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The free iPhone game Trawler Report: Jet Car Stunts, Ice Tycoon, and Airbus

29nd March 2010

The free iPhone game Trawler Report: Jet Car Stunts, Ice Tycoon, and Airbus
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We're entering the final countdown - the iPad is almost here. But what will it mean for iPhone gaming in general? Rumours indicate that iPad games will be more expensive. Do more pixels mean more cash?

The first handful of iPad games to be released, dubbed "HD" games, have been leaked and none have that hardcore experience that goes hand-in-hand with a higher price.

Will people pay more for Plants vs. Zombies HD? Of course they will - it was the fastest selling iPhone game ever when it was originally released, so you can be sure some people will pay a lot more for it.

What of the others, though? Only time will tell. Higher prices will make free editions all the more important - if you're going to pay more, don't you want to be doubly sure you're not betting on a stinker?

Our world may be about to be rocked, so perhaps we should dwell, guilt-free, on freebie and cheapie games while we can.

The best free iPhone games on the App Store

Airbus
By AppTwister
Type Full

Airbus sees you get behind the wheel of a VW camper can, driving back and forward along the same stretch of road, letting loose red balloons, trying to hit hot air balloons floating high above. Does it make sense? No, but we don't mind.

The hot air balloons drop objects on you, trying to stop you and your balloon-bashing ways. In each level, you merely have to hit a certain number of the hot air balloons to progress.

You control your camper van with the accelerometer, while taps on the screen send red balloons sailing up into the atmosphere. Quick, casual nonsense. We like it.

Ice Tycoon
By NC Japan
Type Full

It's not quite warm enough to start cracking out the Mr Whippy, but in the spirit of the upcoming summer, Ice Tycoon casts you as an ice cream vendor, juggling with a demanding clientele desperate for a coneful of the cold stuff.

In front of you lies your inventory of ice creams, cones, sauces, and toppings. Each customer rolls up to your ice cream shop, with an order floating above their heads. You have to tap away at your wares to make the right combo - any mistakes and you'll have to bin it.

It's a formula you've probably seen before, but Ice Tycoon's cute, clean visuals and simple approach to the genre make it worth a download. We'll take a scoop of mint with lashings of chocolate sauce, thanks.

Castle Fantasy Lite
By Croquis Co.
Type Demo

Mario's never coming to iPhone. We knew it from the off, but we're not sure we'll ever quite get over it. In the meantime, we'll have to make do with games like Castle Fantasy.

It's a traditional platformer that combats the tricky issue of trying to turn the touchscreen into a console controller by making all in-game movements very tight.

This makes Castle Fantasy's main character feel quite rigid, but it works. Apart from when your thumb starts slipping away from an attack button, precious few frustrations are caused by the controls.

Another point we should make - Castle Fantasy looks lovely. It's a 2D game but the world around you is rendered in 3D. Characters are 2D again, but drawn with real personality and bags of artistic skill.

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Pick of the Week Jet Car Stunts
By True Axis
Type Demo Last year's big race in the rubber-burning genre was between big hitters like Real Racing, Need for Speed Shift and Fast & Furious. Jet Car Stunts took a completely different approach to racing - one more obsessed with fast fun than "phwoar, look at that exhaust pipe" posturing.

Its look is slightly cartoony, but the taut race engine makes striving for faster lap times very satisfying. In spite of a lack of bling and modded, tinted wing mirrors, Jet Car Stunts has become the iPhone racing favourite for many.

The lite version features eight full tracks spread over a handful of gameplay modes. It's one of the best lite packages we've seen in a while.

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Crap Apps Box of Shame Happle Game
By The Art Institute of Boston
Type Full Art alone isn't enough to make a good game, as proved by Happle Game, a project of students from the Art Institute of Boston. Shameless Mario homage elements aside, it looks good enough. Just a pity that it's horribly, unforgivably frustrating.

Your character runs from left to right automatically. All you have to do is swipe at the screen to make him jump whenever a baddie or gap in the platforms shows up.

The tutorial assures you that there are different types of jump to perform - little ones and higher ones, naturally - but despite our best efforts, we were left falling down crevasses within a few seconds.

Your aim in each level is to reach the Sasquatch, a mythical hairy beast. We never got there, leaving us asking, just like in the real world, whether he really exists at all.