Though Shadow Vamp controls like a slippery little monster at times, there's a clever and original puzzle experience at the (black, unbeating) heart of this game.

Happy Hills 2: Bombs Away! is slower-paced and more frustrating than many other physics puzzlers, but its addictive qualities can’t be denied.

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.

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.

An incredibly rich and detailed experience, but the control requires far more finesse than a touchscreen offers, and the experience is often as frustrating as it is fun.

Doodle Kingdom doesn't deviate far from Doodle God's original formula, but the addition of fantasy elements and new sub-quests is entertaining.

It's a slightly jumbled affair, but there's enough fun in Block Fortress War's angular battles to keep you entertained.

An interestingly built mix of puzzling and platforming, Deadlings is intriguing enough to keep you entertained for a good while.

1849 is a refreshingly straight-up city-builder with a snappy mission-based structure, but the route to success can feel a little restrictive and one-note at times.

A deceptively tactical roguelike RPG that offers an immediate yet considered dungeon-crawling experience.

A solid and entertaining game, Oscura Second Shadow doesn't quite do enough to make it stand out from its predecessor.

Lego Marvel Super Heroes: Universe in Peril refines the classic Lego game formula for mobile play, making for a slightly less ambitious but better fitting experience.

While it might be a little tight with its content, Transworld Endless Skater has enough going for it that it's worth a try.

Secret Files Tunguska is an enjoyable adventure with some good puzzles and lots of locations. It's just not imaginative or exciting enough for a full recommendation.

A fast-paced runner with some fresh ideas, Time Tangle - Adventure Time isn't perfect, but it's got a lot going for it.

A solid but not particularly challenging platformer, Epic Eric is fun but entirely forgettable.

A delightfully gory and unpleasant game book experience, Heavy Metal Thunder lays it on thick, but in the best possible way.

Phantom Rift has a sharp, fast, and strategic battle system. But there's not much else to keep you entertained between brawls.

A polished endless runner that looks and feels great, but stops short of creating something truly special with its core elements.

A tough and angry old-school shooter, Ammo Pigs will scratch a retro itch quite nicely.

A big silly flappy bang bang nonsense of a shooty game.

A lightweight but enjoyable mixture, it's not ground breaking, but it's quite a lot of fun.

Stellar Wanderer has some massive ideas, but it's the little things, the important minute-to-minute things that it gets wrong.

A solid and enjoyable puzzling sort-of-shooter that bounces along with just the right speed.

Solid writing and interesting sci-fi worlds balance out Voyageur's repetitive late game issues.

A dark, complex, and deep strategy game that pushes you to build more at every turn.

My Hero One's Justice will keep you entertained for hours, but it is by no means an essential anime fighter.

It has a few flaws, but for the most part Linn: Path of Orchards is one of the most intriguing platformers we've played in a while.

A bright, smart card crawl that will keep you entertained for hours.

Warcraft Rumble is a strategic "tower offence" game where you deploy miniatures via cards across short real-time battles. Familiar faces from the franchise pop up with a variety of abilities you can get tactical with, but it does start to get grindy fairly early on. You can engage in some PvE missions though to level up before you take on others, so it's worth giving it a shot if you're looking to add a new twist to your standard PvP affair.

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.

Angry Birds Epic is a fun, streamlined, and surprisingly deep RPG, but a dearth of variety and a wealth of in-app purchases will turn off genre junkies.

An entertaining new chapter in the LucasArts saga, but one that could have used a bit more time to fix silly technical flaws before being unleashed.

A clever blending of two licences, Star Wars: Tiny Death Star does exactly what you'd expect it to.

Gorgeous to look at but ultimately frustrating to play, Shadowgun: DeadZone needs a lot of work before it becomes the finished article.

A fun, if occasionally frustrating mix of genres and ideas, Naughty Kitties is worth a play just to see how well it blends them all together.

An inadequate interface, poor localisation, and underdeveloped story make 1112, Episode 02 a disappointing follow up.

A pretty but repetitive puzzle-based adventure, Shrek the Third feels more like completing a series of chores than having monster-sized fun.

Filled with as many fun moments as mediocre ones, Sonic The Hedgehog 4, Episode 1 is a good start to the revival of the series.

A slow-paced but satisfying forest simulation that's good for kids, SimAnimals is a bit too simple for adult players. And while it doesn't quite fulfil its potential, but growing things is still a lot of fun.

A decent enough wander down memory lane, Spy vs Spy hasn't aged that well, but it's still fun in small doses.

It might not be classic Tekken, but there's enough punching and kicking here to keep most people entertained.

While it's unlikely to ensnare new players due to its plodding pace and labyrinthine rules, Caylus is a faithful adaptation of an award-winning boardgame that fans will adore.

Sine Mora EX remains an interesting bullet hell shooter that's only improved by fancier visuals and couch co-op, but the extra content isn't worth it.

Metal Slug 7 provides great action, but unless you're a total completist, it's far too short an experience.

Skip buying your kid FIFA on 3DS this year, and give your offpsring Inazuma Eleven 3 instead. It's a novel light RPG experience, with all the compulsive collecting of a sticker album. There's also a decent football story at its core.

Cars is by no means a terrible game, just a very average one. And 'average' is not the sort of thing you'd expect anyone to happily spend £30 on. Go see the film five times instead.

The iPhone finally gets its own Wipeout, but the puzzling absence of pure racing excitement makes this a tricky one to recommend.

FIFA 16 plays an excellent game of football but the lack of modes outside of Ultimate Team and dreadful menu design hold it back from true greatness.

Xtreme Wheels is an undeniably fun ride, though the 3D visuals sometimes tax the iPad too much.

