Noise, Write.as, BeCasso and other apps to check out this weekend

Apps to check out this weekend

If you’re looking to relax this holiday weekend with leftover turkey and a new app or game, you’ve come to the right place. In the latest edition of our Apps of the Week roundup, we’ve selected some awesome titles including a music-making app, an anonymous blogging client, a paint-style photo editor, and some great new games for you to check out.

NOISE

noise

ROLI makes some pretty cool iOS-connected devices for creating music, and it turns out they make cool apps too. NOISE isn’t brand new, but it’s new enough that I hadn’t tried it yet, and once I did I knew I had to mention it. It’s set up like a traditional pad controller, but start dragging your fingers around the screen and you’ll see that this isn’t the case. It offers complex effects for experienced creators, and has a great learning mode for beginners. If you have any interest in making music, this app is worth checking out. NOISE is available for free.

Write.as

write

This is kind of an interesting app concept. Write.as is a blogging platform focused on ease-of-use and privacy. There’s no sign up—just open the app, write something and publish it. It’s completely anonymous and private, so only those with a link to your post can see it, and no data is collected. I can see this being used for everything from journal entries to quick sharable notes on social networks. There are probably similar apps out there, but the minimal and simple UI really stood out to me. Write.as is available for free.

BeCasso

casso

BeCasso is a professional, high-quality editing app that allows you to create unique paintings with your photos. Use the app to transform your images into high-resolution oil, watercolor and cartoon paintings using a range of expressive art filters. Feeling especially creative? The state-of-the-art paint brush editing tool puts full brushstroke control at your fingertips and allows for unlimited, pixel precise alterations in real-time. This another app that I feel like I’ve seen several times before, but the interface and early reviews convinced me it’s worth checking out. BeCasso is available for $1.99.

Archery King

king

The world’s #1 archery game is now in the App Store. With Archery King, you can test your skills and play in one of the most competitive archery games ever. It features 1-on-1 accuracy competitions, a special Rush game mode, and a single game mode for you to hone your skills. It also features customizable equipment so you can mix and match different components to create the ultimate bow and arrow setup. Yes, there are a ton of in-app purchases, but I’m a fan of Miniclip’s other games and I haven’t seen too many archery-style titles out there. Archery King is available for free.

Don’t Grind

grind

Don’t Grind is a silly title from the ‘keep em up’ genre and your goal is to prevent the characters from getting ground up by buzzsaws, lasers and other treacherous obstacles. Pro tip: Tap to Jump, Swipe to Move, Don’t Grind. And that’s really all there is to the game. It was made by Laser Dog—the same team behind hits like HoPiKo and PKTBALL—so there are going to be some annoying ads in there, but a $2 in-app purchase will take care of that if you find them unbearable. Don’t Grind is available for free.

More apps to check out

Apps updated this week