Free to play veterans will put up with the shenanigans Angry Birds Transformers tries to pull in the name of a quality shooter, but those just looking for a quick burst of fun may find the wait timers and slow progress distasteful.

An entertaining arcade game inspired by classics Pong and Breakout, no amount of charm can compensate for a lack of depth and long-term appeal.

It might not be the Fire Emblem game you wanted on mobile, but it's the one that we've got, and it's pretty solid.

An intuitive and absorbing puzzle game with a solid central concept. It just needs to branch out a little in order to join the puzzling elite.

A very good version of a great game, the 3DS outing of Swap Force is the portable port fans have deserved for a long time

Illusia 2 is a quirky and imperfect RPG that's worth far more than its free price tag.

A pretty and playable turn-based tactics game that needs to go rogue and break from genre conventions with new ideas and fresher gameplay.

A fast and reasonably flashy arcade blast with a few tricks up its retro sleeve.

If you’re not into puzzles, Tales of the Neon Sea is not going to be your cup of tea. You have to spend two hours in the intro and first chapter alone, and a whopping three hours for the second chapter. The puzzles don’t really get any less tedious, so it’s a shame you have to go through all of them just so you can appreciate the beauty of this cyberpunk world.

Stand O'Food 3 HD is an interesting, funny take on running a fast food joints.

A surprisingly fun little game that's as entertaining as it is cynical, Moneygrabber! is definitely worth a look.

Clustertruck may be fun for short periods of time, but it's also hard and unforgivable and eventually that can grind you down.

Sometimes great, sometimes hateful, Glint at least manages to be interesting all the time.

The single-player portion of Bomberman is a lot of fun, with varied stages and plenty of fast, hectic action. Unfortunately, this version is devoid of any sort of online play. The end result is a mixed bag. [Summer 2004, p.15]

Running about smashing things with your creature is fun for a bit, and the experience grind loop is certainly powerful here, but otherwise it's a pretty standard dungeon-crawler.

There are some really good ideas in Nano Golf, but its simplicity eventually means it runs out of steam a bit.

Demolition Crush is a solid physics game that revels in the art of blowing stuff up.

It's not the most realistic sim ever, but with a neat Story mode and solid gameplay, Flick Bowling 2 will fulfill most of your iPhone bowling needs.

An endless-runner in the Jetpack Joyride mould, Sea Stars's gameplay is solid and slick, but its reliance on in-app purchase sits uncomfortably with the game as a whole.

A fine little abstract for the mobile age, which trades a bit of depth and variety in exchange of accessibility.

An interesting take on the shmup that appeals to more than just the aficionados.

A well put together game for younger players, you might even enjoy the odd go yourself.

This is Scrabble X Street Fighter X Facebook, and it plays as good as that sounds. It's still not mass appeal enough to turn the heads of people disinterested in word games, though.

Samantha Swift and The Hidden Roses of Athena is perfect for hidden object fans, although it's rather on the short side.

It still has the fun factor of the series, but Asphalt Xtreme feels more like a game stuck in the past than a step forward.

Globulos Party offers great local multiplayer fun, but is a little too hit and miss as a single-player game.

Junk Jack owes a significant debt to Minecraft but has a personality of its own. A worthy companion to the real thing.

There's a lot to like about Infestor, and despite a few niggles it offers an engaging, novel platform experience.

An admirable attempt to do something different and clever on iOS, dragged down by a few too many levels that require tedious slogging.

This isn't SOCOM Vita. The storytelling is abysmal and the online is underdeveloped, but Unit 13 still manages to be a solid military shooter with an arcade edge.

Far from grand strategy or intricate planning, StickWars 3 is about flicking little men into the air and watching them flop down in glorious puddles of gore.

The harsh AI difficulty will diminish its appeal, but 7th Guest: Infection remains a well-presented and interesting boardgame.

A solid physics-puzzler with a limited lifespan and in need of some polish.

The dragon returns to form. The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning is a well-designed, satisfying action game.

Before you dismiss Dragon Quest Tact as another gacha game that brings nothing new to the table, it’s worth a try to download and see if it’s your cup of tea. You can also take advantage of the very first “Scout” chance you get for ten pulls - rerolling or retrying again and again helps you nab S-Rank monsters right from the get-go. I personally lucked out with three S-Rank pulls from the draw pool, and yes, they’re worth every tap.

Frustration is common in Getting Over It, yet its sense of progression and improvement can be quite addictive.

Gem Keeper's wonderful presentation and rock-solid fundamentals are undermined by a difficulty level that veers all over the place, but this is still a polished and enjoyable tower defence experience.

QatQi is a fun and immensely stylish word puzzler, though its solo Scrabble gameplay isn't quite as innovative or compelling as its presentation would suggest.

A fun casual puzzler with some novel concepts, let down by an uneven difficulty curve and unnecessary IAPs.

Nice face, shame about the legs. Despite some great locations and visuals Underworld's gameplay will feel a bit on the bland side for regular pocket gamers - the more casual crowd should love it, though.

Monster Dash is a spunky spin on the speedy platformer with a short shelf life.

A simple shoot and score highscore game, Flick Kick Football is ephemeral fun.

NBA Jam is one slammin', jammin' ball game, but where's the multiplayer?

Neon Chrome is a solid twin-stick shooter with more meat to it than you might initially expect.

It might not be super original, but this is a well balanced and pretty intriguing card-battler.

The Silent Age: Episode Two wraps up the story nicely, but it wastes its clever time-travelling mechanic.

A slick and well put together free to play board game. It's not the greatest game ever, but it's worth a look.

One Epic Game is the Michael Bay of gaming apps. Gaudy explosions and self-referential jokes disguise a simple but robust design.

Far from revolutionary, Fancy Pants is an interesting, slightly muddled game that still manages to have moments of high-speed brilliance.

