Welcome to the roundup of the best new Android applications, games, and live wallpapers that went live in the Play Store or were spotted by us in the previous 2 weeks or so.
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Looking for the previous roundup editions? Find them here.
Games
Ski Safari 2
Android Police coverage: Have A Blast Sliding Until You Die – Ski Safari 2 Is Now Available On The Play Store
The original Ski Safari was well-received thanks to high production values and a laser focus on the basics of the runner genre. The sequel adds better 3D graphics, a wider variety of stage environments (including “slopes” inspired by Jurassic Park and Wile E. Coyote), and a new multiplayer mode. The whimsical and over-the-top nature of the original remains, as do the in-app purchases, but they’re not anywhere near as egregious as similar games.
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The world’s most fantastical, fun, family-friendly skiing game is back and better than ever. Play as Sven’s sister Evana, share the action in multiplayer mode, perform awesome new tricks on snowboards and skis, and ride on crazy new animals. Oh, and watch out for the avalanche. Escape from forces of nature and team up with friendly animals as you race down the mountain.
Heroes Reborn: Enigma
Android Police coverage: Phosphor Game Studio Releases ‘Heroes Reborn: Enigma’ First-Person Puzzle Game
The jury’s still out on whether NBC’s rebooted Heroes show will be good (like the first season of the original) or terrible (like the rest of the original), but the marketing blitz carries on regardless. This licensed game is a first-person puzzle/adventure title set in the same universe, and presumably hinting at some of the plot that will be filled out when the show begins to air. You use various superhuman powers to solve puzzles and advance the plot. It’s $5 with no in-app purchases.
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HEROES REBORN: ENIGMA is a first person action-puzzle mobile/tablet game that lets you BE THE HERO. Since we last saw HEROES, the world has become a dangerous place for EVOs – evolved humans gifted with supernatural powers. In HEROES REBORN: ENIGMA you become Dahlia, a young woman with incredible powers, that you must learn to control to survive and escape your imprisonment at a secret government facility.
Need for Speed™ No Limits
Android Police coverage: Need For Speed: No Limits Speeds Into The Play Store Like It’s Dodging The Cops, But Has To Stop For Gas And Search For A Wi-Fi Hotspot
Every time EA’s Need For Speed: No Limits has been mentioned on a mobile site or gaming blog, the fact that the game is, in fact, quite limiting has come up. Though it wears the street racing skin of the Need For Speed series, what you get is a fairly bog standard mobile racing experience, with limited controls (and no support for external controllers), no multiplayer, and the usual EA rigmarole of in-app purchases that force you to wait or pay for digital “gas.”
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Race for dominance in the first white-knuckle edition of Need for Speed made just for mobile – from the developer that brought you Real Racing 3. Build your dream ride with an unbelievable range of cars and customizations. Launch yourself between chaos and control as you hit the loud pedal and roll into underground car culture. Win races, up your rep, then kick into more races, more customizations, and more cars. Make your choices and never look back. Tonight we ride.
MyNBA2K16
Android Police coverage: 2K Games Packs More Cards And Gameplay Enhancements Into This Year’s MyNBA2K16 Companion App
2K must have made money on last year’s baffling basketball card game (where sports cards actually ran around the court and dunked), because they’re back with another one this year. It’s still just as baffling and still stuffed with in-app purchases, despite being ostensibly a “companion app.”
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The companion app for the award-winning NBA 2K franchise is back, with MyNBA2K16. Packed with awesome new features, MyNBA2K16 makes it easier for you to stay in touch with your console version of NBA 2K16 with more opportunities to earn Virtual Currency. MyNBA2K16 also includes the collectible NBA 2K themed card game, MyTEAM Mobile, which allows players to collect their favorite NBA player cards to challenge other competitors across the world in exhibition games, season tournaments and in-game special events.
Contrast
Android Police coverage: Stylish Platform-Puzzle Game Contrast Arrives On The SHIELD Android TV For $15
Contrast is a platformer-puzzle game that combines a unique steampunk-burlesque aesthetic and a surprisingly engaging story. The gameplay is interesting, too: you hop between puzzle-focused platforming in the real world in 2D, and in a “shadow world” in 2D. Messing with light sources and shadows will shape the 2D world. The game is available only on the SHIELD TV (at least on Android), and NVIDIA has only two screenshots and no video in the Play Store. That really sucks.
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Contrast is a puzzle/platform game where you can move between a fantastic 3D world and a mysterious shadowy universe in 2D in the blink of an eye. Delve into a dreamlike and surreal 1920s world, inspired by the performance art world of vaudeville and film noir, and cradled by a smooth and sultry jazz ambiance. In this universe, where the boundaries between showmanship, magic, intrigue and deception are blurred, you play Dawn, the imaginary friend of a young girl named Didi.
