Epic Review

By Blake Grundman on May 23rd, 2013
Our Rating: :: PREDICTABLY PREDICTABLE
Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad

While this may not be a truly epic kingdom, there is unquestionably more than enough depth to more than justify a free download.

When films are nearing release, who do movie studios turn to for developing licensed iOS cross-promotional tie-in games? Gameloft. Somehow the developer manages to churn out large quantities of these titles every year, including the upcoming digital companion to Blue Sky’s new flick, Epic. Can this kingdom builder live up to the implications of the movie’s grandiose name, or is this just another chance to cash in on the hype?

There is probably no better way to become familiar with a film’s universe than in game form. In the case of Epic, the kingdom building genre lends itself well to helping establish an instant tie between core characters and the player. Many of the stars are active participants as early as the tutorial, helping to ease the audience into the title’s rather predictable mechanics. When in the city mode there are constantly goals and objectives that are waiting to be attained, which help direct the overall gameplay progression.

Players will constantly be assigned tasks like creating or training troops that are then used in the game’s quasi turn-based combat. The player has very little direct influence over the action, aside from selecting a unit configuration, healing injured soldiers and gathering the materials dropped by dead adversaries. There are also occasional touch events that happen randomly throughout the battle, where a crosshair appears over a specific enemy. If reacted to quickly, a critical hit is administered, effectively helping to curb the overall length of the conflict.

Of the two main components of Epic, the city building piece seems to be far more fully realized than the combat. Upgrades to soldier units and facilities pay dividends both on and off the battlefield. Plus the many different units and structures that are unlocked through leveling up help to drive home the player’s incentive to constantly be pushing forward.

It would be a stretch to say that Epic is anything overly groundbreaking. The title manages to stay true to Gameloft’s mantra of playing it extremely conservative in game design. Ultimately it boils down to being a predictably adequate free-to-play experience that helps to further expand of the motion picture’s exposure. At the end of the day, that is probably more than Twentieth Century Fox could have ever wanted.

Epic ™

Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Buy Now: FREE
Released: 2013-05-23 :: Category: Games

Karateka Classic Review

By Carter Dotson on May 23rd, 2013
Our Rating: :: VINTAGE
Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad

Karateka Classic is a port of a classic fighting game that holds up rather well today.

Sometimes classic titles only have a pronounced effect on the people who played them when played well after their time. Playing them years later often shows that something is missing. Karateka Classic, while intriguing to me as a fan of retro games and because of its pedigree as a creation of Jordan Mechner, could easily have fallen flat for me. It’s a bit before my time, literally: the game was released in 1984, three years before my birth.

I found myself pleasantly surprised: this holds up really well for a game made in 1984.

This is a one-on-one fighting game, where players try to kill the devilish Akuma, a bad dude who kidnapped yo’ woman. So it’s time to kick their rear ends from here to Tiennamen Square. The fighting involves steadily advancing to Akuma, while fighting his minions along the way, running forward between battles. Oh, and there’s Akuma’s stupid hawk to deal with. It is the worst bird in the history of birds, the way that it comes in and gets a couple cheap shots in between battles. Bad bird.

So, with my first exposure to this game, I feared it would be just too old for me to enjoy. The thing is, the graphics may be low-resoluution, but the combat still feels fresh today. It’s got a six-button control scheme, one for low, mid, and high punches and kicks each. The fighting becomes about trying to find openings in enemy attacks to get in multiple blows while avoiding theirs, while not getting pushed back too far, because that might mean additional battles to fight.

The controls miraculously actually work pretty well on iPad and iPhone 5, keeping the game at its original aspect ratio while using the extra screen space for the buttons, which are of good enough size that I didn’t accidentally hit a button I didn’t intend do, somehow. The game is also merciful, eventually introducing a rewind feature for replaying tough battles. There’s the ability to play in color schemes that resemble old low-color monitors, but that just doesn’t do anything for me. That’s about it, though. The game has definitely aged like a fine wine. It still has that feel of being an old game, but it’s a vintage feel.

While there’s actually a remake of the original Karateka already on the App Store, for those looking for a taste of what came first, check this out – it’s launched at $0.99 and it’s a piece of gaming history that’s well worth digging into it.

Karateka Classic

Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Buy Now: $0.99
Released: 2013-05-16 :: Category: Games

Poker Night 2 Review

By Carter Dotson on May 23rd, 2013
Our Rating: :: GO TEAM VENTURE
Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad

Poker’s just better when Brock Samson is involved.

Poker Night 2 brings together Brock Samson from Venture Bros. (which has a season premiere very soon!), Claptrap from Borderlands, Ash Williams from the Evil Dead series (not voiced by Bruce Campbell, unfortunately), and Sam from Telltale’s own Sam and Max to play some high-stakes poker. Oh, and GLaDOS from Portal is the dealer. Moxxxi from Borderlands makes a silent cameo as the bartender. It’s a basic game of poker, with both Texas hold ‘em and Omaha hold ‘em (like Texas hold ‘em but with four dealt cards, two of which can be played with the community cards). However, the fun comes as much from getting to experience the witty banter from these cross-media characters meeting up.

Each character has their own playing style and personality that must be considered when playing against them. Ash is rather cocky and willing to bluff a lot. Claptrap really seems to only like to play when he has good hands, being extremely conservative. Brock will go hard when he has a good hand, but will bluff occasionally. Sam…I can’t quite figure him out but he does seem to be a bluffer. Ash scares me the most because he matches my own play style.

