One of the advantages of this being a port of a classic game is that there is far more content – more scenarios and ways to play them – than would be invested in an original iOS game.

Expectations aside, Dungeon Hearts can be great fun. Just don't let the battle music and cute little heroes convince you you're settling in for an RPG.

It's really a shame because outside of this frustrating facet of the game's story mode (as well as the pop-up) Dream Chaser isn't that bad of an endless runner. As it stands, genre fans will probably still find it worth checking out, if anything for its style and story mode. For everyone else, it's probably worth a pass.

Like a top notch student handing in a rush job, Mittens sags not under the weight of what it does wrong, but all that it could have done much better.

Eyes is as immersive, as unsettling, and as chilling a horror experience as you'll find on any platform, if not as lengthy as horror fans would like.

Slayin may not have done much to quell my hopeless addiction to retro visuals, but it may have done me one better: it's raised the bar for all games like it.

Still, if platforming is your bag, don't let grinding or opening your wallet keep you from missing out on Ms. Splosion Man's gorgeous, fast-paced, and rewarding adventure.

Sonic Dash is free right now, so give it a try. Whether or not you'll want to pay more into the game for a coin doubler or currency packs requires almost as little consideration: if you like endless runners, you'll like this one, too.

In many regards, The Seed plays out very much like its namesake. Small-time gameplay elements eventually flower into complicated contraptions that require analysis, foresight and precision to succeed. It's this growth in gameplay and scenery that's showcased through the entirety of the (all too brief) game that makes it fun to play.

My technical issues due to playing on an "older" device aside, brevity is the beauty of Smash the Office. The game is mostly mindless, but that makes it the perfect time-waster when you just want to smash things--real things, things you have to soldier through every day for eight hours and a lunch break--for a few minutes here and there.

Trauma is a game with small frustrations and big ideas, well proportioned.

Make no mistake, as an RPG Nameless is about as streamlined as it gets. Unfortunately, it doesn't quite hit that exploration/battle balance that's important for preserving interest.

IAP grievances aside, Super Stickman Golf 2 is a fun and compelling puzzler, and a steal at only a buck.

Go ahead and give it a try. Spaceteam is fun, free, and guaranteed to be a hit at your next get-together.

Fellow robot sympathizers, players looking for a mental workout, or anyone bitter their iPad still can't play Machinarium: don't let this one pass you by.

Whether in your own crypt before you go to sleep, or at a family dinner with ghoulish relatives, Le Vamp is a charming, clever runner worth checking out. If your last flirtation with the genre was with something like Punch Quest [Free], this may just be one worth sinking your teeth into.

Still, the foundational gameplay in Galactic Conflict is sound and is certainly worth checking out for iOS RTS fans as long as you don't go into it expecting the next great masterpiece.

The campaign is fun, but it really has nowhere to go but through the same paths again and again. And the multiplayer—the multiplayer has so much potential, but it's crippled by the lack of online competitors.

With plenty of depth, replayability and a great melding of genres, there's plenty to check out and enjoy.

In the same way Electroplankton offered the DS a totally unique game-like way to relax, create, and experiment with music, Melodive is a must-have when you want to mellow out, or tickle your brain.

It's a sharp, fast-paced romp and while its somewhat hampered by its diminutive length, there's enough of Liberation Maiden to warrant attention. Bombs away.

Of course, Bobbing isn't for everyone—you need to have the patience and mild masochism that constant failure and repetition requires—but if you can dig its viciousness, don't be surprised if you start forgetting to put it down for less important stuff, like breaks. And meals.

It totally captures that gameplay niche of a game you can load up and play for a few minutes while providing a feel of progression that also makes the title suitable for substantially longer play sessions- Especially once you start to discover some of its secrets and other particularly effective techniques for maximizing your score.

It does do an amazing job of exploiting its aesthetic, and it’s worth picking up purely because of that.

Assuming you can handle the grind associated with its difficulty, by all means check out Fury of the Gods as its certainly worth playing.

It’s a pity – Gravity Duck has such style, and the four-way-gravity gameplay holds a lot of potential for puzzle-solving. Unfortunately, unlocking unchallenging levels never feels like much of an accomplishment, and difficulty levels remain ho-hum throughout the entire game.

Runner aficionados will find little to keep them hooked in a playing field full of meatier options.

The most important thing is this: if you play, you will die, but you will want to pick yourself up and start all over again when you do. That's the mark of a good roguelike, that incentive to never give up, no matter how stacked the odds.