Front Mission may not pack a full house of tactical depth, but that doesn't prevent it from dealing an easy and enjoyable introduction to the genre.

Temple of Spikes is one of the cruelest games I've played, and if you're into that sort of thing you're going to love it.

A neat enough recreation of cricket, and it's free so you may as well have a crack.

The Walking Dead: A New Frontier brings back the 'family values' feel desperately missing since Season One, but still fails to avoid Telltale's typical quirks and downfalls.

While combat needs fine-tuning, the exploration and platform side of Shadow Guardian make it an enjoyable play.

Unassuming apart from its scale, Pinball HD nevertheless shows that pinball is enjoyable on iPad.

Robokill is an engrossing hybrid RPG-shooter that calls to mind classics of both genres, but it never reaches the same heights of either.

Whilst its insanely steep difficultly level will alienate many, there's enough bullet-dodging action and excellent retro polish to ensure the hardcore will be satisfied.

Smashing through Forged to Fight is a laugh, but it's not much more than that.

Super 4 is a generic-looking puzzler that conceals a wealth of depth and playability beneath its uninspiring facade.

X marks the spot for this portable treasure that loses a little lustre with long loading times, but shines with great levels and plenty of replay value.

Relaxing, pretty, colourful and satisfying. Zen Bound 2 ticks all the necessary boxes as a puzzle game with motion controls, though you might actually want to wait for a sale on this one.

Fun, stylish and unique, Surveillant overcomes its relative brevity and sticky controls to stick out as one of the freshest iPhone experiences around.

A fantastic game that's well deserving of a port, aside from the controls sometimes betraying you. The only concern is that you lose some of the atmosphere on the smaller screen; For those who play mobile first, however, there's almost no reason to not dive in.

A kickabout in the park rather than a Wembley final, but a kickabout with compulsion loops designed to keep you playing until long after you've been called home for tea.

Yono is a simple, cute puzzler which excels in its puzzle design but lacks in story and combat, and that's a shame.

A surprisingly brilliant game of throwing axes into people's heads. It's polished, it's packed with action, and although it's not the weightiest game in the world, it's still well worth picking up.

An old-school platformer in the truest sense, Bloo Kid 2 may be thoroughly generic, but it makes commendably few concessions to the attention span-deficient modern iOS gamer.

It might not be a challenge, but there's something eminently likeable about Globlins that manages to make it worthwhile.

As old skool as they come, League of Evil delivers an action-packed platformer perfect for quick thrills.

Pickpawket is a neat little puzzler with some big ideas, and while it won't set the world alight it's still well worth picking up.

Gamelion shows it can make a fast-paced pseudo racing game with SpeedX 3D, but a paucity of content and experimentation will leave hardcore gamers cold.

With Burn the Rope 3D, Big Blue Bubble may not quite add a whole new dimension to the original game, but it does successfully develop the formula with tighter controls and more interesting level design.

There's a great story and atmosphere here, and they push you through some of the game's problems all the way to the bitter end.

Absolutely not a video game in any shape or form – but something that's more immediately useful than Brain Training and its ilk.

Even Two-Face wouldn't leave this choice to chance - LEGO Batman delivers a now familiar adventure, but one that is packed with fun characters and provides much long-term enjoyment.

It may be simple and it may rely far too heavily on its lush 8-bit visuals, but Witch & Hero provides you with some simple, silly fun on your 3DS in short bursts.

A faithful replication of a mentally taxing strategy board game, Neuroshima Hex is limited by its small selection of gameplay modes but offers an engrossing and complex multiplayer experience.

Mixing quick thinking with fast fingers and a gothic setting, Helsing's Fire is a smart puzzler that's more about fun than challenge.

Strong writing and some fun scenarios save Back to the Future Ep1 HD from its control and performance issues.

A surprisingly faithful recreation of the tone of the Metal Slug franchise, transposed to a tower defence game. Shame about the unstable and unfair multiplayer.

Striking the balance between realism and drama means Fight Night Champion is enjoyable, even if it lacks great controls and online multiplayer.

Haste isn't a fresh game, but it's fast enough to sink its claws in pretty deep.