Pix the Cat
Android Police coverage: Steam Favorite Pix The Cat Comes To The Play Store As A SHIELD TV And SHIELD Tablet Exclusive For $10
Pix the Cat is a sort of mix between Snake and Pac-Man, wherein you guide a bunch of ducklings across a hazardous stage to their destination. It sounds simple, and it is, but the polish and eye-popping graphics have made it a favorite on Steam and consoles. A variety of stages, game types, and multiplayer modes keeps things interesting, including a “Nostalgia Mode” that makes the game look like Steamboat Willie. Unfortunately you need a Tegra K1 or X1 devices, plus controllers, to play it.
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In Pix the Cat, you are Pix, the first cat in the world to play his own game. Specifically optimized for the NVIDIA SHIELD, rule the living room with unmatched graphic quality and ultimate frame rate, progress in the Grid of Infinity, deeper and deeper through its nested levels. Benefit from the best user experience with a SHIELD controller and avoid hitting walls and obstacles at all costs. Hatch the eggs to stack up ducklings behind you. Drop them off at target circles to set them free. Still with me?
Swords Crossbones
Swords Crossbones is a humerus RPG that incorporates elements of turn-based tactical games and base-builders (without the freemium baggage that usually carries). Explore a huge world, develop your island base and crew, and hunt that booty. The game’s various elements combine for some incredible depth, and a wide-open world mixed with specific bosses keeps the experience balanced. The game is $4 with no in-app purchases, but it looks like it’s best played on tablets.
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Swords and Crossbones: An Epic Pirate Story is a comedic role play adventure. Duke A. Blizzardo the most feared pirate in all the seas has kidnapped your friend and employer. Hook up with a zany crew of swindlers, cut throats, and hooligans in this whirlwind adventure involving ancient treasure, pirate lords, tourism, killer parrots, and mad mad monkeys. Explore the islands of the Antipodal Archipelago. Sail the three oceans, including the volcanic waters and the frozen seas.
Osiris Battlefield
Osiris Battlefield is a basic first-person shooter where pretty much all you do is shoot aliens, but what it lacks in depth it makes up for in visual splendor. A mix of infantry and vehicle combat keeps things fresh as you mow down wave after wave of baddies in the grand tradition of Duke Nukem and Serious Sam. According to the game’s description it’s meant especially for Snapdragon 800-series devices, but it has wide compatibility.
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You are man’s last hope against utter extinction. Located on a distant colony in the Osiris system, you must defend your base at all costs using anything you can to hold back the relentless alien threat. Epic survival gameplay. Survive as many days as you can protecting 8 immersive zones across your base colony. Search abandoned mines, protect giant power plants, or go deep into alien hives searching with your flashlight.
SirVival
There’s nothing really groundbreaking in this runner game, but it’s so well-presented that fans of the genre will definitely want to check it out. In SirVival you play a knight in shining armor who’s off to rescue a princess. The 2D visual presentation is great, but the punch-and-jump controls and environmental elements are the real draw. A variety of obstacles will challenge you as the pace of the game changes. In-app purchases for currency and power-ups are present.
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You, as the brave knight SirVival, riding atop Tantrum, your noble steed, are rushing through the fantastical land of Galgamar on a quest to rescue the kidnapped Princess Parsnip from the vile clutches of Maelstrom “The Malevolent,” an evil dragon. SirVival introduces an epic adventure in the form of a “platform-runner.” Punch and Jump: The brave knight SirVival is equipped with a lance fit with a boxing glove on its tip.
Dim Light
Dim Light is a 3D, top-down horror game where your flashlight is your only tool. I’m usually down on zombie games if only because there are so many of them, but the atmosphere and creativity on display in this one deserves some recognition. The only objective is to escape alive, and you’ll have to carefully move using only your flashlight to guide you through a dark hospital full of monsters. But tread carefully – they’re following in your footsteps.
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Can you be the one to escape from this pitch-black madness? I may be the last human being who figures this situation is “unnatural..” And I’m pretty sure that I’m right. Others seem uninformed about all of this. The dark quietly hid itself and made creepy noises. Finally they brought “them,” and they darkened the entire hospital with madness. So… Today, I will escape from this hell. The dim light shining from very far ahead will eventually save my life.
Freeze! 2 – Brothers
The original Freeze! came to Android three years ago, and puzzle gamers appreciated it for the unique aesthetic and interesting physics-based game mechanics. The sequel doubles down on the radial-platform concept with two, uh, eyeball gear-thingies used to clear each stage. New obstacles and devious stage designs will bend your mind and put your phone in danger. $2 gets you 100 levels with no ads or in-app purchases.
