New rating system:
★ - F2P freemium model
★★ - B2P freemium model
★★★ - Daily iOS quality
★★★★ - (rare, see below)
☆ - Honorable mention
All games included on this site "stand out from the crowd", although ★ star and ★★ star games carry added economic systems where currency purchases constitute a large portion of game progression, or included advertisements overshadow gameplay. ★★★ games generally follow a "premium" model or the F2P/B2P freemium model is minimal if non-existent.
Before deciding which games to include on this site, I assume most software released on the App Store uses lockbox (daily random items) or rental (money for accelerated progression) design. Very few games use expansion design (paying for additional content).
While iOS games have come a long way since introduction as mobile apps, the App Store still functions primarily as a mobile arcade, with small portions of money ($1) in exchange for playing simple software packages. Except in exceptional circumstances, App Store games should not be considered on par with console games, given the lower price margins ($20 for the costliest quality App, for example). However, sometimes iOS gems appear in the store and I do try to highlight those. ★★★★ denotes a game far above normal quality for what is normally released on the App Store.
Note: Most games I post on this site, I don't purchase or try myself, only preview. Take that into account when judging whether to buy or not buy a product. This is not a review site. My intentions are only to highlight stand-outs. If you want quality reviews, try one of the two blogs linked to from this site, Touch Arcade or Pocket Tactics.
