Welcome back to the weekend — relax, you made it!
Life is good this Friday because we’ve got a collection of games for you that are not only fun, but free too! So settle in and have a look, and if you’ve got any hot tips for us then don’t forget to pass them along.
Toyshop Adventures
Toyshop Adventures
As soon as you hit the opening cinematic (by the way, I love that I can say that about an iPhone game now. Opening cinematic. Awesome), you will begin to notice that Toyshop Adventures is a remarkable title. First of all, let me get this out of the way and say that it’s basically LittleBigPlanet. You don’t really customize your character, there’s no charming voiceover, and you’re not a sack, but beyond that you’re still navigating faux-3D stages hunting for marbles. In a toyshop.
The toyshop owner, you see, has lost his marbles (literally) and the shop’s various denizens need your help collecting them. The premise is cute but pretty invisible because where this game really shines is in the gameplay department. While it may take you a level or two to get the hang of the physics, once you do it’s really very fun to make your way to the finishing box at the end of each level. While the designs are not as clever as their LittleBigPlanet counterparts, they’re still challenging and attractive to look at, and the lasso (once you unlock it) makes things even more exciting.
Overall, you’re looking at a solid collection of levels and some unlockable characters and other goodies, which for the price is pretty amazing. Future updates will hopefully address an issue of occasional crashing that we encountered, but beyond that if you’re after a bit of fun in the spirit of LittleBigPlanet while you’re on the go, then Toyshop Adventures is for you.
Flamin Stack
Flamin Stack
Flamin Stack is a challenging little arcade game with a fast pace and an old-school vibe.
Your seemingly-simple task is to stack the glowing squares as high as you can get them. But this isn’t Tetris — they’re not falling from up above; rather, they slide in one row at a time from the side, starting in groups of three. If you manage to stop them so they rest perfectly in line with the ones below them, then another three will come in. Otherwise, the number of blocks diminishes to two or one and they become harder to align. So while it sounds like it’d be easy to just stack blocks nine layers high, the quick pace makes it a legitimate challenge.
If you’re a very casual gamer then you might be put off by the difficulty, but if you’re used to arcade-era games where the challenge was the whole point, then you’ll feel right at home here.
Price: Free
Developer: Nicholas Robert
Download: App Store
Wordlands
Wordlands
In the interest of bringing some variety into the mix, let’s take a look at a game that’s not just for play but is also educational. Wait, come back, it’s fun!
Wordlands is essentially the wordsearch of the 21st century. You’re presented with a grid of letters and must drag your finger across to form words. The longer the better. Unlike a standard wordsearch, you can drag around diagonally, overlap things, and do all sorts of crazy stuff if it gets you the word you’re after. Doing this earns you money, certificates, and access to new levels. The game is structured like a journey, with your overarching goal to reach the “promised land” by earning enough points in each of the stages across the world map.
If you’d like to exercise your brain and vocabulary a bit along with your fingers, then Wordlands is easy to recommend. In fact, it’s so well put together that it feels like a shame not to give it a try even if you’re not into this kind of thing. And it’s free, after all.
Price: Free
Developer: Thinknao Software
Download: App Store
Watercolor War: Bomb That Man!
Watercolor War: Bomb That Man!
Fans of Watercolor War will be thrilled about Bomb That Man! because now they finally have a free app they can recommend to their friends to coerce them into buying the full game. Watercolor War: Bomb That Man! is, in fact, an isolated minigame of sorts from the full title which offers a glimpse of the full game’s charm in a free teaser.
The design maintains the same gorgeous watercolor aesthetic while removing all unnecessary menus and distractions. It’s just you, a fleet of bomber plane, and a beach full of baddies. Tapping the screen above them will summon a plane to drop a bomb in that area, and your goal is to use the splash damage of the (rather slow) bombs to keep the soldiers from crossing the beach.
There really isn’t much more to it than that, but the mechanic is solid and it’s an easy way to pass some time hunting for a high score. Besides, if you like it then you can grab the full Watercolor War and enjoy a hugely successful title.
Price: Free
Developer: Joseph Neuman
Download: App Store
Connectus!
Connectus!
This week’s last entry is actually just free for a limited time, but it’s a fun little brain twister so we’ve included it. Remember in grade school when your friend used to ask you to draw that house without lifting your pen off the paper or going back over lines you’d already drawn? Well that’s basically Connectus!
Here’s an example of a simple concept turned into a very smooth and accessible game. Over the course of the game’s 30 levels, you explore the notion of completing figures that range from the simple to the notorious house and beyond. It’s a cinch to pick up and play and it’ll test your visual thinking skills, especially later on.
A promised update will include plenty more levels, and in the meantime if you get stuck there’s a convenient Hint and Undo function to help you solve the puzzles. We’d like to see some extra modes or layers of gameplay added in the future, but for now Connectus! is a wonderful and good looking free game that you should grab before the price goes up!
Price: Free (for a limited time)
Developer: Ishay Weinstock
Download: App Store
What Have You Been Playing?
So now that we’ve saved some cash with these freebies, let’s hear what sorts of games you’ve been playing this week. Any other amazing free titles that you recommend? Let us know in the comments!