iOS Gaming Watch List: Fieldrunners 2, Synesthetic and Splash

The most promising iPhone and iPad releases for July 19, 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.

Fieldrunners wasn't the first tower defense game, but it remains one of the best. For the sequel, Subatomic Studios has added a considerable amount of variety to the gameplay with Time Trial, Survival, and Puzzle modes. There's a handful of new towers, a power-up system, and, perhaps the best part, there's no need to grind or spend real cash to earn in-game currency. Subatomic Studios have also completely re-done the graphics to make them compatible with Retina iPhones and iPod Touches. Unfortunately there's no iPad-specific release, and this isn't a universal app, but even with those omissions it's still one of the biggest iOS releases of the year. (iPhone, $2.99)

Synesthetic appears to be the closest thing to Audiosurf on iOS. It takes the music tracks on your device and transforms them into trippy, reflex-heavy obstacle courses. Unlike Audiosurf, which was more focused on rhythm and beat-matching,Synesthetic sticks with survival and motion controls. The graphics alone make this one worth a look. (Universal, $1.99)

Okay, yes, it looks a heck of a lot like Cut the Rope (and a number of other single-screen puzzle games on iOS). But, on closer inspection, this game appears to feature a panda floating around on a bubble filled with water, which he then uses as a jetpack. So it's completely different. Seriously, though, I love fluid dynamics games and you should too! Especially when they're only a buck. (iPhone, $0.99)

This free-to-play strategy game uses the cartoony art style of games like Kingdom Rush, but takes the gameplay in a different direction. Instead of building out towers, you're building up your army, deciding which units will be your front, middle and back lines. You can then bring this army into battle against friends and AI combatants. Since it's free you should expect some IAP aspects, but that's the price you pay for not paying a price. (By the way, if you haven't started developing an iOS game with "Pocket" in the title, you're basically SOL.)(Universal, free)

Great Big War Game is the turn-based strategy sequel to Great Little War Game. The gameplay and graphical style borrows heavily from titles like Advance Wars, though there are hexes instead of squares and full 3D graphics instead of 2D sprites. All Retina devices are supported, so it looks quite crisp on just about any device and there's even support for asynchronous multiplayer. Pretty nifty. (Universal, $2.99)