Touch Arcade

It's probably safe to say that World of Warships Blitz will appeal to a slightly smaller niche of mobile gamers than its tanking cousin, and that's okay. Not only is it a change of pace from tank battles that arguably place an even greater emphasis on player skill, it also offers a type of combat that you won't find in quite as many places on the App Store. If you try it out and find the battles to your liking, there's a good chance you'll be sticking around for the long haul.

Neutronized makes great games, and Nitrome publishes great games, so really it shouldn't be any surprise to anyone that Slime Pizza is a ton of fun. And really, being totally free and with a super agreeable pay model I really can't think of any reason to not download this game. If you find yourself playing it enough that the ads are getting annoying, flip 'em $3.99 to get rid of them. Or don't! You do you.

Overall the game completes very quickly but you get to see some great art and goofy slapstick hijinks along the way. It does seem like there are multiple endings and even though I have not yet explored them, there may be some replay value in this game after completing the first time. The app store is getting to the point where you can say something like, "I want to be inside a Terry Gilliam cartoon" and expect it to happen which is utterly amazing. Four Last Things has managed to find a really fun and goofy foothold where very few games can compare.

That being said, I'd consider all The Room games must-plays, so, where you start is up to you. It doesn't surprise me that Old Sins is fantastic, as I doubt it surprises anyone who has been paying attention to the series. In a nutshell, The Room games are among the best puzzle games the App Store has to offer, and Old Sins falls right in line with the three previous amazing titles.

Each mission has a set of 3 objectives, and eventually 3 more will open up under a higher difficulty. After a few hours of gameplay, a third difficulty unlocks and you will find yourself going back to earlier levels and experiencing them in a completely different context. The game has a really solid flow to it.

That shouldn't stop you from purchasing the base game if rhythm games are your jam though, because Cytus II is a darn good one, building on what its makers have previously accomplished and wrapping it in a slick package. Even if you don't surrender to its story, you just might to the music. Just be sure to limber up those fingers first, because they're going to be moving.

Whether it’s the hilariously helpless sheep boss, or the way in which the developers never introduce too much mayhem in terms of environment-manipulating madness (a colorblind mode is even included for complete accessibility), It’s Full of Sparks impressed me throughout with how well thought out virtually all of its individual elements are.

Paradise stands as a solid stardard bearer for the Rusty Lake brand. As a stand alone installment, this is as good a place as any to get into the narrative feel and personality behind these games. For veterans of this series of games you will find nods and small connections to the predecessors of Paradise. If you are looking for a dark story with some themes of rituals, biblical plagues, family secrets and a few highlights of puzzle gameplay, you are going to fit right in with what this game offers.

Double Dragon 4 isn't terrible, but it's not very good, either. For better or worse, it feels like something the Double Dragon team would have cooked up in the early 1990s if they were making a NES-exclusive sequel. In doing that, it not only ignores the significant common-sense improvements the genre has made over the last twenty-five years, but also the very same advances its contemporary competition brought to the fore in the 16-bit era.

Beyond Helios isn't a terribly complicated game. Like the arcade games it pays homage to, it's best for a quick game here and there rather than locking in for a longer session. It controls well, presents exciting action, has lots of stuff to unlock, and generally manages to be more fun than frustrating. It's not going to knock your socks off with innovative features or anything like that, but if you still have it in you to enjoy the simple pleasure of pointing a little pixel ship at pixel aliens and blasting them into oblivion, you'll want to give this one a look.