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Games

Byte The App: Must See Apps Of The Week 9/1

The app stores are teeming with new releases, but who has time to go through them all? We do. Bringing you a selection of the most interesting, creative, and innovative apps each week.

The app stores are teeming with new releases, but who has time to go through them all? We do. Bringing you a selection of the most interesting, creative, and innovative apps each week. Submit your suggestions for next week in the comments below.

Contre Jour [iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad]

Here’s a neat twist on gaming, instead of controlling the main character, an eyeball called Petit, you control the background, modifying levels using the touchscreen, swiping and pulling at ropes and pulleys to complete various puzzles. They claim they’re “blurring the lines between games and interactive art”, and while that’s open to interpretation, the experience it engenders is certainly unique, with visuals that look a bit like

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World of Goo

.

Life is Crime [Android]
“Turn your daily routine into criminal turf” says the blurb for this game. This location-based game sends you on missions to rob and dominate virtual versions of the buildings in your area. So you basically swagger about town, thuggishly laying claim to whatever you want, from restaurants to bars to airports, building up your criminal empire, dropping off contraband and fighting those trying to encroach upon your turf—aiming to be top dog in your neighborhood.

SpringMesh [iPhone and iPad]

This latest app release from

Creative Applications

explores spring mesh dynamics, allowing you to transform the colored mesh either through the touchscreen or by turning your phone and using the effects of gravity. You can also change different parameters and play around with the rippling effect. It’s kind of like

Quayola

’s

Topologies

, but a more simplified, mini pocket version.

Spirit HD [Android]

Who doesn’t love retro-inspired gaming? This arcade-style game looks like a shoot ’em up but instead of firing lazers at your enemies, you use the touchscreen to move your finger around them, capturing them in a bubble that destroys them once you make a complete circle. It may not sound like much, but the fluidity of the movements and the ease of use make for addictive gameplay.

Meet Gatsby [iPhone, iPod touch and iPad]
If social networking has taught us anything, it’s that the parenting myth of not talking to strangers is a load of crap. Everyone talks to strangers these days, albeit mostly through the relatively safe medium of digital devices. And another nail in the coffin of that parental myth gets hammered in with this app, which lets complete strangers talk to each other, if they’re nearby. Using your Facebook or Foursquare it notifies you of people nearby with shared interests, allowing you to chat in real-time for an hour, letting you decide whether you want to meet up with them or if they sound like a serial killer and should be avoided at all costs.