The presentation is as bare bones as it comes, but Hidden Gems Volume One is still an interesting and wisely budget priced option that’s worth investigating for Switch owning retro gamers.

Whether it’s personal or not (and I’d be pretty egotistical to think that it is!), I’m sure people are going to keep combining RPGs and casino games, and hopefully someday one of them will flat out blow me away. Until then, Suits and Swords is ready to download for free if you have to have blackjack with your adventuring. And may the cards ever be in your favor if you do.

There’s several pieces of amusing dialogue, some unique level settings, and even some rudimentary first person sections. The latter are very shonky, but we appreciated the effort to mix up the gameplay. Still, this isn’t quite enough for us to fully recommend Super Squidlit. It definitely has a certain charm, but it’s certainly not a title that will appeal to everyone.

Birzzle Fever is adorable, fast-paced, and has the potential to be one of the better match-three games on the App Store. However, the problems with its graphics, its fast-depleting energy system, and its constant grabs for in-app purchases clip its wings.

If you enjoyed NHL SuperCard but were bummed that it didn’t keep up to date with the latest player movement in the real life NHL, we can say with a great deal of confidence that you will enjoy NHL SuperCard 2K17.

While there is no denying that Slayin is an incredibly charming title, it’s hard to recommend a game based on charm alone. Yes, this is a great way to kill a couple minutes, but it is also easily forgettable and just about as niche as it gets.

Shooting Stars’! memes and ever-changing enemy patterns make for an odd shoot-em-up that’s hard to stay with for any significant amount of time.

This Pocket Gems release is just as fluffy as the animals you're asked to rescue in-game.

For now, while an excellent, fun way to kickstart the grey matter in the short-term, GREG soon becomes shallow. On a platform and in a genre filled with so much compelling competition, that’s not a great way to set out your stall.

Individually I'm not sure I'd consider any single game in this package to be worthy of a 99 cent purchase – but collectively, and as part of a free app? It's hard to not recommend Addicting Games. So long as they keep bringing the good with the bad, it's entirely possible that Addicting Games will stay on your phone for a long time.

Raid Leader feels like it had the groundwork laid for a much better game laid until the developers got bored partway through the development process. It's not exactly bad, but it's just not really deep or exciting enough to recommend wholeheartedly. That said, based on the solid fundamentals, I'll be very interested in seeing what else Red Zebra Games puts out in the future.

DIRAC offers a great presentation, looking really quite stylish for a game that’s solely about joining the dots, but I can’t see it maintaining your attention for long.

2 Broke Girls works just well enough to be a tall, cheap gas station latte of a game. It's not exactly what you want, but the price is right and it's easy to check out without having to go too far out of your way for it.

I understand the value of game clones that might improve upon or even just contribute to a genre, but sadly, Tesla Tubes just doesn’t live up to its innovative namesake. If you want easy tasks to occupy some time, this game will do the job.

But, for me, the experience is ruined by the starting over thing. I just got tired of playing the first few levels over. And over.

This might have been perfect as a room in Big Fish Casino, but as a standalone iOS app, it’s probably going to appeal to enthusiasts only. In other words Grandma, if you got that iPhone I sent you, this one’s for you.

It’s cute and quite charming, and its controls are spot on accuracy wise, but all too swiftly it finds itself lacking that ‘wow’ factor. This is a title that’s a bit disposable.

Siegecraft's main problem is that it just isn't fast-paced enough to be exciting or fun. Instead, it's got some cool ideas that don't quite seem to come together, mainly because of some sloppy execution.

I Wanna Be A Hero isn’t the most innovative game around, but it does what it set out to do, and that’s give players an easy-to-play (but hard to master) roguelike experience. If you haven’t gotten your fill of the roguelike genre on mobile yet, I Wanna Be A Hero may be worth a look.

If you’re after a soothing experience Under Leaves is worth investigating when it gets significantly discounted, but at its current price will likely leave you feeling short-changed.

The world they have built—which promises to be much larger than this single alien ship—is one worth exploring, with cinematic environments that are both cavernous and claustrophobic.

Perfect World Mobile is very much a small step in the right direction, but it’s not quite enough to allow it to stand out from the crowd. If you’re looking for a shot of nostalgia or an extremely polished mobile MMORPG, this will suffice. If you’re looking for innovation, you’ve come to the wrong place.

While Super Nano Jumpers’s control system might be pretty great at what it’s trying to accomplish, there’s just not enough variety here to keep you hooked.

Full of potential but still in need of work.

In the end though, the gameplay is over-familiar and there's not much else to recommend it over any other match-three game unless you're a dedicated Peanuts fan.

That said, if you have a sibling or a kid who has expressed interest in HOGs but finds them a bit too complicated, Disney Hidden Worlds will enthrall them – at least until they run out of energy and have to go do something else for an hour.

