iPhone Games

Supercell's follow-up to the hit mobile game Clash of Clans has landed on the Apple App Store one day early. The freemium title Boom Beach is another combat strategy game where players can invade the paradise islands of the evil Blackguard.

The game, which was originally launched on the Canadian App Store, has been receiving mostly positive reviews from users, and early reports indicate it can be enjoyed without spending money on in-app purchases. In the game, players can explore a huge tropical archipelago full of treasure, and attack hundreds of unique island bases while building their own expeditionary force or warriors. Boom Beach also features boss battles and the ability to thousands of other players' bases.

This week's big stories revolved around the return of one popular app to the Apple App Store and the death of another. Flappy Bird developer Dong Nguyen, announced on Twitter that the mobile game sensation will eventually make a return to the App Store but "not soon." Meanwhile, Twitter pulled its #Music app and told current users it will only continue to work until April 18. Besides the possible rebirth of an old app, and the demise of a high-profile app, it was a slow week for App Store news and releases.

Here are this week's most noteworthy App Store and Cydia releases (03/16/14 to 03/22/14). Apple's Free App of the Week is Ridge Racer Slipstream. The game will be free on the App Store until 03/27/14.

It was kind of a slow week for Apple App Store releases, so here is an early look at TinyCo's upcoming Family Guy game for mobile devices. TinyCo did not release any new details since its initial announcement, but the developer did release two screenshots that gives us a good look at what to expect from the game.

Family Guy for mobile devices is a resource management game which promises to keep the same "nothing's sacred and nothing's safe" policy as the television show. No release date has been announced.

It may seem a bit premature to declare Smash Hit the best game released to the Apple App Store this month, but it is hard to believe that something more addictive and entertaining will take its place on my iPhone before March is over. I have to admit that it was a tweet by The Verge, and free price, that led me to download the game in the first place. I hadn't intended to review Smash Hit but after picking it as our "Game of the Week" in our weekly recap, I decided it needed more attention because it is just too fun to ignore.

Smash Hit is an easy to play but challenging game where you must throw balls at glass obstacles that get in your way while flying through different 3D dimensions. You begin the game with 25 balls and can collect more by smashing blue crystals scattered throughout the various levels. The game is over when you run out of balls.

With all the hoopla surrounding micro-transactions in video games it is nice to see that there are still some IAP-free titles like Ninja Newton being released to the Apple App Store. Ninja Newton is a new physics-based game that features a non-linear open world map with lots of levels. The game has been receiving great reviews from TouchArcade members and it has even been compared to Doodle Jump. Players seem to love the game's replay value thanks to its open world map and the ability to unlock an endless mode.

The game also features a randomly generated high score tower, Leaderboard support, upgrades, plenty of achievements and an original 8-bit soundtrack. Here's a video showing off its game play: