Each week we scour current Google Play promotions and cherry-pick the best of the best. This week we have a treasure trove of Disney games, as well as the absolutely epic Boson X.
Because app sales are temporary affairs, by the time you read this, these may no longer be on sale. Worry not: Simply check back next week for some more Android deals!
A hauntingly beautiful, dark physics puzzler, Contre Jour takes you on a journey through an organic landscape with portals, hooks, and swings. It’s kind of similar to Cut the Rope, only the aesthetic is completely different (and you don’t cut any ropes).
One more game before we dive into Disney-land (see what I did there?). Boson X is a painfully addictive endless runner, and is the reason why today’s column took much longer to write. You’re running in an endless tunnel, and have to jump left and right to get to the next platform while collecting enough energy to complete the stage. It’s beautifully executed, and unforgivingly hard.
Okay, it’s Disney time! Where’s My Mickey is basically Where’s My Water, only with Mickey Mouse and some new mechanics introduced. The addition of classic Disney characters certainly lends the game some character, and the proven mechanic means you’re not buying into some game that’s just an empty vehicle. If your kids love Mickey Mouse, Where’s My Mickey could keep them engaged for hours.
Even the trailer for this one is great, especially that awkward moment near the end. Adds some new mechanics to the familiar Where’s My Water formula, such as lasers. Just like Where’s My Mickey, you can think of this as a branded level pack.
And to round things out for the Where’s My Water series, here is the original, now on sale as well. Very highly rated (4.7-stars based on over 160,000 ratings), with over 300 levels. Has in-app purchase too.
This is strikingly similar to Angry Birds, only in 3D, and with Toy Story characters. You lob balls and structures made of wooden blocks and watch them fall apart. There are power-ups, too.
A block/number matching game with 100 levels, power-ups, and a magical forest theme. Has nine challenge types, but also involves some in-app purchases.
Temple Run hardly requires any introduction, nor does the lovely Pixar/Disney film Brave. Combine them, and you get a familiar game style in a fun warrior-princess package. You actually get 2500 in-game coins when you download it, worth $1 in in-app purchase costs – and with the game costing $0.75 today, that’s particularly tempting.
The Oz movie tie-in. You get to ride a balloon! Just like the Brave tie-in, if you’re only interested in the endless running mechanic, you should probably just get the original. But if you (or your kids) are into The Wizard of Oz, this is a lovely way to experience the new movie’s atmosphere on your mobile.
One of the biggest racing franchises, now on sale. You’re going to need a powerful device to run it, but if you have a late-model Android tablet, now is a great chance to nab Need for Speed Most Wanted at a massive 80% discount.
Jack Lumber made an appearance in a recent Humble Indie Bundle, and is a fun little gem. Think Fruit Ninja, only the fruit (or lumber, in this case) is actually suspended midair for a moment so you get a bit of time to plot a lovely course through it. Makes for less stressful gameplay, and features a great sense of humor, too.
While not strictly a game, I wouldn’t call The Lorax an app either. It’s a the original book packaged as an app, offering a wonderfully interactive way to experience the story. You can read it to your child, have the app read it for you, or auto-play the story and just watch it. The trademark Seuss drawing style stands the test of time.
Google Cloud Print is great, but not all printers support it. PrinterShare lets you print to other printers more easily — whether they are shared via a Windows or Mac computer, or if you just want to connect to them directly from your device using Wi-Fi, USB, and Bluetooth. A powerful utility if you’re looking to print from your phone or tablet.
In a nutshell: Makes automatic screen rotation a less frustrating experience. While the example in the video can easily be solved using a launcher that lets you lock its vertical orientation (like my favorite, Nova), other auto-rotation frustrations are not as easy to resolve, making Rotation Control compelling.
A powerfully capable camera app. Just a handful of effects and no picture frames — this one is aimed at hobbyists who appreciate an in-app live histogram and a quick EV slider.
Our final app for today, Business Calendar Pro is a very capable utility — so much so, I bought it for its full retail price. Lets you drag events around, which is something the vanilla Android calendar app doesn’t let you do. Highly recommended.
Tune in next week for some more great Android deals! And of course, feel free to share your finds and favorites in the comments below.
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