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Welcome to “Freeze. 2”, the highly anticipated sequel to the multi award winning puzzle hit “Freeze.” (More than 11 million downloads worldwide.). Many years ago, our old hero from „Freeze.“ was kidnapped from evil aliens and locked in a tiny cell on a planet far, far away. He never found his way back. Now his little brother heads to the stars in his self-built rocket to find his lost brother and to free him from the clutches of the aliens.
A Moon for the Sky
This casual game draws on the basic “jumper” setup, but you’re in control: the only platformers that your odd player-character bounces off of are the ones that you draw yourself. Keep him (her? It?) bouncing as high as possible and collect stars to unlock extra goodies. The premium game includes three worlds, 18 levels, and an endless mode, plus various medals and achievements for just a buck. There are no in-app purchases.
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Send your moon to the highest in the sky. At each new millennium, Astrolunia sees its Moon die and loses the balance of its world. To predict this phenomenon, the people band together to send a new moon in the sky that will restore the ecosystem. Help the residents and send your Moon as high as possible. Attention during your ascent, you will be hindered by various obstacles. A Moon For The Sky has a simple gameplay: Draw a ligne and that’s all.
Pop the Lock
Pop the Lock is a popular iOS pilgrim that’s finally come to Android. It’s a twitch game with a simple premise: just tap the screen when the cursor hits the ball to unlock the stage, in the fashion of those old “tornado” ticket machines you might remember from arcades. A single mistake will make you repeat all the stages and their unchanging sequences all over again.
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The OFFICIAL Pop the Lock from Simple Machine has arrived.! Tap in sequence to crack the code and pop the lock, but don’t make a mistake or you’ll have to start from the beginning. How many locks can you pop? How far will you go?
In Fear I Trust
Android Police coverage: [Update: More Games] Google Play Store Promotion Offers Up 13 EA And Chillingo Games For Just 10 Cents Each, Including Monopoly, NFS Most Wanted, Power Ping Pong, And More
In Fear I Trust is a surprisingly high-end horror game. It isn’t presented as a third-person action title, like most of the recent console games. Instead it’s a high-end point-and-click adventure that depends on atmosphere to get the scares out of you. You’ll have to solve puzzles and gather clues through the episodes to escape the creepy medical facility you find yourself stuck in. At the time of writing the game is just 10 cents in the US, and it has no in-app purchases.
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Face your fears and experience a psychological thriller unlike anything you’ve seen before. In Fear I Trust brings a new kind of nightmare to mobile with stunning visuals, brain-teasing puzzles, and terrifying revelations. How did you end up in this place? Escape from a terrifying facility and piece together the horrific events that led you to become a test subject in a mysterious experiment. Explore eerie locations, relive disturbing memories, and endure against a haunting atmosphere.
The Mammoth: A Cave Painting
The Mammoth is a beautiful and interesting game that plays out like a living Neolithic cave painting. It tells the story of the Mastadon’s life cycle (from its point of view) as it tries to find a lost herd and has to deal with prehistoric human hunters. The art style is really something to behold, and the narration isn’t half bad either. IT’s free with no in-app purchases.
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In The Mammoth: A Cave Painting you tell the 5 million year story of the mammoth in 5 minutes.
• Inspired by prehistoric cave-paintings, act out a story written on the wall of a cave.
• Search for your lost herd on the wide plain.
• Gather and protect your children.
• Struggle with human hunters.
• Experience the dynamic narration unfold as you tell your story.
Bridge Constructor Stunts
Most of the surprisingly variable “bridge constructor” games focus on physics more than anything else. This game has physics… but only a a means to pull off some sweet stunts. The various stages present you with some basic foundations, but it’s your job to flesh them out with ramps and jumps to make vehicles pull off the coolest moves possible. The game includes both pre-made stages and a full construction mode, and you can record your own replays. There’s also a free version.
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The successful Bridge Constructor series – number 1 in the Google Play Store with over 30 million players worldwide – treads new paths with Bridge Constructor Stunts. Stuntman and engineer in one? No problem with Bridge Constructor Stunts. Build imposing ramps and loops to reach your goal in the diverse stages. But building structures alone isn’t enough this time: you sit behind the wheel of the vehicles yourself and have to maneuver them skillfully to the goal.
Drive Ahead!
Most vehicular combat games have either a racing or 3D arena setup. Drive Ahead takes things in a different direction, tasking players with decapitating their opponents in a 2D side view. It’s kind of like a physics-based version of the original Mario Brothers game, if they had been given F1 racers, cements trucks, and a penchant for murder. A single device two-player mode allows you to play head-to-head (no pun intended) on one device.
