This week’s roundup features games with dark origins, games that reimagine pinball, and games that teach you how to code. Read on!
You know all those news apps that mix and aggregate stories from a variety of sources? 60db (free) is the same thing, only it works with “short-form audio stories”—stuff you might hear on NPR during its news programming—to present you with your own custom news radio.
Eventomatic (free, iPhone only) takes all the work out of using your calendar app—just take a picture of an event poster, flyer, email, or appointment card, and Eventomatic transcribes it and makes the calendar entry for you.
Fox Tales ($2) is an “interactive” story that tells the tale of two brave foxes on a long, dangerous journey to find the source of earthquakes that plague their homeland. It includes a host of hidden features, a 35-minute soundtrack, and comes from the makers of the “ Amelia and Terror of the Night” storytelling app.
LastPass (free) is now free on your iOS devices. The password manager works across platforms—you’ll want to install a browser extension on your desktop browser—to help you keep your online information safe.
iOS games are turning really dark these days. Another example: Parallyzed: Surreal Platform Runner ($3) is a platform runner, featuring the sisters Blue and Red. “One day, in a moment of jealousy, Red pushes Blue off a swing, paralyzing her. Devastated, Red realizes she can enter Blue’s mind and, working together, help her sister emerge from the coma and return to waking life.” You’ll swap bodies along the way to help the sisters navigate obstacles.
PinOut! (freemium) reinvents pinball as a journey through a “mysterious canyon of pulsating lights and throbbing retro wave beats.” One twist: Hit the ball with a flipper and it can shoot up and out of the board and over to another pinball game with a different set of flippers.
Play-Doh Touch (free) lets you create animations with your IRL Play-Doh creations—scan your Play-Doh creature into the iPhone or iPad using the camera, and the app helps it come to life. Check out CNET’s video to see how it works.
There are a number of apps created in the last year that combine gameplay with teaching kids how to code. Tinkerblocks ($3) is another one. The idea? To have fun while learning the basics about how to create and execute commands, parameters, functions, loops, conditions, types, and bug-fixing.
Twitter for iOS has added “highlights,” a roundup of Tweets the app thinks you’ll find noteworthy … Instapaper has made its premium features free … You can now send Skype messages using Siri.
Author: Joel Mathis
Joel Mathis is a regular contributor to Macworld and TechHive. He lives in Philadelphia with his wife and young son.