iOS Gaming Watch List: Pitfall, Super Mole Escape, and Ghostbusters

The most promising iPhone and iPad releases for August 9th, 2012.

Each week the iOS Gaming Watch List will inform you of some noteworthy releases coming to the App Store. Major releases tend to hit on Thursdays, so we'll be coming at you every Wednesday with the games to look out for, as well as some of the bigger content updates on the way. While this won't be a comprehensive list of games releasing for a given week, it does offer a quick selection of games and upates that show promise or look interesting for one reason or another. Worth noting that we have not played many of these games, so you shouldn't take these as short reviews. Think of this more like a helpful guide of games to investigate as they launch on Thursday.

Unfortunately, since these are pre-release games, App Store links are not available, but if you search for the title within the App Store tomorrow, it should pop up.

Activision is starting to ramp up its mobile gaming output, and the first in what's likely to be a long line of titles is a re-imagining of the classic, Pitfall. Temple Run comparisons are obvious, though Pitfall on iOS does seem a bit more varied in terms of the gameplay. Hard to forgive the painful voice over work, but that's what the mute switch is for, right?(Universal, $0.99)

The latest release from the consistent Adult Swim Games studio is Super Mole Escape. You're a mole. You've got to escape. Off the Leash and Jetpack Joyride were obvious inspirations here, though I'm hoping there's more to this digger than just a redressing of familiar gameplay. To its credit, it does have you going in a different direction than most games!(Universal, $0.99)

The jumpsuit-clad heroes of spectral fortune are back. Paranormal Blast is an augmented reality game which uses your mobile device's camera to overlay various ghouls in your surrounding environs. You're sure to look like a jerk while playing it, but an early test build proved pretty entertaining, especially if you're itching to capture Civil War ghosts and send them back to the fields of Antietam where they belong.(Universal, $0.99)

This third-person military shooter should please the SOCOM fans out there, especially with its online multiplayer support. There also seems to be a multiplayer mode wherein you're tasked with protecting a goat who rides around on your back, Kazooie-style. Seems odd, until you consider that the game's name is Trigger Fist. Strange is in this game's DNA.(Universal, $4.99)