Beastie Bay isn't as multi-layered as the games it is based on, plus its battle system is lacking, but the great simulation features may still keep you coming back for more.

Touch screen controls force Machine at War 3 to sacrifice some depth, but it largely makes up for it with a robust selection of gameplay modes and units.

Order & Chaos Duels can quickly become very pricey the more you play, which is a shame since it offers a rich combat system and lots of charm.

Battle Supremacy’s slow, purposeful shooting isn’t thrill-a-minute stuff, but sustained online firefights are satisfyingly tense.

Haunted Hollow is an uncomplicated, charming, and fun strategy game that's particularly potent with pals.

Echo Prime offers plenty of energetic stages full of foes to blast and slice up, but its repetitive nature weighs down some of the more interesting elements.

Progression can be a pain and the controls need refinement, but Super Paper Pool still makes an intriguing puzzler out of pool and putt-putt.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Rooftop Run is a fun, competent endless runner with nice visuals, although we're not fans of its steep in-app purchases.

Great visuals and a tactile control scheme combine with the Formula One license to produce a stellar top-down iOS racer. F1 Challenge comes with bells and whistles, but its fundamentals prove top-notch.

Best (and most cheaply) experienced in small bursts, Solitaire Blitz offers an engaging high-score chase disguised as a classic game of cards.

Temple Run: Oz puts a slick Disney spin on the top 3D endless runner, but isn't quite as captivating or fully-featured as the free and still very recent Temple Run 2.

Mittens is a cute and cuddly time-killer that hearkens back to classic cartoon sensibilities, but its puzzles are a bit more linear than in Disney’s finest.

Dropchord dazzles with its presentation, but doesn't make a lasting impact with its interactivity.

Scaled down in some respects and expanded in others, Real Racing 3 might irk some old fans, but it's a remarkably giving free-to-play affair.

Sporos is a pure puzzle game in the classical sense, with a simple rule set that quickly iterates and expands. It may not dazzle, and it’s easy to fall into a trial-and-error grind – but if you want a cerebral challenge, it’s as difficult as the limitations you place on yourself.

Alien Hive is a unique puzzle game, but the originality crumbles a bit under the weight of limited resources and a pointless enemy tile.

Strike Force Heroes: Extraction almost nails its attempt to bring the classic shooter genre to iOS, but a few mechanical rough spots keep it from being on par with its inspirations.

Baldur's Gate II is a great slice of RPG gaming history, though it’s geared towards serious fans of old-school role-playing — and the tricky touch interface, punishing difficulty, and unintuitive design elements tend to get in the way of fun at times.

Block Fortress: War’s unique blend of real-time strategy with tower defense and base building gains ground early, but gets bogged down in the trenches before long.

Tiny Death Star's slow but satisfying consumer-centric twist on battlestation management lacks the excitement of the films it draws from, but makes up for it raw cuteness and loads of thoughtful fan service.

Rigid in spots and light on impact, Tengami still feels like the ideal kind of App Store curio: it’s short, sweet, intimate, and handcrafted, with dreamy environs and meditative, low-key puzzles.

Dead Effect is an uninspired first-person shooter that does nothing original, proving most memorable for its hilariously awful dialogue.

Defying expectations, Deus Ex: The Fall is a slick-looking, enjoyable offshoot — and while it doesn't feature quite the same level of depth or versatility as other games in the series, it's still a staggering achievement for iOS.

Sonic the Hedgehog seems like a perfect fit for an endless runner, but Sonic Dash fumbles the fundamentals and aggravates with heavy-handed in-app purchases.

The Collectables shapes up well early on, but its straightforward-yet-fun shooting and strategy elements are well and truly hamstrung by a freemium-spoiled design with a stingy reward system.

Even with its odd mix of casual fighting and (eventual) hardcore-only challenge, Injustice’s solid action will please the crime-fighting crowd.

Star Wars: Assault Team is an engaging, strategy-minded card battler quest that's a blast for series fans. However, its steep challenge might push you to spend more than you originally intended to once you get sucked in.

Gun Bros 2 is a serviceable twin-stick shooter hampered by a miserable free-to-play model that punishes the player for not paying.