If you enjoy weird, wonderful things or have ever wondered what it'd be like if Pug Luv Beats had been more of a game than a musical toy, you seriously need to check out Bad Hotel.

Great touch controls, fast action, amazing AI, intelligent level design, and an overall simplicity are all the reasons Trigger Fist has caused such a lapse in my productivity as of late.

Vampire Boyfriends does what it sets out to do: it's funny, a little sexy, and seriously entertaining. The illustrations are a bit rough, the opening music a little too startling each time you start over, but those things are hardly real problems.

A weird, wonderful and almost surprisingly expansive experience that will both infuriate and enchant.

The humor hovers on that level, a mix of pop-culture references, tough guy 'tude and "Jackass" worthy stunts. Maybe that, combined with shooting punks and rudeboys, coshing juves, and riding a AI motorcycle equipped with machine guns and a laser, is enough.

For all its charm and cleverness, Party Wave falls on the wrong side of the line between originality and accessibility. There's promise and style to be found here, but not nearly enough entertainment.

There's merit in a game where the buttons are integral to the world. It's just too bad that didn't quite happen here.

The imprecise controls, and surprisingly small song selection hold the game back.

Pocket Army isn't a game I'd recommend to someone looking for a deep, interesting strategy title. But if you someone who's comfortable investing hours into a grind for a treadmill of upgrades and a game that, while shallow, gets more interesting the more time you put in, then you should probably get started.

While Gasketball may stumble with some of its level design, it's a stunningly fresh game that actually shares something original. It's a game with a vision, and all of its constituent parts come together into a cohesive, groovy whole.

It's just flat-out an exceptional game, even a dozen years after the fact. The control difficulties will make for some annoying miscues, but it's as good as you can expect for this type of game on a touch screen.

Wizorb's control issues may sound dire, but in reality they're more annoying than game-breaking. Outside of that shortfall, Wizorb is an excellent puzzle title that does a great job integrating a classic brick-breaking experience with a fantastical 8-bit world.

For the most part, Commando Jack offers a fairly standard tower defense game that doesn't change the formula too much. Obviously, the big outlier is the inclusion of a first-person mode, which I think does a lot to differentiate it from the hordes of other tower defense titles on iOS.

Stuttery control issues aside, Blazing Star features some of the most intricate shooter gameplay you can find in the vast pool of shmups available on the App Store.

From the cleverness of its systems to the scope of its story, this title stands out.

Long story short, if you have a weakness for cute things or cats, Cats Away is definitely worth the low price of entry.

This is a good free title, and I think some of you will have fun with it, but it does get somewhat repetitive after a while. Still, you can't really complain about spending nothing for an hour of fun, so from that perspective I'd recommend that you give it a whirl.

If you're looking for a game that will keep you rapt for hours, Mr. Dreamer isn't it. When you need something to fill a brief, daydreamy break, though, it does a wonderful job.

iPad Gamers that embrace the style will easily find Slydris to be an excellent block puzzler with very little to complain about. Genre novices should also enjoy the game as its highly approachable gameplay and inviting feel is universally appealing. If you're looking for a new puzzle title to relax and kill time with, look no further.

While Shellrazer may not have a ton of lasting value, due to not much changing in each area besides increasing difficulty, it's still a great game that's definitely worth your time.

This is a precision platformer perfectly tuned for its platform-it can't help that I'm not tuned for it.

If it weren't for the dodgy controls and interface, Megatroid would be a top-tier game.

The game's multiplayer is seamlessly integrated, and all that's missing is the ability to curse at the other player and attempt to slap their controller out of their hands.

The folks at Digital Application Design have done a great job of bringing this shooter classic to a modern platform, and those who enjoyed Alien Breed so many years ago will be pleased to see that the feel of the original has been well preserved in its journey 20 years forward in time.

Knights of the Round Cable brings aspects of Dancing Dots' former IGF finalist but re-works the gameplay to work in a more casual tone. It pays off for the better, allowing for an experience that feels better on a mobile platform.

