War of Mercenaries is one of those games that may look a little too familiar when you first boot it up--specifically, it bears more than a passing resemblance to Kixeye's beloved Backyard Monsters and, more recently, Supercell's Clash of Clans. To its credit, it handles the popular concept well. Gone are the monsters and their suburban environs; in their place we have the trappings of medieval high fantasy and a host of memorable units. That might be enough to win you over if your preferences lean more toward high fantasy than Monsters, Inc., but be prepared to bring along some friends—the social requirements get demanding fast.
Most tower defense games revolve around placing obstacles and weapons along pathways so you can crush your enemy before they make their way to your tower. This formula has worked countless times in the past. What's less common is when your tower is your primary source of offense. Hills of Glory 3D takes the typical tower defense model and turns your defenseless tower into a killing machine.
Sometimes a game comes along that is simply too abstract to be recommendable to all, yet still feels like an experience you should be nudging as many people as possible in the direction of. Starseed Pilgrim is not for everyone - in fact, I would suggest that it's not even for most people.
Run Sheldon is one of the most adorable free endless runners to hit the App Store in quite some time. Perhaps that's because it's based upon one of the most memorable fables of all time: how the tortoise beat the hare in a race. This time, the tortoise in question is adorable little Sheldon, who's facing not just one but an entire gang of hares who want to beat him to the finish line. Old Man Hare wants to take the Golden Race Trophy back from Sheldon, but as he's gotten a little chubby in his old age, he's got to depend on his rabbit buddies to help him do so. That's where you come in.
If anyone is ever in the mood for running a city under the auspices of organized crime they have plenty of options to get their fix in a family-friendly way via the App Store. Freemium mafia games are pretty much their own subgenre at this point. While Crime Connection isn't without its own set of problems, it manages to stand up quite well against its peers.
Bottle Cap Blitz is a specific kind of game. It's fast, friendly, and free of the bells and whistles and constraints seen in a glut of App Store releases. And without a gorgeous exterior or extraneous additions, it still manages to reel you in and hook you with simplistic, addictive gameplay that channels the likes of Paper Toss, while combining the nature of the hit Fruit Ninja.
Aquascapes is an aquatic hidden object game with just a touch of aquarium management thrown in. It's almost like a simplified spin-off of the Gardenscape series, though instead of complicated time management interludes you can just sit back and stare at your virtual aquarium. It might be a little thin on features, but it's a clean and relaxing game that's perfect for the younger crowd.
War of the Fallen, Zynga's latest entry into the free-to-play collectible card game milieu, is precisely what you would, or at least should, expect from a Zynga game: it's accessible, very highly polished and has one hand on your shoulder while the other slowly reaches for your wallet.