A completely immersive game that will continue to hold my attention well past the film’s sell date.

In an industry where shock value is often the king of the horror video game, it’s hard to imagine a horror game completely devoid of gore and sudden fright hitting all of the right notes of interest, but Albino Lullaby does the job admirably.

Contra Evolution is exactly that. It is an evolution of the classic with some updated graphics and some tweaks to the controls. Contra Evolution is a solid retread of a classic that adds a couple new features to keep the things interesting. But the somewhat tricky controls hold it back from being absolutely perfect.

If you’re a Trials fan looking for a solid mobile package, then get this game. If you want a fuller experience, then you’ll have to look elsewhere.

Although the price tag is much more reasonable than your average console title, $14.99 may lead other gamers in a different direction. That said, players who opt for a fiscally healthier expenditure will be missing out on a solid Sid Meier experience, since Starships is a space odyssey that’s definitely worth your time.

Avengers Alliance is a worthy addition to Marvel’s already immense world, and getting the chance to lead your team into the breach is a pure joy. Whether you’re a vet of the Facebook game or an iOS addict with a superhero complex, Avengers Alliance delivers the goods, no matter whose turn it is.

Nero holds a lot of promising ideas and a neat little story back with a smorgasbord of technical mishaps and slow, choppy gameplay.

Adr1ft tries to break away from the tropes of bombastic violence and self-congratulation found in so many video games, and for that, its development team should be lauded. It’s too bad that this game set in the black void of space didn’t find anything interesting enough to fill the void of its barely-existent gameplay.

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.

To sum up: Gizmo is super cute, and playing Drop That Candy can be fun for a little while.

But if you’re willing to pay money, you might as well should spend it on getting a better racer. And no, not the premium rides you can buy in CSR Classics, I mean a better racer.

This game is a snooze.

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.

Although it serves as an excellent primer to the impending release of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, The Witcher Battle Arena proudly waves its own sword, carving a path for eager gamers waiting for a new adventure.

It’s easy to play for a few minutes and be wowed by the quick, rewarding rush of zooming through busy city streets, but put in much time and you may be driven away by the aggressive pricing, annoying ads, and numerous other free-to-play trappings which put sugar in the gas tank of this otherwise great game.

There are brief moments throughout The Order: 1886 when it’s clearly striving for excellence, which only makes the end result more tragic. It’s easy to toss aside a game that looks bad or is full of bugs, but The Order feels like it should be a good game.

This is a flawed platformer with some admirable qualities. I like how strange Incredible Jack is, combined with the heartfelt mission of a parent rescuing his kids (a plotline that’s not featured in many games). But I can’t get past some of the more egregious bumps in the road that serve to take the game down a few notches.

Titan: Escape The Tower is a first rate block breaker that completely surpasses all expectations.

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.

Overall, Crush Your Enemies feels like something from bygone era and not in a good way. The humor feels outdated, the gameplay is like something out of a MegaTouch machine, and the pixelated graphics look like a late Super Nintendo game without the charm.

Like a sloth ninja assassin, Space Hulk is slow, methodical, and brutal, but offers plenty of rewards for those with patience.

Gleamer’s clutter-free art style and basic controls mask a game with slightly more complexity to it than you’d expect (but not much). Some players will likely find their in-game avatar — the ever-moving cube — annoying, but despite some minor gameplay complaints what lies here is still a fairly solid platformer designed for the bite-sized consumption needs of most iOS gamers.

It's not easy to still find ways to innovate in the open-world space, but Voltion has managed to stay on the pulse of the genre well enough over the past few years. Agents of Mayhem is another strong entry in the developer's fan-favorite library, and has just as many memorable characters and moments as the best Saints Row titles. There are times where it feels like a bit of a grind, but even those elements are outmatched by Agents' charm. Saving the world has never been this vulgar or felt this good, and we wouldn't have it any other way.

With three different worlds as well as the ability to unlock survival mode, Clash of Puppets definitely offers up your money’s worth. The absolute lack of in-app purchases are also a huge plus, and it’s great to see a developer put gaming first over creating a manipulative, cash grabbing app.

There is a direct niche of RPG fans who the iOS version of The After Years is perfectly tailored for — fans of the DS remake of Final Fantasy IV. If you enjoyed the 3D models of the DS remake, and never played The After Years, then this steep price tag of $15.99 is justified.

There are a few bugs here and there, but they hardly keep Dex from being an overall enjoyable ride.

But without those minor gripes, RoboCop is a pretty fun game to play.

Nakama may appear as just another pixelated action app, but it’s an experience filled with nuance and inspiration.

Longtime fans of Blood Bowl who are down with the lingo and the rules should have no problem jumping in and enjoying this new tablet-based version of the classic game. Those new to the bowl, however, should do a LOT of research before jumping in, or else you’re going to feel slighted, cheated, and lost.

Rabbids Big Bang is a silly little game that is definitely a keeper for the iPhone and iPad.

The world of Sym is very cool, but the flaws that don’t belong really hurt the overall beauty of the game.

