Same as every dog picks up a case of fleas sometime in its life, those of us that play video games on a regular basis have been burned by licensed games at least once. There are no exceptions. As a result, we immediately assume the worst about licensed fare, sometimes prodding at it with a tissue when interaction is necessary. But one benefit to approaching licensed games on the defensive is that it makes the decent games that much easier to appreciate. Despicable Me: Minion Rush, for example, is an endless running game that’s well-polished and surprisingly charming.

Combo Crew is a beat'em'up for touch screen devices from The Game Bakers. The studio's creative director, Emeric Thoa, doesn't want you to get knocked out too quickly. He's been kind enough to share the following tips and tricks with Gamezebo's readers.

Melvin the moon's buddy Sammy has disappeared! Sammy just so happens to be a star, which is where the game Star Thief gets its name! Combining a little piece of Fruit Ninja with a sidescrolling platform game, Star Thief keeps things simple while providing a lot of excitement. It's one of those games you just won't be able to put down.

A sequel to last year’s quirky and well-received Bucketz, Bucketz Ride expands the basic physics-puzzling formula of the first game, and adds some interesting new twists and designs to always keep those buckets half full. Bucketz Ride is certainly a strange beast of a game, and while I can’t say I particularly enjoyed the overall ride, I do have to admit that I’ve never played anything quite like it on the App Store before.

Marble shooters are a dime a dozen, but the better ones always stick with you. Case in point: Zuma. Sparkle 2 is an example of a similar outing that could coast along on the success of the games that came before it, but it's actually a slick and entertaining alternative that will very easily usurp hours of your time if you're not careful.

Polygon Storm, the intergalactic geometry dodger from Glass Knuckle Games is a pretty interesting concoction. First try to imagine a minimalist’s take on the “bullet hell” genre. Now strip away the bullets (yes, even your own), throw a little bit of Asteroids into the mix, and replace your starship with a vanity mouse cursor from some old shareware disk. Wait, I’m getting ahead of myself with that last bit. Those sparkly contrails emanating from the rear of your craft are one of many unlockables granted as you play. As a matter of fact, the entire game is built on a foundation of unlockable content, and I mean this quite literally.

Did you know that Will Smith summertime blockbusters have opened number 1 at the box office for something like, 75 years in a row? Yup, it’s true. Even the dreadful Wild Wild West did well with moviegoers, but sadly, that streak has ended with the recent After Earth: an original story by Smith starring the man himself and his son, Jaden. The M. Night Shyamalan-directed vehicle—which has faced allegations of subtle Scientology propaganda— opened to low numbers recently, so is it really a surprise that the licensed iOS game would be similarly disappointing? Nope.

Quite honestly, I didn't "get" SlamBots at first. I booted up the game, bounced around for a while, died rather quickly, and wondered what the heck all of that was about. I tried again, and received essentially the same results. And then again, and again, and perhaps a few more times as well.

There’s never a bad time to go for a drive, not even during a nuclear apocalypse. Especially during a nuclear apocalypse. What’s better than listening to your tires crunch under the bones of zombies while the scorching, irradiated wind whips through what remains of your hair?

Mansion Run is a simple "endless runner" in which you play as a dapper skeleton named Bones Wellington, who must flee from a gang of ghosts while dodging haunted furniture and collecting the bones that are lying around his mansion. It'll put your reflexes to the test, but aside from a steady increase in obstacles and speed, what you see in the first 30 seconds of play is quite literally what – and all – you get.