The banter between characters is a large part of the fun here. References to each franchise are made, so those who love each series will find plenty to be amused by, but the writing is generally funny enough that even if unfamiliar with a character, players will still generally understand the humor. The dialog can get repetitive after a long time playing, however. I’ve played a bunch of the PC version and noticed some new dialog here. Also, some cutscenes aren’t skippable, which just breaks up the flow of the game when trying to get to the next hand.

The Inventory tokens that are earned for doing well can be spent either on drinks for the other players to try and pry their secrets out, or to spend them on new designs for the decks, felts, and chips. It’s worth buying them in sets because they change the poker room into one designed after that theme, with new events and dialog that occur. For example, the Venture Bros. set features a particularly faulty teleporter from the show. It’s great fanservice for each series. The chips can’t be bought with IAP, either–they have to be earned.

Of course, winning isn’t easy. I recommend periodically sticking around after some losses just to watch the players interact with each other. Their traits may just be easier to discover when just observing. Performance-wise, the game has occasional framerate hitches on the iPhone 5, but it actually runs better than it does on my Surface Pro.

If playing poker with Brock Samson sounds like fun, then, well, Poker Night 2 is well worth a download.

Poker Night 2

Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Buy Now: $4.99
Released: 2013-05-23 :: Category: Games

Logitech has created a wired keyboard for the iPad which is the first one made specially for use in the classroom. The Logitech Wired Keyboard for iPad is designed for easy connectivity by simply plugging it in, making it easier on students and teachers, and has a key lifespan of more than five million strokes. With the wired keyboard, no longer will users need to put up with limited space on screen due to the touch screen keyboard, making it easy to type and read. I do like that!

“While tablets are enabling new ways of teaching and testing, there’s a challenge when a teacher needs to simultaneously pair multiple iPads with multiple wireless Bluetooth keyboards. We developed the Logitech Wired Keyboard for iPad to specifically solve this problem, so students can now simply plug it in and start typing.” said Mike Culver, VP and GM of mobility at Logitech, in a press release.

The keyboard is set to release in August for a retail price of $59.99.

Pocket Informant Pro Completely Redesigns Interface In Latest Update

Pocket Informant Pro has been updated to version 3.0. There is a brand new, completely redesigned interface that is beautiful and easy to use, along with a customizable event/task settings that allow you to see only the stuff you wish to see. You can even show yourself the weather in the Today, List, Week, and Month views by purchasing the option for $0.99 cents through in-app purchase.

Now go inform your informant of the upgrade by downloading it now.

Strategy game creator, Slitherine, unleashes Armageddon, its first Warhammer 40,000-based title. Warhammer 40,000: Armageddon is set during the Second War of Armageddon as players lead Imperial forces of the Armageddon Steel Legion, along with a few Space Marines, against Ghazghkull Thraka’s massive Ork Waaagh! invasion, says Pocket Gamer. The game will feature over 30 turn-based scenarios with over 100 different unit types to control.

Iain McNeil, Development Director of the Slitherine Group, said in a press release, “It is very exciting to see a game like this come alive – I just can’t wait to play it!” “It’s been almost 15 years since a turn-based strategy game set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe has been released and we think it is now time to deliver that experience to all fans around the world”.

For those who enjoy a nice game of multiplayer, a separate set of maps designed and balanced specifically for multiplayer will be available. We still have to wait until sometime in 2014 before we can begin destroying some orks.

World of Aircraft MMO Flies Into Action

Pilots, ready your planes for World War II air-based combat as MMO World of Aircraft is now available to download for $0.99 cents. Pocket Gamer reports that World of Aircraft features multiple single-player missions, though PvP is the way to go as you compete against other players for total domination of the skies above. Check out the in-game footage below that showcases just a few of the 28 available aircraft.

See you in the skies!

iBillionaire Compares Your Stock Market Portfolio To Actual Billionaire Portfolios

Need some help with your stock market investments? Well, iBillionaire helps us regular folk make better decisions by providing us with ideas from financial billionaires. You can build your own portfolio and have iBillionaire analyze and compare it to actual billionaire’s portfolios, including Warren Buffett, John Paulson, Daniel Loeb, and more. It will give you insights and information on what you can do to improve your performance by comparing it to billionaires. It certainly sounds like an interesting way to invest by getting ideas from tracking actual holdings, purchases, and sales from the billion dollar dudes.

Greedy Grub, a fun simulation game based on the work of comic artist Laurel Duermael that will launch this week, released a new gameplay trailer that stars Grub, the adorable hero. Players will take the role of this wormy hero as it’s their job to rebuild a forest after a dreadful winter. There will be eight unique character-driven episodes with quests to complete, all while meeting a cast of lovable characters, collecting unique items, and cherishing nature. Check out the trailer below which is full of tree planting excitement.

The Omni Group has released OmniPresence, bringing automatic document syncing to OmniGraffle, OmniOutliner, and OmniGraphSketcher. OmniPresence is designed to work with any Mac app that supports OS X’s Auto Save and Versions. It also lets your Mac, iPad, and iPhone apps know when a document has been edited on another device and syncs the latest copy of any document to them. It supports document syncing for teams as well, ensuring the entire group always has the latest document available on all their devices.

Another nice featured noted in The Omni Group blog is that, while it can’t prevent conflicting edits, if a document is being edited at the same time from two different devices, it detects multiple edits and saves both versions so that no edits are lost. Check out the video for more.

Zoombies: Animales de la Muerte! Review

By Carter Dotson on May 22nd, 2013
Our Rating: :: FIESTA!
iPad Only App - Designed for the iPad

Yes, a game about taking on hordes of zombified animals is as good as it sounds.

