SlotZ Racer Caterham Special Review

By Greg Dawson on February 14th, 2012
Our Rating: :: START ENGINES
iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad

For any type of race fan carrying around an iOS device, SlotZ Racer Caterham Special offers a lot of track action for a very cheap price.

While SlotZ Racer Caterham Special is a placeholder for the full version of SlotZ Racer which is temporarily unavailable while it’s updated to full HD, it has legs of its own to stand on. The original slot car racing game was born around this time in 2009 and became quite the overnight sensation.

Luckily, for all of the racing fans out there that want to take a stroll down memory lane with little fast cars on tiny tracks, the interim game offers quite a bit of race action. And it’s free. Players will also be happy to know that the gameplay is just as fun as ever and still retains the approval from Caterham Cars, which means there are five versions of the Caterham Seven car.

Controls are still extremely responsive and accurate, and they demand both precision and strategy when approaching treacherous turn four, or any turn for that matter. Too much throttle and just like when we were all kids, the car goes flying off the track. The only issue I have with this is that the car is placed right back on the track and can still overtake first place.

This is a bit far fetched as anyone knows that a wreck is fatal and there’s no chance for first place in real slot car racing. But, this is a game, and being able to takeover the leader after a nasty spill is quite fun.

In preparation for the new version coming out, this free version will work as a Party Mode controller. The game will also soon have language localization in Italian, German, French and Spanish as well as feature Caterham Drive Experience drift cars.

For the amount of gameplay, assortment of tracks, player modes and use of the Caterham cars, SlotZ Racer Caterham Special is more than a stepping stone, it’s legit entertainment worth the download.

SlotZ Racer Caterham Special

Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Buy Now: FREE

Our Rating: :: START ENGINES
Read Our Full Review >>

Released: 2012-01-09 :: Category: Games

Raid Leader Review

By Carter Dotson on February 14th, 2012
Our Rating: :: STRATEGIC RAID
Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad

Raid Leader is a strategy/RPG game that takes the kind of raiding combat seen in MMORPGs and distills it into a short-form mobile game.

Raid Leader is MMORPG combat for people who like MMORPG combat, but hate working with other people, and want the option of still having a social life. This boss-fight-athon has players controlling 3 members of a raiding party fighting bosses that optimally only take a couple minutes to defeat. The team on this raid includes the knight, who’s the big tank that gets in enemies’ faces and smashes them repeatedly. The hunter prefers to sit back and deal death from a distance. The priest can’t hurt anyone, but his healing powers make sure everyone stays alive – including himself. Gold is earned after each fight, and can be spent on abilities for each party member. These are the only way to upgrade characters, as there is no experience or leveling up. Skills include both an active ability that can be deployed in battle, and passive stat upgrades.

Raid Leader thankfully distills a genre that I generally avoid into a more mobile-friendly and solitary experience. The game’s on-the-fly strategization is rewarding, and keeps the game from being boring like combat in most MMORPGs becomes. Keeping all the party members alive is essential but not required. It would be easy for the game to instantly end when a party member dies, as that basically is game over, but this is just something for the player to learn, not to have forced upon them. Pleasantly, Raid Leader features not only universal app support, but also iCloud support for syncing progress between devices. There is an in-app purchase for more gold, but thankfully it’s got good bang for the buck – 10,000 gold for $0.99 will easily equip all party members with some solid upgraded skills.

While having multiple characters to control will always be tricky, it is just challenging to keep track of what is going on. While the knight’s focus is always clear, it can be hard to tell what the hunter and priest are doing. As well, the “drag to target” system makes it easy to move the priest or hunter into the line of fire when he just intending to target something. These issues magnify on the smaller screen devices, especially as the Notification Center drop-down tab gets in the way. The bosses are rehashed halfway through, bringing back palette-swapped harder versions of them that use similar startegies. With each boss fight only taking 2-4 minutes to beat the first time, this means the game can be burned through pretty quickly.

Raid Leader can be frustrating due to the controls, and its length is a bit disappointing, but it’s an interesting experience. Strategy fans might want to check this out – it’s a bit different than what they might expect, but it might just appeal to a certain player.

Raid Leader

Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Buy Now: $0.99

Our Rating: :: STRATEGIC RAID
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Released: 2012-02-09 :: Category: Games

Beat Hazard Ultra Review

By David Rabinowitz on February 14th, 2012
Our Rating: :: FEEL THE BEAT
iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad

A unique arcade-shooter that offers almost infinite replay value. Pilot a space ship with dynamically generated background music!

