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The free iPhone game Trawler Report – It’s Bloons and Tumbledrop versus the revenge of the '80s moustache

1st February 2010

The free iPhone game Trawler Report – It’s Bloons and Tumbledrop versus the revenge of the '80s moustache
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So, the iPad is here - sort of - and it’s all anyone can talk about. Mostly, people are saying it’s not good enough, that it’s just a big iPod Touch and that we all deserve better.

For some reason. Thinking back to all the times we’ve struggled with games that haven’t quite managed to live with the iPhone’s small-ish screen on the Trawler, we can only welcome the iPad’s added fields of screen.

In March last year, we couldn’t face giving SimuTrans the Crap Apps crown because it largely just fell foul of the iPhone’s small size. Then there are all the other strategy games like Command & Conquer and Warfare Incorporated that would lap up those extra pixels.

Something tells us strategy geeks may not be top of Apple’s demographic hit list for iPad, but that doesn’t mean they can’t reap the rewards.

Since it’s only February, the most hardcore game we have this week sees you popping balloons - but it is damnably fun.

The best free iPhone games on the App Store

Crazy Penguin Party
By
Digital Chocolate
Type Demo

Crazy Penguin Party follows on from Digital Chocolate’s Crazy Penguin Catapult series, but contains a series of competitive mini-games instead of trajectory-based polar bear-bashing fun.

The Lite version only lets you play a couple of events, but it’s worth checking out if you’re a fan of the Crazy Penguin Catapult series.

You play against either AI or real-life opponents, moving around a game board comprising squares that house mini-games. Complete the mini-game successfully and you win that square.

The full version of Crazy Penguin Party features 12 different mini-games and will set you back the grand sum of £1.79.

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3D Brick Breaker Revolution 2
By
Digital Chocolate
Type Demo The sequel to Digital Chocolate’s Brick Breaker Revolution 3D is quite a lot like its predecessor, but - as the march of progress demands - it’s a lot snazzier.

Now there are reflections underneath your ball as it careens around the grid, and more textures feature within the levels. For those that haven’t played the original Brick Breaker Revolution 3D, it’s a clever take on the original Breakout formula.

In each screen, you have to destroy all the bricks by whacking them with your ball. To help you along the way, you’ll be given a host of power-ups including missiles, electric ray guns and explosives.

Revolution’s unique selling point is that the levels follow on from each other fluidly - although there is a Classic mode that features discrete levels for you retro purists out there.

Tumbledrop
By
Haydon Scott-Baron
Type Demo

Although we’ve seen a few games just like Tumbledrop recently, we couldn’t help but be drawn in by those ultra-cute visuals. Look at those colours, look at those little smiley faces!

Not enough to convince you? Well, Tumbledrop is also a very accomplished physics puzzler. It’s your job to get a little cross-shaped character safely down to the ground.

At the start of each level, he’s suspended up in the air on top of a selection of other smiling obstacles. A tap on one of these obstacles will make it disappear, but you’re at the mercy of the game’s physics, and the fact that there’s an abyss at either side of the platform your character needs to land on.

Very smile-making.

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Winter Games 2010 - Vancouver
By
Sea Venture
Type Demo The odd one out in this week’s selection, Winter Games 2010 - Vancouver isn’t exactly what we’d call ‘good’, but we did find it entertaining enough for a place on the Trawler’s fish counter. It’s a 3D winter sports sim that’s clumsy but somehow affable.

This freemium title lets you play the Bobsleigh and skiing events without paying a penny. Each one is essentially a driving game where you use the accelerometer to control your athlete.

If you’re wondering how to accelerate - which we did for a while - only triple taps will get you moving quicker. Constantly tapping won’t get you anywhere fast.

The full version contains six main event types but, if we’re honest, we’re quite satisfied with our two freebies. Sorry, Sea Venture.

Pick of the week

Bloons TD Lite
By
Digital Goldfish
Type Demo

Bloons TD takes the balloons + monkeys formula of the original Bloons and grafts it onto the tower defence genre. However, Bloons TD features a lot more towers, and a whole lot more enemies, than your average tower defence romp.

All your enemies are a type of balloon, but by the end of a game, hundreds are thrown at you in each round. The free version lets you check out one map - a twisty turn-filled level that’s pretty easy to get to grips with.

As with most tower defence freebies, though, it’ll keep you tapping away for quite a while. There are 50 waves in total, and three difficulty levels of try out.

One tip - get a Super Monkey equipped with the plasma weapon and you’ll be laughing.

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Crap Apps box of shame award Run J-Stache, Run
Type Full As Run J-Stache, Run says of itself, it’s a game about 'a man and his mustache;. Within the game itself, though, there’s no man - just a moustache. Yep, this is a game where you play as a moustache.

You flick your furry self around the levels with touchscreen flicks, and have to collect little cassette tapes before making your way to the level exit. This game makes no sense, and is on the same aesthetic level as a non-ironic mullet.

That said, we’ve certainly played worse games in our time aboard the Trawler, so why not ride that moustache. Just bear in mind that you may well feel a little dirty afterwards.