Gumballs & Dungeons

Adult players could dismiss this one as a kids' game, with its spherical heroes and chirpy intro, but they'll be sorry if they do. There's more here than meets the eye, and patient players will be rewarded with a surprising amount of progressively changing gameplay. Unfortunately, some players could be put off not only by the cutesy characters but by the clumsy, poorly translated text. Not only does the text make the game feel sloppy, it fails to convey gameplay information.

Gumballs & Dungeons has a lot to offer -- combat, loot, crafting, resource gathering, hero abilities, item usage, hero collection -- but only does a so-so job of helping you understand how all of it relates. Because of this, players need patience to stick with it a while. Only after the first couple of hours do you really start to see the full range of fun that awaits. What's nice is you actually have that kind of time. Gumballs offers you plenty of gameplay without tapping into your savings and, unlike similar games, doesn't beg you to shop. That means the longer you play, the more new enemies you find and the more pop culture references you uncover. Though certain things are easier via the store (such as hero collecting), using it is completely optional. Still, the real challenge is overcoming the app's presentation; if you're willing to muddle through its sloppy, incomplete presentation, your reward is some fun dungeon crawling.