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Drive ahead in gladiator arenas with off-road cars, garbage trucks and F1 racing cars. Each vehicle has its own strengths and weaknesses. The game features two different game modes: duel or single-player mode. Learn to master different tracks and vehicles in daily racing missions. Customize your battles or choose random mode for surprising arenas and duels. Can you beat a monster truck with a go-kart? Hiding won’t help.
Bean Dreams
If androids dream of electric sheep, then what do beans dream of? Would they have nightmares about burritos? Apparently not: in this platform game you play as a bean whose only method of progression and combat is jumping. The controls are minimal, just left and right, so timing and placement are the core game mechanics. The game is free to play and includes over 96 levels, with a single $5 in-app purchase removing ads and unlocking all premium stages.
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Bean Dreams is an action-packed platformer from the dream team that brought you Duet and Bean’s Quest. Its deceptively simple interface keeps you in complete control while all-new game features, gorgeous graphics, funky music and 96 stages will bounce you to new heights. We distilled the platformer genre to its most pure element — jumping — and built a modern user interface that taps into the heart of that. Just touch left or touch right… it couldn’t be simpler.
The Martian: Bring Him Home
This is an official tie-in game for the Matt Damon movie you’ve probably seen in ads lately. The setup is basically identical to Lifeline: you play a worker on the other side of the line, guiding an astronaut who’s stuck on Mars through his perilous situation through notifications on your phone. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, as they say. The game is $3 with no in-app purchases, rare for a licensed title, but early reviews indicate that it has a lot of bugs at launch.
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Play as a NASA communications specialist and Astronaut Mark Watney’s sole contact with earth after he finds himself alone and stranded on Mars in this engrossing interactive adventure game. The official game, The Martian: Bring Him Home, based on the best selling novel and critically acclaimed movie, lets you use science, intuition and strategy to guide Mark through critical decisions and solve problems in order to keep him alive until help can arrive. The game puts Mark’s life in your hands as he fights to survive the brutal conditions on Mars.
Binary Challenge Binary Game
This game takes the rather lofty challenge of teaching players binary code (zeroes and ones) while also entertaining them. You’ll also learn the basics of 8-bit through 32-bit bit math in standard, quaternary and hexadecimal. The setup is a mix of a typing text and those timed math tests you took in elementary school, but it’s surprisingly engaging thanks to a very well-thought-out UI.
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The only binary game to learn binary with up to 32-bit numbers, support for quaternary and hexadecimal and three different guessing modes for each bit-size. Binary Challenge encourages you to convert binary (and hexadecimal) numbers to the decimal system by mental math faster and faster. Meditative like sudoku. Challenges your brain and trains your mental math to do additions and multiplications in your head while you convert binary and hexadecimal numbers.
Mucho Taco
The latest in the bafflingly popular “clicker” games is Much Taco, wherein you run a taco restuarant. Idly tapping on your screen will unlock new ingredients and recipes and special events for your stand. The game uses an interesting Mexican-inspired 8obit art style that’s positively exploding with color. Mucho Taco is free with in-app purchases.
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Mucho Taco is an idle clicker game where you make zillions of tacos with the power of the sun tortilla and the guidance of Barbacoatl, an enigmatic taco connoisseur. With his help, you will build and manage tasty taco restaurants, create delicious salsas and throw hot and vibrant fiestas.. If you’re in the mood for tacos, play Mucho Taco today.
Psych! Outwit Your Friends
Psych is a standard multiplayer trivia game with a twist: all of the answers sound absurd, but one of them’s true. The point is that you have to make up crazy but slightly plausible answers, which the other players then try to distinguish from the real thing. Unfortunately it’s local only and there’s no way to play online.
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Introducing “PSYCH.” — from the creators of “Heads Up.” — an exciting new party game to play when you’re with friends. Choose from a variety of fun categories in which each player makes up fake answers to real trivia questions. Can you pick the outrageous real answer among your friends’ fakes? Get points for guessing right, and for each other player you PSYCH. into choosing yours.
LEGO® Scooby-Doo Haunted Isle
Not content with Marvel, DC, Star Wars, Harry Potter, and half a dozen other licenses, LEGO seems to be dipping into the realm of nostalgia for its latest branded game. LEGO Scooby Doo is also a bit of a departure from their usual fare, being a sidle-scrolling puzzle-adventure game instead of a top-down action affair. You play as one of the four Mystery Inc. members (Scooby is a non-playable character) trying to solve a crime. The game is free with no in-app purchases.
