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.

Not much to say for this week other than I hope you weren’t expecting a keyboard dock for your iPad on launch day. Those have been postponed until mid April 2010. There’s a brighter side for games this week. Perhaps you remember the classic skiing game - SkiFree? No? Well there’s also Castle Fantasy, Touch Tanks Online, ZombieSmash, Frogger Inferno and Tradewinds Legends.

What’s Free

Touch Tanks Online: FS5
“Touch Tanks Online Tank combat over EDGE, 3G or Wi-Fi! Command your tank to victory against players worldwide in multiple 3D battlefields.”

SkiFree!
“Remember playing this game on Windows 3.1? Well now you can relive those days on your iPhone!”

Egg Escape (Free)
“Egg Escape is a fun-filled, fast paced and challenging interactive trade off game that allows a single player to swap the game pieces in order to make a set of three pieces in a row.  While getting three pieces in a row causes the player to remove the set and earn points, getting more than three pieces also removes the group and earns the player more points.  Egg Escape encourages matching and strategy thought processes as the player is having fun building sets. In order to advance through the levels, the player must earn points while moving pieces left or right, up, and down.  Each level progressively gets more challenging.  To advance through the levels, players must earn an incremental amount of points.”

Meow: The Cat Choir
“Conduct the ultimate cat choir with Meow! Touch each cat to extract a pure meow. You can lead them in a rousing composition of Beethoven, or just make them sing the Meow Mix Theme. For once, cats will listen to you! No cats were harmed in the making of Meow.”

Photo Solitaire - Klondike
“Play Klondike Solitaire for free! Use your own pictures for the cards! Automatically saves your game while you play so you don’t lose your place! Listen to your own music while playing solitaire!”

Touch Touch Splabbit Revenge of Monpch Lite
“Part 2 in a series of a new type of action game where you control everything by touch! A casual game with simple controls, with a whole lot of quirky mayhem to cause within the confines of the narrow screen! The Monpch are back to cause more trouble! This time, it’s Pin the Splabbit to the rescue! Go, go, Pin!”

Shuttle Dock
“Do you have the Right Stuff? Find out with Shuttle Dock. Test your piloting skills on the Space Shuttle Atlantis against a variety of spectacular backgrounds from Earth to Intergalactic Space. Use the maneuvering thrusters to dock the nose of the shuttle in the target crosshairs. The target will turn yellow when you are lined up correctly, and green after you have kept it steady for three seconds. While the levels get more difficult, expect surprises (like gravity) that challenge your abilities.”

Nanny McPhee Pig Chase
“Pigs really can fly! In this game they soar across the screen at breakneck speeds and try to avoid being caught. It’s your job to grab them while you can. The more pigs you catch, the more time you win to carry on chasing them!”

Boxing Fighter Lite
“Do you have what it takes to prove yourself in the ring? Train your fully customizable boxer to defeat over 100 different opponents and dominate the underground fight club scene! Boxing Fighter is the first iPhone / iPod Touch Boxing game done in the classic styles of Street Fighter™ and Mortal Combat™, with beautiful landscape mode fights and massive special attacks!”

Simon’s Farm
“Elsa the cow, Wild dog Bello, lovely colt Flocke, the old chicken Hilde and Stella the little pig all live on Simon’s Farm. These five friends will help you train your brain. Try to remember the sequence of their calls, then match their sounds by touching the animals on screen in the correct order. How far can you go? Will you be able to remember more than 20?”

Castle War Lite
“This is a mystery world where humans and monsters live together. They have been living a peaceful unified life for hundreds of years. One day, dark magicians who were living in the shadows used an ancient spell and figured out how to open the dark portal, and then declared a war against the human tribe. All dark portals were broken and evil monsters escaped. From the portal’s catastrophic effect, the every-day monsters were and still are getting changed into the evil ones, and the situation is getting out of hand. Now… the peace is gone, and the world awaits chaos, fear, and adventure. To make the world peaceful again, you must become the lord of a castle, and defeat the evil monsters and the dark magicians. Now, the time has come for you to join the battle and save the world!”

