Scribblenauts started as a popular Nintendo DS series, but it's arguably most at home on iPhone and iPad with Scribblenauts Remix ($4.99), a universal release that bundles past stages with several new ones. It looks better than ever, plus the core approach -- in which you generate puzzle-solving items by tapping in words -- remains a total blast on tablet and phone alike.

While the actual season's still on hold due to an extended lockout, hoops fans can get their fix with NBA 2K12, which comes in separate iPhone ($4.99) and iPad ($9.99) iterations. Based on the top-rated console franchise, NBA 2K12 includes a full simulation of the sport, along with a Jordan Challenge mode that lets you relive 10 of Michael Jordan's most iconic moments.

Katamari Amore (Free) is the second series entry to hit the App Store, but this universal release is the first to run on iPad. This quirky franchise finds you rolling up a big ball of items across a wide variety of stages. Amore is a solid iteration, and includes a bonus Pac-Man stage, but it's not really free -- you have to pay $3.99-$4.99 per level pack to get most of the content.

Point-and-click graphic adventures are a perfect fit for the iPad, and Machinarium ($4.99) is one of the absolute best from recent years. The gorgeous hand-drawn experience follows a single robot on a quest through dark, dingy environments, where you'll investigate items and solve puzzles to pass each area. Fair warning, though: Machinarium only works on iPad 2.

We've seen Frogger on the App Store before now, but Frogger Pinball ($2.99) is a bit of a different beast. This universal app rolls up the iconic gaming hero and tosses him onto three unique pinball tables, each colorfully presented and packed with odd creatures and bosses. It's a simple affair, but still a solidly entertaining diversion for kids and franchise nuts.

Shantae: Risky's Revenge (Free) started life on the Nintendo DSi last year, and proved one of the most-loved releases on that handheld. Playable on both iPhone and iPad, the iOS version delivers an enhanced translation of the platform-action game, which stars the titular "half-genie." It's a free download, but the full game requires a $2.99 in-app purchase.

The Worms franchise started as a strategic artillery game, but Worms Crazy Golf offers up a very different type of experience. Priced at $2.99 on iPhone and $4.99 on iPad, this side-scrolling golf affair recalls the awesome Super Stickman Golf, but with more cartoonish levels and a local four-player hot seat mode. Plus, the iPad version has one more course than iPhone.

When it comes to arcade "bullet hell" shooters, genre die-hards look to Japanese developer Cave for the good stuff -- and one of its best recent shooters, Espgaluda II HD ($13.99), is now available on iPad after an earlier iPhone launch. Alternately, you can buy the two play modes separately for $6.99 apiece, or grab a free ad-supported Lite version. Options!

Brothers in Arms earned praise on PCs and consoles several years back for mixing World War II-era shooting and strategy. By contrast, Brothers in Arms 2: Global Front Free+ serves up a more run-and-gun type of affair, with less-than-stellar visuals in tow, but it is free and includes online play. Still, you might have to drop some coin on ammo and health to play very much of it.

Another World -- 20th Anniversary ($4.99) originally began life on the Amiga and other platforms of the time as Out of This World in the States, and this commemorate universal re-release includes optional HD visuals, letting you swap between the two at any time. The controls aren't as precise here, sadly, but this iconic platform/action game offers a solid flashback for fans.