Zoombies: Animales de la Muerte started its life as a console dual-stick shooter. It’s now been realized as a line-drawing castle defense game with a lane system that evokes Plants vs. Zombies because that’s just a natural evolution, right? Well, however the game got here, this is a great iteration on a number of differing concepts.

The goal is simple: keep the zombies, called “zoombies” here because they’re zombified zoo animals, from escaping the zoo. The little boy or girl that the player controls is far more equipped than whoever was laying traps down in Plants vs. Zombies, because they come equipped with heavy firepower. Players draw a line to fire a path for their weapon, naturally keeping in mind that the zoombies will be moving after they draw their path. As well, there are recharging abilities called Especiales that serve a variety of purposes, from offensive weapons, to defensive tools meant to hinder enemies, and even ones that change the properies of enemies. The latter are thst interesting of the three: it’s possible to make enemies offer up more gold, or to even turn zoombies back in to normal animals.

These other Especiales come in to play at later times when it becomes necessary to complete some of the five missions available in each level. These missions are intelligently-handled in that they encourage the player to explore different powerups and methods of play. For example, missions where certain numbers of coins must be collected make the Midas Touch powerup necessary. Missions where only a certain number of lines must be drawn encourage intelligent path-drawing and generous Especiales usage. Completing all the missions on a level nets additional coins as well, so it’s well worth it in many ways.

The Mexican theme is used largely well – while I’m not a great judge, the stereotypes feel like they are kept to a minimum. Plus, it’s a cool way to get a setting that’s outside the normal setup, especially for a zombie game. Plus, hey – it’s nice to see a game with protagonists that aren’t just more white folks. And that there’s both the option to play as male and female characters is welcome, too. I know of gamers with kids that mention that their daughters are more likely to play games if they have a female character to play as, so having it as an option here, as well as in a multicultural setting feels like a fantastic addition.

There’s a lot to like about Zoombies: Animales de la Muerte. The blend of styles is fantastic, there’s plenty of reason to replay the levels, and there’s zombie elephants too. While the 45 levels can come and go quickly, there’s still a solid amount of game here to enjoy.

Zoombies: Animales de la Muerte!

Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Buy Now: $2.99
Released: 2013-05-02 :: Category: Games

THX tune-up™ Review

By Michael Carattini on May 22nd, 2013
Our Rating: :: EASY TV DISPLAY ADJUSTMENT
Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad

THX tune-up is a fantastic utility that makes it simple and easy to adjust your TV’s display and sound.

Most people who own a TV don’t take advantage of its customizable picture settings to get the full, high quality image it is capable of. THX tune-up™ solves this problem by offering a fantastic utility that helps people get the most out of their television and sound system. The app walks users through each step in adjusting color, contrast, aspect ratio, and much more. It’s a great tool, but may only be used once or twice, depending on how many televisions are owned.

In order to get the most out of the app, users need to connect it to their TV either by using a digital AV adapter or through Apple TV’s Airplay. For surround sound, a cable must be used, as Airplay is not supported. Once connected to the TV, users must select their equipment to get started. The app then proceeds to automatically play an audio clip of a narrator explaining exactly what to do with each adjustment. The picture adjustments include aspect ratio, brightness, contrast, color, and tint. The audio adjustments include speaker assignment and phase.

Each category is accompanied by an explanation of what the adjustment does and how to change it to the proper setting. For example, for brightness, users will see a picture of several numbered squares of varying shades. The narration directs users to adjust the brightness setting so that the ninth box is barely visible. Additionally, users may tap on the “photo” button to see an image with a dark pattern in the background. Each adjustment is accompanied by a high quality photo so that users can verify that they have made the appropriate adjustment. Other adjustments, such as color, utilize the iPhone’s camera feature to help make the proper setting.

At times, the narration may be lengthy and need to be paused or replayed so as to better understand the directions. There are buttons at the top of the screen for pausing and replaying the last few seconds. I found these buttons to be particularly helpful, as I needed to hear the directions a few times so I could accurately perform the adjustment. However, there does not seem to be a fast forward feature which would also be very helpful.

I was surprised that I actually had to make an adjustment in each category. My TV’s settings weren’t far off, but I did notice a difference in what the settings were and where they ended up after I completed all the adjustments. At the end, users may review all of their adjustments and watch a high definition THX trailer to see how it looks on their TV.

THX tune-up™ is absolutely a fantastic tool for properly adjusting the visual and audio settings on a TV. The user interface is intuitive and very well designed. However, users should keep in mind that once the adjustments are made, the app is unlikely to be used again, until a new TV is purchased, or their toddler takes the remote and changes all the settings.

THX tune-up™

Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Buy Now: $1.99
Released: 2013-01-29 :: Category: Utilities

Earth Invasion Episode I: Eclipse Review

By Campbell Bird on May 22nd, 2013
Our Rating: :: FIGHT OFF THE "BUGS"
Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad

Earth Invasion Episode I: Eclipse is a real-time strategy game that is pretty fun when it’s working.

Earth Invasion Episode I: Eclipse is a real-time strategy game set in space that involves players colonizing planets, mining resources, and building defenses to fight off invaders. The game supports three single-player game modes, including a campaign spanning 15 missions, as well as a survival mode intended to add replay value to the overall package. While all of this may sound great, Earth Invasion may not be for everyone. Also, even if it is, there are some technical issues that keep the game from being as entertaining as it might otherwise be.

