A well-timed January update of one of my favorite games of the last year — combining road trip action and zombie invasion — is just of one of the picks for this week’s “Awesome Apps of the Week.”
In addition, we’ve got a great arcade-style space blaster, a superb data-heavy weather app given an iPhone X polish, and an excellent task manager. Check out our picks below.
Death Road to Canada
Yes, I’ve included Death Road to Canada in my “Awesome Apps” roundup before. And I’m going to keep including it until as many people find out about it as possible!
I’m partially kidding, but Death Road (probably my favorite iOS game of 2017) just keeps giving more reasons to include it in similar app roundups. A bonkers mash-up of randomly-generated zombie survival RPG, action game, and text-based interactive fiction game, this week its creators added a nifty New Year’s upgrade.
Among the updates are tweaks to the touch controls, new characters, and weapons including sai, chainsaw hand (seriously, how could you resist?), double barrel shotgun, and far more. If you’re a zombie fan, a road trip fan, or just a fan of fun original games, you shouldn’t miss this excellent title.
Available for: iPhone, iPad
Price: $11.99
Get it from: App Store
Weather Line
Weather can be particularly unpredictable at this time of year, so it’s important to have a good weather app to fill you in on all the information.
Fortunately, data rich forecasting app Weather Line just got a new iPhone X-oriented optimization upgrade, letting you view it in full screen mode. It also adds additional metrics covering rainfall and cloud cover — and even throws in a price cut from its usual $3.99 price to $2.99.
Available for: iPhone, iPad
Price: $2.99
Get it from: App Store
Taskmator: Task Paper client
Cult task manager and notes app Taskmator just an update for iPad owners, making the iOS client for TaskPaper formatted lists even better.
The app now works in Slide Over and Split Screen views, as well as supporting plain-text drag-and-drop. That means you can put in in a split screen, or swipe its panel in temporarily via Slide Over, and drag text to it from other apps.
For more information, check out this app review from my colleague Charlie Sorrel.
Available for: iPad
Price: $4.99
Get it from: App Store
Beyond Helios
Some iOS games are deep immersive experiences that reward game times lasting many hours, and which will still be keeping you busy by the time 2018 gives way to 2019. Beyond Helios isn’t one of those games — but that’s no bad thing.
It’s an updated (though still decidedly retro) version of the classic space shooter genre which once dominated arcades. You are tasked with clearing as many randomly generated battlefields as possible before all the ships in your squadron are destroyed.
There’s not much more to it than that, but it’s a whole lot of fun. Now get blasting!
Available for: iPhone, iPad
Price: $0.99
Get it from: App Store