Ultimately, Grimm just doesn't deliver the quality in terms of gameplay that its visual style promises, making it just as odd a package as its premise might suggest, albeit for entirely different reasons.

Heroes of Camelot is a well put together and inoffensive collectible card game with some beautiful illustrations and not much else. It’s certainly fine for genre fans looking for a new fix or newcomers that are curious to know what all the fuss is about, but it doesn’t stay entertaining for very long.

Santa's Village has some plusses, but its core play is something that has been done to death time and time again. It is nice to build a village in a new artistic style (made even better by the 3D), but the expiration of toys when players don't return in time is a significant negative.

As a highly competent two-stick shooter, there is no reason not to recommend it. If you have fun with it for an hour and never play it again, it will have been worth your money. Chances are you will have fun with it for at least that long. But will you be playing Darkside two weeks from now? I doubt it.

It's a short-lived experience, with little dimension to the gameplay. There's nothing inherently wrong with it, though. If you're into simple arcade diversions and like pushing for achievements, then do consider taking a crack at it. If you're looking for something a little more filling than brunch, let Eggs in Space fly past.

Traffic Rider is an exciting racing game that while the adrenaline rushes to be had early on fade over time, the game still offers plenty of things for players to work towards, without limiting their ability to obtain those items in any obstinate way.

While not the grand adventure we were hoping for, Letter Tale is still an enjoyable excursion into a beautiful world we’d like to see more of. More levels, more challenges, and more interactions could all improve what feels like a polished prologue at this point, only the first stop on the postal route.

Some mobile games just feel like they could have used more time to work out all the kinks before going live, and maybe that's the case here. SoulCraft looks the part of a winner, but it's going to take some updates for it to truly live up to the potential inherent in its name.

A decent game. Unfortunately, that feels like a colossal letdown after things start off, if only because the production values imply that it's going to be so very much more. It looks and sounds amazing, so it's a shame that it doesn't play amazing, too.

If you've got a short attention span, or you're down to the last gig of memory on your iPad, Kingdom Conquest II might come in handy with its multiple styles of play under one umbrella. Otherwise, you're better off just downloading the top single genre games and going with them.

There’s a lot to like about Block Legend, but none of it goes deeper than the surface. It may not summon the frustrating slowness of latter Puzzle Quest games, but neither does it capture the satisfaction of the first entry or the constant build-up of 10000000 – the games to which it owes so much.

In the end, Kill Shot does little to differentiate itself from a pack of similar titles that also require you to perform the same kills, over and over.

Iron Blade certainly looks good, and sometimes it plays brilliantly. But it slips into old mobile habits to quickly, and rather than embracing the violence that lies at its core, it turns it into a bit of a drudge.

In addition to story mode, Mahjongg Dimensions Unblocked features two quickplay options: timed and puzzle. The former allots you 60 seconds to solve as many mahjongg puzzles as you can. If you thought the main game was fast paced, wait 'til you give this a try.

Rabbids Big Bang is fun in small doses. Seemingly designed for micro-game sessions, it offers extremely short (a minute or less) activities for gamers with either very little leisure time or extremely short attention spans.

So no, this isn’t Rocky IV, which as everyone knows is the best Rocky film. But it’s not Rocky V either, which everyone knows is the worst. It’s sort of somewhere between Rocky II and III. So like… Rocky II.V. There’s fun to be had here, just don’t expect it to be the sort of fun that you’re going to come back to time and time again.

Peakour is definitely is not going to win any style points for originality. It is, however, a very functional puzzler with a good amount of content and a style of play that lends itself well to pick-up-and-play.

Aside from the small frustrations -- like the inability to rotate objects and the sparse social features -- Funpark Friends' main crime is a lack of imagination.

Ayakashi: Ghost Guild is not a bad game, but interested parties might be better off thinking of it as an interactive novel instead of a card game. As the former, it offers a decent paranormal story with some great artwork. As the latter, it's a basic, hands-off experience with lackluster presentation.

There’s nothing wrong with Realm Grinder, really. It’s a decent enough clicker/idler that looks nice and is easy to jump in and out of. It’s just that you could play most any other clicker/idler and you’d get the same amount of enjoyment out of it. If you’ve never played a game like this before, if you’ve been waiting for one that’s medieval fantasy kingdom building themed, or even if you’re just bored and curious, it’s not a terrible way to kill a bit of time.

