Fading Fairytales is a very, very simple game that's great for newcomers who want to acclimate themselves to the strategy genre.

If you've ever played a frantic cartoony platformer like Wild 9, or any other similarly classic PlayStation One game, you'll enjoy Space Octopuses. Before you dive in though, ensure you have a high-end device, and even then, you should prepare yourself for a few technical issues until the developer can iron them out.

Naughty Bricks isn't the kind of game that's going to stay with you for a very long time after you finish it, but it's a good time while it lasts. The levels are well-designed, the challenge is pretty much just right, and there are more than enough new mechanics to hold your interest through the end of the game.

If you're itching for a new puzzle game to speed through that's entertaining throughout, Amigo Pancho is a safe bet. But if you crave something that's more substantial than what's currently on offer here, keep an eye on its update schedule, because this game has a lot of potential.

And sure, this isn’t Double Fine’s best effort, yet it remains more interesting and charismatic than most puzzle-adventure games that pop-up on the app store, regularly. Making it worth every beat of your adventurous heart… assuming your heart is as big as mine.

Whether you are an iOS board game fan or a puzzle game fanatic, Pandemic: The Board Game deserves a look. It is a tight, focused package that demonstrates some of the best that tabletop and iOS design can offer.

Playdek always does a wonderful job making the digital versions of these card games, and their familiar touch is in full effect here. The game is fully furnished with voices, albeit in Japanese, sound effects, and appropriate music. As a conversion, it's top-notch, no complaints.

Overall, Transport Tycoon for iOS is an excellent and faithful port, with nothing really going against it aside from a couple of small issues, both of which will probably be corrected, and is well worth its price tag. You will find countless hours of micromanaging fun in this title. If you’re a numbers and stats person, even more so.

Cat on a Diet may feel like an all too familiar amalgamation of slicing and contraption games, but it's still a lot of fun all the same.

NBA 2K14 is a decent game and if it wasn't for the prequel, I'd more than likely suggest snapping it up. As it stands, however, I seriously recommend purchasing NBA 2K13 instead - It's the same price and the commentary and up-to-speed court announcer make it worth the investment.

There might be something inherently disturbing about Incredipede and its little hero, with all her muscled limbs and boney feet, but that's easy to forget. She's a charmer, that one, with her expressive eye and tenacious will. And like its hero, Incredipede charms. Behind every frustration is a challenge to be solved—better, faster, or with infinitely more limbs. It's a small scale for playing God, but creation sure is fun.

Nakama really is a great action experience, even if there's not a whole lot to do. With so much potential in the game's combat system, I hope a full sequel or even a content update really takes advantage of the solid engine.

I didn't have a bad time with Trouserheart. The premise was silly fun, it wrapped up in an amusing way, and it's not offensive to play by any means. That said, it's very light on content and substance in general, with simple, shallow gameplay, limited character building options, and a small number of stages.

The original Small World was a great example of what could be done with board game on iOS, and this update has given it a needed rebirth. It is now able to stand against iOS strategy greats like Ascension, Agricola, and Eclipse without shame. Small World 2 is worth a second look for mobile strategy aficionados.

Bravura - Quest Rush is a ton of fun.

My time with Shadowrun Returns has certainly turned me into a fan of this game, despite its current level of glitchiness.

As far as built-for-mobile action RPGs go, Reaper is worth every free second you have - if you find yourself enjoying what you see from the freemium period. The beauty of free-to-try is… you get to see for yourself. My job is then to tell you what comes after.

Overall however, I think Pocket Trains makes a lot of strides with its core gameplay, making it the sort of logistical title that I think Pocket Planes aspired to be. Suffice to say, there's really no reason not to check out Pocket Trains, and I highly recommend everyone giving it a try.

Boson X will not offer you a bread crumb trail of rewards or new hats. It's not going to ask you to come back every day for a daily reward, and it has no IAP to sell you. Its only offer to you is the challenge of unlocking all the stages, and beating the best scores you and your friends have set down. Yet, somehow, through a mix of style and very measured mechanics, it's an amazingly compelling game.

So, yes, in some ways, Trace 2 doesn't quite make the splash in the here and now that the original made five years ago. Does it matter, though? It is a very good sequel and a lot of obvious care has been put into the meat of the game, the gameplay mechanics and level design.

There's no shortage of puzzle games on the App Store, but I can say that Help me Fly is one of the truly worthwhile ones.

