The free iPhone game Trawler Report: Train Conductor, Zen Bound, Action Heroes 9 in 1

There are so many quality free games on the App Store these days that it might lead the stingy among you to wonder why we bother paying for any of them.

Of course, the official Pocket Gamer line would be to point to premium games like Game Dev Story and tell you not to be so tight. But then a game like Zen Bound goes free (for a limited time) and turns that argument on its head.

Our recommendation is to enjoy the best of both worlds, buying the cream of the crop while they’re fresh (you don’t want to wait two years for all the best games to hit ‘Free’ status) and taking a punt on plenty of freebies in between.

Here are a few to get you started.

Train Conductor
By The Voxel Agents
Type Full

Train Conductor takes the public-transport-organising sub genre made popular by Flight Control and places it on rails – in more ways than one.

While you shunt trains around by drawing lines for them, this is restricted to a handful of straight railway lines. While this might sound restrictive, it actually makes the game feel far more immediate and urgent than other similar games.

You can also opt to play any of the levels at night, which transforms the strategic method of daytime play (where you must avoid collisions) to a more arcadey experience (ghost trains can’t crash, but do seem to be in a hurry).

Download Train Conductor here

Action Heroes 9 in 1
By Triniti Interactive
Type Full

Regular readers of this column will know all about Triniti Interactive, whose classy freebies often figure among our recommendations. Action Heroes 9 in 1 rounds up nine games (you’d guessed that, right?) featuring their recurring shadowy action figure.

Two of these – Hell Flyer and Hired Gun – have figured on the Traweler Report before, but that’s not to say that there aren’t some gems among the other seven. Hot Pursuit’s top-down action-racing and Iron Commando’s Old Skool platform-blasting are also decent.

As with any gaming compendium, there are one or two stinkers, and some suffer from inexplicable performance issues. Still, you can’t argue with nine games for free.

Download Action Heroes 9 in 1 here

SlashMaster
By Zoobox
Type Full

The name and title icon of SlashMaster gives the impression of a cheap, nasty, and exploitative iPhone game. In actual fact it’s nothing of the sort, taking the form instead of a fairly traditional – but well executed – side-scrolling action game with the obligatory RPG elements.

Zoobox has imbued the game with a nice art style that seems to mix Japanese anime with European folklore, and the combat system is pleasingly solid.

It’s pretty familiar stuff, but little touches like a weapon-selection system that relies on defeating the bats that fly overhead mark SlashMaster out as something just that little bit different.

Download SlashMaster here

Pick of the week

Zen Bound
By Secret Exit
Type Full

What more is there to be said about Zen Bound? Well, as Secret Exit’s game is approaching two years old now, there might be a few latecomers who know nothing of its mysterious charms.

Zen Bound is one of an elite group of five iPhone games to have received a 10 out of 10 Platinum Award from us. Do you know what? It’s just as good today, despite the release of a marginally improved sequel.

The idea is to wrap up a bunch of lovingly detailed 3D models with a length of string, using your finger to rotate said object. It’s simple, elegant, and there’s nothing else quite like it out there.

As mentioned, there’s a sequel on the App Store now with iPad and Game Center support. But that’s not free - this is. Get it while it’s hot.

Download Zen Bound here

Crap apps

Flowers Free
By Blue Marlin Software
Type Demo

Apps are great, aren’t they? You won’t find many dissenters on these pages. Anyone looking for a counter argument could well use Flowers Free as an example of all that’s crass and meaningless in the mobile application world.

The idiotic premise here? Sending virtual flowers.

Having selected from four ghastly virtual vases, you then proceed to select the flowers to go into your digital bouquet. Add a tacky bow, write a card to the lucky recipient, and then send it via email or Facebook.

Flowers Free is the very definition of cheap and tacky. You think it’s quite cute? Okay. Just try sending some virtual flowers to the woman in your life and let me know how she reacts.