How does an augmented reality zombie invasion game sound as a way to while away your Sunday? Fortunately, just such a title is part of this week’s “Awesome Apps” roundup.
We’ve also got a reminder of why Google rules the map app space, a soothing minimalist puzzle game worth checking out, and an alternate history shooter/strategy game. Check out our choices below.
Glowish
I’m a sucker for beautifully designed puzzle games, and Glowish certainly ticks all the right boxes — right down to its soothing soundtrack.
Your goal is to solve puzzles by switching combinations of light switches on and off. There are circular, triangular, and square-shaped game pieces in a variety of colors, and touching one will make all the similar types on screen light up. Make them all glow, and you complete the puzzle. It’s a smart game dynamic, and one that allows for plenty of added complexity as the difficulty steadily ramps up.
Definitely worthy of a download.
Available for: iPhone, iPad
Cost: $1.99
Get it from: App Store
Noblemen: 1896
If you’re a fan of steampunk and alternate history, you’ll probably get a kick out of Noblemen, a new title set in 1896 in which a plague has wiped out 70 percent of the American population. In the ensuing power vacuum, a group of villains seized control over the government and helped usher in a civil war.
It’s a neat setup for a game, and provides a rich universe for it to take place in. Noblemen: 1896 tries to make this background more than window dressing by combining up-close-and-personal action sequences in the form of a cover shooter with Risk-style strategy elements. The resulting title doesn’t fit together totally cohesively, but it still contains enough separate ingredients that made me enjoy it. (Although, boy, does it consume your battery at a rate of knots!).
Available for: iPhone, iPad
Cost: Free
Get it from: App Store
Google Maps
Photo: Google
Apple Maps might not be the utter shambles it was when it launched in 2012, but there’s no doubting that Google continues to trounce it when it comes to its mapping services. This week it reminded us once again of its innovation lead by introducing a small, but important update: the ability to quickly and easily measure the distance between two points.
To take advantage of the feature, touch and hold anywhere on the map to see a red pint appear. At the bottom of the screen, you then tap the name of the place, choose the “measure distance” option, and then add the second point. Hey presto! The app will now tell you the total distance as the crow flies in both miles and kilometers. A surprisingly useful feature.
Available for: iPhone, iPad
Cost: Free
Get it from: App Store
Cold Blood Go
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBVldCsn9Xs
Cold Blood Go actually came out in August, although I only picked it up this week, and liked it enough to include it on this week’s roundup. Cold Blood Go is an augmented reality zombie invasion game. Whether five words appeal to you or not is probably going to determine your thoughts on this title. I’m a massive zombie movie fan, and incredibly excited about AR, so this was a perfect combination.
As the “Go” in its name suggests, Cold Blood Go is a bit like Pokémon Go for the walking dead set — with an emphasis on walking. It’s a mission-oriented title, where you have to go hunting zombies on a real world map. Each mission requires you to walk at least a quarter-mile, so you’ll get some exercise playing.
Instead of catching the zombies a la Pokémon, however, your next job is to eviscerate them, which you can do with an impressive range of upgradable weapons. Kill 9 zombies on different points, and you’ll get to fight a boss battle. Sound fun? It is.
Available for: iPhone, iPad
Cost: Free
Get it from: App Store
