FREEday 3/23/12 - "We Like the Kind of Living that is FREE for All"

Posted by Rob Rich on March 23rd, 2012

It's a shorter list this week, but I don't think that makes it any less special. Especially since Hunger Games: Girl on Fire is finally available. Why is that exciting? Well, because it's been created by a who's who team of iOS indie developers, that's why. People like Danny Baranowsky (composer for Canabalt, Super Meat Boy), Paul Veer (Super Crate Box), Adam Saltsman (Canabalt, Gravity Hook), Mark Johns (Tap Tap Dance), and Kevin Coulton (Hot Throttle). Now that's one heck of a pedigree. But it's not all about one game, no matter how awesome it may or may not be. There are a few more titles down there that are still worth a look. Especially the one about the girl with the pet mushroom. I mean come on, the concept alone is worth checking out.

Fix-it-up 80s: Meet Kate's Parents - Time management games can be quite addicting. Time management games involving automotive repair might blur the lines between demographics a bit (in a good way). Time management games about auto repair set in the 80s will almost certainly turn a few unexpected heads. I mean come on, we all love the 80s. VH1 said so.

Hunger Games: Girl on Fire - I've already droned on about how excited I am for this one simply based on the (incredible) talent behind it. It's not surprising to see that it's a "runner," but it's a bit more complex than that. It's also much more dextrous. And also free, naturally.

Motorcity: Drive - Tearing around a city in a futuristic car armed to the teeth is a pretty cool idea. So is using said armaments to blow up evil robots. But naming the car "MUTT" is just silly enough to be ingenious. Enough so that I'm willing to look past the Disney XD association.

Touch Detective 2 1/2 - Bizarro gumshoe Mackenzie and her "assistant" (I still think he's a pet) Funghi are back to solve more weird mysteries. Players can nab this reasonably extensive demo of the first two sections for free and see what the fuss (i.e. my fuss) is all about. If nothing else it's got a fantastic art style. Plus it's something of a point-and-click adventure, and we can never have too many of those.