You know how it goes - some games just play better with physical buttons, and the latest title from Crescent Moon Games, Shadow Blade, feels like one of them. Yet if you disregard for a moment that you've ever used a gamepad before, this game won't remind you incessantly the way most side-scrollers do. The control scheme, which consists largely of taps and swipes, is actually pretty intuitive. With enough practice, it really makes the game worth playing.

You play as Kuro, a sword-wielding youngster who must ninja his way through enemies and, similarly, ninja his way around traps. The graphics are crisp, though the simplistic 3D models may look more attractive on a smartphone than a tablet. Regardless, the game is still covered in the high-level of polish we've come to expect from Crescent Moon Games.

Shadow Blade is listed as free, but you will need to pay for the full version after downloading it to enjoy most of the content. Out of the box, the game comes with 7 stages, but $1.99 will get you access to over 45 in total. Aside from that, there doesn't seem to be any surprises. The experience is ad-free, and there aren't any street peddlers trying to sell you 4,000 shurikens for $2.99.