If you're a fan of this genre, you could certainly do worse on the App Store, but you could do quite a lot better, too, so I'd really only recommend checking Space Qube out if you want to play around with the excellent ship editor.

As it stands, give this cute, and fairly harmless shooter a try if you're itching for some competitive combat on your mobile device.

I guess if shallow stealth games are OK with you, you'll find this one to be a worthy entry to the app store. This is definitely not the iOS version of Riddick that rivals any of the franchises previous efforts, fair warning. In my opinion: your options for a more entertaining stealth game, on the App Store, are numerous.

It may not fill the need for a traditional iOS football game, but football fans looking to explore the tactics behind the tackles really need to check this gem out.

I Am Level is one puzzle platformer that I had to force myself to put down. The beauty is in its visual simplicity and complexity. You never feel frustrated while playing, unlike those straight-up puzzle games.

If you liked Tower of Fortune, this is a no-brainer. The sequel is everything that game was and so much more. If you haven't played the first game, I'd almost say there's no point in doing so now that this is here. If you don't like roguelikes, stay away, but otherwise, this game is well worth playing.

2013: Infected Wars is a meal cooked ten years ago, frozen and reheated five times over, and served on a plate made out of a laserdisc copy of Uwe Boll's Along in the Dark. You can keep your "console quality graphics and sound." Just give me some inspiration.

In short: Sage Fusion 2 is a story worth experiencing. I just wish it were attached to a better game.

Orborun is a very fun game, but only if you can tolerate a pretty decent challenge.

Retro Runners is a great little free runner that's done right, mostly because does enough to endear itself to players without forcing IAPs down your throat. It could use a little more diversity, but it's worth your time if you're not sick of the genre by now.

Touting leaderboards, special artifacts, and permadeath, there is a wide assortment of inspiring gameplay to keep any Apple device’s battery draining for hours.

The extra episodes may seem a bit steep, but relative to the size and cost of the initial game, they're more like built-in sequels, and there's certainly enough included in the initial package to keep you entertained for a while.

Ancient Battle: Rome may look ugly, but the combat is solid.

Ninja Cats vs. Samurai Dogs slowly became a treasured TD game for this player. Once I leveled up, I was totally hooked. This game has layers of strategic heart waiting to be uncovered. The tactical learning curve is steep, but once you get into it, you’ll never look at cats and dogs the same way.

If you're still even vaguely interested in Angry Birds games, you need Angry Birds Star Wars II. Hell, even if you haven't played an Angry Birds game in a while, it's still worth checking out, as firing off evil Boba Fett pigs at unsuspecting birds is just as much fun as you'd expect.

While Infinity Blade II was a refinement of the original, Infinity Blade III takes the familiar Infinity Blade formula and tweaks it to the point of perfection. There's far more content, even more customization, additional systems to delve in to, and best of all, huge dragons.

Where's My Water? 2 definitely needs a few improvements if it wants to reach the quality of its predecessors, most notably a strong pull-back on its aggressive IAPs.

This is a big value for the price, but I wish the developer had put more thought into making the levels and gods feel different from one another. I have my custom strategy down to a such a science, I could topple towers in my sleep.

The idea is great, the execution of the main mechanics is exactly where it needs to be, but I really feel like certain elements, especially multiplayer, could really bring this game to the next level. Even as it stands, however, Joust Legend is definitely worth your time and money.

After all is said and done, Beach Games is one of Donut's best offerings yet.

Wits and Wagers is a success in many ways. The unique AI system and quick gameplay really make the game stand out. It proves that a party game can work on a mobile device and is worth a look.

If you're a fan of violent, bloody, horror themed games, you'll find a good distraction in this one.

Bonds of the Skies isn't a bad game by any means, but it's strikingly average in almost every way.

If you like music or rhythm games, you're not exactly drowning in quality choices on the App Store, and Audio Ninja is enjoyable while it lasts.

Even though I was frequently aggravated by the inability to purchase practically anything from the over-priced IAP economy, I still had a blast just rolling my boulder time and time again down the omninous, yet colorful mountaintop.

At the end of the day, despite having to wade through some arguably murky IAP waters, 2K Drive is a ton of fun. It would have been a much stronger experience if it was just a premium game out of the gate, but despite a ton of confusion as to how you're supposed to actually unlock all the content, racing fans will most likely enjoy it.

It took me a few hours to get through the main stages, and I still have things to collect and missions to complete, to say nothing of the Endless and Boss Endurance modes. At any rate, it's free to at least give it a shot, and if you like what you play and you're still hesitant about handing over that buck for the full game unlock, let me assure you: Ninjin delivers, and then some.