The basic gameplay of Earth Invasion is similar to many other real-time strategy games. Players will mine resources to build units that will help protect them against attacks as well as eliminate their foes. To help streamline the process, however, the game allows players to build any units from colonized planets without having to worry about building specific structures or researching specific technologies. This design choice may make Earth Invasion seem simplistic to some, but it seems to serve the touch interface well.

As you fight off enemy invaders, players will have to direct their forces in battle. To do this, players can tap units and either drag in a general direction or simply tap a planet on the bottom of the screen to instruct the unit to move there. Once combat units get within range of an enemy unit, they begin to attack automatically, but players may need to perform some micromanagement in the form of producing more fighters from carrier ships to ensure victory. While this control scheme works, I would have liked to see a way to select multiple units at a time, as building a huge force and sending them across the solar system feels more tedious than it should be.

Beyond this control issue, Earth Invasion boasts some pretty frustrating technical issues can make playing it unpleasant. Because the interplanetary battles can grow rather large in scale, drops in the game’s frame rate are not uncommon while playing. I also had the game completely lock up on me toward the end of a mission, which forced me to restart the entire thing from the beginning. Luckily, I only encountered this progress-resetting issue once, but unfortunately, the game regularly does seem to perform poorly.

Overall, Earth Invasion Episode I: Eclipse is a competent streamlined version of a space age real-time strategy game. However, technical issues definitely harm the experience. If gamers are willing to fight through these issues because of a particular affinity for sci-fi strategy games, they should go ahead and pick this game up. Otherwise, I’d wait until it gets updated with performance fixes.

Earth Invasion Episode I: Eclipse

Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Buy Now: $2.99
Released: 2013-04-26 :: Category: Games

myPhoneDesktop Review

By Jennifer Allen on May 22nd, 2013
Our Rating: :: PRACTICAL
Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad

myPhoneDesktop won’t win any prizes for its looks, but it’s a useful app for those who want to transfer information between their PC or Mac and their iOS device.

Often, regular iOS users will find themselves wanting to easily transfer files and content from their desktop PC or Mac to their iOS device. Solutions such as Dropbox are great but sometimes, it’d be even easier to have a quicker solution than that. myPhoneDesktop is one such possibility, making it possible to move across text, URLs and files in, seemingly, the blink of an eye. It’s not perfect, but it certainly does the job.

Set up is extremely simple. Users create an account through the app then choose to either download a desktop client to their PC or use the web-based interface. Then, it’s just a matter of dragging and dropping content. The iOS app might not look the most attractive of tools, but it’s impressive how seamless the process of transferring content is.

Once the content has been sent over, the app immediately displays it, along with a series of contextual options. An URL or piece of text brings with it the ability to open with a specific app, search via google, open with Instapaper or even add to a contact. A specific file can be opened with an app that’s relevant to its needs, such as a photo being openable in any photo-editing apps already installed.

Rather impressively, myPhoneDesktop also deals with phone numbers in a very useful way. Send a number over to the app, and it’s possible to directly call, FaceTime or SMS it, as well as choose to save it to a contact. Potentially, myPhoneDesktop is quite the time saver thanks to such functionality.

There might be other apps out there akin to myPhoneDesktop such as Dropbox and Evernote, but I’m struggling to think of one that offers all the features that it does. While I’d have appreciated the ability to transfer a number of files at once, rather than being restricted to just one, the sheer speed and simplicity involved is quite the temptation. At $4.99, myPhoneDesktop is a useful arrow to add to one’s productivity quiver.

myPhoneDesktop – Phone on your Desktop

Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Buy Now: $4.99
Released: 2010-02-04 :: Category: Productivity

Chasing Yello Friends Review

By Jennifer Allen on May 22nd, 2013
Our Rating: :: CUTE, BASIC, RACING
Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad

Straightforward and cute, Chasing Yello Friends is also a little lacklustre in terms of content.

Following on from Endless Swimmer, Chasing Yello, Chasing Yello Friends switches tack by pitting friend against friend in a multiplayer race. It’s briefly fun but it’s too shallow to really entice.

The landscapes of Chasing Yello Friends are attractive, if immensely familiar to players of the game’s predecessor, with players swimming through a delightful pond that’s suffering from a serious problem with rocks and fire obstacles. Green enemy fish also get in the way, adding to Yello’s problems. Players must tilt their iOS device to negotiate such perils with swipes down helping Yello to duck under obstacles, while swipes up cause him to jump. It’s a simple control system and one that only takes a few seconds to master.

Each race involves a randomly-generated map to negotiate, so every time, there’s an unique challenge. Rarely does anything feel that varied though as most races feel quite similar to the last. It’s possible to compete against random players or friends via Facebook, although there’s no way of hooking up with Game Center friends: a curious and frustrating oversight. Random match ups tend to occur quickly, so it’s easy to get straight into a game but it’s really not hugely fun to play against random competition, purely because there’s little connection to them as no one chats.

Power-ups can be purchased for that extra edge in battle, with a rocket move proving particularly useful as well as a magnet that draws in all the collectibles. The basics are all here for a fun game, it just all feels a little soulless without a close-knit community onboard.

Gather some friends together via Facebook, and there’s more fun to be had, but Chasing Yello Friends still isn’t quite as thrilling as it clearly would like to be. The first five minutes of the game are the same as the subsequent hours with little evolution to really grip.

Chasing Yello Friends

Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Buy Now: FREE
Released: 2013-05-16 :: Category: Games

Blitz Brigade Review

By Andrew Stevens on May 21st, 2013
Our Rating: :: CHAMPION KILLER
Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad

Blitz Brigade is an enjoyable first-person shooter where players fight online in multiple gameplay modes, taunting their way to victory.