Naughty Kitties is endearing at first, but difficult to love once you’ve seen all its tricks. Like many free-to-play endless runners, its failures are repetition and an unfriendly economy. Its tower defense features, adorable kitties, and playful attitude make it worth checking out, but these cats won’t find a forever home on your device.

Little touches like bomb pegs, fire and ice pegs, and pegs that multiply the number of babies all helped to keep Kickin Momma fun – but with a general lack of challenge and originality, there simply wasn't anything here to blow us away. Fans of Peggle will no doubt enjoy what Kickin Momma has to offer, but at the same time, it doesn't offer anything we haven't seen before.

In my opinion, the original BioShock is a nearly flawless experience. It’s lacking only in a few gameplay elements that were later introduced in BioShock 2, such as dual-wielding. But in being translated to iOS and touchscreens, it loses a lot more. I

The biggest complaint I can level against Space Frontier is more about what it's not rather than what it is. It would have been much more enjoyable if I was playing "Space City", where I was building up and eventually managing a thriving space metropolis. However, for what Space Frontier is; a quest-based game with some elements of city-building, it is not a half bad way to spend a couple of hours.

Tiny Places is a fine, if unoriginal take on a fairly well-worn mobile genre. There's a nice visual polish to the package, but ultimately, this feels like ground we've tread countless times before.

If you find yourself craving a retro 2D side scroller, Random Heroes is definitely worth a try. However, unless you absolutely need another game in your mobile collection, there's little reason to buy it on your device instead of playing it for free online.

It's decent fun for the most part, but not as much fun as it could have been.

If you've avoided CCGs because you've been holding out for one that satisfies your deep and abiding love of all things Joe, then G.I. Joe: Battleground is definitely the game for you; but if not, you can do better elsewhere.

You could do worse than NFL Pro 2013, and if it had the field all to itself the way Madden does in the console market, it would probably be downloaded by just about every football fan with a mobile device. But since it does have competition, gamers are going to want to shop around before deciding if this is the way they want to get their daily dose of pigskin.

I don’t hate Aralon: Forge and Flame. I don’t even dislike it, really. But it has a lot of little problems that add up to something I’m not all that interested in playing again. I’d much rather get my RPG fix from something more polished, even if that means it takes place in a smaller world.

It does have the typical repetitiveness of free games, and the app feels like it actually punishes players for not making purchases. It also doesn't help that the number of tracks are unacceptably limited. All things considered, Rogue Racing feels about average at best.

For those that can look past the in-app purchases and enjoy the gameplay for what it is, WarFriends will be a welcome addition to their home screen. For everyone else, the journey into WarFriends will likely be both frustrating and short-lived. But whether you ultimately find yourself loving or hating WarFriends, it’s worth a try, because we have a feeling that this is a game people will be talking about for quite a while.

Skylanders Battlegrounds isn't a terrible experience by any stretch, but it's pretty far from what most adult players will hope for. And with the unforgiving controls, younger players may find little more than frustration waiting for them.

If you’re into time-management games, it’ll certainly keep your attention for a little while, especially when the challenge ramps up and you’re expected to get more done at a faster pace. If you adore time-management games, become a patron of Snack Mania – At the Theaters. But if time-management games give you awful flashbacks of your years in customer service and make you want to cry, skip it.

Unkilled is a nice looking zombie shooter with a solid control scheme that is held back by stale monetization methods.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s fun to be had here, but it’s fun that you’ve probably already had somewhere else. If the swords and sorcery stylings of Clash Royale put you off then you’re probably going to get along with Blitz Brigade: Rival Tactics a lot better. It’s got guns, lots of guns.

Ultimately, Bread Kittens suffers from a lack of depth. What's here is certainly enjoyable for a spell, and the presentation (both in terms of audio and visuals) is great, but there isn't quite enough to help the game stand out from the current influx of Pokemon clones.

I applaud Gameloft for continuing to tinker with this series so it doesn’t get too stale, but the combination of less characters classes, little control over your gear and an uninspiring PvP element combine to knock Dungeon Hunter 5 down a peg.

