We’ve got three free games for you today: Assault Squadron, a side-scrolling or top-down space shooter; Balloonz!, an iPad fast-twitch arcade game; and Flying Brothers, which will test your timing and a little bit of your physics understanding to rack up a high score. Go download ‘em before the price goes back up.
Assault Squadron (iPhone) Free (was $0.99)
Blast away at a seemingly endless stream of alien enemies in Assault Squadron, a bullet hell space shooter that can switch between side-scrolling and top down. The game runs at a smooth and fast 60 frames per second, which makes it look especially spiffy.
You’ll recognize the formula at work here from lots of other games, but Assault Squadron nails classic arcade gameplay with lots of power-ups and aliens to use them on. It also has three different control styles — tilt, virtual joystick and touch — to give you the ability to find a scheme that works best for you.
Balloonz! HD (iPad) Free (was $0.99)
The concept of this iPad game is easy, which is what makes it addictive: pop the balloons by tapping away at them. The point is to nail as many as possible before the timer runs down, grabbing points for doing so. Trouble is, there are black balloons mixed in with the five other colors, and if you hit one of those, you’ll lose points.
Two difficulty modes give you some options, and OpenFeint support allows you to compete with others on the online leaderboards, and to set some goals with achievements. If you’re looking for something free that will let you kill some time once in a while with your iPad, look no further.
Flying Brothers 6-Modes-In-One (iPhone) Free (was $0.99)
As the name suggests, Flying Brothers provides you with six different ways to play, but all the mini-games revolve around using physics to help two acrobats perform tricks to earn points. Both your brothers swing from poles that rock back and forth like pendulums — it’s your job to swipe to get them swinging harder, and hit a button in time when they’ll release their hold on one pole to swing to another. The further they go, the longer they’re in the air, and the more flips they perform will rack up additional points.
The game recently got an update to improve its physics and generally be less frustrating, and it includes social networking support to let you brag about your high scores. You can also compare your abilities to players globally with OpenFeint’s leaderboards while you try to snag the game’s numerous achievements.