DEO doesn't stand out in the App Store because of its gameplay, but the dark atmosphere will draw you in.

A fun, if pricey, game that will appeal to fans of Vocaloid and rhythm games.

An enjoyable maze-based puzzler with a slightly annoying lead character. If you can put up with a lead that has the odd sulk, you should download it now.

While it can't hold a candle to Infinity Blade - the game it so badly wants to emulate - Blood & Glory: Legend is nevertheless a fine pretender to Chair's fantasy epic.

Only the hardcore need apply. Shinobi is tough as old boots, and if you have the patience to master its ways, you'll find a very satisfying platformer.

LostWinds is a wonderful treat, brimming with clever ideas and imaginative sights. It's just a massive shame that the controls took a big hit in the transition from Wii to iOS.

While it accurately recreates the mechanics of the boardgame, Talisman Prologue HD's lack of multiplayer options and stringent quest structure make it a little less enjoyable than it should be.

The freedom and range of item management creates huge scope for personalised gameplay and strategy, and while the dawdling pace won't suit many, those able to respect the game's qualities should find the experience very rewarding.

Hugely ambitious and quietly innovative - only a few rough edges stop this short of potential all-time classic status.

Big Boss is a shallow, but fun side-scrolling fighter with a hefty dollop of humour and charm.

Human Defense would be a pretty bland tower defence game were it not for the addition of deeper strategy elements that make the title much more challenging and fun to play.

A simple, colourful, and undeniably appealing action RPG that's lifted considerably by the sheer appeal of the source material.

Creative souls will have a blast with Freakyforms's tools, while those looking for a game may find it a bit too simplistic and repetitive.

Don't Shoot Yourself! is guaranteed to murder you again and again, but its unique design and high challenge level should thrill bullet-hell fans looking for an epic foe.

Sure to put a smile on your face, Life of Pixel is a simple and fun adventure that's only slightly tarnished by its short lifespan and tricky levels

A neat hacky slasher, it's pretty shallow, but there's a decent amount of fun to be sucked from its marrow.

A great-looking sci-fi shooter that sacrifices depth in order to play out a particularly cinematic brand of space battle.

A typical match-three puzzler that echoes the format and successes of its predecessors.

Loads of fun for about an hour, after which the batteries and enjoyment from this robot run a little dry.

Not quite as simple as it should be, Bird Strike is nonetheless a fun-filled arcade game packed with style.

War Pinball looks and sounds fantastic, but there's still room for improvement when it comes to table design.

A fast, clinical arcade shooter that’s perhaps a bit too simple for its own good. Still worth a blast though.

A lovely little downloadable for the creative types in younger age brackets, this solidly constructed application yields a surprising level of flexibility considering its cheap and cheerful design.

All in all, Sword of Convallaria is a pretty decent game. At least to the fans of the genre, I'd say you have to try it. It's free to play so you have nothing to lose. And if you are around my age, it will bring back memories. It's not groundbreaking and it doesn't reinvent the wheel but it's certainly polished enough to offer an enjoyable experience.

Well produced and highly addictive, Tiny Heroes will find favour with fans of the genre – providing they don't expect anything startlingly original.

While the Unmechanical controls can be infuriating sometimes, the game is still a hugely entertaining and engaging adventure.

A fun and relaxing puzzler, Paperama is a pretty slow game, but it's fun all the same.

An odd, frequently unfair, yet amusing platformer that challenges you to remember its bizarre rule transgressions and keep plugging away to find the troof at its core.

A slightly scattered action game with an interesting strategic sideline, Bug Heroes 2 gets a little lost in itself sometimes, but it's still worth a crack.

Yo-Kai Watch leaves a positive first impression, providing just enough creativity and content to help you see past most of its misgivings and flaws.

While it's not entirely original or polished, Antithesis is a clever take on Pong that would benefit from a multiplayer update.

Hidden Through Time 2: Myths and Magic! is an adorable hidden object game with a unique time-changing feature. While the game could benefit from a more refined hint system, it still offers an engaging experience.

After a rocky start, Blitz Brigade has solidified into a fine online team-based shooter, albeit one with lingering connectivity issues and an OTT freemium economy.

