iPhone Games

Fans of Realore's popular Roads of Rome will want to check out Ladia Group's new time management game Next Stop for iOS devices. In the game players are tasked with rebuilding a dilapidated railroad to save it from being taken over by an evil banker.

For those of you who have never played a time management game the premise is quite simple. Players must collect resources and complete objectives before a timer runs out. For example, in Next Stop you must collect wood, money and sometimes stone to rebuild parts of a broken train track. Unlike resource management games where you do a lot of waiting around, time management games are normally face-paced and require a lot of thinking ahead to complete each level. If you're slow on the draw or make too many mistakes you will run out of time and not advance to the next level.

UPDATE: IGN's Free Game of the Month is The Wolf Among Us. Click here for a free promo code for Episode 1. Additional episodes can be bought for $5 each as an in-app purchase.

There were a lot of games released to the App Store this week so lets jump right in. App Updates: Republique Episode 2: Metamorphosis is now available as a $4.99 in-app purchase, Microsoft has added AirPrint support to its Office iPad apps, and Google Drive now features a Passcode Lock option and Docs and Sheets support.

Here are this week's noteworthy App Store and Cydia releases for 04/27/14 to 05/03/14. Apple's Free Game of the Week is the note taking app Notability. The app will be free on the App Store until 05/08/14. Super Stickman Golf 2 is also currently free for a limited time, and both Infinity Blade and Machinarium are on sale this week.

There may have been a lack of big releases to the Apple App Store this week, but there were a few exciting announcements... Square Enix released a new Japanese trailer for Final Fantasy Agito. The clip entitled "Cherry Blossom" showed off more of the game's battle system, maps and equipment. Amanita Design announced that its popular desktop game Botanicula will be available for the iPad on May 1st, and Stolen Couch Games released a game play trailer for its Animal Crossing-inspired, Castaway Paradise. Some big updates were also rolled out this week. They include:

- Doctor Who: Legacy Version 2.0 - Over 20 hours of new content
- OMG: TD! Version Version 1.0.8 - New levels, heroes and power-ups
- Boom Beach Version 14.57.1 - New graphics and interface improvements

This week's noteworthy App Store and Cydia releases for 04/20/14 to 04/26/14. Apple's Free App of the Week is KingHunt. The game will be free on the App Store until 05/01/14.

Last week we told you about a new puzzle game called Puzzle Breaker for iOS. The free-to-play title was nothing groundbreaking but it seemed worth mentioning on a slow news day. However, after having the game installed on my phone for over a week I have become addicted.

I test a lot of games throughout the week and most get deleted in a few days never to be writen about, but Puzzle Breaker wouldn't go away. The game is a simple match-three title with an RPG twist. The RPG element and the game's three levels of difficulty is what give it its replay value. Puzzle Breaker is also a prime example of a freemium title done right. You begin the game with only five lives, and you must wait 20-minutes to regain one those lives every time you lose. Waiting 20-minutes may not sound like fun, but you don't have to wait if you keep on winning.

Here are this week's most interesting App Store and Cydia releases for 04/14/14 to 04/19/14. Apple's Free App of the Week is the action adventure game Horn. The game will be free on the App Store until 04/24/14.

There were very few noteworthy tweaks and apps released to Cydia this week, however jailbreakers should be aware of the new "Unflod Baby Panda" malware affecting iOS devices. You can learn how to check your iPhone or iPad for the malicious software here.