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Friday Freebie: Balls to balls

World Cup alternatives

Friday Freebie: Balls to balls
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| Friday Freebie

Apparently, there's some kind of ball kicking competition beginning today, one which has proved fairly popular in the past (that must be why they keep repeating the same formula).

If, like me, you’re a member of the RSPCB (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Balls), and abhor global violence, you’ll want to find something else to do.

So, without further ado, let’s attempt to set out some free iPhone games and a PSP download, without alluding to football once.

A game of two halves

:Shift:, Armor Games’s excellent brain melting puzzle game has long been available at no cost to PC browser gamers, but, as ever, its iPhone counterpart requires a fee for entry. Not any more, though, as it's still free in conjunction with FreeAppADay.

The game is a simple platformer, drawn in stark black & white. You can navigate the levels using the left/right/jump buttons on each side, but should you find yourself stumped, a tap of the ‘shift’ button will flip the screen, change black silhouetted character white, and place him against the black background that previously constituted the floor.

This brilliant mechanic is used well, in conjunction with keys and hazards, to make reaching the exit door a compelling challenge. It’s a shame Armor missed a trick and made the shift action a button press, rather than map it to flipping the phone, though.

A good kicking

If slow paced cerebral puzzle solving isn’t your thing, you might well prefer infamous violence simulator Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars. Of course, you and I know it’s more than that, and now Rockstar has decided to let the rest of the world dip their toes with a demo.

Whilst it’s only a sample of the full product, you’ll get to spend some time in the rich GTA universe at no cost, and get to know lead character Huang Lee. Alternatively, you could just run riot and bask in mindless destruction.

Dribbling

If the idea of raising a prehistoric hatchling from chick to violent adult appeals, Beast Farmer may just be for you. Free during the launch period, you can train your hapless bird and earn food with which to feed it by competing in various challenges such as egg hatching of firefly catching.

Latest kit

If you're just into looking good, however, and are lucky enough to own a PSP and a copy of LittleBigPlanet, you could always download the new MotorStorm Hessian – Costume, which will cost you nothing.

Of course, there's always the Trawler report if your appetite is still not sated, and the excellent free iPhone podcast which lasts just about as long as a match (of the football, not fire-lighting, variety).

I’m off to play Speedball 2, the real sport of kings, until this World Cup fad blows over.

Ben Maxwell
Ben Maxwell
Ben is an eager young games journalist who, when touring with his band, happily replaces sex, drugs, and rock & roll with Advance Wars, Drop7, rock, and Rolando...