A fun chunk of same-room multiplayer gaming, Don't Fall in the Hole lacks a little depth, but in short blasts it's glorious.

While Assassin's Creed II: Discovery isn't going to revolutionise the DS, it gives you the chance to enjoy solidly executed and fast-paced, platforming action.

It's not as extravagant, thrilling, or exciting as the main series it's based on, however frame rate and control issues aside, this is a good option for those who want a similar experience on the go.

An endearing and often challenging platformer that sees its idea through.

An intriguing mash of ideas with a sometimes jarring rhythm, Caveman Wars is definitely worth a second look.

At the end of the day, if you've not played Ikaruga before and you love a good shooter, you'd be doing yourself a disservice missing out on its latest release.

Giant Consequences starts strong, playing off relationships, but loses its way a bit as the episode goes on.

Duke Nukem 3D somehow holds up as a wicked fun shooter in 2015, and this Megaton Edition is a worthwhile compilation.

On Tour Decades brings better songs and a slightly more comprehensive Guitar Hero experience to Guitar Hero on DS. There are still issues with the comfort and practicalities of its guitar fret peripheral, but the most rousing songs are still a lot of fun to play.

A Maximus-sized serving of blood and sandals and severed appendages. It's just a shame you can rack up a Maximus-sized bill playing it, too.

Rock Band Reloaded lays out a nice set of features and satisfying gameplay, despite fumbling Facebook integration.

A solid match-three puzzler saved by a recent update, Zoo Keeper DX Touch Edition would benefit greatly from a dash of innovation to help it stand out from the crowd.

Making the fullest use of the DS hardware, Spectrobes does almost everything you could want, but it's marred by niggling flaws.

Don't let the cuteness fool you: Monster Burner is a tough arcade puzzler.

With the new scavenger hunt mode included, the Vita version of Proteus has something to offer that the PC version didn't, but it's still a polarising experience.

BattleHand is a gorgeous and finely-tuned blend of CCG and RPG which is somewhat spoiled by poor free to play implementation.

A bright and gleefully chaotic line-drawing blaster, Sky Patrol is a neat little diversion.

Simple in parts, BeamOut blossoms into an all-action romp with enough kick to make it worth playing despite its flaws.

A standard dungeon-crawling JRPG, Cthulhu Saves the World is more of a cheeky love letter than a parody, and that makes it all the more enjoyable.

An enjoyably knock-about hack-and-slash action game with the full weight of the Zelda franchise behind it. Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity isn't clever or slick, and it gets repetitive rather quickly. But it provides a fair smattering of uncomplicated fun and a whole load of fan-pleasing nods to Breath of the Wild.

Tri Force Heroes can be a thrill when played with a group of three friends. But try playing it solo or with just one pal, and things might not be so fun.

Persona 2 is at its best when it deviates from the cookie cutter design of JRPGs, yet it never quite strays far or often enough from these conventions, leaving a by-the-numbers adventure with just enough innovation to keep players hooked until the closing credits.

The combat here is good fun, and it's presented well, but technical issues and no multiplayer damages its long-term appeal.

You'll be talking about the online leaderboards in OlliOlli for weeks, and probably grumbling quietly about the imprecise controls while you do it.

Super Phantom Cat 2 is an interesting, if simple platformer, with a few decent ideas thrown into the mix.

Definitely a better buy than its 3DS counterpart, Hometown Story Pocket is still something of a jumble sale.

An attractive 2.5D auto-runner that doesn't offer anything new, but manages to succeed through sheer variety.

Arknight Endfield is a sci-fi RPG with engaging combat, gorgeous graphics, and a vast map to explore.

Amigo Pancho is an entertaining if slight mixture of familiar physics-puzzler elements. It's a thoroughly pleasant casual treat.

Another Candy Crush game. If that's your poison you're going to find an awful lot to like here.

Slingshotting beetles at wood is more addictive than it sounds. And for free, you might as well try it for yourself.

1-bit Ninja Remix Rush is an unrelenting and unforgiving challenge, and the perfect antidote to toothless endless runners.