Apps of the week: djay 2, Iron Force, rithm, and more

As the summer heat reaches its full potential, we are left sweaty, exhausted, and ready for a nice, long weekend. To beat the heat, I’ll be heading to the coast for a comfortable few days of drinking, eating, and playing Cards Against Humanity with 20 of my nerdiest friends. I probably won’t be touching my iPhone for 72 hours.

If you are stuck in the middle of a heat wave, or just want something to occupy you over the weekend, we have a list of apps and games to make you feel as unproductive as possible…

Grand Theft Auto III

Although this game has been in the App Store for a while now, Rockstar Games has kindly put it on sale for us. If you are one of the few people left in the world who has not yet downloaded this on their mobile device, now is the time to do it. You can relive all of the face punching, coke dealing, douchebag killing fun on your iPhone or iPad. You can even listen to music from your iTunes library as you drive around shooting people and stealing cars. This game is available for $2.99 until July 30.

rithm

How much do you love music? Do you find yourself wiggling in your seat whenever you hear a song that moves you? Do certain choruses remind you of someone and you with you could say hello? Well, now you can. This app is a music-based social networking service that lets you send a song to your friend. Link your Facebook account and send 30-second song snippets to people you know. Add your own video and include a personal note. It’s like a mini singing telegram. You can also share your rithm on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. This app is available for free.

Swatcha

Colors make up everything around us. Our eyes don’t even have the capability to see every possible color difference. If you are particularly good with colors, you can distinguish subtle differences that the rest of us don’t notice. This fun little game takes that idea and runs with it. It’s part memory game and part color recognition game. You may think it is easy but the further you get through the levels, the harder it is to remember what color you just saw, especially when it looks completely different next to another color. This game is available for $0.99.

Iron Force

Anybody interested in a good old-fashioned tank battle? How about blowing away your friends on a field of destruction? This game puts you into the hot seat of a tank that wants to get to work. Fight against six opponents in a free-for-all attack or work in teams of three to defeat your enemy. Choose from seven awesome customizable tanks that you can upgrade with better firepower, more speed, and more. If you want to practice your tank-fighting skills alone, you can battle it out with a computer-generated opponent. This game is available for free.

djay 2 for iPhone

If you fancy yourself a deejay hobbyist, you probably already own Algoriddim’s feature-rich djay app. But, you haven’t seen anything yet. The second version comes with a new interface with multiple layers. Switch between single or two-deck view, HD Waveform, and Sampler. Use the spectral timeline to visually identify song structure with color-coding. The virtual vinyl has actual groves so you can see when one song ends and another begins. Use the Sampler and Drum pads to create your own backbeat. You can even create samples using songs from you iTunes library. This app is on sale for $0.99 for a limited time.

BLOODMASQUE

If it’s not zombies eating our brains, it’s vampires sucking our blood. If you have ever fantasized about joining the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen on a quest to end the sun-hating blight of humanity, then today is your lucky day. Not only will you be staking hearts like a mad dog, but you also get to put your pretty face onto the vampire hunter in you game. That’s right. Upload a picture of your face and create an avatar of your character, including facial expressions. Your mug will appear in various cinematic scenes and combat. Role-playing games on the iPad have never been more personal. This game is available for $6.99.

Make Me Blue

I know I’ve included a lot of games this week, but that’s how the cycle runs. Some weeks are heavy with awesome games. Some are heavy with sweet productivity apps. Make Me Blue is a fun, simple puzzle game that will make you rip your hair out in frustration. It is epically difficult to play. I know some of our readers (including Sebastien) love games that really challenge your brainpower. Not only does this game challenge it, it sucks it dry. The goal is to get all blocks to face the same way, showing the same color. Oh, but the sides have to match too. It’s like a flattened out version of Rubik’s Cube. This game is available for free.