The free iPhone game Trawler Report: Gameloft’s raining lite bites with Let’s Golf and Brothers in Arms while Mystique gives us the willies

Over the past few weeks, it seems like several of the big publishers have upped a gear in the releasing of Lite versions. There was the Trawler Report’s Glu week, where the mobile veteran pumped out a whole range of freebies, while Digital Chocolate has stepped up a notch in their already prolific production of Lite versions.

We can only assume they’re trying to capitalise on all those new 3GS owners heading over to the App Store for an initial gaming fix, the cunning swines.

This week it’s Gameloft’s turn, with the mobile giant having released a whopping five new freebies within the space of a week. Good as their games are, we can’t give them the whole report’s bounty, so we dropped Rise of the Lost Empires off at the nearest port.

We’ve still got a feast of Gameloft goodness for you this week, alongside three full freebies, one of which we suggest you don’t download.

The best free iPhone games on the App Store

Brothers in Arms: Hour of Heroes Lite
By Gameloft
What is it? It’s a World War II action blockbuster
Type Demo

Brothers in Arms was among one of the first waves of 3D game to clamber off the landing craft and up the beaches of the App Store, as bullets of criticism whizzed past its ears about how its controls just weren’t quite up to snuff.

Upstarts like Terminator Salvation have since proved that these controls can work, but that doesn’t mean we should forget the valiant forefathers like Brothers in Arms.

And, anyway, you can play it now without paying a penny. You play as a soldier in the 101st Airborne regiment and have to take care of business the old fashioned way - with bullets. No smart bombs to rain on this parade.

Let’s Golf Lite
By Gameloft
What is it? It’s a great cartoony golfer
Type Demo

Let’s Golf is up there with Tiger Woods as one of the best iPhone tee-worriers. That’s Tiger Woods PGA Tour the game, not the guy in all the razor adverts. Let’s Golf is a fun and cartoony game of the sport, letting you whack away with just a few taps on the touchscreen.

You get a couple of holes to play in this Lite version, and can try out the advanced control method too, where you actually swipe your finger to control the arc of your club swing. The full version of Let’s Golf won a Silver Award at review, and is currently available for the bargain price of £1.19.

Siberian Strike Lite
By Gameloft
What is it? It’s the gold award-winning arcade shooter
Type Demo

Siberian Strike was one of the early heroes of mobile gaming, back when Gameloft was crawling its way out of the primordial soup of the mobile games industry, so we were relieved when the iPhone version turned out to be great. Great enough to win itself a gold award at review, even.

It’s a retro shooter where you control a plane with your finger. In true arcade style, your enemies hail from the classically foreign video game superpowers, equipped with awesomely outlandish aeroplanes and approaches to personal liberty.

Assassin’s Creed: Altair’s Chronicles Lite
By Gameloft
What is it? It’s a sneaky action adventure
Type Demo

With its refined controls and swish graphics, Assassin’s Creed was yet another nail in the coffin - or should that be knife in the back - of the idea that the iPhone can’t produce games to rival those on the PSP and DS. After all, the game’s pretty similar to the DS version of the same name.

You play as Altair, sneaking about the place in order to find, or steal, your fortune. It’s a linear game, where trip ups along the way lead to pesky combat encounters. It won a Silver Award at review, and this Lite version will give you a taste of the game’s eastern charms, which still go for a pretty penny on the App Store.

Poke a Keith
By Steve Ehrberg (Not Keith, sadly)
What is it? It’s a kerrazzy Keith tapping game
Type Full

Poke a Keith won a place in this week’s report mostly because we were so sure it was headed for the Craps Apps slot. How could it not be a good candidate? As it turns out, Poke a Keith is quite fun. And we like the fact we can use it to taunt our own Keith Andrew.

Keith heads pop up on the screen, and you have to tap them before they disappear. Bombs also pop up, and these have to be tapped a number of times to diffuse them before they explode.

Although it's as simple as you might imagine for a Crap Apps contender, it works quite well. Plus, Poke a Keith used to cost £1.19, so you can tell yourself you’ve got a bargain. We’re still none the wiser as to who this mysterious Keith really is, mind.

Pick of the Week

Mystique. Chapter 1:Foetus
By Bendroid
What is it? It’s a quickie creepy adventure
Type Full

On its iTunes page, Mystique makes a big noise about how many downloads it has achieved on the Android Marketplace, but as far as we can tell it’s yet to make a big splash on the App Store. It’s a creepy 3D adventure game and, to support the release of the second chapter in the series, it’s now available to download for free.

Using a simple ‘escape the room’ scenario, you have to explore a murky bathroom in search of a way out. Although it borrows heavily from Eastern horror films and the Silent Hill games in its visual stylings - and the controls aren’t the slickest - Mystique is interesting enough to nab our Pick of the Week slot. The second chapter is available for 59p.

Crap Apps Box of Shame award

MyShark
By Howard Nager
What is it? It’s nothing David Attenborough would be proud of
Type Full

Everyone knows that sharks die if they stop swimming, right? It’s one of those urban myths that’s actually true.

MyShark is a game where you have to keep a shark alive by moving your iPhone in rhythm with the shark’s sprite. Except that no matter what we did, the shark seemed to die after about three seconds of swimming.

So perplexing is MyShark’s core (and, let’s be honest, flimsy) mechanic that the battery on the iDevice ran out before we cracked the mystery of the forever-dying shark.

Much as we enjoy MyShark’s ultra retro visuals, we have to conclude that it is, unfortunately, rubbish. If anyone does solve the mystery of the suicidal shark, do let us know.