Apps Rush: Android takes on Rockpocalypse but ends up Running GPS

SketchBook Ink

Autodesk’s SketchBook Ink was warmly received on iPad, but now it’s available for (virtual) pen and ink artists on Android tablets too. Working in portrait or landscape orientation, it offers slick touchscreen line-drawing, with plenty of options to export images for further work on other devices.

Pac-Man +Tournaments

Even the most famous gaming characters are trying freemium on for size. Witness the new Pac-Man game from Namco Bandai, which blends the original arcade game with a new Tournament mode with online leaderboards. In-app purchases are used to buy virtual tokens to play the weekly tournaments, but if you’re not fussed about those, you can play for free.

Tekken Card Tournament

Another big gaming brand trying free-to-play on for size. In this case, beat ‘em up veteran Tekken has been turned into a card-battler a currently hot (not to mention lucrative) genre on iOS and Android. This sees you building a deck of moves and battling virtual and real opponents. Later this year, it’ll also tie into a range of real-world collectible cards, with scannable QR codes to add them to your in-game deck.

Kytetime Easy Parental Control

The original Kytephone Android app was a way for people to add parental controls to a smartphone being used by their child, including GPS tracking. Kytetime is a sister app more focused on setting limits on how older children use their device for example turning off Facebook and text messaging during school hours or late at night, setting time limits on games and more location-tracking. Smart parenting or Big Brother (well, Father/Mother) privacy infringement? There will be parents in both camps for that debate.

Athlete.com Running GPS

There’s an ever-increasing number of fitness-tracking apps with social features available on Android, with Athlete.com’s effort the latest to join the race. Its features include tracking pace, route, distance, calories burned and other metrics, with the ability to share details with friends, get audio feedback and music while running, and ping messages back and forth between running groups. All the data is backed up on the Athlete.com site too.

WWE Presents: Rockpocalypse

Yes: Rockpocalypse. As in The Rock, who’s currently back plying his wrestling trade in the WWE alongside his Hollywood acting career. So what’s The Rock been cooking on mobile, and is it worth, er, smelling? This is an official WWE game that sees The Rock beating the bejaysus out of a succession of “crazed goons of an evil mastermind”, funded by in-app purchases of virtual coins to improve his chances.

Rosetta Course

Something more serious here: an Android port of the well-known Rosetta Stone language-learning software, tying into the desktop editionwith the ability of newcomers to sign up for a demo account. Progress can be saved across devices, so really this is about people learning through Rosetta Stone being able to polish their linguistic skills when away from their computer.

Burn Note

If you’re security-conscious (or just sexting), Burn Note may be just the thing. It’s a messaging app where “all messages self-destruct after reading”, armed with the promise that the app will prevent recipients taking screenshots.

Frontline Commando: D-Day

Publisher Glu Mobile has been exploring how freemium mechanics can work for a range of traditionally-hardcore game genres. This latest example is a third-person shooter set during World War 2, with five campaigns and 145 missions, all manner of historic weaponry, and in-app purchases used for some items.

Fotor - Photo Effect Studio

There’s some buzz around new photo-editing app Fotor, which offers a mixture of features from cropping and filters through to tilt-shift and a camera screen promising to help users “always capture the sharpest photos”. All the usual social networks are built in for sharing purposes too.

Into the Dead

Pikpok is one of the indie mobile games developers that you can trust to come up with high-quality games, and Into the Dead looks like it’ll enhance the company’s reputation more. It’s yet another zombie apocalypse game, but one with plenty of creativity and originality at work as you fend off the shambling undead. A cross between an endless runner and a first-person shooter, and very good fun.

Furby MouthOff

Fancy your children gabbling like Furby toys? Probably best not to answer that. This is the idea behind Furby MouthOff, though a new app from Hasbro that provides a virtual, on-screen Furby face to mouth the words being spoken by its user in the real world. The idea as with previous MouthOff apps from developer ustwo is to hold the phone in front of your mouth while chattering away.

Crumble Zone

There’s a healthy number of interesting indie games coming out for Android at the moment, with Rebel Twins’ Crumble Zone one of the latest. It sees you rotating a little green alien around his home planet while blasting asteroids old-school arcade-game action with modern-day visuals and touchscreen controls.

Spawn Wars 2

Another strategy game here, but on a cellular level. Gamevil’s title is a sequel to the original Spawn Wars, as you “embark on the journey to the largest human cell with your army of the smallest human cells”, reproducing and evolving as you go.

Mega Run Redford’s Adventure (Free)

Get Set Games’ Mega Jump has been very popular with Android gamers, and now it has a sequel focused, as you may have guessed, on running as well as jumping. That means a colourful platform game with 80 levels to explore, lots of power-ups and characters to unlock, and the promise of more content to come in future updates.

Mahjong Solitaire

Hundreds of thousands of downloads already this week for this tile-puzzler, with more than 150 Mahjong board layouts and four difficulty levels to test your wits. Mahjong is one of those genres tailor-made for touchscreens, and while there are lots of games to choose from, CanadaDroid’s title looks like a keeper.

That’s this week’s selection.

Guardian News and Media 2013