The Best iPhone Apps Of The Week, July 24-30, 2011

The AppAdvice iPhone App Of The Week: Cordy, Free & Universal, Released July 27 Cordy Comes To iOS From Android Visually stunning and charming platformer, Cordy, has recently made an appearance as a universal app on the App Store. The game was previously available on the Android Marketplace and really made a splash among platforming-game fans. The title offers some of the best 2.5D gaming found on any mobile platform. It has traditional side-scrolling gameplay mixed with gorgeous 3D backgrounds and 3D character models. The game gives a feeling of depth in the sense you can see interaction occurring in the backgrounds. Cordy also offers some puzzle solving, requiring you to push and pull on various objects to advance in the game. New Releases Greplin, Free, Released July 24 7-1 revirws Greplin: All Of Your Data, Instantly At Your Fingertips Greplin is a new, free iPhone app that allows users to search through all of their online data quickly and easily. How many times have you forgotten somebody's phone number or address, and frantically searched through Google Mail, Facebook, and the rest of your online, Web-based services desperately looking for the information you need? The only problem with this method is that you'll likely be opening webpage after webpage in Safari - something that takes a while, especially if you're running on EDGE or less. With Greplin, users can search everywhere at the same time from within one single app. It's available to download for free, though via an in-app purchase ($4.99) users can unlock an additional array of searchable services. Johnny Unlucky, $.99, Released July 24 Save Johnny From A Terrible Fate By Guessing The Words In Johnny Unlucky Johnny Unlucky by Happy Dog Games S.A. is a glorified remake of the old classic game “Hangman.” You are given a word or set of words on the left while on the right a full alphabet from A-Z is provided. You must select letters that might be in the words. If you choose correctly, the letters are automatically filled in. The unlucky meter on the bottom right shows how many wrong guesses you have remaining. If that meter reaches zero, something terrible will happen to our unlucky protagonist. You’re allowed to have only seven wrong guesses. That may not seem like a lot but I found the task was made easier if I always start with all the vowels. Tekken Bowl, Free & Universal, Released July 24 Namco Bandai Unleashes Tekken Bowl For iOS Do you enjoy Namco Bandai's Tekken series? Are you a fan of bowling? If the answer is yes to both of the previous questions, check out the latest Namco Bandai iOS game called Tekken Bowl. The game combines Tekken scenery and characters into a bowling game, and has been released as a universal app. The game appears to have been inspired by a mode that was present in a Playstation 2 game called Tekken Tag Tournament. There was a bowling mini-game in that game that was also called "Tekken Bowl." AirVox - Gesture Controlled Music, $2.99 & Universal, Released July 26 AirVox Provides A Hands-On Way To Make Synth Music AirVox - Gesture Controlled Music by Yonac Inc. offers a unique approach to synthesized music on the iOS platform. The app’s camera-based motion gimmick makes melody creation entertaining and inventive. It may not always be a smooth process, but at the end of the day, AirVox is simply too creative to be missed. We’ve looked at a couple of synthesizer apps lately, but AirVox’s approach to music creation is entirely unique. Instead of giving you an on-screen keyboard to use, the app lets your hands do the work. Groove Coaster, $.99 & Universal, Released July 28 This Rhythmic Puzzle Title Looks Visually Stunning Touch-based rhythm games are very common on the iDevices due to the wonders of multi-touch technology. Games of this genre require that you tap on various icons or elements to continue a musical beat. The latest title in this genre comes from Taito and is called Groove Coaster. The game has also been released as a universal app so all iDevice owners can enjoy it fully. The visual style of the game is truly spectacular. In fact, it reminds us a bit of a game called Rez that was released on the Dreamcast and later ported to Xbox Live Arcade. Guardian Saga, $1.99, Released July 28 First Look: Guardian Saga, A Brand New Retro-Style iPhone Game 9th Bit Games has announced the release of its new 2D RPG game, Guardian Saga. The game is available for the iPhone/iPod touch. With the King’s great Guardians strangely silent, the world has suddenly been taken over by evil creatures. Your job is to defeat these enemies and discover what happened to the Guardians. By the end, can you restore order and find lasting peace? Silent Ops, $6.99 & Universal, Released July 28 First Look: Gameloft's Silent Ops [Video] Gameloft has announced via Twitter that its latest iOS game is now available in the New Zealand App Store. Silent Ops arrives worldwide beginning tomorrow, July 28. According to the game's iTunes page:

Join a secret organization that is present everywhere, protecting us from the invisible threats of the 21st Century that other agencies aren’t equipped to handle. They employ only the best agents and the smartest technology, but they aren’t the only ones… Another highly influential group intends to use advanced cloning to launch their own sinister plot which may hold profound consequences for humanity. Welcome to the bleeding edge of 21st century global dominance. Welcome to Silent Ops

Updates Bumpy Road, $2.99 & Universal, Updated July 27 Autumn Years Update To Bumpy Road Now Available Bumpy Road is a charming and enjoyable platforming, endless-running game that we previously reviewed. It was updated last month with the addition of a lot of new content. However, the game just got updated again; and this time to version 2.0. The update is called the "Autumn Years." According to the app description, this is the biggest update yet, and it's easy to see why. Not only is there a new ride with a variety of level segments, but brand new platform types have also been added. TaskRabbit, Free, Updated June 28 TaskRabbit Hops Into App Store TaskRabbit has arrived for the iPhone/iPod touch. Like the service itself, the app connects people that have work that needs done with those that can help. Current available in Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Orange County, California and New York City, TaskRabbit makes it easy for users to post simple tasks that need done in an urban environment. Sample tasks include picking up someone’s laundry, standing in line at the DMV, or helping an elderly man with his groceries. Disc Drivin’, $1.99, Updated July 29 Flip, Slip, Slide, And Soar In The New Disc Drivin' And Disc Drivin' HD Tracks Back in April, Pixelocity Software kindly added three new tracks and tweaked the user interface a bit in Disc Drivin', both the standard and ad-supported free version, and Disc Drivin' HD. Today, all three gain another few new courses, a new obstacle, and some bug fixes. Pixelocity's exciting multiplayer racing game now has 18 total tracks to compete on, and the three new additions in v1.7 certainly add new difficulties to the selection. And without further delay, here's an overview of the new raceways. Lead Wars, $2.99 & Universal, Updated July 29 Lead Wars Updated With A Full Campaign, New Maps, And Overall Improvements Today marks the second major update to DemonStudios' digital port of a classic turn-based real-time strategy game. Lead Wars v1.2 introduces a full campaign, two new battle maps, and general improvements to existing features. One of the additions provided with the first major update to Lead Wars was an artificial intelligence opponent, allowing for solo Battle play. DemonStudios takes solo play a bit further with a level-up experience in Campaign mode. Leading off the Basic Training exercise of past versions, the campaign contains ten battle scenarios consisting of dozens of missions. Completing all tasks will earn you the rank of Staff Sergeant. The Best iPhone Apps Of The Week is published each weekend; a companion piece, The Best iPad Apps Of The Week, is published separately. Attention developers: If you would like your app to be considered for one of our “Best Of” lists, please me know by sending me a treat @bryanmwolfe. Note: Your app must have been new or updated in the last week to make the current list.