Should you find yourself groaning at the mere mention of "towers" on a mobile platform, Age of Thrones is not for you. In fact, if you even feel a minor wince coming on, it's probably not for you either. But so long as you can stomach creating mazes for hours at a time to fend off droves of demons and dragons, you'll have a good time.

For the low price of "free," and a respectable approach towards microtransactions, Sheep Happens is a solid download for any runner fan. While it may not push the genre forward in general, it offers up a ton of character, a lot of smiles, and a solid foundation.

What keeps Baby Nom Nom from the reachable pinnacle it should strangle is the limited amount of levels. Even though I sped through the app, I will come back for seconds, thirds, and more.

At the end of the day, Pirate Legends is a terrifically fun game, its biggest hindrance being what seems like an excessive paywall (for your Flying Aces).

I wouldn't sit down and play Don't Fall In the Hole for hours at a time, but in short spurts it's a great game to enjoy in a dorm room or with your family. The iPad doesn't have enough same-screen experiences in my opinion, and thankfully Don't Fall adds to the ever-increasing stable of family gaming.

The only major problem with Smash Bandits' approach is the energy mechanic, which limits you to five plays in a short amount of time, forcing you to either wait or spend in-game chips to keep playing. Thankfully, chips are given out a decent amount, and playing it in short spurts is an excellent way to go about runs.

868-HACK is for everyone who loves to tell themselves, “Just one more try”, and realize 2 more hours have passed. It’s that kind of gripping game experience that makes you forget all else exists at that moment.

The nearly real-time combat is the kind of fast action you want to enjoy on an iPad, but may just be a little too cramped for iPhone play.

OzDefence could have been a joyous romp through the land of Oz. But the leveling system and difficulty needs to be rebalanced and overhauled to better suit the game and its 100-plus levels.

There's a lot to love with Strike Team, but I think the most important thing it nails is that simple feeling of playing a Call of Duty game.

In the end, this is a pretty good gamebook with a very unique feel to it.

While by no means a replacement for the full PC version of Terraria, this pint-sized iteration is an effortless recommendation.

Otherwise, Junk Jack X is really just more of the same that made the original an iOS darling. Sure, there are more items to craft, more enemies to fight and more elements to explore in your randomly generated world but the core exploration concepts are the same.

Joining Hands 2 is as enjoyable as the first one was. It's a bit slow to ramp up, but it does ramp up, and does so nicely.

Despite those few issues, Gurk III is an excellent game for anyone who enjoys a good RPG.

Sure, the game feels a little more rough than other Kairosoft titles, but underneath those quirks is vintage Kairosoft.

This isn't as substantial as the developer's other works, but the game still plays well and does what it sets out to. Its scope is small but if you're fine with that, you'll have a good time with this one.

How it made me feel more like the protagonist than most other games, simply by having me fill in the words the Department decided should not be spoken...

Despite the fact that Cloud Spin can be bested in a single afternoon, it's absolutely worthy of a purchase if you're into flight simulators.

To summarize, Muscle Run is a gorgeous looking, redneck sounding, enjoyable game.

You'd be better off picking it up on Xbox for the same price. Ninjas, vanish.

Overall, that’s the highest kind of compliment you can give for Gold Diggers, a game in a genre that often relies heavily on in-app purchases and cheesy grinding schemes to bring players back. If that’s enough to entice you to try another endless runner, then Gold Diggers has a lot to offer.

While RunBot is a solid 3D runner overall, the main problem is that it just isn't really compelling enough to keep going. While most runners are never short on personality, RunBot's mechanics and visuals start to blend together after a while.

Lacking a season mode, any form of player customization, or even full games, Madden 25 is a poor substitute for an actual NFL game, and is instead yet another social-oriented freemium title that seems to care more about monetization than gameplay.

In the end, Great Battles Medieval is a pretty good RTS/RPG hybrid that gets enough right to merit your attention whether you’re a fan of the genre or new to the style. It’s not perfect, but it’s still fun in a lot of key areas.

Gleamer doesn't aim too high, but as a result, it feels very grounded and straightforward, with a unique visual style to boot. You know exactly what you're getting into here, and the precision platforming holds up despite a few design flaws.

Made up of beautiful, 16-bit-esque graphics, tight controls, and a relationship between hero and jailer that unfolds in a fascinating way, Freedom Fall is one of the most solid and unique platformers I've played in quite some time.

