Hero Pop is too entertaining to pass up, and eventually I’ll start level 21 and let bygones be bygones. There’s a ton of fun to be had with Hero Pop, and if you don’t mind a little irritation and carry a zen attitude towards free to play apps, grab a balloon, save a few heroes, and pop to your heart’s content.

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.

At the cost of nothing up-front, however, Horde of Heroes still makes for a fun offering for anyone craving something a bit different, and who doesn’t mind a little shallowness.

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

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.

Turd Birds is shallow, but fun, and the juvenile humor will keep the young (and young at heart) amused for a while. The sound effects add a hilariously juicy quality with all the splat noises and comments from those who are getting pooped on. It has a pricing structure that’s as typically aggressive as any other freemium game, but there’s still a lot of fun to be had with this feces-encrusted title

Iesabel doesn’t offer much on the RPG front as far as innovation, but that doesn’t detract from its appeal.

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.

1941 Frozen Front enables gamers to use their intellect, as well as a little luck, to commandeer their own army. The initial in-app purchase threw me for a loop, and HandyGames gets a slap on the wrist for that irritating choice.

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.

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.

Rhythm Thief & the Paris Caper has a couple of kinks in the program but it’s still a delightful little game to play, which will definitely eat up many hours of your time.

Slot Revolution is one of those rare apps that knows how to effectively employ the freemium model, as it gives gamers a ton of action without any mandatory in-app purchase.

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.

There are some intriguing elements at play, but there are more interesting and engaging rogue-likes out there already.

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.

At the end of the day, Super Hammer is simple, moderately fun game that can get pretty addictive depending on how you feel about endless runners.

No app is ever perfect, and as long as you’re able to handle this title’s rougher waters, you may enjoy what’s beyond the horizon.

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.

Spirit Runner may be a little rough around the edges with it’s activity log, but the main focus of this app is to motivate its users to go out there and really embrace exercising on a daily basis, and the outdoors as well. Yes, this app is geared towards kids, but adults can easily use this as well.

It aims for a younger audience and should do quite well in helping children sharpen their minds and learn important logic skills. Still, I’m not so sure it’s worth $2.99 for five simple matching games. But, if you really want a teaching tool for the young person in your life, you could do a lot worse than Fiete.

Gravity: Don’t Let Go is an intriguing enough app which ably serves as a complement to the highly anticipated film. There’s a multiplayer mode that is being offered in a future update, but as a free to play title it’s still a worthy download, especially if you’re in the mood for a cool little space odyssey.

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.

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.

Puzzle Knights is a diverting title that enables gamers to enjoy two different experiences within the same app. The combat mechanic may not be as intense as Infinity Blade III, but if you want a relatively peaceful, easy feeling experience with an RPG puzzler, this app doesn’t disappoint.

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.

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.

If nonstop action and a hail of bullets is your guilty pleasure of choice, A Thug In Time won’t disappoint. It’s a shooter that’s on sensory perception overload with gunfire that would make even Tony Montana blush.

Meerkatz Challenge is the perfect little game for a child who’s just getting into video games or an adult who played as a child and moved on, as there’s enough appeal for both groups to enjoy. It doesn’t add to the core formula, but it emulates it well.

If you want a cheap, but surprisingly solid game that will grab your attention for bits at a time, then Bloom Box is definitely one to get. After all, what could be more fun than proving to a machine that you’re smarter than it? It may not be Boom Blox, but this little puzzler manages to topple a lot of other titles in the App Store.

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.

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.

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.

The continuing failure of the FaceTime camera, which leads one to get motion sensored all over again, is a drag, but considering all the game has to offer, I’d simply remain patient and let the music take over.

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.

Considering the Disney source material, it could do with an injection of magic, originality, and amazement. But, it did make me want to check out the movie, so in that sense, I might consider it a success.

Happy Dinos gives you a lush and compelling world at your disposal.

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.

Selling wares to heroes didn’t seem appetizing until Merchant to the Stars found its way to my iPad. Bashing someone’s head in for glory, honor, and a few trinkets may, upon further review, seem a bit foolhardy. Besides, bloodshed is really bad for business, unless you’re a merchant.

Prometheus, in his quest to steal the spark of fire from the gods, forgot to bring with him a spark of creativity. Godfire’s parts are all correct, with its sharp visuals, great score, and grand boss battles, but most of the moment-to-moment gameplay fails to satisfy. If you want to smash video game monsters in Ancient Greece, you could do worse… but you could also do better.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Armikrog is a love letter to old-school style of point-and-click adventure and the peculiarity of its wonderful predecessors.

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.

The real issue with Gangstar Vegas is that it’s not a ground breaking game and doesn’t offer any new ideas, just higher quantities of things — more missions, extra items to buy and upgrade, and a bigger map.

Ultimately, Awakened Fate: Ultimatum does provide a unique gameplay experience that caters to players seeking a challenge.

Ava’s Quest is a little rough around the edges, but it’s still lots of fun to play.

It’s not fair to write off a side scroller for being a side scroller, or a puzzle game for being a puzzle game. So in that sense, it’s only fair to treat ScribbleMix as its own thing, providing that it is contributing something new. And after playing around with it for a bit, I can safely say that it is.

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.

Its progressive upgrades and zany nature are reminiscent of other great mobile titles like Punch Quest and any of the games by the Adventure Time people. If simple and weird is the way you like it, and you don’t mind wrestling with the controls, then Zorbie might be ze thing for you.

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.

