Best Windows apps this week
One-hundred and fifty-nine in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps and games released for Windows 8.x and Windows 10 in the past seven days.
Several popular applications received updates this week including Netflix, TripAdvisor, AccuWeather and NPR One.
Several great apps and games have been released this week. This includes the excellent World of Tanks Blitz game and the Pandora application.
As always, if I missed an app or game that has been released this week that you believe is particularly good, let me know in the comments below or notify me via email instead.
Discounts This Week
Red Stripe Deals are back. Up to six applications and games are discounted and highlighted in Windows Store each week.
The following is this week's selection:
- Inventioneers, a physics-based creation and inventions game for $0.99
- Sparkle 2, a Zuma-like arcade game for $2.49
- Lightbot, introduce children to programming for $2.49
- Tiny Firefighters, an interactive seek and find book for $0.99
- Frederic: Resurrection of Music, a music game for $0.99
- Shiny the Firefly, a great arcade game for $0.99
App of the week
World of Tanks Blitz is the little brother of the popular tank combat game World of Tanks. It shares many similarities with its bigger sibling: a massive arsenal of tanks to choose from, tank upgrades, different nations and fast team-based action.
It is an action game at its core, a tank-shooter if you will. The Blitz signifies that as well, as you fight on smaller maps against up to seven enemy tanks.
Tank selection is limited and the tech tree is smaller as well. That does not make it a bad or inferior game though, as it offers the advantage that you can jump into battles quickly and are done as quick most of the time as well.
Graphics are well done, and while the free to play game offers the usual grind or pay mechanics to get better equipment, I never felt bored trying to gain enough experience and currency to buy the next upgrade to make my tank just a little bit better.
There are only two objectives in a battle: either conquer a central location on the map by occupying it for a set amount of time, or defeat all enemy players by destroying their tanks.
Other apps
The application lets you send flowers, plants and gifts directly from within it without needing to visit the parent site. It may sync with your phone contacts automatically if you let it, and supports seamless checkouts to make things even easier.
The companion app for the BB-8 Astromech Droid from Star Wars provides you with options to control the droid.
Use it to drive BB-8 actively, or send it on patrol which will have it move autonomously around instead.
Last but not least, use it to create a holographic message.
Garmin Connect Mobile requires one of Garmin's fitness devices. It enables you to upload data from the device directly to Garmin Connect, send courses and workouts to the hardware, and let others follow your activities using the Live Track feature.
Honor Quest is a real-time strategy game set in a Steampunk universe. It features tactical combat, different classes and heroes, magic and upgrades, among other things.
You can play and chat with other players, defeat opponents in the arena for rewards, or fight powerful guild bosses by joining guilds and fighting alongside your mates.
Maritime Kingdom is yet another empire/city building game for the Windows platform.
It is pirate themed, features beautiful graphics and all too familiar game play.
If you like city building games, you will probably enjoy this one as well even though it does not introduce any new features to the genre.
Pandora launched its app for desktop versions of Windows 10. It requires an account and works only if you connect from the US, Australia or New Zealand as it is not available in other countries.
The app works for the most part like the Pandora web interface. Pick a genre, or enter a song / artist to have Pandora create a playlist for you based on the information you have provided.
Sumon is a math puzzle game in which you need to connect numbers that are displayed on the board to create a target number displayed by the game.
Numbers can be selected across the board as they don't need to be adjacent to each other for that.
The game has a time limit, different levels, and three game modes. While that sounds like a lot, it is a casual game at its core.
Notable updates
AccuWeather -- Weather for Life has been redesigned. It features a new interface, location improvements, streamlined settings, Cortana integration and is universal as well now.
American Express updated its app to make it universal.
Aeries, a popular Twitter client, received a massive update this week. It features a redesigned interface, new Tweet Storm option, performance improvements and a lot more.
The update for the DJ mixer app edjing introduces a new sound system, new interface, performance improvements across the board and a new mini player mode.
Netflix updated its app this week. The update features a new user experience (new browsing, updated Details view) and made the app universal.
The Pic Arts -- Photo Studio update introduces new effects such as Lens Blur and Invert, support for new languages, and the new Shape Crop tool.
The audio app NPR One supports Cortana and offers an enhanced large screen experience now.
TripAdvisor Hotels Flights Restaurants has been updated. It is a universal Windows 10 app now.