6Waves Poker
“Play poker with your friends on Facebook and other social networks. Take advantage of this free offer now!”

Tap Store
“Design and manage your own store!”

Artifice Offline
“Outwit your opponent in this unique strategy game. Shift columns in a grid in an attempt to get all your players to the opposite side of the board before your opponent.”

GeoQuiz Free
“Love game shows? Creative Tecknology’s Geo Quiz is an exciting game that allows you to learn trivia and geography the easy way. Featuring several fun games, GeoQuiz integrates Google Maps to create an exciting and informative new game format. Learn about sports, geography, trivia and more with this great new game!”

Pyramid Solitaire Games Free
“Are you looking for an awesome Pyramid solitaire cards game collection for your iPhone or iPod Touch? If so, this application is for you. Pyramid on the iPhone and iPod Touch has never been so exciting. Get Pyramid Solitaire Games Free today and join the fun!”

Solitaire‌‌‌‌‌
“If you like Windows Solitaire then this is the app for you! Drag and drop to move cards is supported as well as both portrait and landscape orientations, not all iPhone Solitaire apps support these desirable features. This is your classic game of Solitaire for the iPhone or iPod Touch. Also known as Klondike, this is the most popular version of Solitare. Your game is saved when you get a call or other interruption and then restored when you return to Solitaire to complete the game. Solitaire is also known as Patience.”

Nocturnal: Boston Nightfall Lite
“Play as recently deceased Claire unraveling the secrets of her undead powers in this shadow-soaked Hidden Object game! Solve elaborate puzzles on your path to becoming a Nocturnal or Brethren. Quickly seek out mystical hidden objects to enhance your eldritch powers! The night is beckoning, will you answer?”

Mayan Madness Free
“Get ready to experience Mayan Madness and test your reflexes in this addictive casual game for your iPhone and iPod Touch! The Mayan gods are feeling benevolent (what with the whole 2012 thing and all) and have decided to rain down treasure! Use your finger to catch as many coins as possible. But beware — missing any will surely incur their wrath! The more you catch, the higher your score. Watch out for jewels and other objects that will boost your score and unlock achievements. Can you make it to the inner sanctum?”

Space Miner: Space Ore Bust Lite
“Strap on your mining gloves, hop into your ship, and start blasting asteroids! Discover the game that everyone is calling one of the best on the App Store (seriously, we’re not just saying that!)”

An Easter Quizzle™
“Do you love chocolate bunnies and Easter egg hunts, or want to learn more about the Easter holiday? If so, you’ll want to download this free app and learn things like when the tradition of the Easter Egg Roll on the White House lawn started or which country introduced the Easter Bunny to America. With over 150 questions, “An Easter Quizzle™” will keep you entertained for a long time and teach you things you never knew about Easter. And, like the best things in life, it’s all for FREE! The more 5-star ratings we get, the more questions and more Quizzle™ apps we’ll add! And, if there are any features you would like in this Quizzle™ app, please let us know in your review.”

A Miser Tiger Lite
“However, Miser Tiger is very stingy. It wants all gold of the world, so every time on the gate tower; it would do its best to grab more and more gold, silver and jewelry from the people. Of course, the people won’t let Tiger do what it does. They hire bodyguards to protect their treasure. Now the fight between Miser Tiger and Bodyguards begins…”

Space Trek Lite
“As Captain Jay, you take control of a Space Jet deployed on an alien world. The Planet you’re on is inhabited by Knagar, a race of big, green, self important bullies. You must fight your way thru, outsmart them and save the survivors. Fortunately Jay is always there to throw a nice punchline when things get ugly.”

Happle Game
“Happle Tea the video game, based on the comic read by some people from some places and drawn by Scott Maynard. Art and design by Scott Maynard, coding and design by Lajos Kamocsay.”

