If you are willing to slog through ads and a lot of waiting, Full of Stars gameplay is exceptionally strong. It’s beautiful to look at, thoughtfully designed, and fun to play, when you’re actually able to do so. I would love to see a premium version of Full of Stars which still includes its tightly constructed resource management and decision trees, but that would remove the ads so I could keep my head in the game, and my ship in the air.

So this is an occasionally bumpy ride, but the superb presentation and enjoyable cast make this a mystery worth looking into for fans (if not newbies) of the genre.

The unfortunate clash between hard strategy and random setup is a fairly serious black mark, but the other flaws in the title are relatively minor once you get stuck in.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Legends should be commended for doing the franchise justice and for its accessible fun, but it’s got potential that will probably only be truly reached through future updates. Here’s hoping it gets them.

This isn’t for anyone that’s looking for a game with a faster pace, but Unusual Findings is a charming and slightly off-kilter adventure that’s well worth investigating – despite some frustrating moments.

There isn’t anything here for hardcore long-term fans of the series, but anyone new to the party this is a perfect place to start.

Bowmasters is a little heavy handed with ads, but it also throws some free chests at you, providing you with coins and the occasional new character. That means you often feel like you’re making progress, making the frequent ads a little bit easier to swallow.

Its colorful aesthetics, extremely friendly economy, and difficult dodging challenges are all hugely appealing, and the entire game has been polished to a sheen by Vector Unit. We hope future updates introduce a wider variety of obstacles, layouts, and challenges, but in its current state, MouseBot is a fun arcade experience that won’t cost you any cheese.

Mega Man Battle Fighters is a serviceable collection, but one with too many issues to make it an easy recommendation.

With the Maple World accessible in so many ways, MapleStory Live might work as a good introduction to spur people to check out the more robust features in its sister titles. Otherwise, it feels destined to be a temporary fix for players who don't want to leave that setting behind when all they have handy are their phones or tablets.

Really, the only real issue I can see with The Witcher Battle Arena, aside from some stability issues that will no doubt get ironed out before long, is that it feels like a side gig that CD Projekt Red whipped up while most of its team was polishing the next big PC game, and it probably was.

If you’re aren’t into platformers as a whole, Tevi might not be for you – it’s probably one of the more complicated entries in the genre out there, but it’s just about worth the effort.

The 3D engine the game uses is surprisingly well done, with well detailed plane models and decent environments. If you have interest in taking to the sky and sending jets to the ground in a ball of fire, you should consider giving Sky Gamblers: Air Supremacy a shot.

At a time when it’s ever more difficult for a game to convince us to not only listen, but just keep the sound on, Miracle Merchant offers an engaging audio environment for its players. Thanks to a score and sound effects by Craig S Barnes, the game is able to offer a soundtrack that lets you think without being distracting. The sound effects themselves also seem incredibly true to the fantasy world that you’re temporarily inhabiting in the game, itself another real accomplishment. The lack of progression means things may get stale fast for some players, but if you’re the type of gamer who strives to find new strategies that let them bump their score up over time and dominate their friends on the leaderboards, Miracle Merchant is a potion that’s well worth sipping.

Overall, Fright Heights has some creaky floors and broken windows, but it offers a chilling good time, nonetheless. Grab it and play it in between handing out fistfuls of candy to the rugrats this Halloween season.

It doesn't challenge genre conventions very much, but it's still a fun ride.

It’s perhaps a tad overpriced, and the presentation is bare bones, but if you’re interested in gaming history you could do a lot worse.

Despite these grievances with Archetype Arcadia, it’s a perfectly fine visual novel. If you like Sword Art Online or a darker storyline mixed with futuristic themes, you’ll probably enjoy this one. There are certainly worse visual novels to play through, and with more refinement, Archetype Arcadia could have become a brilliant little gem.

The best-selling (and most addictive) iPhone apps are easily identified by their appealing visuals, fun gameplay, and great value. While it could use a little polish and expansion, Oh My Nut's colorful presentation and memorable physics puzzles make it well worth its budget price tag.

