Every four years Americans get inundated with political phone calls and mud-slinging advertising. This is a good time to turn to “America’s finest news source” for some not-so-hard-hitting and not-so-real news. The Onion app brings together the print articles along with online audio and video. It won’t keep you informed, but it will make you laugh.
For most people upgrading to iOS 6, the new official YouTube app is a must-download this week. It replaces the old YouTube app that previously came with iOS. The new app has a sleeker, more up-to-date design with features like sharing and voice search.
While I was skeptical at first about playing SimCity again, I have to admit this touch version of the game sucked me in just like the original. SimCity Deluxe for iPad has that same addictive feel as you try to please your Sims by zoning and building. Felt good to be mayor again.
I was a huge fan of the original Atari game. So I’m a little disappointed that this 30th anniversary game is basically a clone of Temple Run. But that being said, Temple Run is a good game and Pitfall improves on it with different views and challenges. Plus, it gives us a reminder that the original Pitfall was an early precursor to today’s run-and-jump games. So worth getting, but I wish it came bundled with a version of the original game too.
Big Fish Casino is a very nice casino app that includes many individual games, like Texas Hold’em, that are done pretty well. It is nice to see an alternative to Zynga gaining some traction. If poker isn’t your game, there is blackjack, roulette, slots and a few others. They are all tied in to your “fake money” wallet, so yo you can build up your score on whichever games you like the most.
Yes, you can find old-school RPG games on iOS. Avadon: The Black Fortress is a fine example. Top-down 2D graphics, huge maps, inventory system, turn-based combat, and a long story told by countless NPCs that you encounter are all there. With so many point-and-click games masquerading as RPGs in the app store, it is nice to find something that has real depth to it.
With so many apps playing music that you already know you like, it is good to have some apps that let you discover new music. Band of the Day is just such an app. It is like a music magazine that publishes one review per day of a new band. Not every day will feature something you like, but that’s true of anything like this. On top of it, the design is one of those excellent iPad tap-and-explore interfaces that is a pleasure to play with.
The creators of Reason have come up with a good cheap music creation app for the iPhone. Figure is a fun toy that reminds you that while listening to music is fun, creating your own music can be even better. You just tap and swipe on colorful screens that make it easy to hit the right notes and beats.
We’ve been able to get Olympic results on the Internet for many years now, but it always seems to be difficult to find the result or score from a specific event. Hopefully this year will be different thanks to the free London 2012: Official Results App for the Olympic and Paralympic Games app. So far it seems pretty easy to find what you want and get detailed box scores as well.
One of the best games ever for iOS, and certainly the best tower defense game, is Fieldrunners. Now we have Fieldrunners 2, a significant expansion of the original game with a storyline, varied levels, new weapons and even better graphics. Although this is an iPhone game, it looks good on the iPad thanks to the retina display graphics.
If you prefer games with beautiful and unusual art and a slow exploratory pace, then Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP is one you should check out. Beautiful pixel art screens and soft music will make you want to come back over and over to solve the puzzles and unlock the story.
Galaxy On Fire 3D is one of the nicer space opera games we’ve seen. The 3D graphics are good, and you don’t get lost too easily. The gameplay seems to be deep and interesting with lots of options for traveling around, making money, trading goods, finding adventure, etc.
Walking Mars is an adventure and exploration game where you travel through tunnels on Mars discovering new life forms and ancient artifacts. Each element you discover helps you solve puzzles and moves the story forward. The game has nice graphics and a leisurely pace that is a good change from some of the high-intensity games for iOS.
It is always nice to see classic arcade games come back to life, especially when they are near-exact duplicates of the originals, and not so “re-invention.” Midway Arcade includes games like Joust and Spy Hunter along with the app. Plus you can buy more depending on which are your favorites.
The ball and paddle game has been around since, well literally the very beginning of video games. Multiponk finally takes it to the next level with interesting variations and nice graphics. There are traps, bumpers and bonuses in the middle of the playing field. Play against the computer or up to three other people on the same device.
Bravesmart is a fun puzzle game where you create matches of three on a board to build better pieces. It is a single-player puzzle board game, but with a bit of a forced construction metaphor to make it a little more fun.
I’ve been using the Kinds In Mind web site for years to figure out whether a film is appropriate for the whole family. They break a movie down with easy-to-understand rankings which lets me make a determination instead of forcing an opinion on me. Now there is a Kids In Mind app, which will make it easier to get to their reviews quickly.
Like Microsoft, Apple and Google, Yahoo! now has its own browser — and it is an iOS browser as well as on Macs and PCs. The Yahoo! Axis browser has some interesting features such as visual search results and syncing your position across devices. It is free and worth checking out as an alternative to the built-in Safari browser.
Here’s a twisted strategy game that provides a unique challenge. In Pandemic, you control a virus or disease out to destroy the entire population of the world. Adjust its properties as the threat spreads and race against the hospitals and researchers of the world as they try to stop you.
