Predators, Star Wars top this week’s best iPad apps

Lots of good stuff hit the iTunes App Store this past week, including an old favorite finally making its iPad debut, and a game that brings out my bloodlust.

1. Robert Rodriguez presents PREDATORS

I don’t know about you, but I’ve never really been in the habit of running around and slicing off the heads of my enemies or impaling them on blades coming out of my arms. That is, until Robert Rodriguez presents PREDATORS ($2.99).  Now, I can’t get enough. I am the predator, the foolish humans are my enemies, and I will run through the jungle, slicing them into pieces, gathering their heads as trophies and leaving their remains lying on the ground in a pool of blood and gore. And you know why? No, I don’t either, but it might have something to do with my crazy metallic dreadlocks.

2. Night Browser

You’re one of those people who must peruse the Internet until the very last moments of the day have passed—right up until bedtime. But your eyes are watering and that person trying to fall asleep next to you is getting more and more annoyed by the way your iPad lights up your bedroom. Never fear, Night Browser (99 cents) is here. It’s a browser, that you can use at night, because it has a built-in brightness adjustment bar. Night Browser also mimics Safari in pretty much every way.

3. Star Wars: Cantina HD

I’m a sucker for time management games. In Star Wars: Cantina HD ($4.99), I can help run a bar owned by a friend, so that he can make money and pay off his loan shark. In the game, you serve drinks to Tatooine water farmers, Storm Troopers, and a whole cast of characters. As you progress through the game, the bar gains various improvements—anything from air conditioning to flowers to fancier tables.

4. Splashshopper Lists for iPad

The much-loved list-making app Splashshopper Lists for iPad ($4.99) finally arrived in the iTunes App Store this week. Super-easy to use, Splashshopper contains manypre-populated lists, while creating new ones is simple. Need groceries? Simply tap the items you need in the grocery list, tap “Needed” at the bottom of the screen and you’re presented with your grocery list. It even gives you a rough estimate of how much the items are going to cost. Lists can be emailed and synced to your desktop using the Splashshopper desktop app.

5. Wondershare iDraft

There’s not a note-taking app in the iTunes App Store that I don’t own, so I had to grab Wondershare iDraft (free) and check it out. Though it’s strictly free-form (no text entry), it’s elegant and easy. There’s virtually no lag as you move your finger across the page, and the faster you write, the thinner the line. You can create multiple-paged notebooks and email single pages — or an entire book. Tap the palette below the page to change the width and color of the line.

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