The weekend is here again. It is time to talk about apps and games we are exited about that have recently become additions to our favorite mobile devices. With all of the new titles coming out in the App Store, it is a wonder any of us get any work done during the week.
Whether you are looking for a deeply engrossing game, something to help you get fit, or are looking forward to managing your virtual baseball team, we’ve got a list of apps and games to turn you into a vegetable this weekend…
Hitman Go
Square Enix came through with its promise this week to bring the popular Hitman series to the iPad. Although not exactly like the full game, this iOS version stars the franchise’s main character, Agent 47. Players try to avoid getting caught while planning a detailed attack on an unsuspecting victim using scale model-like graphics. The game is turn-based with movement restricted to fixed paces on the grid. Use distractions, disguises, hiding spots, sniper rifles, and even Agent 47’s iconic Silverballers. Take out your target before he notices you lurking behind the bushes. This game is available for $4.99.
Union
I’m getting tired of boring, single-subject pictures. I want to see a castle on top of an ice cream cone, or a giant baby riding a tricycle down the streets of New York. Luckily for me, photo manipulation hobbyists and artists can make these crazy types of combinations exist through the use of masking and blending. This app lets you superimpose one image on top of the other to create an interesting double-exposure picture. Plus, you can import photos and effects layers from Tangent and Fragment for even more distortion of reality. This app is available for $1.99.
Dark Slash
I recently read a headline about Game of Thrones that called the TV show “dark fantasy.” I guess putting dark in front of things is the new trend. This game is pretty dark. It is filled with undead monsters, black samurai, warlocks, skeleton kings, demons, a Flame Devil, and more. Players tap and swipe to slash, dodge, and perform combos and bring down powerful enemies. The graphics are based on the dark pixel design. Just like Aria Stark, use your hatred and rage to bring your enemies to their ultimate end. This game is available for $0.99.
iOOTP Baseball 2014 Edition
There are people who like to participate in sporting activities and people who like to deal with the business side of sports. The two are not mutually exclusive. That’s why Fantasy Football is so popular. It is also why the Out of the Park Baseball franchise is popular too. The 2014 edition has finally made it to market. Players can now create and manage their team with this year’s roster, including every major league team and the top 20 minor league teams. Supervise your team’s success down to the minutest detail in this realistic baseball management simulation game. This game is available for $4.99.
Textio Speed Reading
Speed-reading is a popular pastime these days. With all of the blogs, news sites, and fan fiction we read, it’s a wonder we can ever get through the day. This app uses traditional speed-read training techniques to help you get to as much as 800 words per minute. Using one word at a time, you will train your eyes to focus on the important letters of a word so you can identify it faster. What makes this app so special is that you can import your favorite e-book as an HTML, TXT, or PDF file and read away. I’ll bet I can get through the third installment in the Song of Ice and Fire series before season three of Game of Thrones ends. This app is available for $2.99.
Foldify Zoo
I know I’m going to get some flack for including this app on our list, but I don’t care. Paper crafting is a very relaxing activity that can make even the most irritable person calm down. Plus, when you are done cutting and gluing your creation, you can set up little dioramas and burn them up to satisfy your craving to destroy. This app is from the same company that created the award-winning Foldify app. Using premade templates of a wide variety of animals you can create your own wildlife environment… and then crumple it into nothingness. This app is available for $1.99.
Breeze
Remember when apps that track your motion were all the rage? It seems like so long ago that we were excited about that M7 processor chip. Well, to rekindle your love of recording your every activity, FitnessKeeper has launched a step tracker to help keep you motivated to keep moving. This app uses the iPhone 5s’ motion sensors and location finder to help you document your walks, runs, and other movement. It highlights your progress and provides context on your daily activities. Then, you can view your daily records against a full week’s worth of data. This app is available for free.
Want more apps? Check these out
- Find out what it would be like to clone yourself with Instantion
- Shatter Alley is a music-driven brick breaking game
- Google launches new ‘Helpouts’ iPhone app
- All.Notes review: the Notes app that iOS should have been
- Corel launches new Pinnacle Studio video editing app for iPhone
- David. brings minimalist platformer gaming to iOS
- ‘Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft’ for iPad now available worldwide
- Knights of Pen & Paper turns an RPG into a tabletop adventure
- SideSwype mixes the mechanics of ‘Threes’ and the match-three genre
- Upcoming ‘Castaway Paradise’ is an Animal Crossing-like game for iPad
- RunKeeper launches Breeze, fitness/activity tracking iPhone 5s app with eye-candy UI
These apps have been updated
- Facebook updates Paper with photo comments, birthdays, events, group updates and more
- Facebook app updated with direct comment replies and more
- VLC for iOS introduces folders, new file types, subtitle improvements and more
- Mextures 2.0 comes with new features including full photo editing, shared formulas and more
- Readdle updates Calendars with new iPad UI, custom reminders on iPhone
- Pandora alarm clock now available on iPad, launches Pebble app for iOS
- Amazon revamps Cloud Drive Photos for iOS 7, adds Timeline and other new features
- $7 per month Office 365 Personal subscription plan launches with iPad editing
- Tempo Smart Calendar gains free conference calls, app icon date and new alert sound
- Real Racing 3 updated with new ‘open wheel’ vehicles, expanded roster and more
- Fandango app updated with new design, new rating system and more
- Instagram and Facebook stepping up fight against spammers
- Twitterrific for iOS now lets you edit tweets after they’ve been published
- Flickr 3.0 for iOS: revamped UI, HD video capture, auto-tagging, detailed metadata and more
- Facebook launches its own Find My Friends feature
- Horn goes free as Apple’s new App of the Week
- Skitch for iOS updated with streamlined sharing, paragraph text annotations and more