Shining praise aside, Bar Oasis 2 does have one problem: mixology gets boring. There are only so many drinks you can concoct before everything begins feeling repetitive.

Fluxe could be prettier, but don't let that turn you off-it's the brains that count in this game. It's a cruel taskmaster, but that's why it's fun. But me, I like a little more variety in my puzzle games.

The best way to enjoy Synesthetic is to think of it as less of a game and more of a really cool way to enjoy your music.

With there seeming to be no end to the endless runner genre on iOS, it's nice to see a high quality one released every once in a while. Captain Antarctica is in no way perfect, but it's fun while it lasts, and has plenty of features to keep you hooked for a while.

All too often do we see games like this too afraid to create a real challenge, yet Eager Beaver does that and does it well.

Fans of the original will be glad to have the game in their pocket, while newcomers should have no trouble grasping the simple controls and play style.

MST3K version is pretty entertaining. The game, however, is not.

Like most Gameloft's titles, it's a small-scale rendition of a bigger console experience that's worth playing for all the collectibles, missions, and upgrades, despite several shortcomings.

The speed, the timing, the frantic swiping as you hit your limits-it feels just right.

Orc: Vengeance is not without its issues. However, these minor annoyances are simply that. Even with these, you're still left with a great hack n' slash action-RPG with plenty of loot, decent controls and beautiful visuals.

With 64 levels to play and more promised on the way, Catapult King really does give you a lot to do. And that's before you mention the dragon fights that come later down the line. Wait, did I mention those?

This is a game you need.

If you're fond of The Walking Dead and want to play something that takes that source material seriously, and tells a great story while it does it, this game is definitely it. If you're looking for something much more involving from a joystick perspective, you might want to look elsewhere.

The main challenge with Ichi isn't so much solving a puzzle - with the tricks at your disposal, solving puzzles becomes largely trivial. The real difficulty comes in solving the puzzles in as few taps as possible.

It's nice to see a refreshing take on a rhythm game these days, and it's even greater that Disco Kitten doesn't rely on gimmicks or licensed songs to throw smoke and mirrors over its action. Playing the game is a relaxing, yet engaging escapade that you'll be tapping your feet to for quite some time.

It's simply an amazing turn-based strategy game and a worthy sequel to the series.

For each of the game's faults, there's usually something else that's equally deserving of your attention, and that means it's definitely worth your time to at least check out.

I'd rather pay more for the game up-front and know that gold drops are balanced. When they implement random players, I hope they also add some sort of "party management" system allowing inactive players to be dropped and replaced.

My only regret was that it didn't go on longer (but sequel maybe, please?)

While Radia isn't setting any new trends it's certainly not a bad title.

It just isn't very much fun.

Gilbert and Kauzlaric do a great job of hiding the childish playfulness of the game under dry wit and game trappings like missions and goals, but underneath all that it's pure play time.

It may not be as revolutionary as its progenitor but it's certainly capable of standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the tower defense heavyweights in the App Store. SubAtomic Studios definitely have not lost their touch. Now, go buy it.

Unfortunately, nice looking visuals aren't enough to propel Crash Birds Islands above the rest of the 3D platformers on iOS. For fans of platformers, Crash Birds certainly has enough to satisfy any itches for a new game. However, the iffy tilt-controls, suspect upgrade system and lackluster objectives do little to appeal to anyone else.

It's not the cleverest, perhaps, and that's a strike against it for any aspiring linguists in the crowd. On the other hand, it's sharp, attractive and fun.

There is a backdrop of familiarity to everything Dédale does, but it does a great job with mechanics most of us know by heart.

When playing previous Tap Tap Revenge games, I've always had issues with tap feedback as well as the occasional slowdown and jittering (making note paths seem not as smooth). Unfortunately, Tour doesn't seem to do much to alleviate those concerns.