Deer Hunter 2016 isn’t a bad game, and its chief flaw is largely a product of the environment (no pun intended): animals are kind of dumb, and when you’re equipped with guns that can easily puncture through their skins, getting a one-shot-kill is understandably easy. But when levels play out in the exact same manner, and I’m required to play them multiple times, the problem shifts from animals being too easy to kill to the game doing a poor job handling variety.

It’s a bummer that PWN doesn’t get the last twenty percent right, because there’s a quality, demanding, engaging game to be played underneath the bad design decisions.

Disney Emoji Blitz appreciates that it doesn’t have to try as hard as other games thanks to its licensing. That’s an issue, of course, because it really is a game you’ve played before.

Feels like it should be much better than it is, thanks to the excellent production values and huge amount of content it contains. Unfortunately its flawed mechanics drag it down from greatness, leaving it firmly in the realm of mediocrity.

Some talented people made this game – that much is very obvious. Control issues are the game's main problem, and really prevent me from giving this one an enthusiastic thumbs up.

If you’re okay with not knowing the math behind the game’s economy, and can deal with repetitive visuals, 1849 is a great little game that is sure to be worth the handful of bucks it’s going to set you back.

The bottom line is that Mansion Run is a very simple, basic game that will give your swiping finger a workout, but probably doesn't have the depth to keep you coming back for very long. It's an amusing diversion – just don't expect it to be anything more.

Taken as a whole, it’s a fun diversion for young fans of Demi Lovato.

If you could do more with your cats, the items they bring you, and the room you all occupy, it’d be a good time. For now, there’s a lot of “look, but don’t touch” going on in the title — though when you think about it, that’s what cats are all about, anyway.

Overall SpiderHeck is a fun multiplayer game. It doesn’t offer anything substantial – especially if you’re playing alone – but it can just about hold its own in a party setting.

Playing Midway Arcade left me wishing that it supported either the iCade or the Atari Pro Duo controllers. No matter how well-implemented the control schemes are, these games were built with a joystick and buttons in mind. At the end of the day, that's the only true way to enjoy them for all they're worth. Still, Midway Arcade is a solid collection given the price.

I’m really not impressed. “Great,” this game is not.

Dead Trigger feels much more House of Dead than it does Left4Dead. A generic zombie shooter that may as well be on rails, if perhaps the most gorgeous one I've ever seen on a mobile device.

Despite the game's numerous qualms, it is presented very well, and has a wonderfully simplistic and cartoonish art style to it.

Take My Machete won't win any awards, but it's a decent hack 'n' slash romp that costs zero cents, and therefore is worth checking out whatever the case.

Legacy Quest would have greatly benefited from a unique mechanic that could have been used to set itself apart from other generic dungeon crawlers, but instead, its one trick is just a fancy way of giving the player another opportunity to spend money on the game. Combine that with the clunky menus and all-too familiar gameplay, and dungeon crawling gamers have no shortage of better options on mobile.

Needless to say, Fruit Blast Mania is not necessarily a bad game: rather, it just finds a lot of ways to make you not really enjoy playing it. The game looks great, and it plays great too, but when it costs more to get to the end of the game than it would to buy an entire shopping cart full of real fruit down at the grocery store, then it might be best to leave this one next to the Brussels sprouts and find something tastier to eat instead.

Even all the cookies and 3D fruit in the world couldn’t satisfy my appetite of just wanting something more from this one.

If you are one that likes history and learning, Road Trippin' is worth looking at. If not, you'll probably be quite bored.

A ho-hum platformer with a brilliant photo-based level creation tool.

Big robots beating the mess out of big monsters... if there isn't much more to the movie than that, and you don't mind much more to Pacific Rim the game, either, then this might be for you. But if you want something that you can put a little more of yourself into, then you might want to just keep on looking.

Essentially, the source material for Zombies!!! was simply never good enough to deliver a truly compelling mobile experience.

In truth, it’s clear the developers of Fates Forever were trying to build something very much akin to Blizzard’s casual hit – boiling down push-and-pull of MOBA into something quick, simple, and great to look at (the game looks great, by the way, though the human/animal character design is uninspiring). They just happened to reveal the limitations of doing so in the process.

The idea behind Combo Quest is a good one, and it was actually pretty fun and engaging to tap my way through enemy after enemy. But when I’m forced to repeat the same ten levels (I think level 13 was my best run) ad nauseam just because that’s how the game is… it’s hard not to lose interest.

Happy Flock is crazy cute, and its concept is sound. Youngsters might find it hard to play, though, and parents are definitely going to want to turn off in-app purchases before handing this title to their lambs.

Echo Generation: Midnight Edition is worth a pop for those who love retro science fiction and want something new out of the genre.