A feast for the eyes, RAGE doesn't make the most of its fun arcade action as it's missing some standard features.

A tasking and entertaining arcade blast, Futuridium EP is let down by its occasionally inaccurate controls.

While some good things come in small packages, the limitations of this beginner's tower defence title means that The Great Prank War is more The 'Meh' Prank War to all but die-hard Regular Show fans.

A gorgeous, engrossing experience, but it's too straightforward, too brief, and too slow to be an essential adventure.

Project X Zone excites through the use of OTT animations, crazy crossovers, and easily accessible action that will hook you time after time.

Whilst it's not a bad game, Zombie Wonderland 2: Outta Time! fails to learn from the mistakes of its prequel, and that condemns it to the same near-mediocrity.

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.

While the lack of official licensing continues to dent the mainstream appeal of Gameloft's soccer series, this is a solid update and the intelligent inclusion of touchscreen control is genuinely engaging.

RICO serves up fantastic doses of frantic action, and co-op play compensates for its limited formula.

There's little inherently wrong with Clumsy Bob and its sideways take on Doodle Jump but for the fact we've seen so many similar games before.

Rainbow Moon makes some heavy mistakes, but it's still a great first attempt at an RPG from SideQuest Studios.

A big silly shooter with lots of zombies to plough through, Dead Effect is far from a classic. But it is brainless fun.

Who knew sorting out luggage would be so hard, or so much fun? Saito's skewed view on the world strikes again in this top-notch puzzler.

Fast, furious and typically fierce, MK: Unchained is an accomplished fighter made all the more interesting by the addition of unusual play modes.

An impossibly stylish and intuitive point-and-click adventure that tells a charming tale, but finishes way too soon.

Despite being a DSiWare launch game, Art Style: AQUITE is a dull puzzler that should have been dumped at sea.

Deeply silly and full of gimmicky distractions, The Bowling Dead simply isn't fun enough to match its outrageously daft concept.

A simple RPG wrapped in a pretty complex free to play system, Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes is fun, but there's not that much to it.

A strong match-three game for your 3DS, Pokemon Link: Battle! may look pretty standard, but its faster pace and Pokemon-themed gameplay set it aside from the crowd.

Trucker's Delight Episode 1 makes the most of its naughty music video source material, but doesn't really add up as a racing game.

While it has occasional moments of levity, more often than not Commando Jack is an unrewarding slog.

After a few games, the veneer peels away and you realise that Starship Battles, while fun for a bit, doesn't have the depth to keep you interested.

Code Name: STEAM is charming in style and experimental in genre, but a number of missteps make it tough to recommend whole heartedly.

Flame Over seems too hot to handle at first, but it's worth every hour you invest into it.

Flying Hamster charms with bright colours and an adorable hero, but its shallow shooter gameplay is stuck in a wheel.

Batman: Arkham City Lockdown adds its own spin to the Infinity Blade-styled action game and packs a meaty punch with its presentation, but it never quite takes flight.

Super Mystery Dungeon isn’t a great celebration of 20 years of a legendary franchise, but there's some entertaining content here worth an occasional poke.

Despite being loveable and well-made, Pokémon Ranger's combat system is too shallow to grip your attention.

An attractive tunnel racer marred by dodgy swipe controls and a confusing perspective.

While sticklers might argue that Magic Made Fun isn't really a game, there's plenty of enjoyment to be had in mastering its array of unique and sometimes ingenious tricks.

An ambitious, flawed, but ultimately entertaining FPS, Deus Ex: The Fall is well worth a look.

Fun, frantic, and action-packed, Mario Slam Basketball is a good-looking game that lacks solid opposition.

Putting accessibility over its heritage, Mario Tennis Open is likely to win over more newcomers than returning players.

Almost nothing to do with Transformers but a reasonably decent action puzzler nonetheless.

Showcases excellent visuals and engaging gameplay, but is shot down by frustrating and inaccurate controls.

An occasionally interesting shooter, Abyss Attack is a little too flat to really recommend.

Disney Mirrorverse is an action RPG featuring real-time combat and a cast of beloved Disney and Pixar characters. It can be a bit of a challenge for free-to-play players to score more than 3-star heroes, but the creative character designs make each Guardian a joy to play on the battlefield regardless of rarity.

It certainly won't be to everyone's tastes but deep within the dusty catacombs of Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer resides a unique and impressively addictive game.

Greater than the sum of its parts, it's eventually hard to feel anything but sheer joy when playing Magical Starsign.

A less involved version of the 3DS rhythm game, this iOS venture is suited to those who have a deep love - and deep pockets - for Final Fantasy franchise.

Colin McRae Rally is a fine racer, but it's sorely let down by some forgotten modes and features, and those seriously outdated visuals.

Despite being entertaining in bursts and boasting a decent ship-building experience, Space Qube is a little too simple to be anything more than a brief fling.

Controversy aside, Manhunt 2 doesn't deliver gameplay entertaining enough to justify its sophomoric sense of humour. A lack of technical polish and censored elements prevent it from being anything more than a fleeting talking point.

A perfectly playable endless runner, Sonic Dash is entertaining enough, but highlights how far the series has come since its glory days.

Different, satisfying but also limited.

So-so graphics, a poor saving capability and too few modes make SimCity DS a distinctly average version of what should have been a much more enjoyable experience.

Taking too much inspiration from other – much better – games, Infinite Dreams' shooter never rises to the quality of the titles it wishes it was, instead providing a bland but competent shmup.

Murasaki Baby plays on parental instincts and our natural desire to protect the weak. A skin-crawlingly tense tour of a twisted imagination.