Gamertell

The Apple App Store gaming update is Gamertell’s weekly look at the previous week’s Apple App Store game releases. We cover them all - good and not so good - in their respective categories with a breakdown of the great games and the free games right where you want ‘em, at the top and in your face. The list is available every Monday, right as you are about to start that long work week.

What’s the talk of this week? No, it’s nothing to do with Labor Day here in the States, it’s instead Apple’s mystery event on September 9, 2009. What’s going to be at the event? Only Apple knows but there will sure be some Rock ‘n’ Roll.

Until then, here’s this week’s list of gaming apps to help you get time on your side until Wednesday.

What’s Free

Spectrobes
“Spectrobes is the hit video game franchise from Disney that follows Planetary Patrol Officers Rallen and Jeena on their search to unearth the secrets of the Spectrobes, the mysterious creatures of light. This application comes loaded with exclusive video footage of the latest installment in the Spectrobes series — Spectrobes: Origins, available August 18, 2009 exclusively for Nintendo® Wii™. The app also features 14 video episodes, game trailers, wallpapers, and links to other great products from Disney!”

Tattoo Mania FREE
“It’s a frosty morning as you park your chopper and dismount. You pull out your key ring with a small skull pendant from the pocket of your leather jacket and unlock the door of a shady tattoo parlor. Your boss is on the road with his Harley, so it’s up to you to manage the shop for the day! Just a few minutes later the first hot babes and brawny dudes start entering the shop. You’ll have to prove yourself as a tattoo artist by painting the most perfect tattoos from their chosen templates. The faster and precise you are, the more satisfied they’ll be and the more hard cash they will pay! But be aware that even those who are appear to be tough on the outside can be big wussies, so pay attention to their pain threshold! Too much pain could ruin your reputation and lead to an empty cash register!”

Shopping Madness Free
“Check out 5 levels in the Free Version. Want more? Shop until you drop in the Full Version with up to 40 unique challenges and 5 floors of retail therapy! Become the Top Shopper by completing an assortment of shopping challenges and have fun as you browse though endless aisles of shoes, make-up and clothes. Speed through the department store during the Manic Minute level and load as much items as you can in your cart. Unlock additional store floors by completing various tasks and bump other customers out of your way!”

What’s New

Action

Samurai: Way of the Warrior: Price: $2.99
“Become a wandering samurai in the ancient Japan during chaotic times of war. As Daisuke Shimada you must defeat evil Daimyo Hattoro who spreads terror and fear around the country.”

World Defender: Price: $0.99
“World Defender is a fast-paced, action and strategy packed game. It requires you to have very fast fingers and reflexes as well as a good strategy. Defend the Earth against falling asteroids using your fingers and defenses with a cunning strategy.”

Tattoo Mania: Price: $3.99
“It’s a frosty morning as you park your chopper and dismount. You pull out your key ring with a small skull pendant from the pocket of your leather jacket and unlock the door of a shady tattoo parlor. Your boss is on the road with his Harley, so it’s up to you to manage the shop for the day! Just a few minutes later the first hot babes and brawny dudes start entering the shop. You’ll have to prove yourself as a tattoo artist by painting the most perfect tattoos from their chosen templates. The faster and precise you are, the more satisfied they’ll be and the more hard cash they will pay! But be aware that even those who are appear to be tough on the outside can be big wussies, so pay attention to their pain threshold! Too much pain could ruin your reputation and lead to an empty cash register!”

Running Girl: Price: $0.99
“Running Girl Game is a simple and interesting game. If the girl can come all the lines, and will not be caught, you would win. It uses accelerometer control the girl.”

Adventure

NOTHING

Arcade

Spikey’s Bounce Around: Price: $2.99
“Bounce with SPIKEY through the magic gardens on a quest to free all his friends! The sacred butterflies have all been trapped inside glass jars, and it’s up to Spikey to smash them open using his wild bouncing skills!”

Shopping Madness: Price: $0.99
“Shop until you drop in a retail paradise with up to 40 unique challenges and 5 floors of retail therapy! Become the Top Shopper by completing an assortment of shopping challenges and have fun as you browse though endless aisles of shoes, make-up and clothes. Speed through the department store during the Manic Minute level and load as much items as you can in your cart. Unlock additional store floors by completing various tasks and bump other customers out of your way!”

Infestation: Price: $0.99
“You are in a battle with insects, and it looks like the insects are winning! Infestation is an intense defense game where you must protect your food from masses of hungry bugs. Fast reflexes and quick thinking are essential! Squish them! Spray them! Stun them! Zap them! Enable Fat Finger to mash a bunch of them at once! Activate Thunder Shake to stun them into submission! Use your Bug Spray to poison them! And fry even the largest bugs instantly with Zapper!”