Hopefully Chillingo will address these problems in a future update, because at its heart, E.T.: The Green Planet is a game that's as kindly and warm as the little guy himself.

It’s still fun to peck at for a couple of hours – I think all match-three games carry an inborn appeal, kind of like a race bonus in a Dungeons & Dragons game – but there are better picks in the genre, including the original Puzzle & Dragons.

FairyCubes is certainly a fun puzzle game, even if it might struggle to retain some players' interest. The rejection of 2-D is an underused, refreshing approach to the genre, however.

I also had some issues with the controls. There were points when I found myself frustrated with my block laying fairy -- moments where I felt the poor blind hero took damage not because I reacted too slowly, but because the controls were a little sloppy. But I won't go as far to say they were so sloppy as to ruin the experience. Blind Man's Dungeon isn't bad, and, whatever the case, with a zero dollar price tag, there is no reason not to download it and judge for yourself. It's certainly pretty.

BeatNiks has a solid foundation, and it definitely has its own sound (figuratively and literally). It’s currently a bit slow and spare, but that may change over the coming months. Let’s hope so; this game exudes a pretty cool beat.

A game so focused on sending the player backward, that it never thought about whether it was propelling its genre forward in any meaningful way.

What's really a shame is that Kingdoms & Lords would be an easy recommendation if it was a complete game with a $4.99 price tag. The genre mash-up makes for a playful and memorable game. If you have the patience to endure long waits and panhandling for diamonds, go ahead and pick this one up. Otherwise, leave it in the Dark Ages.

Oh! Sheep is a good little game, but it's not as good as it should be on the iPhone, and playing it on a small screen is not really recommended. While we haven't tried it ourselves, it seems that playing on an iPad is likely to produce the experience desired by developers and players alike.

Modern gamers ultimately won’t get much from these games due to the difficulty, and hardcore Turrican fans will be disappointed with what is a solid but notably incomplete collection.

Northmark is not a terrible game, but it's not a great one either. For every tactically thrilling fight or interesting side quest, there's a dull slog-fest and excruciating piece of dialogue to put up with first. The developer has the technical aspects down fine, but could have improved the experience greatly by hiring a professional writer and spending a bit more time varying and balancing the card effects.

Overall, Beauty and the Beast Perfect Match is a passable game. It gets the job done, even if not particularly well. It may not be the best puzzle game on the market, but it’s far from the worst. If you’re looking to kill time while enjoying some of your favourite characters and doing a little interior design along the way, it’ll be right up your alley. For everyone else, it’s probably one you can skip without feeling like you’ve missed out.

Asphalt: Street Storm doesn’t really do anything different, but it still gets everything just about right. It’s fun when it works, and it’s not so much fun after a while. But there’s enough going on here that if you enjoy driving cars really quickly in straight lines then you’re probably going to lap it up.

Manages to offer up a fairly unique and fast-paced matching puzzler that, while fun, probably won't hold your attention for long.

Because Angry Birds Fight! is free to play, it’s worth the download for a match-3 or Angry Birds fan. But if you’re looking for a truly addictive PvP battle, don’t put all your eggs in this basket.

Moreover, gamers with the patience to get through harmony's many same-feeling levels will be rewarded with some truly brain-teasing arrangements. Unfortunately, many gamers might not have the time – or the tenacity.

Artificial Superintelligence could have been much better than it is, and who knows, maybe with a few tweaks down the line it’ll be worth a second look. As it stands it’s a very cautious recommendation. There’s definitely enjoyment to be sucked out of the game, but just be prepared for that enjoyment to be tempered with annoyance.

All of these features, good and bad, are built on the just-plain-fun idea of multiplayer car-smashing mayhem that Crash Club sometimes gets right—and other times drives right by.

Submerged is ambitious and impressive. It builds its world brilliantly, and despite the problems it has you’re still going to want to dive into its damp universe and find out what’s going on. But with a little more pruning here and there, it could have been one of the most important iOS releases of recent years. As it is, it’s an interesting curio. A sort of soggy glimpsed at what could have been. And not a cyclopean Dennis Hopper anywhere to be seen.

Kids will love just how cute Hank is (because he really is), but don’t be surprised if even their attention wanes after a time. To get the most out of My Talking Hank, you’re going to have to play the long game of checking in so often that it’s going to feel like a second job. That’s not so appealing in the long run.

More important than whether the game continues life as a paid app or is free, the prospect of an update means that there’s hope some of the glitches currently holding the game back can be worked out.

This is a palate cleanser of a game, and if treated as such, not such a bad one at that.

You get to meet all these quirky characters, you finally have levels where there is more to do then swallow everything, but then the game just ends. I like everything about this game, it’s just too short to recommend.

