Authenticity was always FIFA's strong hand. Now that the gameplay is world class too, this is the most realistic footy sim available, by a mile.

The range of scenarios that crop up is impressive, and the gameplay is complex and rewarding, but only if you can get past the fact that the lack of animation, multiple menus and statistics make for rather a dry experience.

If elaborate construction is what you had in mind, check out the more scholarly - not to mention free - Tinkerbox. But for when you want fun firing catapults at dolls to knock bowling balls onto see-saws, Casey's your man.

Our sole complaint is its baffling demand for an iPad 2; we honestly can't see what it's doing that needs the extra power. It spends quite a bit of time loading and there are lots of animated things going on, but nothing especially excessive that we'd expect to require an iPad 2. What do we know, though? If you have the technology, we strongly recommend it.

We love it, especially on iPad, where the bigger screen affords you more precision, while a boat-hat-wearing mutant crab and mecha-driving giant dog aim to bring your tower down. Like we said: odd.

It's pretty much Ants vs Zombies, but Ant Raid's controls are more organic than those in PopCap's game, and the oddball sense of humour and design is, if anything, superior. Our only criticism, bar the game's slightly repetitive nature, is it falls between two camps: a bit lightweight for dedicated RTS fans and too tough for casual gamers. Otherwise, it's f-ant-astic. (Sorry.)

But creator Zach Gage is clearly some kind of evil genius, because no sooner had we weaned ourself off his furiously addictive game than he laughed like a maniac and presented this update, which boasts Retina graphics, universal support and two new modes.

Bung in a vexation-defeating undo and an AI that amusingly flat-out lies during proceedings and you've got an essential iOS action-puzzler.

In short, MC3 is a game that, while slightly muscle-headed in its approach to character development, more than delivers when it comes to gripping, relentless and spectacular gameplay.

However closely you choose to follow the ravages of war, in the turn-based strategy genre Ravenmark reigns supreme. Boasting AI that can outflank you at 10 paces, and 15 varied campaign missions with the promise of more to come, at two quid it's a steal; with multiplayer, it'd be obscene.

Whether you're a word-game dabbler or a recovering Tetris addict with a penchant for letters, SpellTower is essential.

If you're a veteran, a discordant Blue Danube from Manic Miner and characters from 8-bit classics will raise a smile; if not, revel in the lovely craziness and wonder why all iOS games don't have this much imagination and heart.

The real joy here is the fluid gameplay. Play is controlled simply with an analogue stick for movement and three buttons for attacking and defensive activities. You can also double tap the right side of the screen to pull off some context-sensitive special moves.

We hugely enjoyed our time with Swampy. The game looks great - Swampy has plenty of character and the cut-scenes are a reminder of creator Disney's animation pedigree. It also controls well (bar an awkward, out-of-place scroll bar for navigating larger levels), especially on the iPad, which allows more precision (not least for younger players) due to its larger screen.

It's messy but when it works – that is, when you're comfy with the controls, laying waste to a horde of Mexican gangsters and not being bothered by the nonsensical plot – it works rather well, and to sweeten the deal there's a full dose of multiplayer, in which we spent a lot of time getting one-shot killed by people with much better weapons.

The game is therefore a little like Doodle Jump, but if jet packs and rockets were platforms and everything else was to be avoided. [Gold Edition]

You get four visually stunning locations, driven by the alien's desire for different cuisines, and each level has plenty of potential for exploration and experimentation. Even some slightly iffy controls didn't dampen our hunger for this game.

In short, it's an RPG that anyone – fans, old gamers, youngsters and newcomers alike – can enjoy.

Chances are that it's not going to be up your street, but if you're gazing at the screenshots and drooling at the prospect of lightspeed arcade action then, well, step right up.

Sky Gamblers: Rise Of GloryThe infuriating thing about Sky Gamblers – Rise of Glory is that just as you're swearing blind that the controls are completely impossible and that there's no way on earth that you'll ever be comfortable with them, you find that the controls have clicked and you're mostly enjoying yourself.

Super Crossfire eases you in gently - perhaps too gently, because most of the first 'chapter' of waves is a dull walkover. But subsequent chapters are more demanding, requiring quick thinking and rapid strategic adjustments. Additionally, the ferocious Dark mode and one of the finest power-up mechanisms we've seen ensures this game is one of the very best retro-oriented shoot 'em ups on the system.

If you didn't like the original, this won't convert you – and we hope Chair doesn't soon roll out the next in an infinite number of Infinity Blade games merely with new Titans and metal hats. But if you enjoyed battling the God King, Infinity Blade II's a no-brainer purchase.

Really, the game only catches on fire under scrutiny's magnifying glass when it comes to patrol path deletion, which occasionally lacks responsiveness. It's frustrating, but hardly a deal-breaker in an otherwise great game.

It is, however, a joy to look at and – in spite of its lows – highly replayable. Like guns, robots, and hiding behind walls? Then EPOCH.'s a no-brainer.

The obvious touchstone here is Angry Birds, but there's a neat element of strategy to each level that keeps everything from descending into a mere shoot-and-hope affair.

It might look a bit casual, but be warned: it doesn't take long to become very tricky indeed, which at least results in some top operatic comedy.

Yes, it's maybe just a little on the shallow side, and it has this annoying stash of red power-ups that you have to avoid because they leave you decidedly worse off for a while, oh, and it features boss battles, too. We honestly don't mind too much, though, because of the non-stop rocket action.

Squids merges the Angry Birds firing mechanism with top-down billiards-like physics, then welds the result to a cute, if short, role-playing adventure.