Board

NOTHING

Card

NOTHING

Casino

NOTHING

Dice

Backgammon NJ: Price: $4.99
“Backgammon NJ is a full-featured, backgammon game which uses an advanced, neural network-based, artificial intelligence. Players of all skill levels can match wits against a computer opponent with varying levels of difficulty. Discriminating players will appreciate how well the AI plays. It uses a neural network trained on millions of positions, a bearoff database, and a match equity table to achieve strong gameplay that will challenge even expert players.”

Educational

Zeroes: Price: $0.99
“Zeroes is an easy-to-learn, fun to master, action number game. The object of Zeroes is to clear the game board by “zeroing” pieces. Score big points by zeroing out series and clusters of numbers, and strategically place numbers to clear the board before time runs out! Features include variable difficulty levels, an adjustable “luck” factor, and the option of sharing your scores online.”

Family

Super Water Bomber: Price: $2.99
“Blast bully gangs off the playground in over 125 levels of water bomb battle fun in this classic action-strategy game! Out soak high school bullies, vicious dogs and creepy boss clowns using an arsenal of up to 9 different water balloon types and items - including TNT, Sniper and Cluster balloons! Complete missions in up to 4 different theme zones to make the city safe again for the kids!”

Krazy Kart Racers (US): Price: $7.99
“Start your engines – the most extensive iPhone Kart Racing game of all times is now available! Get into your kart and experience the thrill of speed on 16 varied race tracks. Compete in 5 different singleplayer modes with 10 well-known Konami characters in 3D cartoon style or challenge up to 6 of your friends in local or internet wifi multiplayer mode. Use the countless extras to activate the nitro boost, slow down your opponents with obstacles and take the lead. Dynamic camera balancing helps you focus completely on racing, leading to an outstanding playability. Can you cross the finish line in first place?”

Music

Touch the Music: Price: $0.99
“The task in Touch the Music is very simple: use your finger to grabbing the shapes that pour forth from a rotating white line. Green/blue shapes are worth points. Yellow shapes increase your point multiplier and make your orb grow larger (“Yellow shapes are good!” the game yelps at you during the nearly unnecessary prologue). Red shapes cut your multiplier in half (“Red shapes are bad!”) and shrink you back down. Purple shapes are the Holy Grail—they temporarily grant you a vortex that sucks in all the good shapes and gives your score a massive injection. Your goal is to pull down the highest point total you can within the game’s four-minute life span.”

Puzzle

Jewel Magic: Price: $0.99
“Awesome puzzle game with addictive gameplay and online game scores. JewelMagic adds several creative innovations to the already very popular match game concept with four differently themed game modes and unlimited levels of challenging fun.”

Racing

NOTHING

Role Playing

NOTHING

Simulation

SkyTroller™: Enroute Air Traffic Control: Price: $1.99
“SkyTroller™ is an air traffic control game for the iPhone or iPod Touch. From the vantage of your radar screen you watch as flights from across the country converge in your airspace high over Kansas. But don’t get too comfortable… you have only seconds to react and keep aircraft in your sector safe as jets bear down on each other at nearly 900 miles per hour. Air traffic controllers need cool heads and strategic minds as they strive to avoid “Critical Separation Losses”. Plan ahead and respond quickly by assigning new flight levels as traffic conflicts arise, and you can stay on the job to play another day.”

Super Model Empire: Price: $2.99
“It’s your time to shine, are you up to the challenge? Create the ultimate fashion design empire and take your place among the world’s most famous fashion designers. Rock onto the stage with your own fashion design company and become a super star by playing two unique and addicting game modes that will keep you playing for hours! Research trends in Fashion Design Mode to create the next big trend in the fashion world! Go behind-the-scenes inCompany Management Mode andattain your own virtual fashion business from the ground up!”

Sports

NOTHING

Strategy

Save the World: Price: $0.99
“Time Management Game PLUS it will also test your reflexes. Aliens are attacking 15 cities of Importance. You have limited resources to defend the WORLD. Use the allocated resources Skillfully and Efficiently. Slide your way across the World Map to use Resources. Change between different Views to Analyse the Attacks. The better you use the resources the Higher the Score. The Longer you can survive the Higher the Score. Make sure the Humans always control 2/3 area of the World, other wise GAME OVER!”

Suppression: Price: $1.99
“Use your arsenal of upgradable weapons to defend your base from the invading robots! Suppression is a Tower Defense inspired game with a focus on active gameplay rather than passive gameplay. You’ll use tap and drag gestures to use your weapons, but you can also set up turrets to help finish enemies off. You’ll face 6 bosses, each with a unique tactic required to defeat them.”

Trivia

NOTHING

Word

Guess Again: Price: $0.99
“Goal: Get your team to say the phrase displayed on the screen. After someone
guesses correctly pass it to the other team as quickly as possible for them to do the same with a new phrase. This continues until time is up. When time is up and the buzzer sounds the team not holding it gets the point. First team to score 5 points wins the game.”

iPhone/iPod Touch Links

AppleTell: [Can AT&T handle iPhone MMS?] [Free Apps roundup for September 4th, 2009]