Now here’s a game that is highly addictive. Dragonvale is an ingenious game where you run a breed and raise cute little dragons. Before you know it you are building habitats, decorating your park and contemplating breeding combinations. This game is getting so popular that there are many sites now dedicated to it. It is a freemium game, meaning that you can download it and play for free, with in-app purchasing of items used merely to speed things up. At the very least you need to get this game and try it out, so you know what everyone else is raving about.
Ever wanted to design your own platform game levels? With the MakeQuest iPad app, you can. You drag building blocks and create rooms. Rooms link together to make a game. Design it any way you want. Add objects, treasure, weapons and monsters. Use signs to create a narrative. This is an interesting “experiment” from CleverMedia, MacMost’s parent company.
Here’s a fast-moving platform game that just became universal for the iPhone and iPad. In League of Evil has retro art and gameplay but still manages to seem fresh. You run, jump, climb and punch your way through level after level.
Here’s another free game from MacMost’s parent. Mah Jongg Solitaire is a very full-featured tile matching game. You can choose from many tile sets, backgrounds and layouts. It is a free ad-supported game, but similar to other games that you would need to pay for.
No doubt that Minecraft has a huge following among both casual and some hard-core gamers. It is amazing that it has taken this long for there to be a real Minecraft iPhone and iPad app. While the app is way behind the desktop application, it is still fun and worth the price. You get to basically just move around and build your own 3D environment in an extremely simply interface.
Another CleverMedia that just got updated Something Fishy. The new HD version for the iPad and iPhone has a complete new control system with an on-screen joystick. This is a fun game, especially for kids. You float around and eat fish smaller than you while avoiding fish larger than you. There are also some bonus games.
Apple has brought one of the most sophisticated and fun iPad apps to the iPhone and iPod touch. The new universal version of GarageBand gives you an eight-track recording studio in your pocket. You can also have lots of fun with the on-screen musical instruments.
CleverMedia (MacMost parent) has just updated its Word Spell game for iOS. It is now native resolution for this iPad, and it is now a completely free game. You get six letters and need to spell as many words as you can before time runs out. The new version also adds many performance enhancements.
With the World Series underway, you may want to check out Home Run Derby by MacMost’s parent company. This is a free game and a quick play. Just take some swings to see how many you can hit over the fence. A new version just out this week adds full screen iPad support.
Zig Zag is a simple puzzle strategy game where you connect two tiles. The tiles have to connect via a line with not more than two turns. And the longer the line, the more points you score. This creates some interesting game strategy where you have to remove tiles in the right order to score maximum points.
This game by MacMost’s parent company has just undergone a transformation. It is now a free app, and it works on both the iPhone and iPad at native resolutions.
QR Codes are becoming common enough now that you probably want to make sure you have a free QR code reader app on your iPhone. The very simple Scan app works just fine and I have been using it whenever curiosity gets the better of me.
Gaming on the iPad is starting to pick up steam. With new iPad-only games that are a level above what you typically find on the small-screen iPhone, the two platforms are moving apart in the gaming world. Crimson: Steam Piratesis an iPad-only game that merges the age of pirates with steam punk for some two-dimensional sea battle action. The corny story can be forgiven since the game is so much fun to play.
Yet another new game idea made possible by the iOS touch interface. In Continuity 2: The Continuation, you not only get a very intuitive and interesting way to move a character around the screen by swiping, but you also get a new game concept. You can move the character, sure, but you can also move the environment. You zoom out and slide sections of each level around. Bizarre, fun and addictive.
I’m not into cooking, but if I were, I wouldn’t use anything so old-fashioned as a cook book. Well, I would, but it would be on my iPad. Epicurious seems to be the ultimate next-generation cook book. 30,000 recipes, searchable, shopping lists, social features, etc.
Seems like everyone wants to figure out how to make a better news app. News360 is certainly a contender. It seems to bring in news from a ton of sources, and customizes to your interests. There is also a new exploratory mode that lets you see a collage of images and perhaps find interesting stories that you might have otherwise missed. Also good is the fact that to read full articles you get shown the original web page. So you don’t miss anything and the app respects the publications’ rights as well.
Recently while on vacation I was looking for a simple way to take pictures on my iPhone and upload them to one of the major photo sharing services, without much hassle. The official Flickr app does that. It makes it simple to upload pictures from my camera roll directly from my iPhone to Flickr.
Strategy games for the iPad are all over the place in terms of quality. Great Little War Game HD is one of the good ones, with many challenging levels and good graphics. It is also easy to learn with tips at the start of each level instead of a massive tutorial to digest. It is a basic turn-based strategy game much like the old Advance Wars that defined this genre.
Here’s a simple but fun and beautiful game that can be enjoyed by just about anyone. In Osmos you are a small cell trying to get bigger. You do that by simply eating things small than you, and avoiding things larger than you. But each level has a puzzle aspect to it that keeps it interesting.
While the realistic forward view and accelerometer controls of most racing games fantastic on the iPad and iPhone, sometimes top-down with on-screen controls works too. That is the case with the super-fun Death Rally. You race around short courses for the best time, while trying to destroy your AI opponents with weapons. It is top-down, but the graphics are excellent, so you quickly forget that. I like that the courses are short so you can play a quick race as a break at any time.
