Apps: Games

If you were lucky enough to own a NES and had good taste in games then you have probably played Balloon Fight at some point.  It was ported to a few other systems, and there were a couple of updates through the years, but sadly this title has been largely ignored in the gaming community.  While it’s not anything officially tied to one of my favorite 8-bit games, there’s no question that Balloon Loons draws its inspiration from the aforementioned video game.  With its colorful visuals, cute adversaries and plenty of levels to explore, Balloon Loons is certain to satisfy that craving for balloon popping that all former NES owners have.

Welcome to my roundup of some of the best new (and updated) iOS games! This week we'll take a look at the uniquely genre-defying greatness that is Heroes and Castles, the adrenaline-fueled racing madness of 2XL MX Offroad and the refreshing word puzzlement of Letter by Letter.

Some ex-Rovio gamemakers teamed up under the Boomlagoon banner to create another 2-D physics game--a platform scrolling game called Noble Nutlings. The free game is hugely fun and probably destined for gaming success! The other game I tried out this week is Pinball Arcade. Electronic Pinball is to iPad what jelly is to peanut butter, and the easy touch and robust graphics of iPad make almost any 3-D pinball game just plain awesome! Pinball Arcade is one of the most authentic recreations I have seen done on any hardware. Too bad the freebie lite mode times you out and charges you to buy tables, but well, developers gotta eat too... and the lifelike tables are easily worth the price!