It’s quite possible I’m overthinking this, since this is a really simple game that makes it easy for anyone to enjoy some quick football. That doesn’t change the fact that this feels more like an update than a standalone sequel, and not even Brees’ winning grin can change that.

Fantasy Safari certainly delivers on its title, letting you build a safari full of all sorts of fantasy creatures. Unfortunately the game isn't quite as fantastic. Aside from its unique creatures, Fantasy Safari is a terribly standard social zoo tycoon game that offers little new or especially interesting. The creatures are fun, but they don't elevate Fantasy Safari out the realm of simply being an average game.

At the end of the day, the basic idea for Alpha 9 is still incredibly sound.

If, like the developers seem to have done, you ignore the more complex facets of the game, there’s still a lot of Civilization-like fun to have. It’s just a lesser experience than even the first Revolution was.

But despite Timenauts being colorful, character-rich, and at times funny, it’s bland as far as gameplay.

No doubt Dub Dash is meant to appeal to a very specific niche of rhythm fans who adore insane challenges. Granted, those people should have some measure of fun, as Dub Dash looks great and sounds amazing. Just don’t count on enjoying yourself at this club if you don’t have lightning reflexes.

The lack of action will probably put off its fair share of players, but I still think Please, Don’t Touch Anything is a riddle worth exploring. If for no other reason than to see how many in-jokes have been crammed into its more obscure puzzles.

The best way to describe Evil Dead is "almost, but not quite." It's cute and cheeky and so over-the-top that it's got a lot of charm going for it. Unfortunately, the gameplay needs to be tweaked a bit before it'll be really good. Still, it's entertaining in a mindless sort of way, and as a fan of the series, you could do definitely do worse.

Cute animals don't make for a fun game, and DinerTown Zoo is just far too basic to be all that enjoyable.

Conarium isn’t a bad effort at adapting one of Lovecraft’s stories, but simply isn’t dark enough to match up to its inspirations – it too often ends up feeling like The Room, but with inferior puzzles.

But it's frustrating to know that this management game loses its sheen once you reach a point where you feel like you should either spend money or delete the app.

Mob 2 is a technically sound game that has nothing terribly wrong with it. It's cleanly presented and its design isn't terribly offensive. Nevertheless, it's based around a dated concept, and doesn't offer anything new. It's an app whose fun factor is strictly dependent on whether or not player enjoys this type of RPG.

It’s got all the trappings, but scrape them away and you’re doing the same thing you’ve done in countless other mobile RPGs. There’s more meat on these bones, for sure, but Tales of the Rays isn’t the fulfilling meal you might have hoped it was going to be.

As a standalone experience, The Frostrune is lacking. But as the gateway to another world, it shines like ice in the morning sun.

Zombie Wonderland 2: Outta Time! is surprisingly fun, but it's still got some stuff that needs to be addressed by the QA team over at Chilingo. Still, it's been a while since we had a truly good zombie game released for iOS devices, and this is a title that - with a little work - could easily meet this goal.

While more games than not in Flick Champions are kind of a bummer, I found enough enjoyment in the Soccer and Ice Hockey/Tennis games to make me keep coming back for more.

I have mixed feelings about Mystery Manor Blitz. On one hand, the game brings some nice ideas to the hidden object table, and it's a great choice to play if you only have ten or fifteen minutes of game time to spare. But on the other hand, the game badgers you with way too many social profile requests, and deciphering their advertisements from actual in-game menus could be a hidden object level in of itself.

Tree World has some strong roots, but it's going to need a little more foliage if it wants to live up to its potential. This is definitely one to try, but let's hope some future updates flesh things out a little more.

Regardless, if you've found yourself infected the concept of taking over the entire world in a matter of days, then Pandemic 2.5 is the best way to pursue global destruction on the fly.

Gears POP! is a mixed bag. We appreciate the attempt to change up the Clash Royale formula, but we won’t personally make the transition. Gears POP! is a busier, less balanced, and uglier game with an unsatisfying cover system that doesn’t do enough to change up the formula.

If you’re looking for a new tower defense experience that doesn’t color too far outside the lines, Bad Dinos would be a good choice.

