Apps of the week: Rollercoaster Tycoon 4, Trials Frontier, Carousel, and more

If someone told me that I wouldn’t be able to use my iPhone and iPad for a whole week, I might fall apart. It’s not that I need to stay connected to friends and family (although I do care about their well-being). The real problem is that I am a little bit addicted to finding new apps and games to check out.

Because I love testing new apps and games so much, it makes it easier for you to decide what to pick up. If you are looking for a fun title to pass the time, or maybe need to organize all of your Dropobox pictures, we’ve got a list of apps and games you may like this weekend…

RollerCoaster Tycoon 4 Mobile

I have this friend who is a roller coaster enthusiast. He first got me involved with the RollerCoaster Tycoon franchise about a decade ago. Players get to run their own amusement park. I love the game, but honestly, I’d rather ride the rides than worry about whether there are enough bathrooms in the par. This fourth installment of the franchise lets you create and share the wildest rides in the wilderness. There are 20 pre-designed coasters, more than 50 attractions and restaurants, and the ability to unlock new materials to make your rides better than ever. This game is available for $2.99.

Trials Frontier

Fans of the motorcycle mayhem that Trials offers will be happy to know that this side-scrolling platformer will have you on the edge of your seat as you perform stunts like a pro. This mobile exclusive game puts you out on in the wild with 10 different environments and more than 70 new tracks. Rise in ranks to become the best racer on the physics-based stunt courses. Unlock nine different bikes in three tiers and upgrade your ride with better equipment. Compete against others through ghost racing. No need to be online to compete. This game is available for free.

Fighting Fantasy Starship Traveller

Steve Jackson is back with an all-new adventure. This one is set in the Seltsian Void in a science fiction universe on the other end of a black hole. As the captain of the Starship Traveller, you must try to find a way back to Earth in this choose-your-adventure gamebook game. You can customize your flight crew with different stats and names, rotate members before going into battle to build a strategy against enemies, and pick the cream of the crop for your away missions. Unlock achievements throughout the story and track your stats with the in-game character sheet. This game is available for $5.99.

Power Grounds

Ever since Apple launched iOS 7, it seems like more and more games are using the flat graphics design. Sometimes, games you never would have imagined to work well as minimalist titles will surprise you with their interesting mix of shapes and mechanics. This game takes the minimalistic approach and uses it on a rogue-like dungeon crawl adventure. Tap a square to find out if you’ve gained power, health, loot, or attack. Pick up weapons along your adventure to help you escape from dungeon dwellers. This game is available for $0.99.

Morning – Weather, To-Do, News, and More

I’m a big fan of this graphic designer favorite dashboard display, Morning. It makes my iPad look great when I’m sitting at my desk. If I actually had coworkers walking past my office, I just know they’d ask about it. This app was just updated this week to support iPhone and iPod devices. Now, you can get a great looking peak at the weather, your reminders, the day’s stock, your RSS feed, and even a customized countdown. The app has been completely redesigned for the iPhone so it makes use of the smaller landscape in the best possible way. This app is available for $3.99.

Carousel by Dropbox

For a while now, Dropbox has included a feature that allows you to automatically store your photos to the cloud service by enabling the Dropbox Camera Import settings. With it, you can sync pictures that you take automatically when your phone is connected to your computer. Apparently, the feature is so popular that the cloud storage service needed to make a separate app for that. This new app lets you store and manage images and videos using albums and events. It also automatically backs up your photos the moment you take them in full resolution, so even if your phone gets stolen right out of your hands, you can be sure that picture you took at the park will be safely stored in the cloud. This app is available for free.

Refresh

Remember when your mom found out what your girlfriend was like by doing a Google search on her? If you are even older, you may recall that the best way to find out someone’s history was to be or know a detective. Well, those days are over. Now, you can find out practically everything there is to know about a person before you even meet them. All you need is their name and the app will link you to their Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and more. Plus, the app includes features to let you follow with people you’ve met with notes to help jog your memory about who they are. This app is available for free.