Futurama, Ghost Detector Radar, and other awesome apps of the week

Augmented reality brings a plethora of ghosts and ghouls to your own home, courtesy of augmented reality.

That’s just one of the picks we’ve highlighted for this week’s “Awesome Apps” roundup. We’ve also got a brand new Futurama game, a slew of classic cartoons for your Apple TV, and an HD remix of an iOS RPG favorite. Check out our choices below.

The Quest – Hero of Lukomorye

With the iPhone turning ten this week, it’s a great opportunity to pay tribute to the past — and what a tribute this is. Hero of Lukomorye is what’s known as an oldie, but a goodie. It’s an expansion to The Quest, one of the O.G. RPG series that arrived on iOS way back in the early days of the App Store.

This week, it received an HD upgrade, giving a new shine to the open world game, featuring classic grid-based movement and turn based combat. The story involves an agent of the Tzar called to the Fortress of Zlatograd, who uses a combination of friends, spells, and weapons to defend the beautiful country of Lukomorye from hordes of invading Savirs.

If you’re a long-time Quest fan, that will make perfect sense to you. If not, this is still a brilliant title that’s worth picking up. It’s part of an entire remastered version of The Quest that’ll be rolling out over the coming months, so this is a great chance to jump aboard. If you’ve already got The Quest Classic ($4.99) you’ll unlock new areas. If you haven’t, this can be played as a standalone title.

Available for: iPhone, iPad
Cost: $2.99
Get it from: App Store

Boomerang

Want to enjoy classic cartoons like Tom & Jerry, Scooby-Doo, and The Flintstones on your Apple TV? Now you can, courtesy of an update to the Boomerang network’s iOS app.

Boomerang is the place to enjoy some of the greatest cartoons ever made by the likes of Hanna-Barbera, Looney Tunes, and MGM. Its catalog boasts more than 5,000 titles, and if you subscribe to its recently-launched streaming service, you can enjoy them all on-demand.

The service costs $5 a month or $40 per year, although there’s a free trial available before you have to shell out any of your hard-earned dollars.

Available for: iPhone, iPad, Apple TV
Cost: Free (with subscription costs)
Get it from: App Store

Ghost Detector Radar

Tim Cook has said how augmented reality tech makes him want to “scream” in excitement. If you want to check out some AR tech that will make you scream for entirely different reasons, you may want to check out the Ghost Detector Radar app.

No, it’s not a demo of Apple’s own ARKit technology, but it nonetheless uses your iOS camera and some smart computer graphics to let you seek out spirits (and not of the whisky and vodka kind) in your own home. When you find one, you can even ask it questions for a more rewarding ghost-hunting experience.

It’s certainly a fun app — although the free version is filled with ads, which pop up the most inopportune of moments. A $0.99 in-app purchase can exorcise them, should you wish.

Available for: iPhone, iPad
Cost: Free (with in-app purchase)
Get it from: App Store

Futurama: Worlds of Tomorrow

Following in the footsteps of The Simpsons: Tapped Out and Family Guy: The Quest for Stuff , Futurama: Worlds of Tomorrow recreates a beloved cartoon franchise in mobile game form.

It combines social simulation (think The Sims) with an original story, written by the show’s actual writers. Add in some spot-on graphics and the cast’s original voice talents, and you’ve got something that should entertain any Futurama during the quieter points of this July 4 weekend.

Available for: iPhone, iPad
Cost: Free (with in-app purchases)
Get it from: App Store