It’s another Friday and another list filled with great, low-cost games to keep you busy until the Super Bowl (or a comparable non-football activity) rolls around on Sunday. You’ll want to strike while the iron’s hot on the fun simulation Game Dev Story, which was on sale in December at $0.99, but not for long. If casual’s more your thing, grab StarDunk Gold and take virtual hoops to the Internet. And we’ve even got a puzzler in Collider!, and it lightly concerns science, so you can pretend you’re leaning something instead of just becoming a puzzle addict.
Game Dev Story (iPhone) $0.99 (was $3.99)
A critically acclaimed simulation game, Game Dev Story puts you in charge of a fledgling game company trying to score its first hit. You’ll manage time by hiring various different skilled employees to help create your video game and alter their professions to create the best possible staff you can; a better staff makes more games available to you, allowing you to try to find which is the most popular and profitable.
If the response of iOS game critics is any indication, Game Dev Story is as addictive as it is fun and will keep you busy working to top the gaming industry for hours. Last time this game was on sale, the low price of $0.99 didn’t last long at all, so grab it while you can.
Collider! (iPhone) Free (was $0.99)
The power plant you work at has had an accident, releasing dangerous charged particles all over the building You need to neutralize them by solving various puzzles — 25 of them, in fact — to avoid a major explosion. But that doesn’t mean you don’t get to create small explosions yourself, however.
In fact, smashing particles together to eliminate them is how you play the game. You’ll neutralize particles using touch controls to smash them into one another, and you’ll have to use physics to do so, taking into account things like bouncing, swinging, rolling and falling particles and how they will behave.
StarDunk Gold (iPhone) Free (was $1.99)
A massively multiplayer online basketball shooting simulator. If that sounds like fun, snag StarDunk. Even if it doesn’t sound like fun, know that you’re wrong and it is fun, and snag it anyway. It’s free so you’ve got nothing to lose.
Onto the game: By dragging your thumb on the screen, you set the trajectory of a ball toward a basket. It’s kind of like you’re playing a game of horse, with the ball being randomly assigned to places around the screen both near and far. You need to use your understanding of geometry and physics to score highly. Play online and you can unlock all kinds of in-game features, including 20 interchangeable basketballs that each have their own capabilities — and you can create your own. And Game Center and Plus+ support mean you can play against your friends, or make new ones.
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