October was, as usual, a pretty spooky month. Autumn fell with a decidedly loud clomp, and then everyone dressed up as ghosts towards the end in order to express their individuality and / or ghostliness.

But among all that excitement, a handful of decent iOS games came out. And when I say decent I mean really pretty excellent. Just you wait until we get to the list and you'll see for yourself.

In fact let's just get to the list right now. Because there are three games on it that really showcase the very best that gaming in your pocket had to offer this year. And that's saying something.

PinOut!

Pinball games shouldn't be this exciting or innovative. I mean it's pinball, how can you innovate on that? By turning the classic arcade experience into an endless running platformer obviously.

You've got your flippers, and you're still twanging a ball around. But rather than chasing points you're trying to work your way through a series of maze-like levels.

It adds more than a frisson of excitement to a genre that was feeling a little played out. Plus it looks great and it's super challenging. Win win. Win.

The Bug Butcher

A tightly packed shooter that sees you working through a series of rooms and killing everything that moves in them. The clue's in the name really.

You pelt around the bottom of the screen shooting glowing lasers at the bugs that are tumbling down at you. Think a more zoomed in, cartoony Space Invaders and you're a quarter of the way there.

It's sharp, it looks great, and it throws in new ideas often enough that you're happy to blast through everything that it has to offer.

Gear.Club

A big shiny racer that sits in the same sort of bracket as Real Racing 3. Except this one's developed by the company that made V-Rally on consoles. Pedigree.

Lots of big, fast cars to collect, plenty of races to compete in, and a free to play system that isn't too cloying or clingy. What's not to like?

Oh, and it looks absolutely stunning. Seriously this is one of the best looking games on mobile. And on top of that it's just an awful lot of vroom vrooming fun.