Let's Golf! 3D is inferior to its smartphone caddies due to framerate issues, but is still well worth chipping in for.

Tiny Barbarian DX is a great little retro-inspired platformer that riffs on the likes of Donkey Kong Country, but it suffers from repetition and a lack of inspiration at times.

Tough, frustrating, and a little too twitchy, Super Hexagon is nonetheless a skilfully constructed and compelling game / instrument of torture.

Find the Line is a mellow puzzle game that's marred by loud, frequent ads.

Kawaii Kitchen is a fairly simple experience, but it's cute and the fact that it's not full of microtransactions or pay-to-win really makes it feel like a fantastic experience.

Friendly Fire! gives a subtle but effective prod to Clash of Clans's take on strategy rather than a full-blown revolution, but it's focus on real-world locations and revenge attacks equips it with an arsenal worthy of warfare.

A bargain, considering what you get for your money. Lots to see and do here.

You'll dislike the approach Ubisoft took to the presentation of Michael Jackson in the title, as well as the paltry number of songs on offer, but look past these issues and this is a great rhythm-action title that makes smart use of the Vita's touchscreen.

Red Remover Blast is a solid puzzle game that will appeal to fans of Red Remover, as well as newcomers to the series.

A tense and surprisingly strategic stealth puzzler that's only let down by awkward controls.

An oxymoronic retro update of Alien Space, this is a visually appealing and engaging twin stick shooter that is unfortunately too similar to its predecessor to be considered a true great.

Solid but uninspired: Diamond Digger Saga is a very well constructed match-3 with a twist, but that twist isn't big enough to tempt back people bored of Candy Crush and the like.

Lego The Lord of the Rings: The Video Game is fundamentally a good game based on a great licence, but it's let down by the squiffy port to Vita.

An enjoyable mashing together of shooter and runner, Strike Force Heroes: Extraction won't go down in history, but it'll keep you entertained for a while.

There might not be much depth to it, but as a quick-fire dice-rolling experience, there's a lot to like in Roll For It.

It's lost some edge and coherence in transit, but Snuggle Truck's lighter tone is arguably a better fit for its blend of knockabout physics-based fun.

If you're okay with seeing nothing new, you'll find CandyMeleon will while away a solid few hours of your time with its perfectly palatable sweetie action.

Offering five twists on its track-switching gameplay, Train Conductor 2: USA provides a quick and varied time management fix.

Despite an odd mission structure, Hunters: Episode One succeeds with solid, in-depth turn-based tactical gameplay.

A clever little word game, Lumicon could do with a few more features, but it's still an entertaining way to tax your brain.

A solid puzzler which is occasionally hampered by control issues and an over-reliance on trial and error gameplay.

There are a few problems with 21 Days, but if you can get past them, you'll find a decent, if frustrating, stealth game.

Big Action Mega Fight! pens a love letter to the beat-'em-up genre. Then, it sets that letter on fire and rams it down your throat

A good-looking and smooth playing adaptation of a cracking card game, but of limited interest without online play.

A great little strategy title that lets you test your mettle against players from around the globe and friends alike, Outwitters is entertaining and deep enough to have you coming back for more.

Far from an Angry Birds clone, Pigs in Trees is a line-drawing action game with plenty of variety.

A light-hearted adventure that nearly hits Nintendo-style heights, but never quite manages to get there.

Doom Resurrection whets the appetite with hard-hitting action and pretty graphics, though is starved of any lasting value.

Easy to get into, but may have one thirsting for a bit more.

eBoo's challenging controls add to the puzzler's allure.

Punch Kick Duck is a lovely 3D action beat 'em up with a unique rock-paper-scissors mechanic and adorable visuals. Its simple premise might just make you underestimate the game's difficulty, but if you're looking for a twist to your typical side-scrolling brawler, then a duck with a penchant for fisticuffs might just be your cup of tea.

A tough as nails mixture of two of the toughest genres out there. It's still a good deal of fun though.

An entertaining platformer with a decent chunk of content, Cordy 2 will keep you playing for a good while, but it doesn't bring anything new to the platform genre.

A fun, inventive slide 'n' slash action game that doesn't get everything right, but stays true to the way of the ninja with satisfying combat and beautiful visuals.

Heist is a great slice of first-person bank-robbing action for smartphones, but its very brief length is a sore point.

A slight and lovely puzzler, Breath of Light won't appeal to everyone, but if you like it you'll probably love it.

A solid and entertaining platformer, Type:Rider has a few niggling problems, but it's still worth a look.

There's a brilliant 2D fighter here, but a smartphone or a tablet isn't the best place to play it.

The Wii U version remains the real definitive edition, but Rayman Legends still plays and looks great on Switch.

A hauntingly good extension of the original, Angry Birds Halloween delivers more of the same entertaining physics puzzle play.

There's not much to do in Sprout: Idle Garden, but you're going to love doing all of it.

Our World is Ended could be a brilliant, interesting sci-fi visual novel, but it's too busy telling crass jokes and harassing women to care.

It has a few nice ideas, but Expand it! is too happy to rest on its laurels rather than push on to greatness.

The harsh AI difficulty will diminish its appeal, but 7th Guest: Infection remains a well-presented and interesting boardgame.

A rich and cheerful game with some neat ideas, Lumo's Cat isn't a classic, but it is fun to play.

An engaging and compulsive stuff-dodger that'll keep you playing for a good long while.

It may have a few wrinkles but, crucially, the adventuring returns to the forefront of the Tomb Raider experience.

Eliss gets everything right, except for the difficulty curve. If it's an extreme challenge with charm and polish you are after, look no further.

Forever Lost goes out like it came in - a big batch of smartly made puzzles, but with a scrappy design that stops you getting completely engrossed.