If today’s big launch titles on our Fresh iPhone Games list weren’t enough for you, then try your hand at the triple threat of free titles in today’s Download Discounts. They’re all a bit more on the casual side — Paperboy: Special Delivery is an iOS remake of an old-school 8-bit favorite; Strimko is a Sudoku-like puzzler; and Keepy Uppy – Soccer Kick Ups is basically a digital version of trying to keep a soccer ball from hitting the ground. All three are simple and addictive, and they won’t take a toll on your wallet.
Paperboy: Special Delivery (iPhone, iPad) Free (was $0.99)
You might remember the retro arcade and Nintendo Entertainment System game, Paperboy, and here it is again, revitalized with a new coat of 8-bit paint for Apple’s iOS platform. Paperboy: Special Delivery revitalizes the old game with new controls, combining virtual buttons on the touch screen with tilt controls for acceleration and slowing your paperboy’s bike. The goal: deliver papers to customers without doing damage and throw papers to damage non-customers houses to rack up points.
Along with the two modes, you get 20 story levels to play through, and can unlock 10 special skills through them as you progress to make things easier. Or, you can opt for the Classic mode, which is as tough as it ever was way back in the 1980s. Paperboy also includes Game Center support.
Strimko (iPhone, iPad) Free (was $0.99)
If you’re a fan of Sudoku and other logic games, you’re going to like Strimko. It operates on much the same premise as Sudoku, requiring you to use logic to place numbers on a grid so that no numbers are repeated. The difference is, in addition to rows and columns, you also have to put numbers in lines called “streams,” which add another layer to the strategy.
You get 120 levels with your free download of Strimko, which the game’s developer’s think will last players about 20 hours. There are also level packs available through in-app purchase, and OpenFeint support to provide you with achievements and leaderboards against which to measure your puzzle-solving accumen.
Keepy Uppy – Soccer Kick Ups (iPhone, iPad) Free (was $0.99)
There are games that are deep and involved in the iTunes App Store, and then there are games that are hardly games at all. Keepy Uppy is one of the latter, with an extremely simple premise — keep the soccer ball up in the air. You control the soccer ball by “kicking” it by swiping at the screen. The more touches you get on the ball before it hits the ground, the higher your score.
That’s really all there is to Keepy Uppy, and if it cost money, it’d be hard to recommend. For free, though, there’s a sort of Zen-like zoning-out quality that comes with engaging in such a simple activity. Keepy Uppy is addicting in that “just one more try to beat my record” kind of way, and it might not be your next Angry Birds, but it is handy for killing a few minutes.
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