Wheel of Fortune: Cubed is a bit of a strange take on the Wheel of Fortune franchise, but it does manage to create a playable atmosphere with some honestly challenging puzzles to solve. The controls tend towards the awkward side, but most of the time you'll be too busy wondering what a tree-hugging bear is and how you can spell that in five blank spaces.

Card Dungeon has the same aesthetics, but nowhere near the same depth and humor, and unless you just really like the idea of a roguelike in the shape of a tabletop game, it’s quite possible you’re going to be disappointed.

Introductory jostles aside, holding Repulze to the exact standards of WipEout or its ilk would be missing the point of its snack-sized packaging. Ultimately, games like this should serve as complements to their genre forerunners.

Tap Paradise Cove is a decent city-building social game, and it has its moments of reward. Unfortunately, it seems to hold back unless you're willing to offer up handfuls of cash. Given the availability of similar games that aren't nearly as pushy about microtransactions, you may as well chalk this one up as another broken tropical dream.

If you’re the sort of person that absolutely adores MMORPGs and are constantly on the lookout for something that scratches that old classic PC itch, Ragnarok M has something to offer – particularly if you played it back in the day. We’d question its longevity though, in a market that’s poised to get RuneScape and Warhammer: Odyssey in a matter of months. Even now, we’d still argue that you’re better off playing Old School RuneScape or Villagers and Heroes. Both offer a far better version of the classic MMORPG than this does, with a more engaging world and quests to complete.

Sacred Legends is big and bright, and there’s an awful lot to do here, but it completely fails to capture the attention in any meaningful way. It’s like Christmas lights — fun to look at to begin with, but eventually just another shiny thing indiscernible in a sea of brightness.

Gnomium is not a bad word game if you’re willing to sit down and spend time with it. In fact, word game veterans may get some satisfaction out of doing exactly that.

Dungeon Plunder is a reasonable introduction to the Roguelike genre as a whole, but there are better examples available for only a little bit more complexity.

Bad Air Day is a fun little game, but there's just doesn't offer enough of a challenge to keep you coming back for more.

Best Fiends’ gameplay isn’t entirely original, but it’s polished and engaging enough that we want to play it. Until the energy meter is revisited, however, there’s little reason to waste your time here.

Ends up feeling average in every respect.

While we’ve nothing against the genre, it’s undeniably sad to see Katamari downgraded into a free-to-play clicker game. Maybe it’d be a little easier to take if Tap My Katamari was meant to accompany a full-blown Katamari title. That doesn’t seem to be the case, alas.

I hate how much it feels like the dice are intended to roll against me, because otherwise Bottom of the 9th is a solid example of digital board game conversion. I want to say it’s well worth checking out if your a fan of the regular game, or even if you’ve never played it before, but it feels too much like the random number generator that is the dice rolls just isn’t up to snuff. Even then I’d probably recommend it if the frustration of near constant (and seemingly purposeful) failures didn’t undercut most of the fun.

It’s bright, fun, and cartoony but at best it’s a quick and dirty beat-’em-up that still wants you to gravitate toward ads and spotty controls.

If you’re super-enthusiastic about virtual aquariums, Pocket Fishdom is a decent catch. Those tanks aren’t going to clean themselves, after all.

A moderately fun puzzle game, though it can get fiendishly difficult, a factor not helped by the controls. But between that and the padding sensation, we aren't left with any overwhelming eagerness to replay it.

If you enjoy the number crunching and min/max aspects of dungeon crawlers, this game is for you. Or if you ever played Diablo and thought that you’d enjoy it a lot more if it only you didn’t have to be bothered to actually push any buttons, this is probably exactly the experience you seek. Everyone else is going to wonder why there isn’t more game in the gameplay, and no amount of cute story or eye-catching graphics will be enough to make this any more interesting.

Those touches aren’t enough to save Battle Supremacy from a general feeling of mediocrity. Every positive has a negative to balance it out, and one gets the sense that it’s going to succeed or fail based on future updates.

If you can sync with the game’s slower and more deliberate pacing it can be a fairly enjoyable test, and there are some great boss showdowns to help break things up. It’s a shame there are these issues – as there’s clearly been effort made to make Frogun look and sound like a platformer from the 90s – but the clunky feel will just end up putting most players off.

