The free iPhone game Trawler Report: NinJump, X2 Snowboarding, Monster Trucks Nitro

As always, we round our week off with a celebration of all that’s wonderful (and awful) about the App Store. We refer, of course, to the free stuff.

This week we have a couple of ninja runners battling it out (silently) for the top spot. We also have a reappraisal of sorts for a flawed offering from a highly respected developer. It’s amazing what extra content and a drop to free status can do for a game.

Finally, our Crap App for the Week speaks for itself, allowing me to clock off early.

Have a good weekend, all!

Monster Trucks Nitro with More Races
By RedLynx
Type Full

Tracy gave this a bit of a panning when it was released as a rather spartan full price release last year. Now that it’s been made free on FreeAppADay offer, complete with extra tracks, I thought it would be worth reinvestigating. From Reset Generation through to DrawRace and Trials HD, developer RedLynx has made some excellent stuff. Monster Trucks doesn’t even approach any of those greats, of course, but there is fun to be had with it.

It looks lush for one thing, with slick 3D visuals that call to mind Trials on Xbox. The gameplay, too, is a bit Trials-lite, all about balancing weight to your two sets of tires as you negotiate each obstacle course.

Chop Chop Runner
By Gamerizon
Type Full

“Chop Chop Runner is Canabalt with katanas,” Claimed Jon in his news item back in March. He’s right, too, as Gamerizon’s colourful ninja-themed game sees you running relentlessly from left to right just like in Semi Secret’s cult classic.

The key difference is, well, you’re a ninja. Which means you can attack enemies, rather than just avoiding them. This extra layer of tippy-tappy combat lends a welcome twist to the running man genre.

As, too, does the fine visual style we’ve come to associate with the Chop Chop series. Download it now, as it’s a limited time FreeAppADay offer.

X2 Snowboarding Base
By Exient
Type Freemium

When we reviewed X2 Snowboarding at the beginning of the year, it instantly stood out as one of the best games of its kind on iPhone. It was (and still is) one of the best looking games on the platform, too, with some fantastically detailed 3D graphics.

Exient injects a fair amount of personality into the genre by allowing you to go hands-on with your board when in the air, tapping and dragging to execute assorted grabs.

This freemium version offers up a few slopes, characters, and boards, and lets you purchase additional content from within the game. As a generous free taster for a fantastic game, it really is an excellent proposition.

Pick of the Week

NinJump
By Backflip Studios
Type Full

They don’t have an automatic pass to our ‘Pick of the week’ section, but Backflip Studios might as well have. Their latest game, NinJump, is yet another brilliant slice of freebie fun.

It has a lot in common with another game on this list. Like Chop Chop Ninja, it’s a ninja-themed running game, though this time your progress is vertical. Tapping the screen causes your little warrior to jump to the opposing tower, slicing any birds or projectiles out of the air.

Slice up three enemies in a row and you’ll get an impressive animal-themed jump boost, sending you skywards.

Of the two, NinJump gets our vote simply because it’s been designed from the ground up for free, ad-supported play. Download both, though, and you’ll have all your running, jumping, chopping urges sated for the next few months.

Crap Apps

Smell Finder
By LOLer Apps
Type Full

This is the part of the Trawler Report where I usually expel the most energy, raging against the fetid puddle of toilet water that constitutes much of the App Store. Thankfully, this week the description for Smell Finder does my job for me.

I’ll leave you in LOLer Apps’s incapable hands:

“Prank your friends and family - it's so easy!

Scenario:

You: Hey Joe, what's up?
Joe: Not much. What's that?
You: Oh this, it's a smell finder. It can detect bad or abnormal smells. Let me try it on you.
Joe: Okay…
You: (point your device at Joe and it beeps faster and faster until it speaks):
Device: "Abnormal Smells Detected." (with an arrow pointing at Joe)
Joe: WTF? Let me see that. (He takes your phone and tries it on you.)
Device: "No abnormal smells detected."
You: Well I guess you smell, and I'm don't. Haha!
Joe: (walks away sadly).

You can easily do this trick with one simple move that no one will ever know about. Have them try it on you too, and watch as they can't believe the results!”

Pocket Gamer: Thanks LOLer Apps. Your app is crap, by the way.
LOLer Apps: (walks away sadly)