Blitz Brigade – Online multiplayer shooting action! is a free-to-play first-person shooter that brings fast-paced online multiplayer action to the app store. It features two team-based gameplay modes, Domination and Deathmatch, with up to 12 players. There are 5 classes with multiple weapons to unlock and upgrade as players level up, though all weapons can be purchased through in-app purchases. Players go to battle for either the Axis or the Allies while showing the enemy who’s boss by pressing a taunt button after a kill.

Blitz Brigade is addictively fun and handles rather well for a dual stick touch control game. It’s still far from perfect and can sometimes be frustrating when trying to line up an enemy. With a little help from auto-aim, it’s not often players mess up and completely miss an opponent, though it can happen. Players are going to spend time adjusting the sensitivity to find their preferences, though.

While people can purchase a more damaging weapon right from the beginning, they don’t need to purchase the higher class weapons to play well. Learn the game, the maps, and typical player routes and the better player comes out on top. Now, just imagine how great a good player would be with a purchased weapon, or wait until they level up all the way.

I found the connection to handle surprisingly well to support fairly smooth gameplay. There are still moments of lag and some games are worse than others, but for the most part of my 150+ matches, I have nothing to truly complain about as far as connection issues go.

Unfortunately, there are only four maps available, two big and two small, and that’s something that needs to be increased, quickly. Thankfully, they are exciting maps with a variety of ways to play them. The two bigger maps in domination mode have vehicles for players to use, including tanks and helicopters, offering an additional component to the gameplay that isn’t in the small deathmatch maps.

Besides multiplayer, Blitz Brigade offers 120 missions of single player training. Each mission has players fighting off waves of enemies and shooting additional objects like coins, hats, and birds to collect bonus points. It’s pretty enjoyable and provides for a somewhat difficult challenge as well. Missions have players sniping from a balcony, sitting on a gun turret, and running around a small area while shooting every enemy to earn a maximum number of points.

Blitz Brigade is a lot of fun for a short outing, especially with both single player missions and multiplayer. However, because of the limited content, players will quickly grow tired with the lack of availability in multiplayer. Free or paid, Blitz Brigade desperately needs more maps, gameplay modes, and overall customization, otherwise it won’t take long for players to lose their interest in the game.

Blitz Brigade - Online multiplayer shooting action!

Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Buy Now: FREE
Released: 2013-05-09 :: Category: Games

gMusic: A Google Music player is in the process of being updated to support Google’s All Access streaming music service. The All Access subscription service isn’t currently available on iOS through any app, but the developer of gMusic has already submitted an update to Apple that will bring the service to the iPhone or iPad, reports Cult of Mac.

Apparently the developer had the all access subscription service available within an hour of the announcement at last week’s I/O conference, though needed to work on a new interface. You can purchase gMusic right now for $1.99 and listen to music that you’ve uploaded to Google music while waiting for the update to pass.

CandyMeleon Review

By Blake Grundman on May 21st, 2013
Our Rating: :: SWEETLY ADDICTIVE
Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad

Who could say no to a Chameleon that is this cute? Feed his sweet tooth and you will see just how fun it can be!

Who knew that chameleons had such a sweet tooth? In the recently released CandyMeleon, the aforementioned lizard has to indulge his candy coated desires while managing to avoid interference from any number of different obstacles. Can this smiley-faced iguana charm his way onto iOS devices, or is it just another grin in the crowd?

Developers sure seem to love making cute game characters as of late. BulkyPix’s CandyMeleon is no exception to the trend either. This adorable little cold-blooded beast is just trying to get a sugar rush, but spiders, randomly falling boulders, and even fish that can somehow dig through the ground are trying to prevent that from happening. Luckily he has plenty of special abilities and power-ups at his disposal in order to maximize his sugary intake.

The crux of the game is simple. Players use the left and right tilt control to move the chameleon, and can also press on the screen to extend its tongue. This can be used to snag sweet treats out of the air or prevent flying creatures from stealing his precious life hearts. All it takes are three hits from enemies and his round comes to an end. Remaining aware of the surroundings are critical to being successful.

As is the case with most free-to-play titles, CandyMeleon has a limited amount of turns that can be played before the player must either purchase more rounds using hard earned cash, or wait for round hearts to regenerate. The unfortunate fact of the matter is that for a game that is this addictive, it takes an exorbitant amount of time for these hearts to come back, so much so that the player could very well lose interest. What is most disappointing is that in sessions where the player can proceed uninterrupted through either the time trial or challenge mode it is extremely fun. However, extreme waits punctuate things enough to ruin any sort of flow that the game successfully manages to establish.

It doesn’t matter if a game is excessively enjoyable if the player is left watching the clock more than they are playing. Though there are plenty of redeeming facets of CandyMeleon, there just isn’t enough variety to justify sending any cash on in-app purchases. Those that enjoy their gaming in extremely small doses will find plenty to love, they just can’t expect to play for hours on end without attempts to pry into their wallet.

CandyMeleon

Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Buy Now: FREE
Released: 2013-05-01 :: Category: Games

Fire & Forget: The Final Assault Review

By Rob Rich on May 21st, 2013
Our Rating: :: MY CAR IS FIGHT
Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad

Fire & Forget: The Final Assault is one crazy post-apocalyptic ride.

