The free iPhone game Trawler Report: Harbor Master and Jurassic 3D Rollercoaster Rush teach a pair of old dogs some new tricks

The march of progress waits for no man, and nowhere in gaming is that old cliché truer than on the App Store. Companies like ngmoco have imprinted their names on the lips of the wider gaming scene in the short time they’ve been active for, but there thousands of games on the App Store that have barely made an impact.

Several of this week’s picks have been created with the iPhone’s particular brand of progress in mind, building on what’s already been successful in the App Store and making it that bit better for us lucky iPhone gamers. Take Dirt Moto Racing, which is essentially Aqua Moto Racing taken out of the water and shoved into the mud.

Then there’s Harbor Master, a take on Flight Control tweaked while a designer was listening to the shipping forecast, surely. Or Jurassic 3D Rollercoaster Rush, similar to the game that’s been doing the rounds on mobile for years now, finally given a visual overhaul more in-line with the iPhone’s powers.
In short, aren’t we lucky? And you can try them all out without paying a penny.

The best free iPhone games in the App Store

Dirt Moto Racing Lite
By Resolution Interactive
What is it? It’s a 3D mud-flinging racer
Type Demo

Dirt Moto Racing is one of our favourite 3D racers, having nabbed a Silver Award at review. It lets you slide atop a quad bike around all sorts of muddy, dusty and sandy tracks, using the accelerometer to steer.

The Lite version gives you a generous slice of the full pie, offering two different environments and four events to race through. Its visuals and fun physics make Dirt Moto Racing worth a look. Coming from the team that brought us Aqua Moto Racing, another great arcade racer, it’s no surprise that its muddy brother got us smiling.

Racer Free
By Tatem Games
What is it? It’s a motorway pile-up avoidance game
Type Demo

Although it calls itself a racer, Racer Free is more about avoiding traffic than setting ultra-quick lap times, but it does have its own share of racing elements.

You control your car with a finger and your aim is to get as far as possible, as fast as possible.

Move your vehicle further up the screen and you’ll speed up, making the surrounding traffic all the more dangerous. Get too cocky and you may well find yourself chewing tarmac.

With an understated sense of style supplied by the almost cel-shaded graphics, Racer Free’s neat look helps to mitigate for the fact that you’ll probably end up tugging your hair in frustration as you try to beat your top scores. The paid-for version enables online scoring, which is a must once you get hooked.

Atlantis Sky Patrol Lite
By Big Fish Games
What is it? It’s an action-packed symbol matcher
Type Demo

Symbol-matching games come in many flavours, but there’s no denying that they all taste somewhat familiar. It’s hard not to become a connoisseur when you’re a mobile gamer, though, and we like the bouquet on this little vintage.

You make your matches by controlling a little flying ball shooter at the bottom of the screen using your finger. This mechanic comes with its own tricky foibles, though - since your finger’s right over the craft, you need to check out the colour of the ball you’ve got loaded before aiming.

Still, the quality shines through in Atlantis Sky Patrol. The Lite version lets you try out the first three levels from the full 100+. So, while it won’t keep you going for hours, Atlantis Sky Patrol Lite is fun enough to warrant the download. Pity the full version’s price has just gone up. D’oh!

Jurassic 3D Rollercoaster Rush
By Digital Chocolate
What is it? It’s a casual rollercoaster ride
Type Demo

Digital Chocolate’s been cranking out Rollercoaster Rush games for years now, but we’re not complaining because, well, they’re fun. Jurassic 3D Rollercoaster Rush doesn’t take the series into exciting lost lands of gameplay, but it is a bit snazzier and has more dynamic environments than its predecessor.

You just have to control your rollercoaster’s cart using either the accelerometer or a touchscreen speed gauge. That’s it, really. Go too fast down over a turn and you might lose one of your patrons. It’s not game over if you do - customer service isn’t paramount in Digital Chocolate’s world - but you’ll get less thrill points with a diminished human cargo.

The demo only gives you three coaster tracks to tear across but you get to try out the racing mode and the standard thrill-seeking point mode too.

Pick of the Week

Harbor Master Lite
By Imangi Studios
What is it? It’s Flight Control’s worst nightmare
Type Demo

There’s a good chance you’ve already heard of Flight Control. It’s been one of the App Store’s flagship titles for this year, even though it’s only 59p. Harbor Master is quite like it, but with a few differences that mean that some people even prefer it to Firemint’s casual classic.

You control the paths of various boats, ships, vessels - whatever term you prefer - and have to guide them to port by drawing a line on the screen. They then offload their cargo, and you have to guide them out to sea again. Sounds simple doesn’t it?

Well, it is to start with. After a while, though, the ships start coming in faster and in all sorts of varieties, each behaving differently. It’ll have your fingers in knots in no time and is more addictive than crack-laced Pringles. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.

Crap Apps Box of Shame award

Are You Happy?
By Trippert Labs
What is it? It’s the key to your happiness
Type Full

Are you happy? Do you find it hard to sleep? Do you sometimes wonder what it’s all about? Y’know, that crazy little thing called life?

If you do, then maybe you need Are You Happy?, the definitive way to find out if you really are stuck in that pit of desperation that seems to have been your abode for these past six months.

Using a series of insightful questions like ‘What do you feel like when you wake up?’ Are You Happy? Will delve deep into the root of your soul to find out what the real you, the inner you, is really up to.

Once you’ve done that, and have been professionally diagnosed as a little bit glum, you can post your results to Facebook to get some of that sweet attention you haven’t had for, ooh, at least half an hour or so.

Oh, bugger off.