Apple's best games and apps of 2019 for iPhone: Picks pay homage to the past

The best games of 2019 are a throwback. That appears to be Apple's take on things, anyway, as evidenced by at least some of the company's picks for the best apps and games for its hardware platforms. Consider Apple's choice for the "game trend of the year." App Store editors lumped a variety of apps into a category dubbed "Blockbusters Reborn," essentially fresh takes on familiar, and in some cases, decades' old franchises. You'll find "Mario Kart Tour" from Nintendo in this select grouping, along with "Minecraft Earth" (Mojang), "Pokémon Masters" (DeNA Co), "Assassin's Creed Rebellion" (Ubisoft), "Gears POP!" (Microsoft), "The Elder Scrolls: Blades" (Bethesda) and "Call of Duty: Mobile" (Activision Publishing).