Into the Stars, despite some lack of variety, isn’t boring. Even for being a bit repetitive, it provides urgency, difficulty, relief and frustration in-game that runs pretty flawlessly.

Muscle Run is a steak and potatoes game which gives you a ton of meat on the bone.

Ultimately, I recommend Scrooge’s Loot to those with children due to it being free, imaginative and simplistic fun. But for those hoping for a clear-cut shooter, I suggest you look elsewhere.

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.

In many ways, J-Stars Victory Vs+ is reminiscent of Dragon Ball Xenoverse, with its simple brawling, flashy anime characters, and even flashier special attacks. But while DBX was, at times, more fun and impressive, it was also much glitchier and more exasperating. J-Stars Victory Vs+ is more middle-of-the-road bad— it's never especially frustrating, but it's also never especially exciting.

In Fear I Trust may annoy gamers who love to zip through their apps with unrivaled speed, especially since downloading the title takes a bit longer than expected. Loading times, when one returns to the app, are also a bit slower than average, so if you have places to go and really don’t have time to wait, this isn’t an iOS experience you’ll cherish.

It’s an app that doesn’t really set the world on fire, but now that it’s resurfaced with its free to play deal, giving it a chance won’t kill your vibe.

All in all, Star Wars Force Collection is a deep game that any hardcore fan of Star Wars and trading card games can appreciate.

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.

Schrodinger's Cat and the Raiders of the Lost Quark isn't terrible, but it's a far cry from being good. The randomized level designs are bland, the puzzle-solving elements are so easy they're barely puzzles, and the writing and sound design will grate on your nerves far more than they'll entertain.

For something that tries so hard to test your reflexes, Spectra ultimately tests your patience more than anything else.

While it is a uniquely shaped puzzle block, it is still just another one buried under a number of games that are much more worthy of your puzzle solving time.

Angry Birds Go! is a first rate kart racer which delivers the goods.

Ultimately, Trials By Survival feels a lot like Zombies Ate My Neighbors: with its randomized levels that are filled with dozens of the similar background objects, hundreds of zombies that all look the same, and its frenzied top-down control method. Unfortunately, Trials does not have anywhere near the charm that Neighbors had, and is just a failed attempt at trying to take bits and pieces from tried-and-true areas of both gaming and fiction in order to appeal to a specific niche of fans.

Dungeons & Dragons: Arena of War can get repetitive after a few fights, and its freemium model kicks in once you use up your quest energy. But these are minor annoyances in an otherwise solid title.

Asphalt Overdrive may get your blood pumping for several minutes, but unless you want to pay for the privilege, the races are over within the blink of an eye.

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.

Slender: The Arrival manages to dull Slendy's mystique by shining a light on him and revealing his terrible secret: he's the star of a really crappy video game.

The only reason why this did not score below a 3.0 was because of its historical accuracy and its ability to have hundreds of soldiers on screen fighting all at once.

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

Coupled with varied and exciting gameplay, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is a first rate experience that should please most Spidey fans.

Perhaps if the game was stretched out to flesh out some thin plot points, or expanding on the almost non-existent world, the game would hold up better. As it stands though, High Strangeness feels like a game that was built around a novel idea and hurried to completion.

Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash is one of the most disappointing games I’ve played this year. The tennis part is pretty fun, but the rest of the game is so light on content it’s hard to recommend this to anyone outside of children or tennis fans.

As it stands, the controls don’t work very well and aren’t nearly as responsive as they need to be for such a fast paced game.

Although htoL#NiQ: The Firefly Diary is cursed with a flawed control scheme, the total package did enough to keep me intrigued throughout.

Link The Slug is a puzzler that tries to be cute and clever, but in the end it’s a title that sits there like a bump on a log.

Everyday Spelunker ruined its promising start with its unsatisfactory control mechanic which led to more deaths than I could handle.

All of its parts add up to something that is a ton of fun and is well worthy of a spot on your phone.

Warhammer 40K: Storm of Vengeance is a completely serviceable title, and if it was a free-to-play experience with the DLCs serving as one of its premium packages, then I’d totally be on board with this app.

Where’s My Water? 2 is a solid addition to an ever expanding franchise, and although I can still do without its in-app pay scheme, it’s a game that’s worth checking out.

Samurai Shodown II is basically a straight port of a classic game to the iOS. It doesn’t do much to optimize the new hardware of current mobile devices and that’s where the title falls down a bit. It is nice to see an old cult classic still breathing and, in spite of those damn controls, Samurai Shodown II for the iOS is still a lot of nostalgic fun.

What you see is what you get with Iron Force. Even the controls, which has a virtual joystick for movement and a big red button on the right to fire, are simple and self explanatory.

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

There’s a lot of junk out there that isn’t worth the time of day, but Fightback delivers a few more punches than expected.

The actual racing, though nothing to write home about, is diverting enough to pass the time.

Despite my critiques on the controls, health regens and continue system of Hail to the King: Deathbat, it still provides an unrivaled experience on the iOS format.

