 2 is a fun, simple sequel that’s great for younger kids and can be enjoyed by adults too, but in a more limited manner. It’s priced to sell and worth a try if you enjoyed the first one, or are simply looking for some incredibly low-stress gaming.

It’s a diverting way of passing the time on your respective device, and although it doesn’t exactly reinvent the wheel, Happy Hills 2: Bombs Away! succeeds as a solid puzzler.

Greedy Grub is fun until this free game tricks you into opening up your wallet.

If you’re expecting a full Mario, or even a full Nintendo game experience, you’d be better off skipping this game.

I feel like there’s plenty to enjoy, and the old-time RPG feel bursts from the surface quite admirably.

Unity is not a bad game, but it certainly doesn’t feel like it advances the series very much, especially for the first title in the series to be a fully next-gen game.

There's a solid foundation of ideas here with Codename S.T.E.A.M, both in its outlandish character selection and its unique take on the strategy genre. The problem is both of these elements trip at the finish line, the cast with their boring and repetitious script and the strategy gameplay with its inconsistent pace.

Fortified is by no means perfect, as it has a few quirks that really get under my skin. However, when it's time to lock and load against the Martians it's a challenging little game that tests my strategic mind just as much as my trigger finger.

Michonne is the big draw here, and Samira Wiley's performance alone makes this episode worth playing. We just have to hope the later episodes give her more to do that we haven't already seen before.

It’s not just retro, pixely platformers that deserve the port treatment. Colin McRae Rally was and still is a good racing game. The speed and handling remain just as tight as ever, and the game is sure to keep your hands sweaty as you try and keep your ride ahead of the competition.

I wanted Desync to be good. I’m fan of games that actually test your reflexes and mettle but so much of this title just feels unfair. It controls well enough and when you’re actually able to get a combo going, it’s fun. Ultimately, those moments are too few and far between. Maybe with some improvements or toning down the difficulty and enemy speed, I’ll return to Desync. For now I’ll just to stick with games that do everything Desync tries to do with better results, like Bulletstorm or Doom.

There's a lot to like about Star Fox Zero, but those ideas are rooted in games past and the new features muddle the whole thing up.

It’s a good game, it’s just not a memorable one, nor is it one you’ll feel the need to keep coming back to.

Star Wars fanatics will love the music, sound effects and enemy models of Star Wars: Assault Team, but will scratch their heads at who their favorite characters are partied with. Nevertheless, Assault Team’s combat system and presentation are engaging and fun enough to shroud most players from realizing how pointless its story missions are.

Knack II is more engaging than its predecessor, but there's still not much about this franchise that can make it one of Sony's defining original properties. This sequel is an easy game to enjoy, but Knack II fades from memory just as fast as the character can shift between forms.