Just once I’d like to see a post-apocalyptic world where people are able to rebuild society without the threat of mutants, zombies, raiders, wackos, or any other form of nasty stuff. I mean come on, hasn’t humanity endured enough by that point? Of course such a concept would probably make for a fairly uninteresting game, so until someone finds a way we have Fire & Forget: The Final Assault to slake our road warrior blood lust.

A lone hero has been called back into action after preventing an attack aimed at the International Congress of Peace. Now he’s got to hop into his Thunder Master III and put a stop to a mad general’s plans, or die trying. It’s kind of like the Playstation 2 release of Spy Hunter. Players must steer their Thunder Master III down an assortment of treacherous highways as they pursue their target; darting between barricades, blasting rivals with lasers or missiles, and even converting to hover mode to glide harmlessly over mines and shoot down bombers. This isn’t an “endless” game, however. Each level has a definitive path to follow and hazards to avoid, complete with boss fight at the end, while the Thunder Master III can take a fair amount of punishment before getting blown to bits. That’s not to say it’s invincible, but it can take a licking as well as repair itself by driving through health power-ups.

Fire & Forget uses a pretty impressive combination of horizontal and vertical level design, but what really makes it so cool is the fact that it’s up to the player to decide when and where to take to the skies or the ground. They can use their hover jets in quick bursts to “jump” over obstacles, steer around them, blast through them, or simply spend most of their time in the air. Completing levels also earns medals (and completing them with enough points earns more), which unlock new car parts and paint colors that can be equipped as soon as they’re available.

I’ve never been a big fan of tilt-to-steer controls, and Fire & Forget‘s are no exception. They’re manageable, but even after adjusting the sensitivity they just didn’t click with me. They can also lead to trouble when transitioning between ground and air modes as the vertical tilt controls kick in as soon as the Thunder Master III is airborne, usually resulting in some frantic tilting in order to reorient the deathmobile.

Despite the occasional control problems Fire & Forget can still be plenty of hectic arcade fun. Being able to shift between the air and ground at a moment’s notice gives players the opportunity to approach each level in a variety of ways, and there are quite a few Thunder Master upgrades to chase after. Simply put: it’s fun and gives players good reason to stick with it.

Fire & Forget The Final Assault

Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Buy Now: $1.99
Released: 2013-05-16 :: Category: Games

Appy Geek Updates With Enhanced Design and Customizable Home Screen

A new update is available for Appy Geek – tech news, which adds fully optimized viewing for the iPad along with an enhanced design. Users can now customize the app, selecting topics of interest and adding them to their home page. There’s also the ability to set custom alerts on selected topics, keeping users up to date on the latest in tech news. Sound like fun? Check it out now in the App Store.

148Apps: First off, how in the heck to you pronounce “rymdkapsel?” And what does it mean/refer to?
Martin Jonasson (MJ): When I started working on the game (unaware what I was getting myself into) I just named the project file “spaceblocks” because that felt nice and descriptive. But as the game grew it became clear that I would have to come up with something more interesting. I wanted something that sounded vaguely russian. I threw around a whole bunch of names before I finally settled on “rymdkapsel“. It’s the Swedish word for space capsule (rymd = space, kapsel = capsule). One thing I didn’t quite expect was how much of a hard time Americans would have with it. The Y seems to really throw people off. It’s pronounced “rimdcapsel”. Either way, I’m stuck with it now.

148Apps: So where did all of this come from? By which I mean the gameplay concept, abstract and simplified visuals, setting, and so on.
MJ: I’m not quite sure where it all came from! I started working on the game right after GDC last year. I needed a bit of a break from what I was working on at the time and figured I’d take a week to knock out a quick prototype of this idea I had. The original idea also featured a space station, but the element that stood out in my mind was having your station be attacked, losing pressure containment and seeing your little space-station dudes get blown into space flailing helplessly. As I was fiddling with the mechanics of building the station I discovered that it was very pleasant to just build a nicely organized station. I knew from previous prototypes and plenty of Tetris playing that Tetrominoes are perhaps the most satisfying to build with, so I put those in early on and the building felt great. As the building parts felt so good I decided to focus in on that and put another week on the prototype. Those two weeks grew to a month, and then two months, and then all of a sudden I had a game.

The minimalism also comes from previous prototypes I’ve made. The concept of removing cruft [the leftovers] to expose the “core” of a game has proved very successful for me in the past, so digging deeper in that made a lot of sense. It also aligns very well with me being just a one-man team (arguably two with Niklas Ström on music), keeping the graphics minimal makes my work burden smaller.

148Apps: Was releasing on PSN before iOS a strategic decision or is that just sort of how it worked out?
MJ: The game was originally made with the iPad in mind, and the first teaser trailer I released back in June last year is in fact filmed off of the screen of my iPad 1. After posting that I was contacted by Sony who asked if I would be interested in putting the game on their platform. The game has evolved a bit since then, but it’s definitely made with a touch screen in mind from the very beginning.

It also uses some magical technology to target all three platforms (Playstation Mobile, iOS, and Android) using essentially the same code base, so any improvements I make for one version will be easily brought over to the others.

148Apps: Please tell me you have future plans for rymdkapsel. More content/challenges, a sequel, SOMETHING. Pretty please?
MJ: I’m not quite sure what my future plans for the game are at the moment. I agree that it’s ripe for expansion, but at the same time it’s hard to keep it aggressively minimalist and at the same time add a bunch of stuff. I’d say it depends quite a bit on how it does once it hits the bigger platforms. At the very least I hope to get Game Center support in there before releasing on iOS, but I haven’t had time to look into that yet so I’m not sure if I can make it in time.

