iOS and Android Game of the Week - your vote needed
Middle managers? Pirates? Gentlemen? Football managers?
It's our job to sift through the various app stores and pick out the most interesting games. We're curators at heart, and we take it upon ourselves to separate the wheat from the chaff so you don't have to.
But, now we want to know what you think. We want you to pick the best game that was released on iOS and Android this week (from some nominations), and then we'll present that winner in an article next Monday.
Oh, and we're aware you often moan at us for not including many Android games in this list.
The thing is, most new Android games are just iOS games from six months ago. So, in the interest of only including fresh apps, we don't include old iOS games that are only new on Android. Sorry!
Anyway. There are loads of places to vote. Leave a comment on this article, reply to our Game of the Week tweet, vote on Facebook, or just write it on a bathroom wall - backwards - in red lipstick.
The nominations
Battle of the Bulge (iPad)
An impossibly deep World War II-themed strategy game, with armfuls of units, scenarios, skirmishes, and battlefields. You can play against a computer opponent, pass your iPad back and forth, or go online. Choices by the bucketload.
Football Manager Handheld 2013 (iPhone, iPad, Android)
In this year's version of Sega's Harry Redknapp sim, you can pick a club from 14 countries, and then put them through their paces in a huge career mode. You'll score goals, you'll sell players, you'll deal with injuries. Just watch out for those controversial IAPs.
Theatrhythm Final Fantasy (iPhone, iPad)
Squeenix presents a fitting tribute to the last 25 years of FF music with this cutesy rhythm-action game. You play along to tracks like 'One-Winged Angel' and, uh, 'Battle' by tapping and sliding about the screen. If you wanna own every song, mind, you'll have to cough up £100.
Metal Slug (iPhone, iPad)
SNK has brought its much-loved Neo Geo classic to iOS. If you've never had the pleasure of playing it, Metal Slug is a manic run-and-gun arcade game with incredible pixel-art and pretty barbed difficulty. This mobile version has multiplayer, a mission mode, and Game Center.
Monsters, Inc. Run (iPhone, iPad)
We all know how crap movie games can be. So does Disney. So, lately The Big D has been getting top-notch developers to make its mobile games for it. First, Temple Run developer Imangi had a crack at Brave, and now the guys behind Mega Run have built this Monsters, Inc. spin-off. Clever.
Middle Manager of Justice (iPhone, iPad)
Psychonauts creator Double Fine has finally taken its first tentative steps into the word of mobile with this free-to-play management game. Instead of tending crops or building villages, you train up-and-coming superheroes. It's funny, too.
Potshot Pirates (iPhone, iPad)
How about a bit of swashbuckling Angry Birds-style physics-puzzling? Does that float your boat? Your PIRATE boat? Uh, yeah, this is a game about shooting cannonballs at 3D structures until they collapse into a pile of wood and masonry.
The Gentleman (Android)
Finally, an indie Android-only auto-runner starring a posh chap with a top hat, monocle, and cane. It's got some clever puzzles involving light and shadows; an intriguing moody aesthetic; and it's on Android, so stop shouting at us.