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Scooby-Doo and The Gang have discovered a hidden treasure map and a mysterious LEGO key that can be built to unlock any door. Play as Daphne, Velma, Shaggy, or Fred, and help Scooby-Doo find the missing pieces of the LEGO key, recover the lost treasures, unmask the villains, and solve the many mysteries of Haunted Isle.
Scouts vs. Zombies
The Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse is an indie horror-comedy movie that stars a bunch of Boy Scouters fending off a zombie apocalypse. Naturally. (Hey, it couldn’t be worse than World War Z.) That’s decent fodder for a schlocky horror movie, but it works just as well as a side-scrolling shoot-em-up game. This licensed title includes 100 levels with some puzzle elements as well, though it will probably push you towards in-app purchases at some point.
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Survive the zombie apocalypse in the official mobile game for Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse. The town has been infected with flesh-hungry living dead, and you, a lone scout, must use your wits and skills for destruction to find the party, save the girls, and get laid.
• Shoot your way through 100 levels of ricochet puzzling mayhem
• Explore 5 environments inspired by film locations
• Wield an arsenal of makeshift weaponry to ricochet bullets, freeze enemies, launch drones, and more
• Slaughter hoards of zombies including the Scoutmaster, Stripper, and Crazy Cat Lady
• Craft power-ups to maximize zombie brain-splatter
Exos Saga
Exos Saga is a mobile RPG that, despite being developed by the German company Eyedentity mobile, is taking its inspiration straight out of anime and JRPGs. The graphics (or at least the hand-drawn, hi-res 2D sprites) are fantastic, and each battle explodes with summons and special attacks. Unfortunately the story looks like bog-standard fantasy RPG fare, and the game includes absolutely insane $200 in-app purchases, so don’t expect to get very far without paying.
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Exos Saga: A dynamic RPG with a captivating story and spectacular graphics. A gorgeous side-scrolling RPG with breathtaking animated visuals.
- Collect more than 150 characters, each with a unique battle skill.
- Form strategic parties and take on any monster that comes your way.
- Collect and upgrade an array of extraordinary weapons and items.
- Meet new friends, make alliances, and battle bosses together.
- Test your strength and compete against other combatants in arena-based PvP.
LEGO® Friends
LEGO’s Friends line, a series of toys that has more in common with Barbie than the classic building blocks, has always seemed like misguided pandering to me. but if you’ve got a tyke who actually prefers the saccharine toys to regular LEGOs, there’s now an official Android game that ties in with the line. Oddly, it’s published by Warner Bros, not LEGO’s digital arm, so I suppose the minigames and activities are meant to tie into the television show instead of the toys. It’s $5 with no in-app purchases.
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Welcome to amazing Heartlake City where summer fun awaits. Meet your new LEGO® Friends and join them on exciting adventures that build friendships with the girls and allow you to express your individual style and personality as you explore the city. Shop for the latest outfits and accessories, select the perfect hairstyle, decorate your bedroom and even pick out a pet. Choose how to spend your summer vacation.
GT6 Track Path Editor
Do you play Gran Turismo 6 on your PS3? Cool. You can use this app to create and edit racing tracks right on your tablet. Of course it’s a little odd that this add-on app has only just come out, almost two years after the game debuted (and well into the PS4 era, I might add).
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The GT6 Track Path Editor is an application for PlayStation®3 title Gran Turismo 6 that enables the user to create his or her own drivable course. The app allows you to choose the scenery of your choice, as well as letting you chart your own driving path—it even lets you trace maps or driving paths of real life routes. There’s also a function to include a variety of course-related objects into your custom track such as curbing.
Infinite Warrior Remastered
This is a remake of the original Infinite Warrior, with better-looking graphics and… actually, that’s about it. I suppose a year and a half is now sufficient time to make a “remastered” edition, though this one makes the game free.
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Re-Discover the highly acclaimed next generation of Endless Runner with the ultimate REMASTERED version of INFINITE WARRIOR with new gameplay and ultra high definition artwork. In the fantasy world of Infinite Warrior, fight an epic battle against an endless onslaught of bloodthirsty enemies. Unleash hell by performing swift, well-timed finger swipes and be rewarded with gold, loot and gritty over-the-top 3D animations recorded by Hollywood Fight Coordinators.
Know A Worthy New App? Let Us Know!
If you have an application in mind for the next issue of the roundup, feel free to send us an email and let us know.
Important: there are 2 requirements in order for the app to be considered, listed below.
- the app’s launch date has to be no longer than 2 weeks ago
- it has to be original, ground-breaking, well-reviewed, interesting, fun, etc – the cream of the crop
Now, if and only if the above requirements have been satisfied, fire up an email to this address: [email protected].
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