Iron Marines, Faviconographer, and other awesome apps of the week

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Awesome Apps
'Appy weekend, everyone!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The closest thing you’re likely to get to a fully-realized StarCraft experience on iOS is just one of the apps we’ve highlighted for this week’s “Awesome Apps” roundup.

We’ve also got a nifty tool for adding icons to your Safari browser tabs, a way of sending Spotify songs using iMessage, and a fun one-button puzzle game that puts you in charge of a friendly planet in search of his friends. Check out our picks below.

Iron Marines

Iron Marines is a deep, real-time strategy game based around a touch interface that works surprisingly well. There’s a whole lot to like here, from the immersive gameplay to the attractive graphics (and even a dash of silly humor!), as you control a variety of soldiers, mechas, and aliens, build bases, defend your ground, upgrade your stars, and a whole lot more stuff that’s… well, pretty StarCraft to be honest.

If you’re even close to being a fan of this genre of game, Iron Marine should be a “must” for you. I’m digging the heck out of it!

Available for: iPhone, iPad
Cost: $4.99
Get it from: App Store

Spotify on iMessage

Katy Perry Spotify
A new way to send songs to friends. And a smart promotional campaign for Spotify, too!
Photo: Luke Dormehl

Spotify added a new iMessage applet this week, allowing users to share tracks with friends using Apple’s messaging tool, without having to worry about copy-and-pasting links to do so.

Users can send a 30-second sample of the song, which the other person can play in iMessage, or else tap on to open in the main Spotify app. Your friends will receive the link even if they don’t have Spotify installed, although to play either the 30-second sample or the complete song, they’ll need to install the app.

For information on how to set up and start using the feature, check out our handy “how to” guide here.

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

Faviconographer

Faviconographer in action
Favicons make your tabs easier to spot.
Photo: Cult of Mac

A handy feature on Google Chrome is its use of colorful, easy-to-identify icons on the various tabs in its browser. Sadly the same isn’t true for Safari — unless you add in developer Daniel Alm’s Faviconographer tool. It’s not perfect (the icons don’t immediately move along with the window when you move it to a new location, for instance), but it still works pretty well.

It’s a feature that Apple totally should include in a later version of Safari. Until they do, this is your best bet!

Available for: Mac
Cost: Free
Get it from: Faviconographer

Tales of the Tiny Planet

A fun, physics-based puzzler, Tales of the Tiny Planet follows a smiling planet as it searches the universe for its lost friends. The game itself is a nifty one button puzzler, although this deceptively simple control mechanic controls a variety of complex mechanisms across 60 levels and 5 different worlds.

Like any puzzle game worth its salt, this game will take you next to no time to pick up, but you’ll find plenty to keep you playing. A whole lot of fun!

Available for: iPhone, iPad
Cost: $1.99
Get it from: App Store

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