Big thank you to Martin for answering all our questions, and especially for shedding some light on rymdkapsel’s pronunciation. You all should keep an eye out for it when it hits the App Store this July. No official price has been given but Martin promises it will be less than the current $5 going rate on the Vita.

Pocket Gamer reports that War Balloon has revealed plans for future updates to it’s space sim, Star Command. There will be a new hull indicator that keeps the player aware of the possibility of their ship exploding, should it take too much damage. Also, if fires go unattended, they will spread out and cause even more damage to your ship. Players will even get away teams to explore planets and invade enemy ships.

Catch a Ninja Review

By Jordan Minor on May 21st, 2013
Our Rating: :: CATCH AND RELEASE
iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad

It turns out ninjas aren’t that much tougher than fruit.

Catch a Ninja is one of those all-too-common games that are so unexceptional they are actually difficult to review. It does nothing that great worth describing but nothing that bad either. The best thing that can be said is at least it’s on the upside of average.

Catch a Ninja is mostly Fruit Ninja but with actual ninjas. Instead of slashing apples and watermelons out of the air, players slash villainous, invading ninjas out of existence. The way the ninjas sneakily pop out into the foreground gives the a game a Whac-A-Mole feeling as well, but the focus on slashing while avoiding bombs will remind many of Halfbrick’s work.

The ninjas are small and they show up fast, so slashing soon boils down to reflexive tapping. It’s easy to get a groove going but it’s more mindless muscle memory than Zen satisfaction. Bombs and stray ninjas are quick to cause damage but extra lives show up often enough it’s never too big of a deal. Plus, the one special attack slashes away everything on screen which is pretty much all one could want from a special attack.

While this is all fine and fun, at least in how inoffensive it is, Catch a Ninja doesn’t offer many reasons to keep playing past a round or two. The three unique maps have lovely, painted art styles, but their differences change virtually nothing about the gameplay. There’s a score-based classic mode and a time-based survival mode but, again, the actual impact on play style is negligible. As for the music, it’s “best” trait is how eerily perfect it nails the sound of “generic video game music.”

Catch a Ninja is a competent game and a fine time-waster. At this point in the App Store’s development though, even the time-wasters should be finding fresh ways to stand out.

Catch a Ninja

iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Buy Now: $0.99
Released: 2013-05-16 :: Category: Games

On This Episode:

Break into those tombs!

Episode Cast:

Music:

• “Beatnes7 (Theme to The Portable Podcast)” by The Eternal – Download on iTunes here:
• “Nanocarp” by The Eternal

How to Listen:

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Apps From This Episode:

Tomb Breaker

Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Buy Now: FREE
Released: 2013-05-03 :: Category: Games

Circadia

Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Buy Now: $0.99
Released: 2012-02-17 :: Category: Games

Twirdie

iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Buy Now: $0.99
Released: 2011-06-15 :: Category: Games

Flickr Upgrades Its Free Users To 1 Terabyte Of Photo And Video Storage

Flickr made a major change to its service, now offerings a terabyte of free space for you to try and fill, for free. Flickr’s blog mentions that you could take a photo every hour for forty years without using up your space. Flickr allows you to share your photos in full resolution without losing any quality, letting you share your images in their original, high quality format. The service is now ad supported, and users can pay $50 a year to remove them. Flickr Pro accounts are also no longer available, though current Pro users can retain and renew their accounts annually.

NonoCube Review

By Rob Rich on May 21st, 2013
Our Rating: :: CUBE LOVE
Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad

Nonograms in 3D are just as awesome as they are in 2D.

I didn’t realize it until I took the time to ponder a few puzzles but I absolutely love nonograms, which are like sudoku but with filling-in boxes that make pictures rather than fitting numbers into a grid. NonoCube is the same thing, only instead of a series of 2D boxes it uses a bunch of 3D cubes. Players still have to chip away at a given puzzle piece by piece in order to reveal the object hidden within, but now in 3D! Despite sounding gimmicky it’s actually pretty awesome.

NonoCube is filled with objects to unveil, starting out simply and getting progressively more difficult until players are analyzing massive 9X8 boxes and taking a look at cross sections. It’s all based on a process of mathematical elimination. For example, if one side of a cube displays a 1 it indicates that there should only be one cube in that row. The trick is cross-referencing one row with another to try and figure out which cubes need to stay and which ones can get lost. If players make three mistakes on a puzzle they’re done and have to start over, however they can keep going so long as they have two or fewer errors. If they finish the puzzle without a single mistake they earn a Perfect, as well as a “trophy” of the item they just uncovered.

As I’ve said, I love games like NonoCube, 3D or not, and that hasn’t changed. It’s very hard for me to stop at just one puzzle, or even five. I also compulsively strive for perfects across the board. I was a little worried that the extra dimension would make ticking off all the necessary boxes a pain but there’s actually a useful mass-selection mechanic that allows players to select all the cubes in a row for either shielding or destruction. It makes dealing with the larger puzzles a lot easier than I imagine they’d be without such a feature.

Unfortunately, the tools aren’t perfect. Specifically, it’s the tool selection buttons that are the problem. They don’t always register when I tap them and unless I’m staring at them when I try to change to the shield or bomb I don’t often notice that they haven’t changed. This has resulted in accidentally removing a cube I intended to shield on several occasions and completely derailed my chances at a Perfect score. There is an option to restart a puzzle in order to attain the coveted rank, but it can’t actually be reset from the inside. I have to back out to the menu to do it instead. (Note: I’ve been informed by the developer that there is actually a reset button inside the Help menu that can be used to restart from within a puzzle)

Of course a few minor irritations aren’t enough to keep me from thoroughly enjoying NonoCube. Granted I’m a sucker for these kinds of puzzle games but that doesn’t make it unworthy of the attention. Especially for fans of this sort of thing.