PicoGP Lite - Free F1 Racing
“Ladies and Gentlemen, start your engines! Welcome to the world of PicoGP, the funniest F1 racing game ever made. Do you remember how you used to flick marbles in your childhood? it should be fine! PicoGP is a perfect mix between dexterity and strategy. Select your gear, choose the best trajectory and flick your car with your finger! But be careful, you can only switch 1 gear per turn, so you’ll have to foresee curves and use the best trajectory to win the race! PicoGP features unlockable cars with unique characteristics that will let you choose your own driving style! Complete the 3 championships to win the ultimate car: the Dominator! But be careful, your opponents will get more and more aggressive! Perfect your lap against your own ghost using the time trial mode and challenge your friends over Facebook!”

iStar Force Fighter FREE
“Your galaxy is attacked by alien invaders. Your spaceship was entrusted with an important mission. Infiltrate into the enemy space forces and destroy all command ships that control the military operations. A lot of enemy space fighters, mother-ships, space mines, asteroids and end-bosses will stand in your way trying to prevent your spaceship from infiltrating into enemy’s rear and accomplishing your mission. Pick up different glowing power-ups on the way and get more energy, shields, lives or stronger weapons.”

Castle Fantasy Lite
“A masterpiece game that are developed by Croquis Co., LTD, which has much know-how in video game development. Best side-scrolling action game for iPhone & iPod Touch. “Castle Fantasy” You will find the game which is the best graphics, sounds and controls in the App Store the games.”

What’s New

Action

Van Helsing: The Undead Slayer: Price: $0.99
“Van Helsing travel anywhere in the world to destroy the Undead.
Undead is the plan of railway transport them around the world. To hold all parts of the world. And making the world into another dark age.
Van Helsing’s duty is to stop this plan as soon as possible.”

Young Obour: Price: $1.99
“Young Obour is a down-right blood bath that has your gremlin facing off against other hideous ghouls. Legend speaks of the Obour being the unquiet dead, ghouls that rise up as shadows who then seek to terrify the living through all manner of disgusting and outright terrifying acts the longer the Obour continued, the stronger it would get until it became a horrible blood feasting vampire even worse than before. Young Obour includes a Create a character…choose from 3 different sizes and 18 different skins!”

Aftermath: Price: $0.99
“Alone in an infested city, you must survive the night using your skills with flashlight, guns and grenades to evade and destroy the city’s deadly denizens.”

GunMane: Price: $0.99
“Squads of Soldiers keep rushing your fortress! Punish these invaders with…bullets!. Works on Iphone and IPod Touch. Updates and New Guns for Life. Highly Rated Gun Game.”

Ambient Reaction Plus: $1.99
“This is a 3d first person shooter for IPhone and IPod touch. Your goal is to reconquest the EPS-71 planet. A fleet of aliens invaded all installations and they believe this planet is theirs.”

Adventure

Castle Fantasy: Price: $2.99
“Characters with more than 2000 illustrations and 3D backgrounds consists of the engine is optimized for iPhone & iPod Touch with 4 chapters, each consisting of seven stages with each stage consisting of rich content, rich and magnificent SOUND and action skills with a variety of characters devised for the real taste of authentic feel of the game can be scrolling horizontally.”

Crystal Cave: Lost Treasures: Price: $0.99
“Collect gemstones from ancient tombs and pyramids in this amazing adventure logic game from Rake in Grass, the creators of Crystal Cave Classic and Archibald’s Adventures! This is a new version of Crystal Cave Classic for casual players. There are 100 original levels of easy and medium difficulty. In case you want to play more difficult levels, choose the Crystal Cave Classic. Crystal Cave: Lost Treasures is a quest for long-lost treasures buried in pitch black caves, pyramids and temples of ancient civilizations. Huge gemstones were sheltered from the sunshine for eons of time waiting for explorers brave enough to unearth them. You - as an intrepid treasure hunter - will need all your ingenuity to pass the traps and dangers of the underground and collect the treasure in more than 100 levels.”

