Tony Karakashian is reviewing some apps that are free for a limited of time, to give you some App Sore shopping advice!

Much to the chagrin of our ever-patient site owner who is still waiting on my review of iDroids, I decided to stop in middle of writing that review (yes, Robin, I AM writing it!) and submit the next “Worth it at free?”  As I mentioned in the first one, I can’t guarantee I’ll get these mini-reviews to you in time for the apps to still be free. But, these two I highly recommend and they’re still not charging for them, so read quickly!

Paper Toss

This game is best described by the author…“Have you ever been bored at work and crumpled up a piece of paper and tried to shoot into a trash can?”  This addictive little time waster duplicates that experience very well and adds the twist of using a fan to direct your shot away from the trash can. You simply flick the ball towards the objective, accounting for the amount of fan speed present and hope it goes in. There are three levels of difficulty, with the can moving further and further away at each level. I’m not really sure why I bothered to download this one, it really didn’t seem all that interesting. But, I can’t stop playing it!  Seriously, it’s free, try it. If you’re reading this after they started charging for it, I’d still recommend if it’s under two bucks.

Wild West Pinball

My teenage years were in the 80s when there was an arcade on every corner and a video game in every store. Pinball was a secondary love, but I still enjoy playing novel machines (The Black Hole remains my fave). I’ve tried video pinball games over the years, but they never really captured the feel of the game. Perhaps because keyboards and mice are not very prevalent on pinball machines? Wild West Pinball, however, has really taken digital pinball to a whole new level!  Firstly, the game is beautiful. I would play this table if I saw it somewhere. But, the gameplay is so close to the real experience, it’s simply incredible. The authors have taken full advantage of the touchscreen.

To start, you have to shoot your ball…by sliding your finger back over the trigger and releasing. Since it would be impossible to have a playable, but detailed pinball table on such a small screen, you’re only shown the area right around the ball; the “camera” follows the ball around. Flippers?  Tap the left side of the screen to activate the left, tap right for right.  Simple, easy controls that don’t require you to try and find the right “spot” to hit. Again, don’t waste any more time, go grab a copy. If they’ve started charging, I’d pay up to about five smackaroos.

Tony Karakashian - iPhonetunes.net