It's been another big week for new smartphone and tablet games, with some big brands and indie surprises doing battle on the app stores.
Here's the pick of new and notable mobile games from the last seven days, taking in football, pig-based construction, airline management and bingo, among other subjects:
Bad Piggies
Rovio has switched its attention to the pigs from its Angry Birds games, putting them centre stage in this latest sequel in its 1bn-downloads franchise. The gameplay involves constructing vehicles for the pigs to trundle and/or float through levels in, unlocking items for a sandbox mode along the way. Read our review for the full verdict.
Android / iOS
FIFA 13
EA's latest football game came out on iOS a couple of days before the console version this week, promising improved graphics, online multiplayer, a new skill move button, connected features through EA's Football Club community, and lashings of licensed players and teams.
iPhone / iPad
Pocket Planes
After critical acclaim, heaps of downloads and plenty of in-app purchases on iOS, airline management sim Pocket Planes has touched down on Android. As before, the aim is to build up a globe-spanning airline ferrying passengers and cargo, while linking with friends for rewards.
Android
God of Blades
Described as "a love-song to pulp fantasy tales of yore, 70s synth-prog-landscape oddities, and forgotten places", God of Blades is one of the quirkier games in this week's list – but also one of the best. Expect side-scrolling sword-fighting with lots of weapons and enemies. And also a marvellous soundtrack.
iPhone / iPad
NFL Pro 2013
While America (and particularly the Green Bay bit) got in a lather about substitute NFL referees this week, Gameloft was readying the release of its latest officially-licensed American football game on iOS. It's a free-to-play game blending management and action, with plays unlocked for your playbook as you go along.
iPhone / iPad
Bingo Bash
BitRhymes' Bingo Bash is one of a number of bingo games making a killing on Facebook and iOS. Now it's set up house (sorry, 'HOUSE!') on Android. It's a real-time multiplayer bingo game that spices up the box-ticking action with power-ups, gems and chat.
Android
The Last Express
Jordan Mechner is best known as the creator of adventure series Prince of Persia. His new game is actually an old one: a 1997 PC title set on the Orient Express just before the first world war. It's an adventure promising more than 20 hours of chatting, sleuthing and cinematic interludes.
iPhone / iPad
Kingdoms of Camelot: Battle
Hardcore social-games developer Kabam has brought its popular Kingdoms of Camelot game to Android, tasking players with building mighty kingdoms (yes, with a Camelot feel, surprisingly) and playing online. It's a self-contained game, rather than a client for the existing Facebook version.
Android
Super Monsters Ate My Condo!
The original Monsters Ate My Condo game from Adult Swim was very good fun, but now it's been beefed up for a sequel. It involves – shock of shocks – super monsters eating apartments, with two-minute time-limits and a range of condos with their own effects when munched. Sounds barmy, plays excellently.
iPhone / iPad
The Bard's Tale
This ISN'T venerable RPG The Bard's Tale – although that's included as a bonus extra. Instead, this is the modern remake, with beefy visuals, lots of dungeons, monsters and loot to collect, and a tongue wedged firmly in its cheek regarding some of the cliches of the RPG genre. Note, the game also came out recently for RIM's BlackBerry PlayBook, which didn't quite make our roundup that week.
Android
Real Football
Another Gameloft title, this, and one of the most long-running football franchises on mobile phones. The latest version has been released for Windows Phone, with Xbox Live features built in. A FIFPro licence and several modes stakes its claim as a FIFA alternative – at least until FIFA 13 arrives on Microsoft-powered handsets.
Windows Phone
Boomtime Baseball
Can any game dislodge the mighty Homerun Battle 3D from our affections in the swingy-bat stakes? Boomtime Baseball is having a crack. Launched by British firm Distinctive Developments, it offers a retro take on baseball home-run contests, with light RPG elements and items to collect.
iPhone / iPad
Fort Courage
Fort Courage is an interesting take on the tower defence genre, as you defend your base against a succession of dream-world foes, from dinosaurs to robots on Mars. Tweaked for Tegra-powered devices, the game was criticised by early Google Play reviewers for its difficulty and use of IAP, but the developers are already making changes in response to the feedback.
Android
Cartoon Wars Blade
The title says it all: cartoon graphics, lots of people to make war against, and blades by the dozen. Part of a wider Cartoon Wars series from publisher Gamevil, this is a zippy adventure with characterful graphics and lots of hacking and slashing.
iPhone / iPad
Castle Story
If you've played previous games from developer TeamLava like Bakery Story and Pet Shop Story, you'll know what to expect here: more of the same, but with parapets. Which is no bad thing, if you're a fan of the social-building genre. In this case, it's a mixture of building, growing and exploration, with in-app purchases funding some players' ambitions.
iPhone / iPad
Indestructible
Glu was one of the first mobile publishers to focus on marrying hardcore gameplay with free-to-play mechanics. Indestructible is the latest example, a "vehicular combat game" that's more about blowing opponents up than racing against them. Four-player multiplayer battles offer the meat of the game.
Android / iOS
MechWarrior: Tactical Command
Board games like Monopoly and Scrabble have found their place on iOS, but what about more esoteric fare? This is an iPad game based on the MechWarrior board game, with stompy, shooty robots battling it out in a real-time strategy game.
iPad
Subway Surfers
Kiloo's Subway Surfers has been a hit on iOS, and looks to be repeating its success on Android already, judging by the thousands of five-star ratings on the Google Play store. It's a railway-themed endless runner game that sees you dodging trains and leaping about acrobatically.
Android
Skillz: Universal Edition
DJ game Skillz has been out for a while on iPad, but has just been released in a "Universal Edition" including iPhone. It's a music rhythm game not entirely dissimilar to DJ Hero on console, getting players to manipulate two turntables to the sounds of Tyler the Creator, Kid Cudi, Diplo and other artists.
iPhone / iPad
Velocispider
"Part spider, part velociraptor, it's Velocispider!" yells the Google Play listing for this charming game, which sees you controlling – this may well be a made-up word – an araknasaur. It's a retro shoot 'em up that involves protecting your eggs from hordes of advancing enemy robots.
Android
That's our selection, but what are you playing this week on your smartphone or tablet? Make your recommendations, or provide feedback on the games we've chosen, by posting a comment.