Beat Hazard Ultra is a unique arcade-shooter that offers almost infinite replay value. The basic premise is that players pilot a space ship while shooting enemies. The remarkable twist is that every level is dynamically created to match the background music.

Players can choose from any song on their iOS device or from a list of Internet radio stations as the song to generate the level from. The enemies and weapons the ship fires are synced with the song playing.
However, when the music does becomes intense, the volume of enemies and bosses becomes quite high. Combined with an increase in the power of the ship’s weapons, this can cause the screen to become quite cluttered. The bright colors of the weapons on a black background don’t help in making sense of everything on the screen.

Due to this level generation mechanism, the game has an incredible amount of depth and replay value. Every song is essentially its own level. There are four game modes to choose from for each song: Standard, Survival, Boss Rush, and Chill Out. The controls are similar to the controls of other top down shooters for iOS. The player can choose to use only one virtual analog stick to focus on movement and let the app take care of firing, or the player can control both the ship movement and direction of fire. Beat Hazard Ultra also includes twenty-three perks, which are like power-ups that give you more lives, score multipliers, or other various abilities: definitely a necessity for long, fast paced songs.

Each time the app is launched, the device’s library is scanned. It takes longer than most games to load due to this fact. A search bar would be a nice addition, as well, to expedite the song selection process.

Beat Hazard Ultra is a great game and is a steal for 99 cents. There are a few minor issues, but the many positive aspects of the game overshadow them. Music lovers and arcade junkies will all find something to love about it.

Beat Hazard Ultra

Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Buy Now: $0.99

Our Rating: :: FEEL THE BEAT
Read Our Full Review >>

Released: 2012-02-09 :: Category: Games

DoDonPachi Blissful Death Review

By Rob Thomas on February 14th, 2012
Our Rating: :: BLISSFUL MISSILES
Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad

Remember Galaga and Space Invaders? Yeah, this isn’t them by a long shot. DoDonPachi Blissful Death brings “bullet hell” into the palm of your hand.

They’re known by a variety of names: manic shooters, danmaku, or most commonly by the colorfully evocative sobriquet of “bullet hell.” No matter the moniker, this shoot-em-up sub-genre conjures to mind images of dense, impenetrable curtains of onscreen projectiles and the sort of obsessive, ultra-hardcore gamers who haven’t seen the sun for months. Personally, I’ll admit to always having been weirdly fascinated by bullet hell shooters, yet utterly terrified to try them at the same time. The skill threshold always looked to be a bit too high for me to be able to enjoy them without wanting to break things out of the assumed level of frustration I would endure.

Anyone who’s dealt with similar feelings should be warned, however, that DoDonPachi Blissful Death might be the thing that finally pulls them down the rabbit hole.

Blissful Death (DoDonPachi Daioujou in Japan) is the fourth entry in the DonPachi series. Originally released in arcades back in 2002, Blissful Death has since been ported to PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360 in Japan, before now landing on iOS. What CAVE has given us here is a version of the game that simultaneously caters to the hardcore, while easing newcomers into the fold with a variety of features.

Controls are super tight, ignoring virtual d-pads and instead guiding the ship with a single fingertip on the screen. Buttons control weapon switching/bomb activation; guns and lasers auto-fire by default, so no mashing is needed. Scoring revolves around continually destroying enemies to chain hit combos together. Tougher enemies that regular gunfire would be slow to destroy can have their chains preserved by switching to the laser, which slows the combo meter’s decay.

Players fondly remembering old-school shooters (but who still find jumping straight into the deep end intimidating) will be glad to know that the game offers four levels of difficulty, from mild Novice to the brutal Hell. This lets those unfamiliar with manic shooter mechanics (like smaller hitbox sizes of the player’s ship, compared to standard shooters) get accustomed to level layouts, while gradually increasing the number of projectiles that have to be dealt with.

There’s a fair amount of content packed into this release. Practice Mode allows players to jump straight to any level, and with two different ships and three different “Elemental Doll” enhancements, there are six total configurations to approach each level with. Full Open Feint and Game Center support give score chasers and achievement junkies their due as well.

