iOS Gaming Watch List: Virtua Tennis, Autumn Dynasty and Slingshot Racing

We're taking a look at the most promising iPhone and iPad releases for May 24, 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.

One of the issues with racing games on iOS is that steering can only be so precise with touch controls. Crescent Moon, one of my favorite iOS devs, seems to have come up with an ingenious solution. Remember that scene in the first Batman movie where the Batmobile takes a sharp corner by latching on to a nearby light post? Well now extrapolate that into a top-down racing game. The trailer does a better job of explaining it than I can, so give it watch. Even if you're not a racing fan, you have to admit this is pretty clever. (Universal app, launching at $0.99) Link

Realistic flight sim this ain't, but for those who think back fondly on the days of Pilotwings, Air Mail might just be the next best thing. The game starts off teaching you the mechanics of flying your steam punk byplane but quickly escalates into a full-on war for control of the skies. Promising but it all hangs on the controls. Here's hoping they make a safe landing.(Universal app, launching at $4.99) Link

It's a bit surprising that we haven't seen more real-time strategy games on the iPad. Seems like it'd be a perfect fit, right? Well, the devs behind Autumn Dynasty seem to think so. They're not just bringing the genre to the platform, they're also bringing it with their own style. Autumn Dynasty uses ink-and-parchment graphics to give you the feel of ancient battles of yore. Purdy. (iPad, launching at $4.99) Link

Well, it's Virtua Tennis. Based on Sega's App Store description, it appears to be pretty full-featured, too, letting you build up a tennis pro in the campaign. There are also drills for training, which I hope means the inclusion of those goofy minigames that Virtua Tennis does so well. Swipe controls are a bit of an X factor, but apart from that, hard to imagine fans of the franchise being too disappointed. (Universal app, launching at $4.99) Link