Dungeon & Warrior: Price: $1.99
“Underneath the city we live in, there is a maze of sewer pipes - a world of darkness and humidity. Without sunlight or warmth, there are only silence of death and creeping creatures from your worst nightmares… No one would ever want to tumble into such a hell. But unfortunately, you did! It is time to test your courage and wisdom. In this hell-like maze, you have to find the exit. Starving zombies will zoom in on you, and their only thought is to kill you. So, you should not have any mercy on them. Luckily, you can obtain all kinds of weapons from their dead bodies: club, ax, and even chainsaw! They will make you stronger. Use them to spill the zombies’ blood! If you are lucky, you can also get curing water and meat. What is the use of meat? Meat and traps are for bull-headed men, whose job is to guard some important gates in the maze. They are too tough to kill. You can only outsmart them! You will have to use the meat and traps to draw their attention and get past them through alternative passages.”

Arcade

ZombieSmash: Price: $1.99
“ZombieSmash! is a “Survival Comedy” game, featuring undead-themed castle defense and entertaining, physics-based gameplay. The game casts players as Joey, a lone survivor pit against a herd of writhing, unrelenting zombies - to defeat the undead masses, players must use their fingers to flick and smash them until they’re un-undead.”

Patriots Jet Team: Price: $0.99
“A highly addictive Air Traffic Control game with a twist. Try navigating the landing of civilian planes while coordinating real life maneuvers performed by the Patriots Jet Team.”

Frogger Inferno: Price: $0.99
“Frogger® is back and he’s “hotter” than ever. Frogger® Inferno is now available for your iPhone and iPod Touch, featuring the same classic arcade-style game play, but with a twist! Frogger® now leaves a trail of fire wherever he hops, and he cannot retrace his steps. Get your frog across a busy highway and an alligator filled stream in this new version of the classic top selling arcade video game. See why game players nationwide have made Frogger® one of the most popular video games of all time! Challenge your friends, and compete against the entire community for the highest score using Facebook Connect!

1 Life, 1 Chance: Price: $0.99
“Dodge oncoming space rocks and enemy ships as you strive to get the highest score!”

Dinosaur Slayer: Price: $0.99
““Dinosaurs Slayer” is a defence game of guarding the castle from attacking dinasaurs. You must defeat the various dinosaurs and great Boss with 7 different weapons and magic.”

Vectron: Price: $0.99
“Vectron, takes you back to the year 1979, when arcades where something new to the people and the graphics where not very important like now.
If you like Space Invaders and Phoenix, you will love this game, with the sounds and feeling of true arcades from dose days.”

Chop Chop Runner: Price: $0.99
“The emperor’s daughter is in great danger, and ONLY real hero can help her. Are you a true hero? Prove it and run fast, very fast… faster than ever!”

Midnight Bar: Price: $1.99
“Three bar games in one. Now only need $1.99!! More bar games will be added. Don’t miss it. In Midnight Bar, three bar games included—Vegas Slot, Bullseye Darts and Beertend, yes, you can find all these games separately in Appstore.”

Wangball: Price: $0.99
“Wangball our latest game, combines the classic retro aspect of games like Pong with a new and exciting twist - using the motion detection technology of your iPhone to full effect! Played in glorious 3D against a computer opponent or a friend, you’re reactions times are critical as the game gets faster and faster. With a flick of the wrist smash the Wangball back to your opponent at speed, but be wary - Your opponent may ‘Wang’ the ball back faster than you think! Be ready to smash the Wangball back to your opponent at twice the power to break their serve! React too slow, and you lose! Played in a circular 3D tube it’s about dexterity, wrist control and reaction time.”

Bunz Fighter: Price: $1.99
“In the year 3XXX, a mysterious evil force has surreptitiously developed a destructive weapon in Earth’s orbit which can annihilate any given target. You have been selected to pilot the newest ultimate fighter “Bunz Fighter”. Your mission is to neutralize the weapon before it devastates the world. Suit up, strap yourself in, and prepare to fight! If you loved the 194X series, Raiden or other shooter games, you will definitely enjoy this game!”

Board

Let’s Domino: Price: $0.99
“If you are looking for a domino toppling game, look no further! Let’s Domino is THE domino toppling game with blazing fast speed, stylized dominoes, spectacular stunts, themed environments, and *online* download and sharing.”

