CASUAL
Air Penguin
A father penguin jumps between melting ice caps in order to save his family. There’s also ice sliding, turtle riding and shark problems to face along the way. The control system is tilt-based and the story mode has a 100 stages to get through.
Why we like it: Nice graphics, extremely addictive and very easy to control once you’ve got used to it.
Price: $0.99
Stupid Zombies
From the creators of Plants vs. Zombies, Stupid Zombies requires you to kill the living dead using a similar strategy as Angry Birds. What’s different is that instead of flicking birds, you click and shoot the zombies with your shotgun. A feel for physics is a plus, or your shooting won’t be very precise.
Why we like it: Just as addictive as Plants vs. Zombies, the graphics are pretty neat and it’ll take weeks as there are over 480 stages.
Price: $0.99
Bumpy Road
An aging happy couple takes a trip down memory lane, and it’s your job to help them pick up all the memories along the way. The memories you’ve collected can be viewed as a storyline in the Memory Lane mode.
Why we like it: The graphics are amazing eye-candy and will make it easy to kill time once you get used to the slightly tricky controls.
Price: $2.99
SPORTS AND FIGHTING
Flick Golf Extreme
This new sequel version lets you tee-off on extremely unpredictable courses like the Grand Canyon, an aircraft carrier or an oil rig. Unlike other golf games, you only need to flick your finger to hit the ball and control the spin.
Why we like it: You don’t have to like golf to enjoy this game and you don’t have to worry about the rules or choosing a club. The display is awesome and you can also listen to your own music while you play a round.
Price: $2.99
Street Fighter IV Volt
This is an updated version of the previous Street Fighter IV, and offers you the old school Capcom’s 2D street fighting game play. In solo mode, you start the tournament choose a character and fight against your rivals. What’s new in this release is the online mode, which allows you to challenge and collect trophy cards for beating your friends or random players via WiFi.
Why we like it: If you’re looking for a rewind button to your childhood, this is the app. Simple and exciting in one go.
Price: $6.99
WORDS AND PUZZLES
Hanging with Friends
An online version of the traditional hangman, which you can enjoy with a random opponent or with your friends There are five balloons for each player, and one will pop when you make a wrong guess. Since there is no time limit, the game can go on for days or weeks.
Why we like it: Seeing your friends lose is way more amusing than beating a computer opponent. Plus there’s a chat window provided for conversations during the games.
Price: Free
Haunted Manor: Lord of Mirrors
With a point and click system, you have to solve 90 mini-puzzles and find hidden objects throughout the game to help Stan Riddle escape from the Lord of Mirrors.
Why we like it: Quality graphics and spooky background music. If you like games with a plot, get this. We also like the fact that zooming is enabled.
Price: $0.99
STRATEGY/SIMULATION
Food Processing
Your only job is to slice, chop, crack and peel all of the food that sails along the conveyor belt. You’ll need to learn the correct way to process each food type to get the perfect score, while always remembering to ignore rotten items. The belt speeds up as you get more points.
Why we like it: This game is as compelling as it is simple, especially if you have a few friends to compete with for high scores. Unlike Fruit Ninja, Food Processing requires the players to chop each object in specific ways and that really does its job as an office time killer.
Price: $0.99
Chocolate Tycoon
Unlike other empire-building games, this combines time management and a Harvest Moon story-telling style. You play a girl in charge of a chocolate shop, responsible for making them and serving customers. The chocolate-making involves solving a mini-puzzle (like Bejeweled) to vary the flavors.
Why we like it: The game involves cute characters with quality graphics. New characters and quests are introduced from time to time to keep things interesting.
Price: $0.99
Pocket Academy
You’re given a piece of land, a basic shell of a school, then put in charge of making it one of the best in the country. Your role involves building the facilities, hiring the staff, and making sure that the school gets high ratings from potential students.
Why we like it: This is a no-nonsense game that requires a lot of planning, thinking, and patience. Although the story moves a bit too slow at first, after an hour or less, you can’t stop. The graphics aren’t great, but the story makes up for it.
Price: $3.99
Supermarket Mania 2
If you’ve fallen in love with casual time management games like Diner Dash, you’ll probably like this game as well. Basically, you have to run a supermarket: stock the shelves, manage the carts, and work the cashier. The higher you go, the more challenges you face. There are 50 stages in total.
Why we like it: This game is so simple yet challenging it can easily become your commute pastime.
Price: $2.99
ROLE PLAYING/ ADVENTURE
Order & Chaos
Very similar to World of Warcraft, this is a multiplayer online game. You know the drill: you’ll have to pick a character, a race: the hero or the villains, a class, then begin the quest. The main point is to travel the world, find quests and fight with enemies to gain experience points and move up to higher levels.
Why we like it: This game looks veryimpressive when compared to similar MMORPG games on the mobile platform. Although the content depth can’t really compare to the original WoW, but it’s still addictive and enjoyable.
Price: $6.99
Puzzle Agent 2
Agent Nelson Tethers returns following last year’s award-winning episode. You’ll be traveling around a city, interacting and questioning people in an attempt to solve a case. The puzzles are mainly based on logic and are pretty challenging.
Why we like it: A great brain-exercising game. The animation is remarkable and charming, as is the story line and background music.
Price: $4.99
RACING
Death Rally
Similar to other kill-zone racing apps, Death Rally pits you against mafia rivals in road races. The strategy is to make dirty attacks on opponents while racing. After each round, you’ll unlock new levels and earn cash points to upgrade your vehicle.
Why we like it: It looks great and the controls are pretty easy once you’ve upgraded the handling bar. Overall, the game will give your heart a good work out as you race to the finish.
Price: $0.99
Sonic & Sega All Stars Racing
If you’ve ever played Mario Kart on the NDS, you know what to expect. Choose from Grand Prix, single race, time trial or mission, then race to the finish and use special items to beat rivals to collect trophies. The multiplayer mode also allows you to join or host the game over Bluetooth and WiFi.
Why we like it: The bold graphics really makes it worth the price and you can enjoy this racing madness with up to three friends. First time players will find it a bit hard to control, but will get the hang of it after a few rounds.
Price: $4.99
