We’ve got a collection of free casual games to give you something to do going into the weekend, but unfortunately, only one of them includes zombies — Pro Zombie Soccer. Billy Frontier, on the other hand, has cowboys, aliens and minotaurs, as well as a bunch of mini-games to play, and Mayan Puzzle reworks the match-three genre a little to give you a challenging game with lots of play modes.
Pro Zombie Soccer (iPhone, iPad) Free (was $0.99)
Something of a mix between turret defense and Angry Birds-style aiming and launching, Pro Zombie Soccer pits you against the undead horde with just a soccer ball and your mad aiming skills. Aiming is done with a slide control on the left side of the screen, and points are awarded for taking out waves of zombies by hitting them with the ball — plus bonus points if you manage a headshot, or earn the use of special extra weapons like the lightning ball, which goes extra fast, or the piercing ball, which can shoot through zombies.
Pro Zombie Soccer has a cool art style and a decent sense of humor, but it excels at being simple and fun to play — plus it includes zombies. With an original soundtrack and a story told through comic strips, Pro Zombie Soccer will be hard to put down anytime soon.
Mayan Puzzle (iPhone) Free (was $0.99)
A match-three game of the Bejeweled variety with great-looking graphics, Mayan Puzzle alters the standard rules by allowing you to move pieces sideways, but not vertically. The goal is to align colored blocks into sets of at least three in a row, either vertically or horizontally. Matching three clears the blocks and scores points.
The game comes packed with four ways to play. A “classic mode” in which you keep earning points and clearing levels, but have a limited number of moves you can make in each stage; a “time trial” mode; a “marathon mode” in which you see how long you can keep the game going without failing; and a “challenge mode” in which you have to keep earning extra time to keep the game going. Open Feint and Game Center let you check leaderboards and rack up achievements in Mayan Puzzle so you can compare scores with others.
Billy Frontier (iPhone) Free (was $0.99)
Spaghetti Western theme, complete with aliens, minotaurs, and freaked-out cowboys — Billy Frontier is actually more like five mini-games in one app, and while each is simple, the entire package is elevated by its sense of humor. You’ll get into shootouts, run from stampedes and compete in duels in this goofy little game.
All the mini-games are casual in nature, so don’t expect anything extremely trying. There are three different game types, plus a shooting practice mode. “Shootout” puts you in a corridor shooter, in which you can tap to open fire on enemies behind cover as you move around a pair of levels; “Stampede” uses tilt controls to evade bulls and collect power-ups and coins; and “Duel” challenges you to quickly tap in combinations of symbols before your character reaches for his gun. All the games are fun, if a little thin, but having lots of options, plus an interesting graphical style and sense of humor, keep Billy Frontier fresh.