If you're looking for a charming little cannon-style distance game, Chop Chop Kicker delivers more than enough fun to justify the purchase – just don't expect much of a carrot on a stick when it comes to unlockables.

Despite this issue we’d recommend this for any Switch players looking for a new strategy title – it’s well presented and can be endlessly addictive. You just may want to quickly check it out on your smartphone before taking the plunge on this iteration.

FreeSkate Xtreme is a fun ride, at least for a little while. As with most endless runners, it all comes down to how you feel about single-stage repetition and beating high scores, though we will say that we did enjoy this one more than some others we've played.

Beyond the Unknown: A Matter of Time may not set the Hidden Object Adventure world on fire, but true devotees of the genre owe it to themselves to check it out.

It says something about Relic Rush's core concept and presentation that I still find myself calling it a great game, despite this barrage of issues. It's a flawed experience, no doubt about that, but it shows huge potential, and it's worth checking it out just so that you can think to yourself "I hope they get it right with a sequel."

Sadly it still feels a little too slight at times, with the controls in the main race segments being so floaty they’re never particularly satisfying. This arguably helps the game’s chaotic nature – something not entirely unwelcome in a multiplayer title – but it also means it likely won’t keep you coming back for more helpings. So Dream Buffet is a game it’s hard to love – the fact Kirby feels copy and pasted in definitely doesn’t help matters – but it offers just enough presentational pizzaz to mean it’s not an entirely wasted cause.

Words With Friends is an enjoyable experience. It's not known for its originality, but the straightforward and friendly approach creates a great time for anyone into competitive word games.

I enjoyed the Kiwanuka experience – it's so upbeat and sincere that I couldn't help but be charmed by it – but the game itself was a little too simple.

Overall, Barn Voyage is a cute and busy farming sim that lets you do your thing without throwing up a paywall. Again, it’s pretty repetitive – but you can’t really expect anything else from a vocation that relies so heavily on the sun and the seasons.

It has a slightly high price-tag, but if you’re looking for a first person shooter that’s a little different – at least in term of aesthetics – then you should dive right into Forgive Me Father.

Even with the occasional control issues and often times frustrating tendency for moves to miss entirely, it’s hard not to recommend Shadow Fight 2. Personally I think it’s worth checking out just for the animations themselves, but there’s also a reasonably entertaining fighter behind them. Just make sure to bring your Zen with you.

We want to love this game, but certain aspects are a real turn-off. Lost Epic has a ton of promising features, but that won’t be enough for some. You can tell that a lot of love did go into the game and that the developers are clearly passionate about the Souls-like and Metroidvania genres. A patch here and there may make the game more enjoyable, but there’s no news on further updates at this current time – meaning we only recommend it for those who are ready for an experience where a fair amount of grinding is necessary.

Game of War: Fire Age takes some important steps toward something truly revolutionary, but it lacks the gameplay advances to make it all the way there. It's likely to appeal to the same players who enjoyed the games that preceded it, yet it feels like a missed opportunity for everyone else.

If you’re a Star Wars fan who’s looking to pass some time before the release of The Force Awakens, you could do far worse.

To Dawn of Steel’s credit, it doesn’t have an energy system, so as long as you have the patience, you can play the game for free for as long as you want. Just don’t blame me if you fall asleep and drop your iPad Mini on your face during a five-minute waiting period.

The ease-of-play makes it perfect for a wide variety of players, and the slight map variations with each playthrough help to elongate the experience even further.

The bottom line is this: If you have a taste for chess-flavored brain teasers, Cheesy Chess will be right up your alley. But if you're after something that mixes it up now and then to keep you on your toes, you'll probably find that it wears thin in a hurry.

Gentlemen! is great fun, and well worth splashing out on if you often find yourself wanting to play tablet games with a friend. Solo players need not apply, obviously, but if you're hankering for some friendly Victorian-style deathmatch, then this is a game that will suffice.

The gameplay feels a tad familiar, but it's also rather addictive, so it's hard to fault it too much on that. Combine the fun you'll have with the great art style and mood presented, and On the Wind is a game that's easily worth checking out for those whose curiosity has been piqued.

