25 of the best games apps

Fruit Ninja

iOS (69p on iPhone, £1.99 on iPad), Android (76p), Windows Phone (79p)
Assassinate oranges and watermelons instead of people in this reflex-honing slice ‘em up, where finger swipes become sword strokes. Combos – i.e. multiple fruits pared with a single slash – gain bonus points.

Drop7

iOS (Free), Android (£2.17)
Tetris meets Sudoku in this puzzle game, in which you have to eliminate rows and columns of discs by dropping other numbered discs onto them – if the number matches the number of discs in a touching row or column, those discs are eliminated. Yep, it’s one of those games you have to play to understand, but once you pick it up you may have a struggle putting it down.

New Star Soccer

Android (£1.99)
At the time of writing, the iOS version of this footie career simulator has been pulled from the App Store (it’s rumoured to be returning soon once a technical issue has been ironed out), but the Android edition is still going strong. Combining a flick-kick action game with an RPG-esque quest to go from non-league journeyman to top division superstar. A must for any football fan.

The Harvest

Windows Phone (£5.49)
The first “big” game to land on Windows Phone 7, The Harvest is a shooter set in the aftermath of an alien invasion of Earth. Boasting brilliant 3D graphics and a raft of RPG elements like skills and upgrades to keep you coming back, it’s a fine demonstration of what Microsoft’s OS can do.

Twin Blades

iOS (£1.99)
This side-scrolling actioner (sadly no longer available on Windows Phone) rocks a cutesy-yet-blood-drenched visual style and gameplay that owes a debt to console games like God of War or Devil May Cry. You play a gun-toting nun battling evil by slaying zombies and other abominations in gory fashion.