I experienced none of the frustration I had anticipated while playing DoDonPachi Blissful Death. Indeed, a peaceful, zen-like calm often overtook me as I weaved in and out of the curtains of flaming death that the level-ending bosses would send my way. CAVE has put together one hell of a gateway drug here. Approach it with caution. And by that, I mean “throw yourself willingly into its arms.”

DoDonPachi Blissful Death

iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Buy Now: $4.99

Our Rating: :: BLISSFUL MISSILES
Read Our Full Review >>

Released: 2012-02-09 :: Category: Games

Eufloria HD Review

By Brad Hilderbrand on February 14th, 2012
Our Rating: :: SLOW BURN
iPad Only App - Designed for the iPad

A slow burn of a game that packs in the style but holds little excitement, and lots of waiting.

Every so often a game comes along which seems to exist solely to defy classification and attempt to separate itself from the crowd simply by being utterly unique. Eufloria was that sort of game when it was released on consoles last year, a real-time strategy title which pumped the brakes and came across as more an audio-visual experience than a game. Now the title has been translated to the iPad where, while it manages to retain its charm, it has a harder time standing out amongst a plethora of strange and different games. Thus the pretense is stripped away, the core gameplay mechanics are laid bare, and the result is rather humdrum.

Eufloria is an RTS which trades troops and resources for trees and seedlings. In each level players must send out their seeds to discover and colonize nearby asteroids, which in turn produce more seedlings and allow for greater exploration. Of course, the player isn’t alone in the universe and must contend with rival seed colonies who wish to claim the same extra-solar real estate. There’s a think plot involving the “Growers” and “Mother Tree,” but the aim of the game is to balance expansion with preservation, conquering other planets while protecting the ones you already posses.

The game gets high marks for its visuals and sound, both of which are an absolute treat. The seedlings appear only as tiny dots when zoomed out, but pinch in and you’ll see a nice variety to each seed type and some of the nitty-gritty action when battles break out. The color palette and general style evoke games like FlOw and FlOwer, with a sort of watercolor look that absolutely nails the title’s sensibilities. The soundtrack is also beautiful, providing a nice combination of soothing beats and tracks that would feel right at home in the local yoga studio.

Where Eufloria may lose most of its goodwill is in gameplay itself, which is incredibly slow and sometimes nearly impossible. Cultivating enough seedlings to colonize an asteroid takes time, and if an enemy is already present then you can easily triple the amount of time spent waiting around for enough floating troops to amass to stage an attack. Furthermore, some levels seem to have a very specific methodology required for victory, and unless you learn it quickly you’ll likely waste a lot of time in stalemates. I recall one stage in which the enemy horde beat me to a particularly valuable meteor which I had to hold in order to win the level. Even when I sent in enough seeds to outnumber my foes five or six to one I was still continually beaten back. After a half hour I reran the level, racing straight to the critical asteroid, and proceeded to clear the stage in under five minutes.

Still, waiting is incredibly common in Eufloria and that likely won’t sit well with many players. This is a game that wants to relax, unwind and enjoy the experience, and while I can respect the intentions there is a thin line between being artistically expressive and being boring. Even with a fast-forward button there are still long stretches of sitting around doing nothing, which isn’t the ideal game type for a device meant to be played in short bursts on the go. What we’re left with is an interesting premise that many players will give up on quickly in order to try something more exciting.

Eufloria HD

iPad Only App - Designed for the iPad
Buy Now: $4.99

Our Rating: :: SLOW BURN
Read Our Full Review >>

Released: 2012-02-09 :: Category: Games

DARIUSBURST SP Review

By Rob Rich on February 14th, 2012
Our Rating: :: BIG GUNS
Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad

TAITO brings another shmup classic to iOS, complete with some new bells and whistles.

I can’t be the only person who finds the visual direction of the Darius series to be a little odd. I mean let’s think about this for a second. It’s a space shooter, set in space, but the enemy ships all look like robotic sea creatures. It’s weird. It’s pretty cool, but it’s weird. Of course none of that matters once the shooting starts, which is where DARIUSBURST SP really shines. Obviously.

Like most shmups on the App Store, DARIUSBURST SP uses touch controls and auto-shooting. There is a button that will switch the guns on and off, but I’ve yet to figure out why that would ever be necessary. The Burst button on the other hand, with its super-weapon unleashing potential, is essential. The fact that it can nullify enemy lasers doesn’t hurt, either. Players initially have a choice between two modes (Original and SP), with a third (Mission) that unlocks once two full runs through either of the other two options have been completed. So yeah, lots to do. Original Mode is essentially the arcade classic, with plenty of branching paths and things to shoot at. SP Mode is a kind of remixed Original, with different enemy patterns and slightly different boss battles. Mission Mode… well I admittedly never managed to mess around with it, which I’ll explain in a bit.