Star Wars: Galactic Defense borrows liberally from Kingdom Rush and doesn’t bring anything new to the table, but I’m not one to complain about Star Wars-themed anything, so it works for me.

A lot of love went into Venture Kid. The effort is obvious with the game’s graphics and sound, but as far as gameplay’s concerned, it still needs a few lessons from the Boy in Blue.

If you’re a fan of the series, you’re going to enjoy everything that Epic Little War Game has to offer, but there’s not really enough going on here to entice new players. And the pace and size of the multiplayer means that older players might not stick around as long as they should. This probably isn’t the epic strategy game that mobile players have been waiting for. It’s good, but it’s not quite great. It’s worth trying out, but don’t set your expectations too high because you might be disappointed.

If you’re a fan of first person shooter history Chasm: The Rift is worth checking out when it’s on sale – otherwise you may struggle to overlook many of its creakier elements.

Despite being too eager with IAPs, Hidden Objects: Mystery Crimes pulls itself together and manages to be an entertaining experience.

It simply calls for a level of precision that you're not easily afforded on the device, thus turning a potentially fun and challenging game into an overly-frustrating affair.

Heroes & Havoc deserves credit for trying to be something other than yet another mobile CCG. It’s a perfectly competent game that’s good for wasting a few minutes here and there. It’s just not as compelling as it could have been.

Paul Pixel – The Awakening just doesn’t do it for me. Maybe I’ve been spoiled by so many other classic adventure games. Maybe I’m being subconsciously biased because Samorost 3 came out recently and it’s freaking fantastic. Or maybe I’m just not the target audience, and it’s actually meant for point-and-click newbies. I dunno. I don’t think Paul Pixel is necessarily a bad game, but it’s rough in some pretty unfortunate places.

As a social game on a mobile platform, Explorers of the Lost World plays great, and it looks even better.

There’s nothing bad about Tribal Quest, but it gets lost in a sea of similar and better endless runners.

If you just want to play a few songs for nostalgia's sake, or get really, really good at tapping to "One-Winged Angel," this should be a suitable download. But if you'd like a fleshed-out game that feels like a true tribute to the fans, you won't find it on iOS yet.

Marvel Mighty Heroes is a decent top-down action game that is jammed with Marvel heroes, but its held back by its repetition, ease of play, and IAP structure.

At this stage in mobile gaming, "freemium" has become a derogatory term, and for good reason. Though a scarce few publishers have managed to construct a model that can pay the bills and still be fun for players, most other game makers settle for digital sweat shops that yield precious little entertainment for their customers. Offworld is the grand prize hidden behind the glass that players are never meant to win. The goal here is to get players to sink their time and money into the game without ever truly reaping any rewards.

Gibbon: Beyond the Trees is a game with a worthwhile message and well thought out mechanics – but we sadly can’t fully recommend this Switch port until the performance issues are ironed out.

Ultimately if you’re after a new point and click adventure on the Switch you could do worse than Inspector Waffles – it’s well presented and has some great moments – but it still falls short of the best the genre has to offer on the system.

A mixed goodie bag. A largely adorable game with lots to love about the zany world it offers you, which makes some unfortunate missteps in the way it values your time and money - or perhaps, doesn't.

You go back to it again and again because levels are passable – you just wind up trying again and again until the candy gods take pity on you and finally issue a board that gives you a fair chance at succeeding.

In any case there’s ultimately just enough here for us to recommend Papa’s Quiz as a budget priced trivia-focused multiplayer experience. Just don’t expect to be playing it all night.

A admirable attempt at opening up the world of FPS level creation to a wider audience, Gunscape is perhaps a little too grungy for complete newbies to the genre – and those more experienced at shooters might be better off simply learning how to use the likes of TrenchBroom.

Although the 90 levels currently available will take most players a decent amount of time to complete (and recomplete for higher scores), developer Not Doppler has stated even more stages are on the way. Hopefully the new levels will focus on the best parts of Bunny Cannon: creating combos of bunny multipliers, overflowing baskets with bunnies, and watching them bounce like crazy without flying off the stage.