The distinctive sights and sounds are worth the effort.

Bad Piggies is awesome, and needs to be a part of your iOS game collection just as much as the rest of the Angry Birds series. Rovio nails the same accessibility of the Angry Birds games while taking the franchise in a direction that feels both totally fresh and entirely appropriate.

Granny Smith is a fun, high-speed platformer. It's nice to take a break from the endless types and still keep up the inertia that goes with them.

While it lasts it's an elegant and engaging game, one that builds an atmosphere of dark experimentation. You don't know quite where your search will take you, but it seems it won't be good.

The control issues mentioned above, while frustrating, don't detract greatly from the rest of the game. Apocalypse Max is still a great hybrid of platforming and shoot-em-up elements.

Give it a whirl-the Olympics may be over and done with, but if you relieve them with Best of British: Summer Sports, they'll be a lot more fun to remember.

It's hard not to love Lili. Like the character, the game can be obnoxious at times. But it's so pretty, so well-written, so cleverly designed on the whole that complaining feels a lot like nitpicking.

Guardian Cross has little beyond the illustrious name of it's developer going for it.

I really, really like Mad Skills BMX, and keeping in mind its challenge and somewhat steep learning curve, I still totally recommend giving it a try.

For people who've never experienced Rayman or those who have strayed from the series, this is an excellent (re)introduction. For those who've played Origins, this may feel a bit mechanically and aesthetically familiar.

If the premise appeals to you, download it and give it half an hour. At that point, if you're jazzed and really rockin' it, you've just made a friend. On the other hand, if you're feeling irritable or frustrated at that point, you should just delete the game and move on.

Yes, if you loved the original, you will undoubtedly enjoy Vs Racing 2. As far as being an arcade racer, the experience is about as smooth as one can expect for a game that focuses more on fundamentals. However, improvements over the original feel relatively minor, and the missing online multiplayer means Vs Racing 2 lacks that big ticket feature that sequels usually try and include.

It's something that grognards, history buffs, and casual strategy gamers alike should be able to get into, and that's quite an accomplishment.

If you're the guy or gal with the fancy iPad 2 or 3, Wonderputt is one of those sharp apps you just have to show everyone and will definitely earn a few cool points in doing so.

This seems to be the perpetual theme of Wild Blood: every positive seems to be counter-balanced by an unnecessary negative. The controls, story, gameplay -- even the visual engine itself, all seem to work against the elements that Gameloft do succeed in implementing. It's a shame because Wild Blood has the potential to be a must-have iOS title. Unfortunately, as it stands now, it's a mixed bag.

Final Fantasy: Dimensions is exactly what it wants to be: a new story in a familiar setting and system. For gamers who want to return to those long hours they spent with old-school Final Fantasy games, it will be like discovering a new book by their favorite author.

Dwarf Quest mostly succeeds at being a breezy, casual Roguelike, but it isn't very long (about as long as a single complete playthrough of 100 Rogues) and it feels like the first chapter of a longer story (the game's website promises a final confrontation with an undead wizard that is nowhere to be seen).

While Illusion Labs doesn't particularly offer anything innovative, Blast-a-Way proves that there is still room in the overcrowded puzzle arena for games that excel in pure execution.

It's hard to recommend Bug Invasion for anyone but the most diehard of tower defense fans looking for their next fix (and even then, I'm sure there are some classics you may have missed). For everyone else, it's probably best to avoid this infestation.

The controls are perfect: a precise accelerometer control that leaves the screen free for touch-and-hold to slow down time (but not your own movement). The look, sound and mechanics combine to create a calming, zen-like experience, which mitigates the game's only real weakness: having to play through the game's easy start every time.

While it doesn't exactly innovate on the genre, it's still something I find myself coming back to, forever intent on nudging my menagerie over the next performance plateau.

Granted, Initiative is a perfectly capable Infinity Blade clone for folks that are fans of the Marvel universe. However, for everyone else there's really nothing here from a gameplay perspective that hasn't been seen before or implemented better.

Considering its graphics, sound, and gameplay, few apps offer the elegance that is Splice: Tree of Life. Four dollars is a small price to pay to expand one's way of thinking.

Inexpensive, innovative, and sensory-spinning thrills of this caliber are rare.

An excellent hidden object game and is a great evolution of the original.

None of those marks detract from Plight of the Zombie's satisfying and strategic experience that offers a fresh take on the zombie formula. Puzzle fans shouldn't hesitate to devour this one.

You have to give the devs credit: they really tried to make it work.

Infinite Warrior isn't subtle or deep, it's a game about being being being badass and making it look easy... and a little campy.