Somehow it’s the weekend again, and to help you celebrate we’ve combed through the week’s best apps to help you sort the wheat from the chaff.
Whether you’re after a great Tetris-style puzzler, the reissue of a tremendous Rockstar Games classic, or a Touch Bar-compatible music player, we’re confident we’ve got what you’re looking for.
Check out our list below.
Bully: Anniversary Edition
Remember Bully? Sure, it’s not up there with Grand Theft Auto as one of Rockstar Games’ best-known titles, but it’s absolutely up there in terms of quality.
Following 15-year-old Jimmy Hopkins through his misadventures at prep school Bullworth Academy, the game sees you play pranks, take on the jocks and teachers, try to win the affection of girls, and much more.
In keeping with Rockstars’ re-releases of the Grand Theft Auto games, here Bully gets a full-on anniversary remix, with new support for high-resolution displays, enhanced graphics, improved lighting and textures, and controls redesigned for touch gameplay — alongside multiplayer for the new Friend Challenges.
Highly, highly recommended!
Available for: iPhone, iPad
Cost: $6.99
Get it for: App Store
Dropa!
Pitched somewhere between Tetris and that fingerprint pattern you have to fill in when you set up a new Touch ID profile, Dropa! is a game that’s sure to keep you busy during the holiday season.
The game adopts a minimalist visual style, in which you have to complete circular rings by plugging in Tetris-esque blocks. To rotate a piece, simply tap on its center and then find the best place on the circle to slot it in. Completed rings will disappear, and the goal is to complete as many as possible to move on to the next level.
As with Tetris, you can gain a strategic advantage by looking to see which brick comes next, which allows you to plan out your placements a little better.
Available for: iPhone, iPad
Cost: Free (with in-app purchases)
Get it for: App Store
Le Parker Sous Chef Extraordinaire
I’m a tremendous fan of platformers from the classic age of 8-bit gaming and, while Le Parker Sous Chef Extraordinaire is a brand new title, it certainly owes a debt of gratitude to the beloved likes of Super Mario World and Mega Man 2.
Put in control of the chef character Le Parker, your task is to rescue Le Parker’s true love, the Princess, and “assemble a kitchen of secret utensils,” with which you can give your enemies their “just desserts.”
With beautiful landscapes, great music and well-designed levels, this is a game platformer fans are sure to enjoy. One of the most fun titles of 2016.
Available for: iPhone, iPad
Cost: $2.99
Get it for: App Store
Touch Bar Piano
Is the ability to play piano on the Touch Bar of the pricey new MacBook Pro enough to justify its cost or the existence of the Touch Bar itself? Almost certainly not. Is it a fun app for messing around, complete with fully polyphonic sound a choice of 128 different instruments? Absolutely.
Besides, the fact that it’s free makes it a non-risky proposition to check out, while the fact that the same functionality isn’t reproducible using existing shortcuts on your regular MacBook keyboard means that it’s something of a rarity in that regard.
Available for: 2016 MacBook Pro with Touch Bar
Cost: Free
Get it for: Utsire