Bop It! Smash isn't a bad game. It's a different take on a popular formula, albeit one that holds less appeal and staying power than the original.

In the end, Jar on a Bar is a classic case of a puzzler with decent ideas hampered by some implementation choices.

So here's the scoop: if you've played Saving Yello and you want to know if this semi-sequel is fun, yeah, it's fun. It's a very different sort of game, but it's a blast.

The more I play Outwitters, the more I become convinced that it's a heck of a game.

It's not the deepest game out there (nope, no complicated decisions about who to abandon and who to save here. Just point and shoot), but it's definitely en-gross-ing in all the right ways.

If you're a fan of board games, you kinda owe it to yourself to pick this one up. I'm usually adverse to the idea of playing a board game on my iPhone but this actually went swimmingly well. It's a solid package and one that will keep your inner entrepreneur happy for hours on end.

Whether the stars are right for Cthulhu Saves the World may depend on how much you love Lovecraft. If you're just looking for a good retro-RPG, you might want to wait for the patches before giving this one a try.

As much as I liked Puzzle Dungeons, I can't help but wonder what it would have been like if it had been fleshed out a little more. The core is solid and can be a good time, but I think some story and the ability to share could have taken a good game and made it great.

It's tough to give TheEndApp a hard time about its striking similarities to Temple Run. On one hand, a good deal of its gameplay mechanics are simply derivatives made popular by the popular endless runner. On the other hand, there's a reason why that combination works so well. TheEndApp deserves at least some credit for recreating the experience and, more importantly, doing it well.

The moment you start thinking too hard about it, your fingers get tangled and it all falls apart.

For seven bucks you could purchase a handful of objects that instill the same sense of simple, gleeful play that The Amazing Spider-Man evokes at its very best, without any of the baggage. Like a an action figure. Or a jumping-jack.

Squids Wild West isn't fundamentally different from its predecessor, but it's a great follow-up. It's also an excellent chapter in the story of Squids, one with dramatic tension, clever dialogue and all those kinds of good things.

The presentation is top notch, there's plenty of content and it's the closest racer to Wipeout that I've played on iOS so far, which is certainly not a bad thing. If fast and frenetic racing is for you, look no further.

Sometimes you need to punch something, and Unstoppable Fist is good for those times. Five or ten minutes of being down chickens and scorpions can cure any woe, especially if you let yourself sink into the absurdity of it all. But for longer-term excitement, you should probably look elsewhere. There's only so far a dude standing on a trashcan can go.

Nihilumbra is a must-play game, whether you're in it for the story or the art, the puzzles or the platforming.

The game's multiplayer implementation is also a mixed bag: user friendly, but a bit limited at present, with no way to download other people's custom maps or create a game just for your friends.

The visuals are absolutely captivating, and are an excellent inexpensive way to showcase just how beautiful games could be on the new iPad. However, as a game, Dead Trigger just falls flat in terms of implementation offering the same dull freemium-based experience that we've seen before.

It might not be the most groundbreaking thing you'll ever play, but it's a decent entry in the iOS shooter universe.

I would have unequivocally recommended Darkside if it cost any reasonable amount. However, considering you can download it for free, you have no excuse not to check out this most excellent arcade shooter.

It's all I need from a game, really. And for the love of God, if you've ever enjoyed a Japanese pop song, buy it, because it's pretty much made for you.

While not every element was perfectly executed, it really has a tremendous amount going for it with its lovely score, beautiful art, and memorable gameplay.

It's mature, old school design. Very rough around the edges, and certainly not showpiece for the platform. Ugly, in fact. But it's also a lot of fun, and interesting enough that, given my resistance to cheating, I have a feeling I'll be squatting my way through for another solid three or four weeks.

I just can't recommend Dynamite Jack enough. It isn't the prettiest game on the platform, but it's a shining example of a port done right.

There are very few games like this on the App store, which makes it worth playing if you care even a little bit about the adventure genre. It'll make for a nice breath of fresh air between all those physics puzzlers out there.

