This week’s roundup includes two iOS games that offer extraordinary imagery—Never Alone and Steamkraft. Read on!
LikeSo ($1, iPhone and iPad) helps improve your public speaking skills: Speak into your iOS device and the app calculates how often you use “filler” words—“um,” for example—and scores you accordingly. The goal? To prepare you for interviews, presentations, auditions, and more.
Never Alone: Ki Edition ($5, iPhone and iPad) is an “atmospheric puzzle platformer” based on traditional stories of Alaska’s native people, the Iñupiat, with beautiful graphics that look more like art than a video game. (It’s educational, too, featuring video interviews discussing the culture of the “Arctic world.”) The latest update improves support for 17 languages.
Openbay (free, iPhone) has always let you book car repair and maintenance appointments. The company this week announced a new feature: The ability to call for on-demand roadside assistance from the app. And it’s cheaper, say, than AAA service—users pay for services rendered; there’s no membership or subscription fee.
Paper (free, iPhone and iPad) has been one of our favorite iOS apps since the moment it debuted, and it keeps getting better. The latest changes include a new sidebar that makes it easier to find your work, as well as a new fullscreen card view that lets you see your work as big and as clearly as possible. One more great feature: When you leave the app and later return, the app now “drops you off in the last space you were working from, letting you jump back into work instead of fumbling around.”
Sharply (free, iPhone and iPad) is a “personal brain trainer” that features more than 25 games—with more new games available each month—to help you stay, natch, sharp.
SpeedyKey (free, iPhone and iPad) has a couple of cool features, including pre-written replies to take care of routine messages. You can also easily move the cursor around the page by pressing the spacebar then dragging the cursor where you want it.
Steamkraft (free, iPhone and iPad) is a Jules Verne-inspired scrolling game full of steampunk visuals; you can fly, sail, and drive through four challenging levels—you have to get as far as you can while avoiding obstacles, both stationary and moving. Check out the trailer for a demonstration.
Justmoji (pictured) provides emoji for Beliebers … Curious George Train Adventures is a STEM-based learning game for young kids … Batman Unlimited: Gotham City’s Most Wanted is a “puzzle adventure app” for iPad, featuring the Dark Knight.
Author: Joel Mathis
Joel Mathis is a regular contributor to Macworld and TechHive. He lives in Philadelphia with his wife and young son.