As I’ve already mentioned, the visuals are odd but very cool. Lots of activity and smooth animations, colorful graphics and so on. There’s a decent selection of levels, and the way player have to choose where to go after each one makes for a great excuse to play over and over again. There’s no way to see every stage in a single game, so choosing different paths during different attempts is a must for completionists. They’ll also be tempted by all the artwork and other extras to unlock.

Now to get back to the reasons why I haven’t been able to give Mission Mode a try. The most immediate irritation is the way the game resets when I exit. It’s still running in the background, but when I reopen it I go back to the title screen. Not cool after a successful, lengthy and uncompleted run. Another issue was having it crash on me after defeating the boss at the end of the final area. Went right back to the title screen again. Stuff like this really gets in the way of actually finishing two playthroughs, and severely limits the likelihood of unlocking that third mode.

My super-annoying technical issues aside, DARIUSBURST SP is still a very good-looking and well-made shmup. Whether or not it’s worth the $10.99 will depend on the individual and their love of shooting space crustaceans, but it’s certainly a solid effort.

DARIUSBURST SP

Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Buy Now: $10.99

Our Rating: :: BIG GUNS
Read Our Full Review >>

Released: 2012-02-09 :: Category: Games

Tank Hero Review

By Kevin Stout on February 14th, 2012
Our Rating: :: A BLAST!
iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad

Tank Hero is a tank fighting game with three game modes and 120 unique levels.

Tank Hero looks a bit like Tanks! from Wii Play. While Tank Hero may not have the luxury to sport Wii-like controls, this tank fighting game is well-made, fun, and fully featured.

Tank Hero has three game modes: campaign, survival, and time trial. Campaign barrels through 120 different levels on three different themed maps. I will admit that, on occasion, I became frustrated with the difficulty in some of the levels. I don’t mind difficult games, but some levels were simply too chaotic to understand what exactly was going on.

The basic goal of the game is to destroy the other enemy tanks in each level. Each level has a different set of walls and tanks. Through the campaign, various types of ammo are introduced. Each tank uses one of the types of ammo. Destroyable blocks are introduced about midway through the levels.

The survival mode is my favorite. This mode is playable in all 120 levels, which is incredible considering that the point of survival mode is to last through as many waves as possible. So Tank Hero effectively has 120 unique, endless survival games. Only one type of ammo is available in each campaign level, but survival has them all available via a shop. The player earns credits during waves and buys ammo between those waves.

The time trial mode allows replay of the campaign levels with a clock in the top-left corner. This allows the player to hold a high score for each level in the game. High scores are listed after the completion of each time trial level.

Before I started playing this game, I heard it had multiple control schemes. So I immediately played the first level in the campaign with all three control variations. As I expected, I preferred the “Dual Virtual DPad” set of controls. It reminds me of the controls for Isotope which, in my opinion, has the best controls scheme for iPhone shooters. The other two control schemes are “Virtual DPad and Tap” and “Swipe and Tap.” With the first, the player controls the tank with the directional pad (choice of right or left screen side) and taps where the shots should be fired. With “Swipe and Tap,” the player swipes at various lengths to tell tank where to move and also taps the screen to aim and fire. I will admit that “Swipe and Tap” feels natural, but two directional pads gave me more control. The second directional pad controls the direction of fire and needs to be tapped to fire.

As of this moment, Tank Hero sits as the #2 Paid iPhone app.

Tank Hero

iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Buy Now: $0.99

Our Rating: :: A BLAST!
Read Our Full Review >>

Released: 2011-06-01 :: Category: Games

Interval Trainer GO CALORIE Review

By Greg Dawson on February 14th, 2012
Our Rating: :: INTERVALS
iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad

Packed with dual playlists and useful interval ratio training options, Interval Trainer GO CALORIE is a solid add to anyone’s workout schedule.

AppNoose’s Interval Trainer GO CALORIE health and fitness app is an interval trainer that includes the company’s Active Calorie Monitor that allows users to create their workout based on the calories they want to expend. The app will then automatically set the total exercise time. It is also the first to feature in-app dual music playlists, which allows the user to easily and quickly select their slow or fast tunes.

