In this week’s iPad Games of the Week, help a man protect his home from the impending zombie apocalypse, enjoy a mellow puzzle game with stunning visuals and ambient music, explore your verbal mastery with a tough word game, and flex your digits for some intense, finger-guided helicopter action.
Zombie Neighborhood for iPad ($0.99)
When James signed up to explore the universe, he never dreamed of encountering alien life, let alone alien zombies. Save your pity, folks, because James returned from his mission, and turned his neighbors into mindless brain-eaters.
Now James is in for the fight of his life. Take control, and guide him to zombie-apocalypse success. Wave after wave of baddies (15 distinct variants in all) try to break into James’ home, and it’s your job to wield seven different types of weapons (28 in all, with upgrades) to splatter their brains all over your sidewalk and driveway before they feast on your noggin’ noodle.
The action ramps up nicely, forcing you to choose between defending your front and back yards, even as multiple groups descend on your abode. Once they break in, be quick in dispatching the baddies before they overwhelm you!
With a myriad of weapons to choose from – think handguns, SMGs, assault rifles, sniper rifles, grenades, shotguns and chainsaws – and slick tap-and-shoot controls, you’ll quickly earn cash between levels to purchase upgrades, new guns and more. Be sure to max out your ammo, grab fresh grenades, and keep yourself generally flush with ordnance to keep the action going.
Word to the wise – this is a gory title. A definite miss for kids under 12. But those of us who don’t mind a little gore with our brain pate will find plenty of zombie killin’ action to survive any amount of down-time that comes our way.
Spirits for iPad ($4.99)
If you’re in the market for a 100 percent original, visually stunning puzzle game, featuring top-quality ambient music, hand-drawn levels and amazing wind physics, don’t miss Spirits for iPad.
It’s rare to open an app these days (game or otherwise) and instantly understand that a developer pulled out all the stops with laser-focused attention to detail throughout. Mattias Ljungstrom, wherever you are, my hat is off to you.
Let’s start with the essential ingredient to Spirits’ success: 40 hand-drawn levels, which can be played at your own pace, chock full of spirits who are trying to find their way… somewhere.It’s your job to dig tunnels to let the little white wisps make their way through obstacles, build leaf-bridges to surmount obstacles, or, even better, allow the spirits to walk up into the wind eddies blowing through the level. Their umbrella-shaped heads catch the wind, and off they go – up, around and down into the goal vortex, and it’s off to the next puzzle.
Add in pitch-perfect ambient music, stunning visuals and creative animations, and you’ve got yourself a one-of-a-kind “game” that can only be experienced on the iPad.
iAssociate 2 HD ($2.99)
Bored by crossword puzzles? Does Sudoku make you laugh? Scrabble? Please. Only for amateurs, right?
If you color yourself a word-game master, or even aspiring wannabe, iAssociate 2 HD is waiting to take your well-honed skills laterally into the mentally challenging world of word association.
Your dictionary-like word recall skills will serve you well in this unique app. Add in some serious out-of-the-box thinking, along with a serious dose of patience, and you’ve got yourself a truly unique set of challenges that will keep you coming back for more.
A standard round goes like this: A single word (e.g. “Breakfast”) is shown on your screen, with dotted lines leading to hidden associated words. In this case, there are two words shown: (——) 6 and (—-) 4. It’s your task to figure out these related terms.
If you guessed cereal (6) and eggs (4), then you’re on your way! As you uncover new words, more dotted lines are drawn to extend the challenge to lateral terms. For instance, after entering cereal, another dotted line is drawn to (——) 6.Hmmm… I got it! Coffee (6), right? If you get stumped along the way, polling your kids or significant other will go a long way in getting you out of a rut. Hints are available, which reveal the next letter in an associated word.
If you’re really stuck, the app gives you the chance to share your shame with your friends on Facebook. One click sends the puzzle to your Facebook Wall, along with a request for help.Truly an app for word-puzzle lovers looking for a fresh opportunity to push their skills to the next level. Sharpen those brains, people!
Chopper Defense HD ($0.99)
Tired of landing aircraft on virtual runways (Flight Control, anyone), or bringing in cargo ships to port to unload their wares (Harbor Master)?
Chopper Defense takes finger-guided action to the skies above your tiny flight-landing and ship-docking locale, giving you control of a chopper to defend the island and its buildings from wave after wave of attackers.
The game takes twitch-shooters to an insanely great level of… insanity. You’ll be tracing your finger ’round and ’round the outskirts of each location, keeping your chopper away from incoming fire and missiles, while challenging you to shoot back to take out planes, heat-seekers and more. Pro tip: Heat-seeking missiles should be taken out quickly: Wait too long, and their after-burners kick in. Ouch!
Keep an eye out for submarines, which much be suppressed with extreme prejudice, else your island factories, homes and military installations will be crushed in short order.
You’ll be wiping out hundreds of bogies per minute, which come at you in a never-ending stream of airborne death. Between levels, you’ll need to upgrade weapons, repair buildings, and tweak the controls to ensure long-term survival.
Having trouble? Invite a friend to play along with you, right on the same iPad. It’s a crazy-great way to get your shooter on, only on the iPad.