As noted, with some degree of dismay, Bravoman: Binja Bash! is free-to-play, so if you're a fan of Bravoman, there's really no good reason not to at least check it out. But as fans of Bravoman ourselves, we warn you to temper your expectations on this one.

Lost Treasures of Infocom can't quite decide which audience it's going for: existing interactive fiction fans or new players. It tries a few ease-of-use tricks to help attract interactive fiction newbies, but it also includes legacy things like scans of feelies, something that might confuse anyone who didn't grow up with packaged versions of the games.

The nonogram puzzle system isn't for everyone, and with a lack of extra features or in-game help, it's unlikely that this will satisfy the curiosity of the beginner before they simply quit from frustration.

That's not to say that Last Inua is incomplete, just unfulfilled: The story is engaging and the presentation outstanding, but the game itself is repetitive and uninspired - a great, stormy mass of potential that just isn't quite met.

So well camouflaged, in fact, that the free game is a good way to spend an hour or two until F2P fatigue sets in, and by that stage you’ll know whether or not Blood Brothers 2 is a game you want to drop real money on.

This could have been a game that was ideal for a more tricky strategic word gaming experience. Instead, it’s one you’ll save for when friends are visiting but nothing more than that.

Overall, Stunt Star: The Hollywood Years isn't bad, but it can get a little bit tedious as you constantly try to get things just right for an ungrateful director who you'll want to curbstomp more than Michael Bay by the time you're through playing. Nailing the perfect landing may be a little more satisfying than toppling the pigs' fort in Angry Birds, but getting there can wind up a bit more tedious.

Once you walk through the game's short length, you'll almost definitely be craving more adventures in Pantslvania while walking in the skin of the underwearwolf.

For those who are just looking to kill time and don’t face Facebook integration issues, Family Feud Live! might be a good enough distraction to stick around for a couple weeks. However, it’s unlikely that this is going to be enough for the game to make its targets. Again, while there are worse casual games out there, Family Feud Live! just doesn’t live up to its potential.

Unless you fancy yourself a diehard fan of its predecessor, Zaxxon Escape is not a particularly offensive game.

It runs smoothly, has great touchscreen controls, and weapons feel suitably different from each other. We just honestly don’t see why you would bother to play this over the far superior Call of Duty Mobile.

Epic isn’t the worst movie/game tie-in by far, but neither is it particularly memorable. Kids will probably download it upon exiting the theatre, enjoy it for a bit, and then abandon their village to weeds and ivy.

Like any drinking game, Max Gentlemen is good for a few rounds but should be shelved before it comes to fisticuffs.

But in the mobile space (no matter the platform) we need to be able to save and quit in a heartbeat. Maybe we're grabbing a fast turn while waiting in line for coffee, or staving off a few minutes of boredom on our lunch breaks. We game on a micro-level on these devices, and the games need to understand and respect that. It's unforgivable to expect us to have the time or where-with-all to find the stupid save point just so we can hit "home" and get on with our lives.

If you enjoyed Guardian Cross or really have a thing for zombies, there’s a good chance you’ll really like Deadman’s Cross. Otherwise it probably won’t hold your interest for very long.

There’s fun to be had in NFL Clash, and the collecting aspect of the game is definitely going to appeal to some. But the underlying gameplay lacks any real spark, and after a while you’re going to lose interest in its simplistic interpretation of football.

What's presented here is a great start, but ultimately, Danger Alliance: Battles ends up feeling like a woefully incomplete package.

An unfortunately mixed bag. It looks and sounds great, but the writing seems haphazard, the gameplay feels clunky at best (and buggy at worst) and its online reliability is sporadic.

The paywalls and in-app purchase ads can be rather off-putting, but they don’t ruin the fun of Motocross Meltdown because there really isn’t all that much fun to be had in the first place.

It’s just a shame (to a rather significant degree) that so much of what’s meant to keep players playing is implemented so poorly.

Really, it feels a lot like Haypi Kingdom with a new skin. That means it's still surprisingly addictive and layered with depth, but it also means that it feels almost entirely unoriginal.

The central issue with Punch a Hole is that it's far too easy for far too long, and when the difficulty does ramp up it's entirely too inconsistent.

My Majesty always feels a little lightweight. While the decisions might feel hefty, the results never feel worse than a matter of ‘oh well, hit the reset button’. You can meet up with historical characters along the way, which is a neat way of encouraging you to play more. It gives you a small sense of achievement, but My Majesty doesn’t quite have that ‘just one more go’ factor that Reigns does. It’s all fine enough, but not overly enticing. Enjoy it while it lasts, then don’t be surprised if you find your interest inevitably waning.

Kids will love it, especially if they haven't played a Diner Dash game yet. It's just unfortunate that Nickelodeon didn't expend a little more energy on making the game a true delight for the show's older audience. And I assure you – that audience totally exists.