Some games make me want to keep playing all night long, sucking hour after hour until the sun comes up. Dropchord makes me want to throw down my iPhone and dance till dawn. But that would mean I’d have to stop playing. It's a nice dilemma.

And while Puddle may have launched on nearly every platform this side of the generation first... it manages to finally land on iOS *still* leagues better than most of the competition. Don’t step-over this Puddle, jump in.

Solar Flux HD will have you back fighting entropy in no time at all.

If you missed Lightning Fighter the first time around and can look past the somewhat greedy IAP system, Lightning Fighter 2 is certainly worth checking out.

If you've been looking for a new endless runner, look no further than Swift Revenge. With a solid graphical style that's easy on the eyes, extremely tight controls, and a solid amount of variety, you'll have no problems spending an afternoon taking your revenge out on Doctor Crow.

The iOS platform has quietly become a haven for great racers, and Asphalt 8 looks to be leading the pack right now.

Lumberwhack is perfect for quick sessions, long playthroughs, or anything in-between. Although it's incredibly simple in nature, it's also one of the most fun castle defense games I've played in a while.

Gripes and design issues aside, Space Bits is a simplistic little shoot 'em up that can be enjoyed in short spurts, as you attempt to garner "just one more" level up, and score yet another marginal upgrade for your ship.

The price seems fair for this game as it lacks any in-app purchases and is low on content. I'd love to see the developer flesh the idea out more so players get a little more value for their buck. After all, these kind of games phased out of popularity for a reason.

Like the best iOS games, Sprinkle Islands takes a simple concept and creates a nice little time-waster that will provide pretty reliable entertainment in short bursts. Sure, it's a one trick pony, but its presentational charm, and the wonderful, childish fun you get from spraying water around means that you'd have to be pretty joyless not to see any appeal here.

MetalWars3 has all the parts to a mech game. In fact, it has many parts to what would make a good mech game. The upgrades you pick actually affect how you play the game, there can be actual nuance to the mechanics, and the things coming into your eyes and ears are rather pleasing. The problem is that as you keep playing it, the game begins to undermine itself, and you long for one of the speedier pinewood racers.

I hated Sonic Dash when I first played it. I did. I was sick of runners and I didn't like that the newest Sonic game had to be a runner. Well, guess who's still playing Sonic Dash? I hate to say it, but I gladly finished every mission in PAC-MAN DASH!, and should the developers release new content, I'll likely download the update and give them even more of my time, if not my IAP dollars. Once you accept that it's terrible, it's really not so bad.

All in all, PvZ2 is an incredible sequel. Unless you're exceptionally impatient or just not very good at these kind of games, it'll be totally free for you to play. If you've found yourself burnt by freemium games in the past, I highly recommend giving this one a spin as it might change your opinion on the pay model.

All told, Amateur Surgeon 3 is a fun game the first time around, hampered by an obtrusive and almost necessary freemium system.

It's not the most complicated game, but Trial By Survival makes up for it with feeling, making it well worth checking out in my book.

For optimal enjoyment of Ultima Forever, it’s best to play on an iPhone 5. Party members may still lag out and disappear, but you’ll have less frame issues. For the freemium price, I’m all on board for this Ultima MMO. When I’m in a solid party, I can’t put this game down. There’s too much to do and tons of reasons to go back into old dungeons and farm for better loot. Hopefully, with subsequent patches the frame issues will slowly disappear.

1 Coin Studio wanted to make a game that captured the essence of the 16-bit shooter and rewarded the player for skill, rather than offering up content in the form of IAP. In a world of ever increasing pay walls, to me this is a welcome business model and I hope it pays off for this team, as I really want to see what other digital miracles they have up their sleeves.

If you're in the market for a new platformer that puts a lot of effort towards replicating an old-school gameplay feel (in all regards) with new-school gameplay ideas, Brick Roll is an excellent game worth checking out.

The bottom line? An Alien with a Magnet is simply a fun game. There isn't much to detract from Rejected’s offering, aside from the repetition and the voice, the latter of which is entirely based upon you, whether you like him or not.

If you’re a fan of narrative fiction, and feel a bit nostalgic, you cannot go wrong with Paradox Factor.

Knife That Guy is a simple arcade game with just one really good core mechanic, fleshed out through its assortment of different characters and items.

It fires on all cylinders, and if you're a fan of the previous games you don't even need this review to determine if you should get it or not–you probably have already bought it.

The runner clearly isn’t dead yet. Lub vs Dub proves the genre’s heart beats louder and faster than ever.