Touch Arcade

Really, PWN: Combat Hacking is just about where it needs to be—but not quite. The atmosphere has that fun, campy Hackers vibe, but the music gets old and the story is, well, let's just call it thin. 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.

Of course, if the appeal of Minecraft-like construction (or the controls of iOS FPS titles) doesn't suit your fancy, it's hard to imagine that you'll particularly enjoy Block Fortress. However, for those that are intrigued, Foursaken's latest is a game that simply has to be experienced. With plenty of depth, replayability and a great melding of genres, there's plenty to check out and enjoy.

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.

Even if you're not interested in chasing high scores, Liberation Maiden is a full-hearted iOS port in a genre we don't see much on the App Store, and Grasshopper Manufacture implemented its tricky control scheme with admirable grace, boosted by production values and attention to details.

Ridiculous Fishing is such a complete package that it's an effortless recommendation. 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.

Still, despite the difficulty (and IAP) woes, Fury of the Gods is a great addition to the iOS tower defense collection. Its well-done visuals, 'interactive' tower-defense gameplay and added layers of strategy via its 3D environments are welcome changes to the traditional tower defense formula. Assuming you can handle the grind associated with its difficulty, by all means check out Fury of the Gods as its certainly worth playing.

The game occasionally feels clunky, with paths that are poorly telegraphed and a run mechanic that occasionally gets in the way, but most of the time it's more awe-inspiring than awkward. Penumbear is a huge game, and a solid classic platformer. You'll be grateful for its color and light as you delve into its darkest places.

Of course retro junkies will no doubt find room for subtle strategy, and use patience to their advantage in the climb to maddeningly high tallies. Even then, in the hands of less committed players, you'd be hard pressed not to get at least 1001 fun-filled attempts out of this one. I'd buy that for a dollar - and so should you.

This all sounds a bit bleak—an awkwardly written word game that never reaches its potential—but for all that, Word Up Dog is lovable. It's a bit dorky, and it needs a few tweaks to really offer much lasting value, but what's here is quite fun. It just needs a little more worth digging.

Hackycat is a solid game of kick-ups wrapped in a pretty delightful package—and hey, if you're going to kick cats, make it these ones. They need the help, and you need the cheeseburgers if you're going to kick 'em all.