Lumicon requires razor-sharp focus and nimble fingers, and there are plenty of strategies to suss out. If you think you and your vocabulary can handle it, you really ought to take a look.

It's deeply absorbing, and a strategy treat that fans of the genre should not miss.

Cartoony, easy on the eyes and smoothly animated, Velocirapture looks like some twisted children's television show's iOS game spin-off. While hardly the deepest gaming experience around, Velocirapture remains one of those engaging sort of titles that are perfect for the long minutes in someone's waiting room.

Webbies might be casual-friendly, but it's got plenty of potential for those of us looking for more of a challenge.

It's a beautiful, well-told story, and an experience that isn't like much of anything being made today. It's worth a look for the sake of novelty alone. And while I can't say they'll all live happily ever after, winning your way through the game's brief tale is a satisfying experience on its own.

You won't be blown away by any of the auditory or visual elements in Boom Brigade 2, but in all honesty that's not what this game is about. Rather, Boom Brigade 2 focuses on a real-time strategy experience with loads of weapons and explosions. On this front, few people will end up unsatisfied.

Band Together winds up feeling just a little bit inconsistent. Judged purely on its puzzling, it doesn't really distinguish itself. The puzzles are well-crafted, but they aren't going to seriously tax most players. But bring in the themes, the atmosphere and the presentation and it starts to resemble an experience that shouldn't be missed.

This is a pretty simple game-the high score chase is great, but there's not much else to it.

The only thing I wasn't nuts about was being forced to play multiplayer when I happily would have battled against the computer AI endlessly, but being a natural-born hermit, even I realize I have to be brave and play with others. Sometimes.

Gamers looking for a novel twist on tower defense should definitely consider checking out Human Defense. While the uneven difficulty and IAP may turn off some, I enjoyed the successful melding of puzzle and tower defense.

Regardless of whether you've been vaguely curious about Magic the Gathering or an experienced player, you need to try Magic 2013 on the iPad. For us veterans of the game, it'll also serve as a cruel tease and horrid reminder of how badly Magic Online needs an iPad port.

The kitsch is intact, and so is the light-hearted fun.

The biggest issue I have with Suspect In Sight lies with its controls. Players are given the option of using either the accelerometer or virtual joystick to control your helicopter. Unfortunately, both simply feel sluggish and not as responsive as I'd like.

An excellent port showcasing a psychedelic flair in its retro-visuals that seems to be quite prevalent in iOS arcade titles (and for good reason). Add in the quick pace, large number of levels and wide variety in difficulties, and you've got a great game worth checking out.

Chrono&Cash is still a good time on its own, don't get me wrong. If you've played Super Crate Box and Spellsword and you still want more, this game makes for a refreshing (if minor) change of pace.

This isn't a game for the control freak, or for anyone looking for a truly deep experience, but for a nice, light death or two? Load it on up, and see how far it takes you.

Of course, everything else in No Red T-Shirts is really all in good fun. But man, it's hard to shake the feeling that there's something a little wrong with punishing protesters and shaking down photographers.

Affliction amounts to an impressive faux VR tech demo that, while impressive and fairly priced, probably won't hold your attention for long.

A great diversion. Retro Dreamer has brought in a lot of its brand of charm, with cute in-joke collectables to discover and tongue-in-cheek descriptions for every little thing. It may not be the best game for those looking to dig up a serious challenge, but it's also far from mindless.

It's a smart variation on the dual-stick shooter theme, and one that's strangely reminiscent of my most recent obsession, Diablo III.

Every day we see games that pander and require as little of us as possible; it's always a relief to play one that's willing to ask for more.

It definitely feels like their most streamlined version of their formula so far, and comes strongly recommended if you haven't done the Kairosoft thing to death yet. But if you've had enough of the sim formula from Kairosoft you may want to give it a rest, lest you end up as burned out on it as I am.