NonoCube

Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Buy Now: $1.99
Released: 2013-05-15 :: Category: Games

Khan Academy Review

By David Rabinowitz on May 21st, 2013
Our Rating: :: LEARN ANYTHING
Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad

Khan Academy is a popular and free online collection of education videos. The app is a quick and easy way to watch any of its thousands of videos.

Khan Academy is a free, online collection of over 4,000 academic videos. Online learning and Massively Open Online Classes (MOOCs) are all the rage right now and Kahn Academy is at the forefront of the movement. It is one of the most popular learning resources on the web, and the iOS app is a perfect portal to its vast information archive. The iPad version has more features than the barebones iPhone version, but both allow for easy access to instructional videos and should be in every student’s arsenal.

The Khan Academy iPhone app is not as good as accessing the website on a desktop or laptop computer, but it definitely gets the job done. The iPhone app is simply a portal to viewing videos from Kahn Academy. The website is much more full feature, and on it users can make an account, collaborative with peers, and track their progress on a “Map of Knowledge.” The iPhone app doesn’t allow users to login and access their account or do anything besides watch video.

The iPad app is another story. On the iPad, users can login to their account, see their achievements, and track their progress. Users who have an account also get credit for watching a video. Another great feature of the iPad app is that videos can be downloaded for offline access. The iPad version is definitely more full-featured than the iPhone version, but that isn’t surprising since the first version of the app was only for the iPad and iPhone compatibility was added later. Hopefully the iPhone version will be updated to allow users to login and track their progress in the future.

A minor inconvenience I noticed is that the categories in the iOS app don’t match up perfectly with the website. For instance, the website has computer science as its own category, whereas the app has it as a subset of Science and Economics.

I personally love Khan Academy. I used it when I was in school to get help and I highly recommend it. The website is great and the iPad version of the app is almost as good. The iPhone version of the app is barebones right now, but hopefully it will be updated soon to include more features. Either way, the videos are great and totally justify downloading this free app. Salman Khan, the creator of Khan Academy, is a phenomenal teacher and is a truly gifted at explaining difficult subjects.

Khan Academy

Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Buy Now: FREE
Released: 2012-03-11 :: Category: Education

Street Fighter IV Is Part Of Capcom’s Summer Kickoff Sale, Now Only $0.99 Cents

Pocket Gamer reports that Street Fighter IV is currently available to download for only $0.99 cents as part of Capcom’s summer kickoff sale. The brawler features 14 characters with 11 different environments and an arcade mode to fight in head-to-head battles with your friends via Bluetooth.

PhotoNova+ 2 Review

By Angela LaFollette on May 21st, 2013
Our Rating: :: ALMOST PICTURE PERFECT
iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad

A free powerful photo editing app that offers plenty of impressive tools to help users create beautiful photographs.

Photography apps are clearly not going anywhere anytime soon. These apps allow anyone to perform some of the tasks of the professional photographer thanks to the wide range of editing tools that they offer. It’s especially hard to find good free photo apps that are packed with impressive features and aren’t loaded with in-app purchases—until now.

PhotoNova+ 2 is a free photo editor that comes loaded with plenty of other tools to turn photographs into stunning works of art. To get started, users simply open the app and import or take a photo. There are a wide range of tools located at the bottom of the screen. Swiping to the left or right allows users to explore them all. Any changes that are made show up instantly on the iOS screen.

The lasso tool allows users to quickly and effectively select a section of a photograph. A new section of tools pops up on the bottom of the screen like filters, tones and vintage effects to give users more customization options. The editing tools are quite impressive for a free app, and there are plenty of selections.

Other tools include the green screen tool, focus, vignette, paint, fix, stretch and swirl. All of the tools are automated and work almost instantly. The most impressive feature is that the app comes with over 200 effects and frames to use that were created by professional designers.

If at any time users make a mistake or wish to compare the altered photo, the original can be restored or examined at any time. After all editing is finished, completed photos can be shared via Photo Library, Facebook, Instagram, Email or Twitter.

The only issue that I had is that the interface could be more user friendly and straightforward. For instance, the app worked in landscape mode but only when my iPhone was turned to the left instead of the right. I also couldn’t zoom into the photo when using the lasso tool to make sure I traced the image perfectly. Updated to add that users can zoom in and out by tapping the on/off button to toggle back and forth, which in turn provides more control.

What’s great about PhotoNova +2 is that there aren’t any in-app purchases. It is completely free, although it does come with free app of the day advertisements as well as a banner encouraging users to buy their original PhotoNova 2 app.

All in all, it’s quite a useful and powerful app that’s perfect for professional and non-professional users. I’d recommend adding it to the app collection to explore all that it has to offer.

PhotoNova+ 2 - Photo Editor with Selective FX & Lasso

iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Buy Now: FREE
Released: 2013-05-11 :: Category: Photography

Slice Can Track Your Shipments On A Single Map

Slice – Save Money & Track Your Packages lets you follow the shipping process of your online orders on a single map and alerts you when a package has shipped, is out for delivery, or has been delivered. The app accesses your email and pulls in all information on order confirmations and tracking info, allowing you to view it in the app. If a site provides tracking information, the app will access it and show it to you on its map. It also lets you track returns or other outgoing packages and saves you money by alerting you when items you’ve bought have dropped in price.