From the start, the app is very easy to use. It features a large dial that takes over the upper half of the screen, which makes it simple to jump straight into the user’s exercise after setting up their intervals and playlists. After those are setup the user need only to come back to the timer page and tap the dial to start. Tapping it again pauses and a double tap resets.

As for setup, the settings tab includes three dials, including session length ranging from two to 90 minutes, interval ranging from 10 to 60 seconds and ratios 1:1, 2:1 and 3:1. For those who are not familiar with ratios, the basic concept, developed by Dr. Izumi Tabata, is that the greatest benefits of training come from exercising at a high-intensity close to 100 percent effort for short periods and then following them up with short rests. So, if the user were to sprint for 20 seconds and then rest for 10 seconds, this would create a 30 second interval or a 2:1 interval ratio. This is an extremely useful feature.

Upon launching the app users are prompted to upgrade to version 1.4 premium for $.99, which adds higher ratio options, beep prompts for interval changes, and an end of workout audio prompt. And if they don’t upgrade, the popup will continue to appear every time the app is launched. It’s just a tap to the next screen, but it’s still off-putting. Without the upgrade, the app still offers plenty of useful features.

As a marathon runner and newbie to the hiking scene with a summit attempt coming up for Mt. Rainier, I’d have to say that Interval Trainer GO CALORIE makes interval training less complicated and gives users a great tool for optimum cardio performance.

ITGO CALORIE - Interval Trainer GO CALORIE - The First Dual Music Playlist Interval Timer with Active Calorie Monitor™ Technology

iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Buy Now: $3.99

Our Rating: :: INTERVALS
Read Our Full Review >>

Released: 2011-12-16 :: Category: Healthcare & Fitness

Armed and Gorgeous Review

By Sinan Kubba on February 13th, 2012
Our Rating: :: SKIMPY
Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad

Hack-and-slash with gorgeous engine but skimpy on depth.

Armed and Gorgeous is a 3D hack-and-slash game featuring a demoness who’s fighting off hordes of enemies while revealing the vast majority of her body. The line between making commentary on gaming’s ignominious history with scantily-clad nubile heroines and just plain featuring a scantily-clad nubile heroine in a game is a fine one, and like with Bayonetta it’s hard to tell which side of the line Armed and Gorgeous sits. The outfits unlocked later reference Tomb Raider and Soulcalibur, and the cut scene cartoons make a point of stretching her caricatured body to ridiculous proportions.

Even if I’m willing to give Armed and Gorgeous the benefit of the doubt, I have to say that unlike Bayonneta the core hack-and-slash play is severely lacking in depth. No-one’s expecting a Devil May Cry-like litany of combos, but with only two hit buttons who only produce combos when mashed singularly, only one special move, and no dodge or roll it’s hard to get too engrossed in the action, even across the short hour or so it lasts. Even the weapons and outfits unlocked as the game progresses are purely cosmetic.

It’s a shame because Armed and Gorgeous‘ engine is actually gorgeous and deserves far better. Moving the heroine around is wonderfully easy, as is aiming her attacks. In fact, the analogue-like button for movement is one of the most graceful I’ve played on the iPhone. The enemies have impressive ragdoll physics to complement superb animation, and the visual quality in general for a fully-fledged 3D game on the iPhone is quite high. The boss fights, in which I actually have to think about my attacks and timing them against a hard-hitting brute, show in particular the potential of this game and its engine.

Right now, Armed and Gorgeous is hard to recommend. It’s not just the character’s wardrobe that’s skimpy as the game itself is lacking depth and length for the current asking price. Nonetheless, it’s worth keeping an eye on Armed and Gorgeous should the developer ramp up the hack-and-slash through updates so that the play better complements the engine.

Armed and Gorgeous HD

Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Buy Now: $1.99 $2.99

Our Rating: :: SKIMPY
Read Our Full Review >>

Released: 2012-02-08 :: Category: Games

Evi Review

By Kevin Stout on February 13th, 2012
Our Rating: :: NOT QUITE SIRI
iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad

Evi is an artificial intelligence app, like Siri, that helps the user answer questions and other everyday needs. For a non-iPhone 4S user, this may be a Siri replacement.

Evi is not Siri, it’s Siri’s slightly less intelligent cousin. But, for any iPhone users that aren’t in possession of an iPhone 4S, Evi is probably the best substitution I’ve run into so far.

