The questionable and increasingly strange saga of the mediocre game Flappy Bird has gotten plenty of attention lately, but the App Store has long had a one-touch flapping game that’s actually great — Frogmind’s Badland ($4). Badland now has iOS 7 game controller support in version 1.90. The update also adds a co-op multiplayer level to the game. Badland is $2 for a limited time.
Documentarian Ken Burns has released his own iPad-only app, Ken Burns.
The app takes clips from Burns’ filmography and places them in a slick interactive timeline that offers a view of American history. It’s free to download the app, which comes with access to the innovation-themed playlist. The other playlists — featuring more than three hours of video and other exclusive content — can be unlocked in the full version for $10. Other themes include art, hard times, politics, race, and war. iOS 7 is required for the Ken Burns app.
Ululab’s Slice Fractions ($3) is an app supposedly designed to teach kids fractions through games.
Physics puzzles and slicing games teach fraction concepts without the use of words. Though concepts covered include part-whole partitioning, numerator/denominator notation, equivalent fractions, fraction ordering, and subtracting fractions from 1, the actual educational elements can get lost in the shuffle, as the Cut the Rope-like games don’t really reinforce the math they’re using for puzzles. The game has no ads or in-app purchases.
Wine Spectator’s free WineRatings+ app has updated to version 4.0. The app has been redesigned for iOS 7 and a new version has been designed for iPad.