It looks great, and it has some fun, clever ideas. It’s at least worth a try.

Battle Command! isn’t bad by any means, but it’s also nothing new – no matter how shiny the chassis on those mech suits might be.

Dream Pethouse is one of the more interesting releases so far on the mobile space from Zynga, being that it isn't just another Ville clone and actually tries something that hasn't been attempted too many times before it. The gameplay isn't exactly as exciting as we could have hoped, but Dream Pethouse is still a competent social game that could be played for months if you have enough friends keeping up with you.

It’s super polished though, and there’s a decent chunk of game here to have a nibble at. But in the end it’s a little too throwaway, a little too lacking in the clout that the very best multiplayer games need to tie you down and ensure you’re in for the long haul. Still, it’s worth a crack, and it won’t cost you anything to pick it up. Just don’t expect it to become the new go-to app in your games folder and you should get along with it just fine.

Criminal Case: Pacific Bay is the perfect game for those short on time but still wanting a quick gaming fix. I found it ideal for dipping into throughout my day but it didn’t stand a chance when I had an extended period of time to dive into a game. It’s essentially everything that works so well for free-to-play casual gaming, as well as everything people hate about the concept. If you’re someone short on time but in love with hidden object gaming, it’s perfect. Just don’t be surprised if your interest wanes before the content runs out.

It's free-to-play so there's no reason not to give it a spin if you're new to the genre and interested in checking it out, but if you've already tried Rage of Bahamut (or Deity Wars, or Pantheon the Legends, or the licensed Transformers and Marvel games) and found them wanting - or are still playing them - then there's really not much point in bothering with it.

Casual farming is going to live on, but the days when it ruled the roost probably aren’t coming back.

I'm sure there's a large section of folks who are sick of the "perturbed, feathered flight-takers" and might want to give something else a try. To tell the truth, Bouncy Mouse runs much better than almost every other game of its ilk once you remove the ads. It's a slick little package that will satisfy most of you who give it a try, even if for only a little while.

Kings Can Fly was a fun little adventure. Just difficult enough to be rewarding, but with just enough helpful gameplay features to ward off frustration. The core concept is well executed, and mistakes in planning are easy to correct which gives Kings Can Fly that coveted "just one more round" appeal. If you're a fan of puzzle adventures you should give this one a shot. You could certainly do far worse.

Front Wars is not perfect by any means. It's derivative, its tutorial is lacking, and its translation is sub-par. But if you're aching for a new Advance Wars experience, or if you'd just like to see its formula applied to a real-life war, you could do worse than hang with this shell-shocked soldier for a while.

As you progress, you’ll see new scenery and be impressed at the variety that a simple box factory can concoct. There’s even room for a Game Boy style look, and you’ll find yourself keen to see what other imaginative moments can unfold. Crucially, it’s all a pleasant change of pace from more traditional endless runners. Its simple charm might wear thin, but it’ll still be worth keeping it around on your phone for a while to come.

Flappy Bird is simultaneously everything that’s right and wrong about video games. You’ll play it, you’ll obsess over it, but you’ll never really like it.

Like a Premier League team that is well clear of the relegation zone but no threat for Champions League play, it does what it needs to do to maintain, but nothing more than that.

It’s a good game with a lot of good aspects to it that will satisfy those who are satisfied by this type of game.

Hello Hero has problems that are typical of a free-to-play RPG, but it also has singing cacti that attack you with guitars. Depending on your feelings about social games, you might want to take the bad with the good.

Against all odds, Tap Sports Football has taken the most complicated pro sport around and turned it into something very basic, and that alone should make you curious enough to give it a try.

A cheerful, exuberant experience that’s worth the free download for any MLP fan.

Crow should be lauded for ambition and its attempt to raise the bar in mobile gaming. At risk of looking a gift horse in the mouth, however, I'd argue that it doesn't deviate all that far from the platform's mini-game standards; instead, it wraps them in a much glossier package.

Overall Mini DAYZ is a thoroughly solid survival experience, although it doesn’t necessarily wow. It likely won’t make many game of the year lists, but for those who like to test themselves against zombie hordes you’ll likely have a good time.

