This is an "RPG" for kids in the style of SNES games such as Secret of Mana. There doesn't seem to be any conflict in the game at all. You simply have to collect items and solve simple maze puzzles. The graphics are in the 16-bit "sprite" style and almost as slick as what you'd expect from Squaresoft.

This is a stereotypical kids' shareware 2D platform jumper. The animation's not bad, and the music is pretty rockin'. The only problem with this game is that it offers nothing interesting. It's mostly an errand of collecting all the hundreds of gems floating everywhere and effortlessly defeating the most boring enemies imaginable. You get about a dozen different attack spells per character, but there doesn't seem to be any significant difference between them. The collision-detection is a little glitchy, as is the transition between levels. In short, this is a good implementation of a not-so-good plan; it needs more inspiration to be worthwhile.

You are some kind of pseudo-Tiki god made of fire. You hop by dragging your thumb to change the shape of a parabola indicating where you want to go, then release to execute the hop. Some platforms are made of twigs which ignite when you land on them, and you must jump to the next platform quickly. The graphics and sound are as smooth as is expected in PC casual games.

But another way to look at this is: The time it takes for my finger to line up each and every jump makes me feel like I'm handicapped. As will feel everyone who ever played Super Mario Bros. I can only conclude that this game was made for people who didn't play SMB, such as your grandma. If you can get into this, cool, but it's too "casual" for me.

This starts out as a typical cheesy shareware 2D platform jumper, but after a couple levels it starts to do interesting things with upside-down gravity. It features an overworld map as in some Mario games. The graphics are pretty cheap, but the levels are almost as good as what you'd expect in an early 90s Genesis or SNES platformer. The controls are very intuitive, and the feeling of jumping from one wall to the other is admittedly fun.

This game resembles the sailing portion of Sid Meier's Pirates! Except that wind isn't a factor, the combat is cheap and meaningless, you can't sail outside of a fenced area about the size of the screen, it takes forever to advance, and death has no consequence. This game is here just to pass the time.

Playing this game took less than 1 minute. You use your fingers to "run" on a virtual track. However, after you cover the prescribed distance, that's the whole game. There's some text in the App Store describing features new to this version of the game: "Improved Graphics - The running track is now animated!" This is a little unnerving because the track is the only graphic in the game. What was this game like before the upgrade?

Here is a Japanese fan page: http://ja-jp.facebook.com/pages/Finger-Sprint/62517123899. (That the Japanese like this game helps explain it, almost.)

This is a simple variation of Qix where you must occupy the majority of the playfield with blowfish before a timer runs out. You touch the screen to make a blowfish begin to grow under your finger. Spiky sea urchins bounce around the screen, and these must not touch your blowfish while you are still inflating. You can also tilt the iPhone to cause the previously created blowfish to collect on one side of the screen, leaving more room for you to create another, etc.

This 3D game is very reminiscent of Magic Carpet. You run over deformable hillsides shooting various monsters with various magic spells, then collect their "mana". You actually have to aim, which technically makes this a 3rd-person shooter. As such, this game is more "hardcore" than most iPhone games, which tend to be very casual. The control scheme is interesting, but easy to get used to. Overall, I like this game, though it's a little bit un-polished, and I think that will turn off many less experienced gamers.

One thing I like about this game is that the virtual D-pad is animated well, and this helps counteract the lack of tactile feedback.

This is a stereotypical 2D platform jumper. However, it uses 3D graphics (on a rail) and is very well polished. The 3D animation is very attractive. Worth a look, even if you don't get into it.