Here’s a last surprise for 2012 – the bite-sized mini-reviews of games and apps for a busy shopper like you. Catch more of these in 2013!

Not to worry though, appSIZED will still feature full-blown reviews for selected games and apps.

Stay tuned for appSIZED’s annual selection of the best apps of 2012. You might find yet another surprise, then!

“Nightclub Mayhem” – “Mayhem” captures the frenzied pace of 99 Games’ time management (TM) offerings, much like “Prison Mayhem,” one of appSIZED’s top 10 games of 2011. Nightclub Mayhem ups it a notch, keeping it fast and crazy by providing plenty of mini-games to spice up a familiar TM theme.

In this game, you get to do a little bit of everything, from seating customers to choosing their music to mixing their drinks across four exotic locations. On top of that you have to deal with a varied bunch of customers who may be into causing ruckus or just plain heavy drinkers with short waiting times.

The controls could be a little tighter, and part of me disagrees with the art direction “Nightclub Mayhem” has taken as opposed to the highly polished “Prison Mayhem.” Still, minus these quibbles, “Nightclub Mayhem” is pure addiction to any TM addict looking for a serious challenge.

appSIZED Rating: 4/5

Download link: Nightclub Mayhem
Device: iPad only
Copy: Provided by the developer
Price: $1.99
Publisher/Developer: 99Games Online Private Limited
Ver: 2.0.2

“All My Gods HD” – If you’re into ancient mythology like I am, then you might be interested in “All My Gods” which is a building/simulation game of sorts that starts out slow and progresses into something quite addictive. As the youngest among the gods, your job is to prove your worth by turning Rome into a viable, civilized nation. A mixed bag of civilization building games, All My Gods is about building, producing and managing your resources while catering to the whims of the gods. You need to evolve Rome by building schools and learning new sciences and arts, you need to earn enough income from your resources to build things, and you need to accomplish quests to earn points and mana (the source of your godlike powers!). The handpainted drawings are cute and charming, while the variety of tasks at hand will keep you guessing for the first couple of hours. This leisurely game is not that easy to understand at first, and may be downright frustrating at times (especially when you get to the part where you have to put out fires!), but if you like being worshipped and doing good for your people, then this game is for you. All the same, I recommend that you try the free version first before you buy to see if this kind of game is for you.

appSIZED rating: 3/5

Download link: All My Gods HD
Device: iPad only
Copy: Provided by the developer
Price: $0.99 for a limited time! (was $2.99)
Publisher/Developer: Realore
Ver: 1.02

“Kate’s Fix-it-Up Adventure HD” and ““Fix-it-Up: World Tour”” – In “Kate’s Fix-it-Up Adventure HD” your objective is to grow your own empire right out of your garage as Kate, the tough as nails, all-in-one mechanic and entrepreneur. You basically buy cars to repair/improve upon and pimp them (if you know the MTV show, “Pimp My Ride”) to sell them at a much higher value. Unlike most time management games, you don’t get to “chain” your actions and there are no mini-games either. For every level, cars show up that you either buy or ignore, but the cars you buy require different tasks to be performed, such as waxing, painting or tuning the engines. Afterwards, you can put these cars on sale to earn instant money or keep them in the garage to earn rent. For each level, you need to service a certain number or kind of cars, or earn this much. This is basically what happens day in and day out. The World Tour edition expands on the locations, making it a global affair, and throws in a love triangle between Kate, her boyfriend her business partner. I don’t like the art so much and the gameplay is repetitive without much to aspire for in terms of achievements or “career” growth. Among the solid G5 Games I’ve tried, these are ones that I didn’t like.

appSIZED rating: 2/5

Download link: Kate’s Fix-it-Up Adventure HD (Full) / Fix-it-Up: World Tour HD (Full)
Device: iPad only
Copy: Provided by the developer
Price: $4.99
Publisher/Developer: G5 Games
Ver: 1.1

Download link: Fix-it-Up: World Tour HD (Full)
Device: iPad only
Copy: Provided by the developer
Price: $4.99
Publisher/Developer: G5 Games
Ver: 1.3

“To the Rescue HD” -This game is in the mold of road-building time management games such as My Kingdom for the Princess and Roads of Rome, but instead of building an empire, your goal is primarily to rescue people (including even fellow workers) trapped because of debris and fires. There are plenty of options available for you to achieve your goal, and you don’t need to repair all the roads nor collect all the resources to finish a level. While the basic premise is quite interesting, the game is so difficult to complete much less gain expert marks – and this is coming from someone who tenaciously replays a level in Roads of Rome just to get expert marks. I’m also not a fan of the rather bland art which looks rather generic. The game overall lacks personality to really compete with its counterparts, so it’s not a must buy for me.

Try the lite version here.

appSIZED rating: 2/5

Download link: To The Rescue! HD
Device: iPad only
Copy: Provided by the developer
Price: $0.99 for a limited time! (was $1.99)
Publisher/Developer: Alawar Entertainment, Inc.
Ver: 1.0.1

““Farm Frenzy 3: Ice Domain HD”” – This is one of the many variations of the successful Farm Frenzy franchise, this time involving a new location but with essentially the same gameplay (read the review here). Basically, you start out by growing grass (in this game, you drop fish) to feed animals (penguins) that produce eggs, basic building blocks to form various products. Different kinds of animals come in, as well as machines and equipment to help you make products. Meanwhile, you have to fend off polar bears that wander onto your property and scare off your penguins. This is the essential gameplay of FF games, but there are some other features that you might want to take note of in our previous reviews. Now, this is good or bad depending on where you’re coming from – if you’re a newbie, then it’s very easy to jump in without feeling like you missed out on the rest of the series. If you’re an old hand at Farm Frenzy, you might be suffering from FF fatigue by now. However, I must say that the graphics are really nice in this particular version and you will enjoy the cute little animations populating the game.

Buy if you’re still new to the Farm Frenzy franchise, but if you’re already familiar with the gameplay, you may opt to skip this one, or try the free version first.

appSIZED rating: 4/5

Download link: Farm Frenzy 3: Ice Domain HD
Device: iPad only
Copy: Provided by the developer
Price: $0.99 for a limited time! (was $3.99)
Publisher/Developer: Alawar Entertainment, Inc.
Ver: 1.0.1