Let’s start with the important questions, does Evi answer questions like “What’s the answer to life, the universe, and everything?” or “Open the pod bay doors.” Yes, Evi does. The answer to life, the universe, and everything is “The meaning of life depends on the life in questions. 42 is a good approximation.” And, of course, the answer to “Open the pod bay doors” is “I’m sorry, Dave. I’m afraid I can’t do that.”

In all seriousness, Evi answers most questions, especially the basic ones, admirably. Like most speech-related apps, the user has to be precise in asking what he or she wants. For example, I asked Evi “Where can I get something to eat?” and received a page from ChaCha Answers from someone saying something like “Eat a sandwich.” While Evi completely failed that time, when I asked “What restaurants are near me,” I received five restaurants in close proximity to me. The answer was apparently powered by Yelp.

Any weather related questions that I asked were replied with a link to AccuWeather and BBC Weather. This wouldn’t have bothered me if those links were to the weather in my current location. I even would have been satisfied if the links went to my area’s weather when I specifically mentioned my hometown in the question. But in all weather-related questions, I simply received a link to those two sites and was asked to input my location. (Yes, I allowed Evi to access my location data when I first started up the app.)

Surprisingly, Evi performed poorly in a few basic areas, like weather, but it was able to answer some more complex questions rather successfully. I asked “What was Brandon Sanderson’s most recent book?” and received an answer of “The Way of Kings.” Not only was that the correct answer, but it was a great book! When I asked, “Who is Philip Seymour Hoffman,” (I had just watched Moneyball) I was hoping to get a link to an IMDb page. But I still got quite a bit of information on Philip Seymour Hoffman. Evi replied with his name, date of birth, and “the Academy Award-winning American actor.” In a link, it also provided more details. But I would have liked to see a source of those details.

Evi’s speech technology is powered by Nuance, popular creator of Dragon Dictate software. But text input is also possible. Certain frequently used question starters are even provided for quick access on the text input screen (e.g. How, Find, Buy).

Evi is not Siri. But for someone looking for a Siri-like application on something other than an iPhone 4S, this seems to be the app to go with. Most of the questions and answers during my time with Evi are in the gallery below.

Evi

iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Buy Now: $0.99

Our Rating: :: NOT QUITE SIRI
Read Our Full Review >>

Released: 2012-01-17 :: Category: Lifestyle

The Tiny Bang Story HD Review

By Dan Lee on February 13th, 2012
Our Rating: :: BEAUTIFUL
iPad Only App - Designed for the iPad

Put Tiny Planet back together again by solving puzzles in a beautiful hand-drawn world.

The Tiny Bang Story HD is an interesting, point and click style puzzle game set in a beautiful hand-drawn world. Although the interface is easy to use, the player will need their wits about them to solve some of the abstract puzzles.

The game starts with a meteor smashing into the idyllic Tiny Planet. Rather than being wiped out, the planet breaks up into dozens of puzzle pieces, which scatter. It’s down to the player to solve a number of puzzles and get Tiny Planet back up and running.

The Tiny Bang Story HD is a wonderfully serene experience. With no dialogue in the game whatsoever, the player is left to their own devices to explore areas and figure out how to progress to the next level. Each level has a main goal, but to succeed the player has to complete a number of mini-games which can range from finding puzzle pieces that are cleverly hidden, to fixing a train which then transports the player to a new location.

These mini-games are all linked, with the completion of one setting off an event that will cause another to appear. The satisfaction from doing this is immense, as bit by bit the player starts to see what effects their actions are causing on the world. When each level is completed the player then has to piece together a new area using puzzle pieces collected.

The Tiny Bang Story HD is a game where the player really needs to pay attention to their surroundings. Every area is full of little secrets which can be easily overlooked by simply having a quick glance around. Occasionally this can lead to frustration when all the player needs to proceed is a single item, but it’s tucked away somewhere obscure.

The hand drawn graphics really shine on the iPad’s big screen, giving Tiny Planet a healthy dose of character. The controls are simple, never really demanding much more than tapping the screen, or dragging and dropping items. The interface is also clutter-free; with only a few icons on display showing the player what they need to be collecting.

The Tiny Bang Story HD is a charming, engaging puzzle game that is as good to play as it is to look at. Once it’s done there is very little reason to return, but the initial play through is a most enjoyable experience.

