There are hundreds of new apps on the iPhone each week. As time permits (every week or so), I'll review a few that I've tried to either help you find the good ones or ward you off the ones that sucked me in that weren't worth the time or money. Here are some of my recent finds (prices may fluctuate):
Related articles:
|
Flight Control. I avoided this game for weeks - I mean how fun can landing planes with your fingertip be? Finally, after several positive tweets by Firefly's Captain Mal Reynolds (Nathon Fillion, who plays during downtime while making the TV show Castle), I decided to burn a dollar on it. Best dollar I've spent to date, at least on iPhone apps! What screenshots cannot convey is just how relaxing the game is. Tracing lines to direct planes to runways and prevent them from crashing into each other is oddly soothing, at least for me. Even the inevitable game-ending collision isn't enough to jar me from a state of inner peace. And now they've added leaderboards and Twitter integration, so you can have your new high score automatically tweeted. Nifty! Price: Still $1 at this writing, though it will supposedly jump to $3 eventually. |
|
The Treasures of Montezuma. Back when I worked in casual games, I stumbled across a match-3 title that had layers of strategy and was more addictive than Bejeweled. When I saw that it had been ported to the iPhone and only cost a buck, I didn't hesitate. The game has some of tbe sharpest graphics and most compelling gameplay of any match-3 puzzler I've seen, at least on the iPhone. Instead of simply matching three or more tiles, you must target the tiles containing gems to reach an ever-increasing goal. After each level, you trade in the bonus stars you collect for perks such as cool explosions, lightning strikes, hints, extra matches or those few bonus seconds you might need to complete a level. Price: This game is listed as $1 until May 20, so grab it now. |
|
Wolfenstein 3D . This is the classic first-person shooter that I (and everyone I know) played for free at work in the early '90s. The iPhone controls are a little wonky, but if you can get used to them this still a great little shooter that will tide you over until Doom inevitably gets ported. If you've never played it, it's definitely worth a try. Price: Lite version with first three levels is free, so try before you buy to see if you can acclimate to the control scheme. Game is $2 on sale right now, normally $5 (what I paid). |
|
iDracula. I honestly don't get into the top-down run-and-gun games (preferring first-person shooters), but this one is pretty compelling. Three locales, four modes and a mostly solid control system make this a pleasant and deep diversion. My only complaints are that my character often gets stuck under the control wheels where it is hard to see and after several minutes of non-stop action my hand cramps. But the increasingly powerful weapons are fun to unlock and unload!
Price: $1 at this writing (didn't it jump to $3 for awhile?). |
 |
Word Scramble. If you like word games, give this popular Facebook transplant a try. The goal is to find as many words as you can in two or three minutes by tracing adjacent letters in a grid. You can play alone, online, or by handing your iPhone to another player. There's not much to it - and developer Zynga will try to market its other games to you everytime you launch it - but you can't beat the price for this solid little word search. Price: Free! |
|
Lemonade Tycoon. This is one of those resource management games - so if you're into that sort of thing, you will probably enjoy purchasing ingredients in the best ratios to maximize profits and minimize spoilage, adapting to changing market conditions and buying upgrades to hasten the rise of your empire of lemonade stands. You can watch each day unfold, or speed through it, though you may need to pay attention to determine what customers like and don't like on each turn so you can make the necessary adjustments. EA's original description of the game (since revised) reported that it had integrated ads, but they really are annoying interruptions that detract from gameplay. Alas, if you really enjoy it, you don't currently have the option to buy an ad-free version. Price: Free but with intrusive ads. |
Related articles:
