Welcome to our weekly roundup of the best new games for smartphones and tablets, from console classics and casual multiplayer games through to driving, zombies and, er, zombie bowling.
As ever, all these games were released in the last seven days. Prices are included, but bear in mind where a game is marked as Free, it's highly likely to be using in-app purchases. Actually, a lot of the paid games are also using IAP nowadays too.
One note: no Windows Phone games. I may be missing something, but usually there's at least one new Xbox-integrating Windows Phone game a week, but one's been elusive this week. Hopefully that'll change next week though.
On with this week's selection:
Jet Set Radio (£2.99)
Oh, I miss the Dreamcast – a console ahead of its time with its online features, and with some cracking games that deserved a wider audience than they got. Something that's been rectified since the Dreamcast's demise with ports to various platforms. Now marvellous musical-skating spray-'em-up Jet Set Radio has appeared on iOS and Android, as you zoom around Tokyo leaving graffiti in your wake. The link above is for Android but here's the iOS version.
Android / iPhone / iPad
Chaos Rings Omega (£8.99)
Or Chaos Rings ? if you want the official title on the Google Play store. This is from Square Enix, a conversion of its iOS roleplaying game, where you're taking part in a "fight to the death" tournament, battling a succession of fantasy foes. The £8.99 price is certainly bold for Android, although in the week since the game's release, it's yet to pass 500 sales.
Android
BattleFriends at Sea (Free)
Moving on from more-hardcore games, how about someone giving Battleships the 'With Friends' multiplayer treatment? No, not Zynga: developer Tequila Mobile is the company responsible here, with asynchronous watery ship-battles against Facebook friends, complete with neat graphics and the ability to play across different devices.
Android / iPhone / Android
Arcane Legends (Free)
This online co-operative RPG ("with pets") has been very popular on Android, with more than 1m downloads and over 20k five-star ratings. Now it's available on iOS too. It sees you taking control of a hero, teaming up with other players and battling a succession of foes, while unlocking new skills and finding animals to help out. There's a solo mode too, if you're feeling unsocial.
iPhone / iPad
Hamilton's Adventure THD (£2.59)
Fatshark's new game is a port of an existing PC/console title, where you explore 22 levels of puzzle-action challenges with adventurer Hamilton and his pet bird Sasha. The idea being that you use both characters to work your way through the traps and enemies. It works on Tegra 3-powered devices only for now, and has an additional Expansion version with more chapters.
Android
Contract Killer Zombies 2 (Free)
Glu's freemium Contract Killer games have been very popular, so why not add zombies into the mix? That's the pitch here: you control a heroine called Evelyn who's trying to solve an undead outbreak while clearing out "the Savehaven Research Center". Any resemblance to the Resident Evil games is... Well, it's presumably entirely intentional.
iPhone / iPad
Hyperwave (£0.69)
Released for iOS a few weeks ago, sci-fi shooter Hyperwave is now also on Android devices, aiming to blend the old (Space Invaders) with the new (Geometry Wars, Super Crossfire) in its genre. That means waves of enemies to shoot, power-ups to collect, and LOTS of neon.
Android
Word Derby (£0.69)
A number of developers are currently trying to push the word-game genre forward on mobile devices, with the success of Letterpress proving that innovation can be rewarded in downloads. Word Derby is a new release from Chillingo that takes a quirky approach: virtual horse races powered by making words to score points. Up to four players can compete in each match.
iPhone / iPad
Zen Shapes: The Way of the Brush (£0.69)
For word games, also read puzzle games, with the app stores still a fertile spawning ground for new spins on matching and sorting games. Zen Shapes takes calligraphy as its inspiration, as you take virtual scraps of paper and turn them into shapes against the clock. It's one of the most moreish games this week.
iPhone / iPad
Chop Chop Ninja World (Free)
With more than 7m downloads so far, Gamerizon's Chop Chop games have quite a fanbase. Now the company is bumping up its ambitions with an "epic social platformer" where you play a ninja kicking (and chopping) his way across a series of levels, while connecting with friends who are building their own kingdoms.
iPhone / iPad
The Bowling Dead (Free)
Yup: zombie bowling. Or, to give you the pitch: "In a world overrun by an undead horde, one man stands in the way of complete annihilation of the human race. One man... and his balls." It sounds ridiculous, but might just work as you bowl your way through more than 40 levels unlocking new balls as you go.
iPhone / iPad
Vectrex (Free)
This one's getting gamers of a certain age hot under the collar: an iOS port of the Vectrex games console from the early 1980s, including games like Blitz, Scramble and Pole Position, with more to come via in-app purchase. The app is designed to resemble the original console, and it also plays nice with the retro iCade accessory.
iPhone / iPad
Fashion Inc. by Stardoll (Free)
Almost the polar opposite in likely-demographic terms from Vectrex, Fashion Inc. is a game offshoot from virtual world Stardoll, where you have to run your own fashion house, designing, making and selling posh clobber, with a connection back to the main Stardoll world to collect exclusive items.
iPhone / iPad
Flashout 3D (£1.49)
This game's influences are fairly clear: futuristic flying vehicles with wings whizzing round twisty tracks to an electronica soundtrack, anyone? That'd be Wipeout. Expect eye-blasting visuals, lots of weapons and upgrades, and the obligatory pulse-racing music.
iPhone / iPad
Wombi Detective (£1.49)
Something for the youngest iOS users here: a game from Swedish developer Wombi Apps with a suitably hard-boiled detective trying to solve a robbery by interrogating witnesses and hunting for clues. Atmospheric film noir-esque music accompanies the action, which is tuned for children as young as four to have fun with.
iPhone / iPad
Crazy Fairies Beta (Free)
As the title implies, this is a chance to get in early on an interesting new game, but there may be some rough edges. It's the work of Spicy Horse, the new venture from developer veteran American McGee, taking the form of a "multiplayer turn-based artillery game" (think Worms) with a fairytale setting. It looks imaginative and intriguing in equal measures.
Android
Dropple. (Free)
Developer Foundation Mobile won plaudits for its Lumi game on iOS, but now it's returned with an accessible action game that sees you tilting your device to navigate through more than 170 levels, avoiding traps and collecting golden droplets to boost your score. It has the makings of a word-of-mouth hit.
iPhone / iPad
Mission: An Investigatore Steffani Mystery (£5.99)
Immersive mystery game or marketing campaign for a music album? Both, actually. This is the work of Somethin' Else, which made innovative audio games Papa Sangre and The Nightjar. This project is for Universal Music though, showing off songs from the latest album by classical artist Cecilia Bartoli. Those tracks provide the background, but the game sees you solving a novella-length mystery as a 17th-century diplomat.
iPad
Sailboat Championship (£1.59)
Yes, a niche, but a very good-looking one, and with Team GB being not-half-bad at sailing, there may well be a decent audience out there for this sailboat racing game, which has been out on iOS for a little while now too. It sees you racing against a host of other boats, trying not to get distracted by the spangly water effects.
Android
Governor of Poker 2 (£2.49)
Poker games are pretty popular on iOS, and this sequel looks like it has plenty of character to build on the 3m downloads of its predecessor. The twist here is that there's a story wrapped around the poker matches, as you try to "take over Texas" with your winnings, travelling from city to city. No online multiplayer element, but there is Game Center integration to compare your achievements against friends.
iPhone / iPad
That's our selection, but what have you been playing on your smartphone or tablet? Make your recommendations in the comments, or give your thoughts on the games above.
Standfirst updated on 29 November 2012 to remove reference to Street Fighter X Tekken Gauntlet, which was on the longlist for this week's roundup but didn't make the final cut.
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