Tech review: 5 worthy new mobile games

Smartphones and tablets are giving video game consoles a run for their money. Touch-screen gaming on iPhones, iPads and Androids is easy, inexpensive -- and addictive. While dozens of new and interesting mobile games come out every day, these five are worth tapping into.

Draw Something by OMGPOP
(iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Android; $0.99)

Basically an updated version of Pictionary, Draw Something is well on its way to becoming the most popular mobile app of all time with more than 50 million downloads in less than three months. You can play Draw Something with random strangers or with friends and contacts from your Facebook and email accounts. Once you challenge someone to a game, you choose between three words of varying difficulty and then draw a picture of that word. Your partner then has to guess that word while watching a live, real-time recreation of your drawing process. Then vice-versa.

Angry Birds Space
(iPhone, iPod Touch, Android $0.99; iPad, Android tablets; $2.99)

The hype for Angry Birds Space included an out-of-this-world promotion from NASA, but the new title does not disappoint. The gravity-based mechanics, awesome birds, darker color palate and bizarrely amusing space aesthetics make this one of the most refreshing and enjoyable titles in the Angry Birds franchise. For the uninitiated, birds are good, and pigs are bad. You must stop the pigs by launching kamikaze attack birds from a slingshot, and there are various kinds of bird ammo in your arsenal. You rack up points by causing as much destruction as possible using as few birds as possible, and enough points will get you that coveted three-star rating. Newcomers and Angry Birds veterans alike will love this one.

Reckless Racing 2
(iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Android; $4.99)

This is a top-notch sequel to the best racing game available on mobile devices, complete with great visuals, revamped user interface, updated gameplay and plenty of content. The gameplay itself has a totally different feel than the first installment. While it's still an arcade experience at its core, the physics have been tweaked to include much more realistic handling. There are also a ton of control options and customizations to explore.

Fancy Pants Adventures
(iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad; $0.99)

In Fancy Pants you take on the role of a shorts-wearing stick figure who blasts through an assortment of action-packed levels. Your speed and acrobatic prowess allow you to jump off walls, run up vertical surfaces and hurtle through space, all while collecting items and stars to rack up the best score.

JAZZ: Trump's Journey
(iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad; $2.99)

Loosely based on the life of jazz trumpeter Louis Armstrong, JAZZ: Trump's Journey takes place in New Orleans during the 1920s. The platform game follows the travails of a trumpeter aptly named Trump as he puts his band together, falls in love and generally does awesome things. The game has very interesting visuals and mechanics, but it's the soundtrack that really makes the game unique.

 Reports from Appolicious.com and Tribune Media Services were used in this story.

Tech Bytes

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