Cross Hearts Arcadia gradually drew me into its embrace. It’s absolutely corny, but it’s like seeing an old friend for the very first time. Both of you may not be the brazen warriors of the past, but that’s okay. We get by with a little help from our friends. Even if they’re a total pain in the Eng.

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.

Even if this game is triggered for the mandatory use of IAPs, I’m giving Let Me Loose a pass. It gave me enough bang for my buck, and if I scrape a few more nickels together, I’ll head back to the lab for some quality amoeba time.

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.

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.

It may not offer anything innovative or new to the party, but when you’re busy gleefully blasting a horde of enemies planning to lay waste to your kingdom, who cares?

Although it doesn’t have the bells and whistles of most of my tablet survivors, Wheel of Fortune Cubed is a total keeper thanks to its word building structure. Whether you’re bankrupt or have thousands of dollars in the bank, at least you’ll know how to put things together, one letter at a time.

TurtleStrike doesn’t blow you away upon first impression, but turtles understand that slow and steady wins the race.

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.

This is a great entry point if you’re looking to jump on the D&D bandwagon as it does a good job of easing the player into this deep and dense universe.

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

Aside from the control kinks, Cutiebots succeeds as a diverting enough app which, thanks to an intriguing tone and variety of game play, doesn’t disappoint. After several hours in this shadowy world, I’m still ready for a few more rounds, even if these killer ‘bots are about as cute as a bullet to the head.

While it feels and plays nicely, it somehow doesn’t live up to the legacy that should be Duke Nukem.

Although it’s not the most complex app to play, Alice in Wonderland: A New Champion is perfect for gamers who are still in the process of exploring.

A few more levels may have placed Mr. Montgomery’s Debonair Facial Hair on a different creative stratosphere, but it’s still a bargain as a $0.99 download. In-app purchases are also not needed to complete the game, so credit the developers for not going for the all too frequent cash grab.

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.

NBA 2K14 is not a horrible game by any means. The new music and the depth of the LeBron: Path to Greatness mode definitely give it a good amount of fun and value. But is that value worth the $7.99 asking price? Probably not. Unless you really care about LeBron James and his mode, then I would just stick with NBA 2K13. It’s got the same gameplay and the same graphics, but it also packs a better sound suite that indeed, sounds sweet.

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.

Ben 10 Slammers is decently priced at two dollars, and while it’s possible to make in-app purchases, the game doesn’t harass you to get you to make said purchases, which is aces in our book.

If you have other apps to play or have the patience of Job, this cash grab exists as a minor hindrance to an otherwise addicting app. Hills of Glory 3D is a multifaceted gaming experience, and its comic strip style animation and battle style instantly won me over. Due to empty pockets, in-app purchases are not exactly on my to-do list. I can play the waiting game and still play this app for free. Patience is a virtue, especially when you’re winning the battle.

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

Free to play titles usually offer a cute looking game with an empty shell, but The Lone Ranger, amidst all that brush and beauty, actually shows us how the West was won.

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.

Its few shortcomings aren't to be overlooked, however, as its sluggish, frequently directionless, and deliberately archaic in its design. Don't come in expecting jump scares and big gore; this is a slow-burning experience with an emphasis on style and atmosphere.

There’s a lot of fun to be had with Dragon Finga.

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.

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.

Nevertheless, Need for Speed looks and sounds great, excluding the random frame rate hiccup, and there's a ton of fun to be had behind the wheel. Need for Speed floors it in the right direction for the most part. Unfortunately, not everything was right under the hood when this racer left the garage. As we all know, this can cause some major problems when you're trying to peel out.

Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water's full price tag might shy away some would-be buyers since it's only available in North America as a digital release, but veterans of the series or survival horror fans in general will certainly have a good time having an otherworldly photo shoot at Mt. Hikami.

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

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.

Even though Seven Dwarfs: The Queen’s Revenge borders on the line of dullness, there are at least enough things to do before it’s off to work you go.

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.

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.

Overall, World of Gibbets is a strange little physics puzzle game that is slightly creepier than it first appears. It has a decent number of levels that are cleverly built, but it doesn’t do quite enough to set itself apart from the rest.

Batman: Arkham Origins should have been a top flight journey, but due to its free to play compromise, this title is far from perfect. If you’re not going to spend any cash, make sure you have other apps to play while you wait for the status bar to refill. It’s an inconvenience which turns this fighter into merely a good outing for the Dark Knight.

It’s hard to recommend such a limited game, but Attack of the Spooklings’ fast gameplay is surprisingly addictive, and if new options are added it really might become something awesome.

Unfortunately, The Tribez & Castlez undermines a potentially great experience by forcing you to buy in-game currency with real money or to wait for excessive cooldowns to progress through the game at a snail’s pace.

It is a shame that Past Memories isn’t all that much fun to play. It has some interesting ideas and design, but the gameplay stumbles along and falls.

More forgettable than memorable. If it had done more to be unique and embrace all the opportunities it set up for itself, it could have been an engaging title.

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.

Mafia III as a narrative alone is a commendable effort, and is unlikely to be forgotten for that very reason. It takes a hard look at a life many of us have never led, and challenges players with an experience most could never truly know. Ultimately though, even the strongest of stories can't save Mafia III from falling prey to genre conventions, and too many at that.

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

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

A lot should be made of ReCore's basic technical issues. Without them this game could be considered one of the sleeper hits of the year, but being constantly forced to wait for a game to load and then experiencing weird clipping issues during the game does not an enjoyable experience make.