UPS

VIDEO: The Incident… an awesome game you can play on your iPad with your iPhone

The Incident might sound like Jersey Shore‘s “The Situation‘s” little brother, but it is really an addictive retro-style game for your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad. In the Big Bucket Software game you play Frank Solway, our hero, as the world comes crashing down all around him. We’re not really sure why, but a multifarious array of clutter starts to fall from the sky and you must work quickly to stay on top of the ever growing pile.

You can’t run away, you can only tilt to dodge, tap to jump and avoid the falling evidence of man’s existence on earth and try to collect power-ups and bonuses along the way. Not everything you can collect will help you, though—there are a few power-downs as well.

No Flash? No problem—click here!»

The Incident hit the iTunes Apps Store earlier this year and I liked it then, but I really like it now that the recent update has allowed me to use my iPhone as a controller while I watch the action on the iPad. Big Bucket also added a new mode called “Endless Nightfall” that I have yet to check out.1 They also added Game Center functionality for you competitive types.

Like most great and fun games, it’s quite simple in concept but rich in fun factor. And at $1.99 US, it’s a great value.

 VIDEO: The Incident... an awesome game you can play on your iPad with your iPhone
  1. I’m too busy trying to get out of the Mountains in “The Rise & Fall of Frank Solway” []

Enhancing your Screen Effects

While we tend to focus on what our Macs are up to while we are using them, it’s worth taking time out to be sure your Mac sees some quality recreation time when idle.

BackLight

This Jaguar-Compatible menu extra toggles your desktop background to your screen-saver. Be warned that this is fairly taxing on your system. While there are several free solutions that do this, BackLight is the only I found with a handy menu extra.

xbMovieSaver and xbMovieMaker

This dynamic duo of screen-saver makers give you a hand in customizing your screen effects. xbMovieSaver allows you to select a QuickTime movie as a screen-saver. Even better, xbMovieMaker turns QuickTime movies and Flash animations into self-contained screen-saver modules. The possibilities are endless…

PackTrack

In a completely different vein, PackTrack lets you monitor UPS and FedEx packages from your desktop. Plug-in structure leaves the door open to add tracking services. Very handy for tracking multiple packages.

That wraps up this week’s Freeloader. I hope you’ve found this week’s free software useful. If there’s a type of software you’d like me to feature, drop me a line.

Frenzic, one of the most addictive games ever, as it was meant to be played…on the iPhone

FrenzicIndex 20081119 183402 Frenzic, one of the most addictive games ever, as it was meant to be played...on the iPhoneFrenzic by the Iconfactory & ARTIS Software has always been a cool game: you race against the clock to strategically position pie wedges in available spots gaining points and power ups as you go. It’s been available on the Mac since March of 2007 but I had a better chance of resisting its addictive pull because the mouse and keyboard just aren’t the best method of input for a game like this. Frenzic is a “put that THERE!” kind of game…a game that begs to be instructed with the point of a demanding finger.

…and now Frenzic has come to the platform that can do it right–the iPhone and iPod touch.

frenzicaddict 20081119 182906 Frenzic, one of the most addictive games ever, as it was meant to be played...on the iPhoneA little while ago I was asked to test out Frenzic for iPhone
 Frenzic, one of the most addictive games ever, as it was meant to be played...on the iPhone while it was still in beta and I teased my Flickr friends with the picture shown here. This is what a typical iPod touch will look like shortly after installing Frenzic…the tell tail seven spot fingerprint pattern is unmistakable. It’s the sign of an addict.

Frenzic is now available from the Apple App Store for USD$4.99, but be warned it pays back more than that in fun while making your free time vanish.

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