Wild West Checkers: Price: $2.99
“Rules of the game are diabolically simple. Shoot enemy checkers from the game field while ensuring that as many of yours stay on as possible. If yours is the last man standing, you win. You’ll need a keen eye and strong hand to be the victor in this app but more than that, you need clever strategy.”

Card

ProRummy: Price: $4.99
“ProRummy – the virtual Rummy card game ist now available for iPhone and iPod Touch. ProRummy is the second card game (after ProSkat) developed and designed by passionate card afeccionados. Playing feels live and your opponents seem real. This application is suitable for beginners, experienced Rummy players and professionals alike. A set of card consists of two decks: 52 cards each plus 6 jokers (wild cards).”

Solitaire Legend: Price: $1.99
“Solitaire Legend is the iPhone/iPod Touch version of Klondike solitaire, the most popular board game in the world. It’s fun and relaxing. Just touch and move cards as you do in real life, cards can the fly and land softly. Your games will be saved when you get a call or other interruption, you can then resume the games when you return.”

14 Pyramid Solitaire Games: Price: $0.99
“Are you looking for an awesome Pyramid solitaire cards game collection for your iPhone or iPod Touch? If so, this application is for you. Pyramid on the iPhone and iPod Touch has never been so exciting. Get 14 Pyramid Solitaire Games today and join the fun!”

Casino

Big Spin Slots: Price: $1.99
“Big Spin Slots is an exciting three-reel slot machine game with a spinning wheel bonus round! Play 3 coins, and when the bonus symbol appears on the third reel, spin to win!”

Dice

NOTHING

Educational

Kids Farm: Price: $0.99
“Kids Farm is a fun educational toy for your little one. Kids will be charmed by adorable animals cooing sweet sounds and peeping enchanting animations. So cute, FarmerHowl could make Walt Disney melt. A little education and fun in one sweet toy package.”

Nursery Jam: Price: $1.99
“Nursery Jam is an iPhone/iPod Touch app for your preschooler that blends music, art and technology to bring a fun, immersive and educational experience, more so than the standard flash cards and puzzles. Built with self play in mind, Nursery Jam lets your child interact with graphics in the game, to layer sample sounds and effects on top of songs from a wide range of musical styles. Your child will actively learn about music making, identifying shapes, symbols and animals, as well as letters and their sounds.”

Family

NOTHING

Music

Tune Runner Fusion: Price: $1.99
“This is the unlimited and ad-free version of Tune Runner - the musical shape-drawing game! Listen with Your Finger! Explore your music library in an all new way with this unique song-based game! The number of levels are limited only by the music you already own - no special music tracks to buy! Listen - Draw - Run! If you can draw a shape, you already know how to play! Using a single finger, guide Groov-EE the dancing boom-box through the songs in your music library. Trace obstacles to turn them into musical energy that keeps Groov-EE dancing! Share Your Mojo WIth The World. Every song creates a fun level with its own worldwide scoreboard. Because each song is its own unique level, you can compete with anyone in the world, anytime, anywhere. Use your favorite track or try your hand playing the most popular songs on Tune Runner’s Hot Tunes chart for an extra challenge! Special Angels & Airwaves Bonus Track! Tune Runner includes a special re-mix of the new Angels & Airwaves’ single “Hallucinations” from the brand new Angels & Airwaves album, “Love”.

Puzzle

Egg Escape: Price: $0.99
“Egg Escape is a fun-filled, fast paced and challenging interactive trade off game that allows a single player to swap the game pieces in order to make a set of three pieces in a row.  While getting three pieces in a row causes the player to remove the set and earn points, getting more than three pieces also removes the group and earns the player more points.  Egg Escape encourages matching and strategy thought processes as the player is having fun building sets. In order to advance through the levels, the player must earn points while moving pieces left or right, up, and down.  Each level progressively gets more challenging.  To advance through the levels, players must earn an incremental amount of points.”

Blox Follow: Price: $0.99
“Select all boxes one by one to fill all field. Keep in mind that you can select boxes only near previously selected one.”

