A pack of free games to start your week are on offer in today’s Download Discounts rundown. Start by snagging vertical shooter Ring Blade, which has a great visual style and a great flicking mechanic for firing bouncing blades at enemies. There’s also Paper Train HD, which has you controlling train switching stations to keep trains from crashing, and Mechanic Panic, a casual game about avoiding an explosion as it fires up from the bottom of an elevator shaft. Check them out below.
Ring Blade (iPhone, iPad) Free (was $0.99)
An addition to the “bullet hell” genre of shooters with a distinct tribal, tattoo-like style, Ring Blade has players flicking the screen to fire their blades at hordes of enemies. Blasting bad guys keeps you alive and racks up points for your high score — and the more times you bounce your blade off enemies or the edges of the screen, the more points you earn for them.
Ring Blade packs several different “worlds” and a total of 30 stages to fight through. It also includes a mess of power-ups to help you amp up your game against its myriad enemies and huge bosses. It also packs OpenFeint support to earn achievements and leaderboards for posting high scores.
Paper Train HD (iPhone, iPad) Free (was $2.99)
With doodle graphics and variable speeds and difficulties, you’re tasked with controlling the movements of train crossings with various trains running through them. By tapping stop signs or switching stations, you can help the trains avoid collisions. Saving the trains racks up points, but the goal is to use the fewest taps too do so, in order to keep your score high.
Paper Train HD includes 30 levels and four difficulty levels that increase the speed of the trains. It also includes online leaderboards for tracking your scores against other players all over the world.
Mechanic Panic (iPhone, iPad) Free ($0.99)
The elevator shaft where you’re working is suddenly exploding. In the casual title Mechanic Panic, you have to jump from wall to wall to climb the shaft as high as you can, while avoiding hazards like steam pipes, falling elevators and exposed wires.
Timing your jumps up the walls is key to success, as your score is tied to the height you can achieve moving up the shaft — but you also want to catch falling coworks as they plummet down the shaft as well. Mechanic Panic includes support from OpenFeint for leaderboards and achievements, and includes in-game objectives you can earn to grab more experience points and improve your mechanic’s abilities.
