In a week in which the App Store went red to mark World AIDS Day and we got a big update on when Apple’s AirPods are set to ship, here are the apps which were keeping us busy.
From a great new game for Apple TV to a superb photography app for iOS, check out our picks for the latest awesome apps.
Tiny Wings, one of the most addictive games you’ll ever play on iOS, is now available on the fourth-generation Apple TV. It costs just $2.99, and it comes with a new two-player game mode that lets you battle it out with a friend for the first time.
There are hundreds, maybe even thousands, of games available in the App Store. I’ve played tons of them over the years. Some of those games eventually ended up getting deleted, or moved to the last few pages of my games folder, where they remain for long car or plane rides.
However, there are a few games that have remained on my iPhone or iPad’s Home screen for literally years now. Even long after their launch, I still launch these games regularly, play them, and thoroughly enjoy them.
Note: This article originally appeared in the Cult of Mac Newsstand issue, Game On!. Grab yourself a copy or subscribe today.
It still surprises me when someone says, “I don’t play video games.”
Games are a touchstone of cultural relevance these days. With the advent of the iOS platform, with its ready availability of a wide variety of video games for all types of players, it’s hard to not see their influence. Not playing video games is like not reading novels or not watching television: sure, some folks choose that, but they’re missing out on a common cultural heritage and discussion.
That said, video games can seem intimidating. Or feel like a waste of valuable productivity time. I won’t bore you with statistics and studies that say otherwise, but trust me on this: video games can be a viable leisure time activity for all of us.
So how do we get you playing games? In the case of my girlfriend, it was finding the games that made sense to her. For my dad? He still won’t play them. So this list is as much for him as it is for you. You’re welcome.
As the App Store’s fifth anniversary approaches, a whole host of developers have begun makes some of their most popular apps and games for iOS completely free. Some of the titles included in the sale are Infinity Blade II, Disney’s Where’s My Water?, and Traktor DJ, which is usually priced at $20.
Kicking off this week’s must-have games roundup is a massive update to Tiny Wings — one of my favorite iOS games — which adds a brand new game mode with 15 levels, Retina visuals, and more. You’ll also find Amazing Alex, the latest game from Angry Birds creator Rovio; a wonderful multiplayer RPG; a retro Neo-Geo shooter, and more.
Update: Hey, look at that! Tiny Wings HD just showed up in our iTunes App Store.
Tiny Wings 2.0 is available now in the app store, as a free update to the original sleeper hit by developer Andreas Illiger.
After a cute little music box teaser trailer was posted earlier this week, igniting the joy of fans and the media alike, it seems as if the wait is (almost) over.
“Finally it’s coming: Tiny Wings 2! And now it’s teaser time.”
So says the twitter account for the one-man success story of Andreas Illiger, creator and developer of one of the hottest iOS games of the past year and a half, Tiny Wings. Tiny wings hasn’t been updated since September of last year, so we can only assume that Illiger has been working on this new project, or others, since then. While the tweet mentions the number two, the video does not, referring to the new iOS title as “The New Tiny Wings.”
Titles like Angry Birds, Tiny Wings, and Jetpack Joyride have proven that popular smartphone games are big business for developers. But why are we so addicted to gaming on our mobile devices? Well, according to a new survey from MocoSpace, a third of us do it just to kill time and cure boredom, while 10% of us do it to meet new people.
Counterintuitively, for the fourth year running, the winners of 148Apps annual “Best App Ever” contest have just been announced at Macworld / iWorld 12012. And my girlfriend’s going to be positively giddy, because the app that she’s spent most of the last year grinding her fingers down to the bone playing has won: Halfbrick Studio’s Jetpack Joyride!
For this week’s giveaway we’ve partnered up with the friendly folks at Appular to bring fans a great package of iOS gaming apps, for free. We’ve got codes for five of the hottest games in the iPhone App Store right now and we’re ready to dish em out to our awesome fans to liven up your iPhone gaming lives. Today’s package of apps includes Cars 2, Tiny Wings, Hanging With Friends, The Game of Life, and Sea Battles. If you want a chance to win all five games then hurry up and enter the contest.
This week’s roundup of must-have iOS games features what I think could be the next iPhone craze; Tiny Wings is a simple one-button arcade game based on a dream of flying, and another huge App Store success that will be sure to hang around for a while at the top of the paid charts, just like Angry Birds or Doodle Jump.
Volcano Escape is another of our favorites – a terrific platformer that provides level after level of action-packed entertainment, which, together with its crazy characters and explosive weaponry, makes it one of the greatest games of its genre.
Zombies are quite the stars within the App Store – some of the most popular iOS games feature the living dead. Our third must-have game this week, and another to add to the list of zombie successes, is Zombie Runaway – a brilliant run-as-far-as-you-can game that’s a little different to the rest.
Find out more about the games above after the break!
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6pT_2E5xI0
Tiny Wings – ($0.99) iPhone – Games
The next iPhone game to join the likes of Doodle Jump and Angry Birds as hugely popular titles that seem to cling to the top of the App Store charts for months on end could be Tiny Wings – a simple one-button arcade game based on a dream of flying. Featuring a loveable little bird whose wings are too small to fly, the aim of this game is to slide up and down hills as fast as you can, flapping your wings when the time is right to achieve a moment’s flight… before gravity brings you back down again.
Fly as far as you can, fulfilling each of your tasks to upgrade you nest, and try to unlock all 27 of the tricky OpenFeint achievements. While the object of the game seems fairly easy, it features enough of a challenge to ensure you’re quickly addicted to its charm, and you won’t be able to put it down. Its most unique feature is the procedural generated graphics that make the beautiful visuals look different every day you play. Tiny Wings is a remarkably simple idea that makes for a wonderful game.
[xrr rating = 80%]