BrainDread: Price: $0.99
“BrainDread : The brainfrying spacegame! is a fun way to train and improve your short-term memory and hand-eye coordination.
This game offers numerous levels and hours of fun at a bottom price.”

Phantasia: Price: $0.99
“Phantasia is an action-puzzle game for players of all ages. It challenges the user to save fairy dwarves. They are imprisoned in colored spheres. The spheres are placed in lines and they are moving down. Players must eliminate them by firing their spheres at two or more spheres of the same color. If the player hits the spheres of the same color, they are destroyed and dwarves are released.”

Racing

Skate Board Race: Price: $4.99
“A skateboarder is moving on a road, there are a number of obstacles on the way. If the skateboarder touches any of the obstacles his life reduces & finally dies. So tap on the skateboarder to jump without touching the obstacles and save his life.”

Role Playing

Tradewinds Legends: Price: $2.99
“Get carried away in Tradewinds Legends™, an epic mythological action-adventure from Sandlot Games! Sail, trade and battle with legendary heroes such as Sinbad in the mythical Far East. Enter a world of danger and intrigue as you complete over 100 unique tasks. Build a flotilla of ships armed with weaponry, both man-made and magic. Sail into the sky to discover new ports and engage in aerial combat with other magical sky ships. Encounter a world of legend, play Tradewinds Legends today! New 2-Player Vs Mode: an iPhone exclusive! For the first time ever, use your Bluetooth connection to face off against a friend in an exciting real-time battle. Tilt your iPod touch or iPhone to dodge and tap the screen to fire and block enemy shots!”

Simulation

Mansion Expansion: Price: $0.99
“Imagine a world where the housing market is booming and all you need to do is touch! Buy and sell your way through disasters, lemons and time to collect all the luxurious mansions! You are in charge of your destiny to become the greatest agent!”

Waffle Story: Price: $1.99
“A only daughter in a wealthy family, fell in love with her boyfriend. But her parents object their marriage since boyfriend has no job,and he cannot support himself. With vigorous effort to persuade, her parents approved their marriage under the condition that boyfriend should get a decent job in three months. To support her boyfriend, she began to do waffle business which she took over from her friend~~~”

G.Blacksmith: Price: $2.99
“Not much has been known about the life of a goblin. Until now. Begin your own empire by helping the goblins build underground caves and dominate the world. To perfect your skills in the goblin’s underground workshops, you must understand the system, be quick on your feet, and plan shrewdly. Only the most cunning will successfully construct the goblin empire. Along your journey be prepared to fend off robbers, get brawny in the blacksmith shops and hone your engraving skills. You’ll need strength, bravery, and determination to complete the journey ahead of you. Enjoy this new take on the time management genre. Help manage the goblin workshop efficiently and satisfy your customers before they get cranky! One miscalculation and you’ll get stiffed big time. A few missteps and your dreams of running a goblin empire will be gone forever.”

Sports

Hoops Madness: Price: $0.99
“When it’s not game time, get your game face on for an arcade basketball shooting game with a twist. It’s crunch time and the rock is in your hands! Can you hit the dagger for the buzzer beat? Or will you choke and throw a brick? The pressure’s on!!! Step up to the challenge by going to where the basketball court and the arcade go one on one! How many baskets can you make against a sideways moving backboard!? Test your skills and see how high you can score!”

Strategy

NOTHING

Trivia

NOTHING

Word

Word Buster: Price: $0.99
“Combines the fun of a word search with the excitement of Tetris. Remove the blocks from the playing area by finding words, and keep the blocks from stacking too high. The game starts out deceptively simple, but as you continue playing the blocks come at you faster.”

iPhone / iPod Touch / iPad Weekly Links

Appletell: [(Mostly) free iPhone apps to keep your work life organized] [Mac, iPhone, iPod and iPad product news - March 19, 2010] [Free apps roundup for March 19th, 2010] [iPhone apps to keep your school life organized] [Appletell reviews StarMaker for iPhone]