Believe it or not, I actually really enjoy making these lists every week. It’s like a weird little iOS scavenger hunt. I feel like I’m finding little hidden treasures (and some not-so-hidden) to share with everyone. Makes me feel all special. So yeah, more free games this week. Several of them are pretty cool, too.
Bloody Western – In a world full of custom character-heavy freemium PvP iOS games (and lots of abbreviations), it’s important to have a theme that stands out. I’d say a graphically violent Old West stands out. Bonus points for getting to choose between being a law man or outlaw. Also dusters.
Bloody Western
iPhone App – Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Buy Now: FREE
Released: 2012-04-18 :: Category: Games
ILLUSIA 2 – I’m not entirely sure why Gamevil always releases cool games for free, but I’m not going to complain. And if they want to make the more refined (and gorgeous) sequel to one of the App Store’s premier RPG-platformers available at no cost, they’re more than welcome to. In fact, I think we should encourage this behavior by downloading it.
Kingdom Age – Build and run a kingdom. Fight rival players. Plenty of quests to complete and areas to explore. All of that’s pretty cool, but what I’m really interested in is the whole fantasy theme. What with all the monsters to fight and 100+ (!) units to command. Could be worth a look-see, I think.
Kingdom Age
Universal App – Designed for iPhone and iPad
Buy Now: FREE
Released: 2012-04-17 :: Category: Games
A Bird’s Journey – Okay so I’ll admit it, I’m totally noting this one because of the visuals. I’m a sucker for interesting art styles, everyone should know this by now. Shut up! At least it looks cool. And it’s free.
A Bird’s Journey
Universal App – Designed for iPhone and iPad
Buy Now: FREE
Released: 2012-04-17 :: Category: Games
Downhill Xtreme – Know what this reminds me of? The classic PlayStation title 2 Xtreme. There’s just something incredibly pleasing about beating the crap out of people while racing down steep inclines. Being able to do so while on the go just makes it more awesome.
Downhill Xtreme
Universal App – Designed for iPhone and iPad
Buy Now: FREE
Released: 2012-04-19 :: Category: Games
Avon’s Flight – Yes, it’s another top-down SHMUP. Yes, I know there are a number of these on the App Store already, and a good many of them are free. But how many of them have space-bullets that are affected by gravity? Never mind that it’s technically a ridiculous concept because there really isn’t any gravity in space to begin with, it mixes things up and makes what could’ve been more of the same into something much more unique.
Avon’s Flight
Universal App – Designed for iPhone and iPad
Buy Now: FREE
Released: 2012-04-18 :: Category: Games
Apps mentioned in this post: A Bird’s Journey, Avon’s Flight, Bloody Western, Downhill Xtreme, ILLUSIA 2, Kingdom Age
About: FREEday 4/20/12 – “I Will Choose a Path That’s Clear, I Will Choose FREEwill” is a post from 148Apps
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Best-selling gadget magazine Stuff now has an iPad edition. Stuff Magazine, like most iPad magazine apps, is a Newstand app that’s free to download but charges for individual issues and subscriptions.
:: QUICK
While complicated weather apps that present all sorts of data are useful, I don’t want to spend more than a few seconds figuring out what the weather is going to be like before I go out. Most of the time, besides temperature, I just want to know if it’s going to rain. Dark Sky provides a quick at-a-glance view of whether or not it will rain within the next hour and how heavy that rain will be.
bottom. Switching between the two screens is snappy, making this the perfect at-a-glance app for checking for rain.
LazyTown, the popular children’s show about health and well-being, now has an iPad storybook filled with interactive features. LazyTown’s Friends Forever BooClip is a digital book app that not only narrates a story but includes animations, video clips, music, and more interactive features all about the LazyTown TV series.
:: NOT A STANDARD SEQUEL
Almost a year ago, I reviewed a great game called 
Gold is still what’s earned at the end of a level, but, unlike the previous game, the character doesn’t earn the ability to send more minions by destroying the tower characters. Instead, Stobbs has a set limit of how many minions can be out at a time and when they’re destroyed those resources are returned to him. So the strategy is picking how many which minions to attack and the timing of sending those minions out.
Girls Around Me got some bad press. But the truth is that there’s a market for similar apps without the privacy concerns that arose from Girls Around Me. eye saw you helps users flirt and discover each other without the privacy mess: users remain completely anonymous until they choose to reveal their information.
It’s important to encourage communication with any child but it’s all the more vital for those children with an Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Fortunately, technology is on hand to help in some cases. AutisMate is one such app that aims to help boost the social skills of people with autism by helping them communicate better.
Topps Bunt is an extremely simplified fantasy baseball game. Users get a pack of 9 player cards that form their team, and then their performances get points, which accumulate for the user, with the goal being to ultimately try and rise up the leaderboards. Unlike fantasy baseball, there’s not one central pool of players, so one user can’t have a certain player that no one else has. In fact, it’s even possible to have multiples of one card by doing one-to-one trades for cards.
Topps Bunt is a unicorn in the world of the App Store though, in that it’s completely free. Not “free with in-app purchases” but free. Just try and spend money in this game – it’s not possible! It’s actually kind of refreshing. Don’t worry that much about getting a late start on the season, as leaderboards tracking from when the user starts playing the game are available. The interface is nicely attuned for the iPad, and the player cards are designed to give the game a consistently crisp feel to go along with the user avatar artwork of the game. Who says bears can’t play fantasy baseball? The whole list of players is also available, and viewable as a card sheet; each card has amusing anecdotes about players to go along with their photo and recent stats.