The music has its moments, but it’s no rival to the first, and the visuals are arguably less striking than the original, which is over 30 years old at this point. It’s all just a little too basic and safe. Still, if you’re a parent who played the original back in the day, this is a great introduction to the world of gaming for the younger crowd. You might even find yourself enjoying it alongside them, if you’re a sucker for nostalgia.

Ultimately, it's just confusing.

It’s a fun time waster, a distraction that fits into your daily routine pretty well.

Overall, I enjoyed my time with Hovercraft, but I don’t see it being a game I’m still playing even days from now.

Perhaps the biggest issue with Virtual Villagers: Origins is that it's not a terribly attractive game.

With a few tweaks here and there diep.io could be a brilliant addition to the mobile gaming canon, but as it stands it’s lacking in a few key departments that just hold it back from greatness.

Harry Potter: Puzzles and Spells is a slick, accomplished, perfectly acceptable slice of meaningless entertainment. It ticks all of the right boxes, and you’re going to enjoy the time you spend with it. There’s really nothing more to be said.

Dream Track Nation could be something great, but ends up being something that's merely okay. On paper, it's got everything you'd want in a custom racer. But there are too many rough edges to give it the fullest, heartiest recommendation.

My NBA 2K18 is essential for serious NBA 2K18 players and something close if you enjoyed previous versions, but could be hit or miss for other basketball and sports gaming fans. If you’re looking for something light and well-made to play whenever you have time, you could do worse than this, but if you’ve tried it in the past and found it didn’t do much for you, there’s not much new so far to make you feel differently.

It’s nothing new or special, but it’s comfort food in mobile game form. There are few ads and the difficulty curve isn’t too harsh (although it’s still not the best) – if you’ve not tried a time management title before there are far worse places to start.

For what it is, Hakitzu Elite: Robot Hackers is actually pretty cool. It looks reasonably good, plays well, and I personally find programming a string of commands into my Codewalkers and then watching them carry them out to be incredibly satisfying. Of course, the downside to that is having to wade through a fairly clunky and unintuitive interface to make it all happen. It can be worth the headache, but it definitely requires a bit of patience.

In a saturated marketplace full of platformers asking you to earn three stars/gems/coins/stickers, fans of the genre could do worse than to monkey around with this one. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to attend a tribunal for crimes of punning against humanity.

Deus Ex GO is basically more of the same. The sci-fi coat of paint looks nice, the plot is pointless, the puzzles are tricky but satisfying — and it’s all starting to feel a bit by-the-numbers. Fans of the previous games will still probably enjoy themselves, but I wouldn’t blame them for feeling a little burned out, either.

If you’re a fan of Shakira and happen to like match-3 games, or even if you’re not a fan of hers but still like the genre, you’ll enjoy Love Rocks Starring Shakira.

Dadish 3 is possibly overpriced for what it is, but if you were a fan of the last two games you can’t go wrong here – in what is the most technically accomplished entry in the series so far.

Galcon Fusion is a cleanly presented, fast-paced strategy game with solid controls, but the simplicity might only hold your attention for a few rounds or so. If subjugating the universe was this user-friendly in real life, we'd see a new interplanetary honcho weekly, and that could just get downright exhausting.

An interesting new location-based RPG that is certainly worth trying if you are a fan of zombies.

It's a good game that hasn't quite crossed the line to great, and you'll want to be sure you're familiar with its quirks before you drop money in it.

Race Kings is decent enough fun. There’s a regular supply of new events with things often changing regularly. There’s always something new to do and you’ll always feel a tinge of satisfaction when you pull off a perfect drift. Just don’t expect this feeling, or this game, to last forever.

Ultimately, Nibblers isn’t an amazing advancement in match-3 game experiences. But it doesn’t need to be. It’s a solid contribution to the category with fresh visuals, a great soundtrack, and familiar mechanics.

Dead Effect 2 certainly has a few quirks that might annoy you or even turn you off entirely (it’s mainly the forced registration and the tone-deaf script for me), but if you can endure or ignore them you should be able to have quite a bit of fun with it.

