Top 5 apps in the app store this week

A few notable mentions for this week. We’ve seen some apps rise to the top of the app store knocking off such kings as Candy Crush and Flappy Bird remakes. So with thousands of apps out there it can be hard to find those great jewels within the charts. This list hopes to make it a bit easier for you. All apps on this list are free and are based around the Android app store but all exist in the iOS store also.

There’s something here for everyone! So play, start and select some of these for all your app needs.

 

1. Don’t Tap The White Tile

Price: Free

Currently at the top spot in the app store this strangely simple app has hooked a lot of us. The game is as simple as it’s name. Don’t tap the white tile. Players must tap the black tile at the bottom of the screen as fast as possible. Once a tile is tapped the whole row disappears and players must tap the next one. Sounds boring but it has hooked many app players this week. Try to beat your own score and those of friends in this simple but addictive puzzler. This game requires quick reactions to play. Despite it’s addictiveness I can’t see it lasting for long in the top spot.

Score: 7/10

 

2: Godzilla: Strike Zone

Price: Free

This is a great companion to the movie or an introduction for those who haven’t yet seen the feature film. You play as a soldier dropped into the city via HALO jump, you must land safely in the city amongst all the chaos and navigate the streets to get to civilians. All the while the treat of Godzilla hangs over you. See my full review here

Score 8/10

 

3: Plague Inc.

Price: Free

You may have played similar games to this online like Pandemic. If not this game is a morally questionable one. You play as a disease, your objective to destroy the human race. You must evolve the disease to help it reach new countries, battle a cure, and eventually kill the population of the world. Sounds horrible but is a fun game to play. It doesn’t require a great deal of attention so can be easily played on the way to work. You level up and can unlock many game modes and also save you game for later.

Score 9/10

 

4: Monster Busters

Price: Free

Claiming to be the most advanced match 3 game ever. As you guessed it’s a match 3 game. The game effects are very similar to Candy Crush and you will recognize some of the effects through matching 4 in a row and so on. Much like Candy Crush there are lives too, so don’t be surprised if there are micro-transaction pop ups which appear on screen. Levels are split on a tower based system (pictured). It requires players to have a Facebook account to play. The story feels more developed than Candy Crush too. If you love match 3 games this is the one for you this week.

Score: 8/10

 

5: Sonic Racing Transformed

This is a beautiful app from SEGA with mechanics like Mario Kart and Angry Birds GO it is a great. Players drive around the track racing others, picking up power ups and boosts and trying to beat the other racers. The graphics are great and the controls are quick and easy to pick up in seconds. For a free app I was quite impressed with the quality and is a definite top app of this week!

Score: 9/10

 

Let me know what your app of the week is in the comment section below.

App Review: Godzilla: Strike Zone

The newest incarnation of Godzilla due to hit cinemas soon there are people all over the world queuing up to see this epic movie with a stellar cast. With anticipations for the movie high Warner Bros have decided to release an app to accompany the movie. But the app isn’t as epic as the movie. But don’t let that put you off.

The free app is intentionally small with a key objective to draw more people into the Godzilla experience through a short of mobile advert. The app is fun to play and is more than just a marketing tool. The app has great visuals and the creators have chosen a good narrative to base the game on.

The player plays as one of the soldiers sent into the city in a HALO jump to rescue civilians from Godzilla and to protect the city from further destruction.

Acquisition – With an app based on a movie you would expect download times to take around 5 minutes but with this it was closer to 5 seconds. The player is immediately put into the action and play starts quickly. This makes the jump from starting to activation short. This speed is good but without a great deal of instructions it left this player slightly confused to begin with. When jumping from the aircraft the gameplay switches from 1st person to 3rd without warning which caused me to die several times thinking I was falling behind the characters I saw when in fact I was one of them. But this may be my issue.

Gameplay – the first mission is controlled solely by tilting the device. This works well for controlling the movements of the character while falling and using parachute. The narrative for the gameplay is well chosen and is clearly the point of the movie players would wanting a mobile game (obviously without ruining the plot of the movie). The gameplay brings reminders of Call of Duty and a little bit like playing a Cloverfield game. But that’s probably just the monster link here.

Mission are short, so don’t expect hours of play from this pocket sized Godzilla. Although short the levels are fun to play again but I doubt many players would keep it on their device for more than a week or so. However it has made me want to go see the movie more so maybe it has had the desired effect.

Once on the ground players must navigate a maze of broken streets while avoiding falling debris to rescue civilians.

Look and feel – The graphics are good, akin to PS2 quality. The soundtrack is also good. It is clearly taken straight from the oficial soundtrack and you get a few snippets of movie voiceover too to narrate your gameplay.

Social – At the end of each mission players have the chance to share a screenshot from their gameplay with friends via Facebook. A nice way to get friends interested and trying the game.

Monetisation – This game is FREE with no micro-transactions!! It also contains no adverts which is a pleasant difference from any apps in the app store which are crammed full of money making mechanics.

 

Verdict

This is a great free app and fun to play for a sort while, if you are a fan of first person shooters or military based games this is the app for you at the moment. Give this app a try if you are a fan of the film or are just considering watching it. It’s a nice short free app which won’t keep you busy for hours but will keep you hooked for a while. Although it won’t have me returning too much to the app it will have me playing starting and selecting the Godzilla movie.