The entire package of Dangerous Golf feels unfinished. Looking past the cool concept, nothing is exciting. The slow camera, the inconsistent controls, and bland mission structure combined with the fact that the game crashed numerous times during my playtime, led to much more frustration than there was enjoyment. The first few holes may have been fun, but Dangerous Golf quickly tumbles into a downward spiral of disappointment.

Now, despite its numerous flaws, at heart Steam Punks could be a pretty good time. There’s a reason the universe has seen so much of Mega Man and his various reincarnations and spin-offs — its because those games are damn fun. Steam Punks wants you to have the same kind of fun, but lacks the polish or the technical power to elevate itself above the rabble.

Games are meant to be fun, and those who make them should have some level of enthusiasm for what they’re doing. Swing Copters, however, is a thing of hate, and its only goal is to sink its fangs into you and fill you with its venom.

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.

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

Random Runners isn’t the best endless runner out there, nor is it the worst. This running, gunning title manages to be average in virtually every area, making it neither a good purchase, nor a terrible one.

For its cheap price and the ability to revisit one of video game’s most celebrated heroines, Tomb Raider is a decent enough download.

Although its steampunk take on a nightmarish fairy tale is compelling, Woolfe: The Red Riding Hood fails to capitalize on its beautifully rendered environment.

There is tons of polish on it and its controls are topnotch, but the rest of my experiences with The Drowned were extremely conflicting. If the gameplay mechanics were more in tune with a survival horror experience, Drowned could have been the definitive horror experience for the iOS format. Instead, it is simply an average shooter that gives a great update beyond the overused two thumbstick-style of FPS control; it simply happens to have great looking monsters and backgrounds instead of your run-of-the-mill FPS baddies.

As a Turtles fans I’m mildly satisfied seeing the characters in a new light, but playing the game just doesn’t cut it for me.

Deadman’s Cross may technically be free-to-play, but it will cost you precious minutes and hours that would be better spent doing damn near anything.

Still, you’re getting a hell of a deal for only $2.99, so I cannot recommend Captain America: The Winter Soldier – The Official Game enough, especially if you’re a fan of the comics or the movies

Record Run provides the necessary upbeat entertainment to keep you mildly amused on your phone for a small amount of time. Unfortunately there isn’t enough replay value to keep this app on your iPhone or iPad for an elongated amount of time.

As it is, this is one Marvel game even Stan Lee would pass on. ‘Nuff said.

The Blue Blur’s had his name dragged through the mud by starring in many subpar games over the years, and Sonic Jump Fever is another ignoble entry in the muck pile.

This is a solid title that gives you all kinds of bang for your piddling amount of buck.

If Keiji Inafune wants Mighty No. 9 to become as beloved as his blue-and-cyan predecessor, he and his team would do well to think deeply about modern updates to his classic formula to figure out what it is that makes them work so well. As is, Mighty No. 9 is a mighty, mighty failure.

Its designs appeared to have been taken almost directly out of previously existing titles and, ultimately, Flappy Bird was a shallow, flash-in-the-pan smartphone anomaly that we’re not going to miss.

As much as I wanted to love Zombie High Dive, the 20-minute ticket generating madness as well as the occasional ads that pop up between matches ruined my experience.

If only its action gameplay didn’t always result in being mowed down by one-hit kills, with the addition of some type of alert countdown a la Metal Gear, The Merc Files could have been amazing.

The only saving grace is the co-op multiplayer campaign mode. You might be interested in trying it out… if it’s really important to you. Just don’t expect bells and whistles to go off.

While I might not be a terribly huge fan of NASCAR, I am a big fan of racing games. For the first NASCAR game on iOS devices, this one sorely disappoints. Now, I realize it could be pretty tough to smash in 42 cars on a track on a tiny device, but something with actual racing would have been greatly appreciated.

Thor: The Dark World is definitely a pretty game, and a fun one at that. Though the graphics never approach anything like Infinity Blade’s gorgeous visuals, it’s still a graphically-impressive title that stays true to the aesthetics of its source material and is a treat on Retina displays.

It may resemble a boxing match between Optimus Prime and Godzilla, but so what? Robots fighting monsters is a pretty big deal for any video game, especially when it’s done right. There’s nothing too fancy about this title, but that doesn’t detract from its overall effectiveness.

Family Guy: The Quest for Stuff is off to a great start and as a free to play title it has tons of game play to offer without even spending a nickel.

Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal is bogged down by slow and repetitive exploration, but there are moments of great, fast platforming that call back to Sonic’s heyday.

Humanity in Chains' gameplay is obviously uninspired and riddled with poor design choices.

This is one tale that is better off untold.

I’d like to think that, for whatever reason, the developers just had to rush it out the door and there will be more to come that builds upon that stuff. But who’s to say? It could also just be a Cliff’s Notes game.

If you enjoy these type of freemium games, then Dungeon Keeper is a worthy download.

Since 9 Elefants is $2.99 to download, I expected a bit more of an addictive experience. Instead, I solved a few puzzles, checked out a few pretty pictures of Paris and had a decent enough time. For a free to play title, that’s all fine and dandy. But when money is involved, the puzzles take on an entirely different meaning.