Glyph will no doubt end up leaving many cold – despite the game’s setting. Those who do warm to its charms will find it to be a diamond in the rough though.

In fact, it’s one of the more satisfying Match-3 games currently out there, with its variety of different game types ensuring you won’t get bored too soon.

Because there are so few MMORPGs that can be comfortably played on an iPad, it's hard to argue against it for fans of the genre. As long as you go into it knowing you're going to work a little harder than you might want to as the price of enjoying the sweet design, you just might like what you find.

In the end, there’s so obviously a better version of this game out there. Sure, it might not be on your phone, but rather than scratching your Pokemon itch, Nexomon is more than likely going to aggravate it. It walks that fine homage line very well, but sometimes it leans just a little too close to its inspiration.

As enjoyable as the premise is, the gameplay isn't quite as compelling. It has its moments, and many are quite funny, but the game is in dire need of some added variety.

A bit more interesting than the original Facebook rendition, but still feels fairly formulaic.

You can get by just fine in Gigantic X without spending a penny – provided you’re willing to put in the grind. We’re just surprised to see such insanely high prices as these, and can only assume that the developers are targeting whales exclusively. Overall, it doesn’t do much to harm Gigantic X, as the game surrounding it is absolutely solid and well worth checking out for the sort of player that likes to grind out loot.

Raising a race horse in Derby Days is definitely fun, unfortunately the rest of the experience feels underdeveloped.

Gamenauts and Artlogic Games did a nice job marrying tower management with some light RPG and party battle elements, but nothing in Castle Champions really burrows its way into your psyche and sticks with you.

Nosferatu - Run from the Sun isn't a bad game by any stretch, though it may seem a little uninspired beneath the hood (flying portions excepted). If anything, its presentation helps set it apart... and maybe that's what the developers intended after all?

Imagine your favorite mobile base-building strategy game, mix in a dash of XCOM, and then paint on a fresh coat of AMC’s The Walking Dead. That’s No Man’s Land in a nutshell: it’s nothing new to play, but the game features tried-and-true mechanics and comes with a heaping amount of appeal for fans of the television series to digest.

So far no one episode has managed to strike a satisfying balance between interesting puzzles, cool combat, and touching character moments, but taken as a whole it’s been quite the worthwhile ride. Here’s to hoping the last episode(s) can do a good job of capping off a pretty fun story.

Country Friends offers players much the same sort of experience they could find elsewhere in other farm management games. You plant, harvest, feed, collect, sell, and repeat. These are the ABC’s of the genre. Where Country Friends stands out is with its visuals, and how well it appeals to player’s emotions by pasting real emotion on the faces of the critters they’ll manage.

Hero Academy feels like the start of something special that's only half-finished right now. The gameplay is great, as are the graphics, but it still needs some additional content before it's something to recommend to all gamers (like a single-player campaign and a real training mode). Still, if you're patient and can get past these quirks, you're in for a great strategy experience.

It does, however, incorporate some great multiplayer features we rarely see on the platform, and the free-to-play model is a fair compromise. If you haven't yet overdosed on defending your bases from automated hordes, Spice Invaders is well worth checking out.

If you don’t overthink it or expect the world, Mad Skills BMX 2 gets the job done when it comes to quick, fun bike races that aren’t overly complicated. It’s fine for a quick action fix, as long as you aren’t stuck at a race you can’t pass, and as we said at the top, it definitely beats the wear and tear of riding bikes off ramps in the dirt in real life.

It might get repetitive if you play it for too long, but the initial draw (pun not intended) means you’ll soon be quite endeared towards it. Even if it does take you a while to unlock any equipment upgrades.

Hardcore WWE aficionados will want this, but my personal feeling is that with another year or two of iteration, this could really become a series that draws raves.

It’s all fairly straightforward, but with just enough cleverness and self-awareness to it that I can recommend this to anyone looking for an easy game, or something they can give their kids to play.

With a small price tag and a surprisingly deep system of upgrades, it’s easy to overlook minimal control flaws and a so-so soundtrack.