The Tiny Bang Story HD

iPad Only App - Designed for the iPad
Buy Now: $2.99

Our Rating: :: BEAUTIFUL
Read Our Full Review >>

Released: 2012-02-09 :: Category: Games

The Sky is Falling Review

By Rob Rich on February 13th, 2012
Our Rating: :: LOW CLEARANCE
Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad

Oh crap, the ceiling is caving in! Oh crap, a giant rock is rolling after me! Oh crap, all I have is a wrench!

Lots of games are about surviving desperate situations. Fighting wars and saving the world are commonplace, but even the more “arcade” style titles usually involve some kind of scenario that no sane person would put themselves in. Raiding a house overrun with zombies? Tying a couple of balloons on and flapping around an arena filled with suicidal baddies and a pool of water with a carnivorous fish? Attempting to kill an immortal after fighting through his army of very large things with very sharp weapons? These concepts are all insane. The Sky is Falling certainly doesn’t buck the trend, but it’s just crazy enough to fit right in.

I don’t know how the poor little orange guy managed to find himself in such a bad spot, but he did, so it’s best to just go with it. He’s trapped in a collapsing cave while simultaneously being chased by a giant boulder. Not good. It’s the player’s job to tap the screen to get him to toss a wrench (at least I think it’s a wrench) towards the stalactites on the ceiling. A successful hit will reduce the rocky growth’s size up two three increments. The idea is to cut down all of the hanging formations before they get low enough for the orange guy to smack into them and get flattened by the boulder. It sounds complicated but the gameplay boils down to simply tapping the screen at various times.

Aside from the delightful retro aesthetic, it’s also easy to enjoy The Sky is Falling for its simplicity. Despite the gameplay being limited to a single touch, there are some nuances that factor in which can mean the difference between escape and a flattening. It all comes down to one thing: only a single wrench(?) can be thrown at a time. So players have to wait for the first one to either hit the ceiling or break through three layers of stalactite before they can toss another. It not only prevents spamming the spanners (*rimshot*), it also changes the way the game flows as the level progresses. The higher the ceiling, the longer it takes the wrench to reach something and the longer players have to wait before they can throw another one. Conversely, while a low ceiling means more “shots,” it also means a much smaller margin for error and significantly less time to work with.

Some might knock The Sky is Falling due to its extremely simple nature, but I’d consider that unfair. Simple games are great for the pick-up-and-play nature of iOS. Especially when the simple games are fun and make us reflexively try again and again since it’s so easy to “just try one more time.”

The Sky Is Falling

Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Buy Now: $0.99

Our Rating: :: LOW CLEARANCE
Read Our Full Review >>

Released: 2012-02-01 :: Category: Games

HQ: To Do Review

By Jennifer Allen on February 13th, 2012
Our Rating: :: PRACTICALLY PRETTY
iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad

An attractive and useful way of keeping track of projects and things that need doing.

Visual appeal is important with any app. Considering the all round stylishness of the iPad and iPhone, plain and basic looking apps just don’t quite fit the bill for many, especially when factoring in the price a person is willing to pay for something. The makers of HQ: To Do clearly got this as it’s as attractive to look at as it is to use.

It’s hard to make a To Do list app look exciting but HQ: To Do does a sound job of it. Adaptable to many different scenarios, it’s a tool that will become commonplace for many productivity focused people.

From the outset, it’s easy to add a task. A tap on Add New project and relevant options come up, covering task name, due date, whether a notification is required, its priority and a color to make it easy to spot. Color coding can be adjusted according to the user’s needs and wants with a choice of five.

Once the information has been entered, the home page of the app displays the core components, namely the due date and any notes. Most interesting is the percentage completion. Within each project, the user can add individual tasks which then correlate to the amount of the project completed. It’s a useful touch, especially for those with complex tasks at hand who need to keep track of numerous different sections of an issue.

Besides the Projects section is the Lists side of thing which lends itself neatly to something like a shopping list or present buying list. In the case of lists, the due date is removed but the all important percentage bar remains.

Swiping plays a useful role, offering delete and completion options as well as filtering, throughout both sections of the app. That’s what works so well for HQ: To Do. It’s quick and very easy to use.

While I’d have liked the option to set completed projects to automatically go to the done side of the app and Universal functionality, everything else within HQ: To Do is pretty ideal. Smart and useful, this is a productivity app that’s going to stick around on many users’ iPhones.

HQ: To Do

iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Buy Now: $0.99 $1.99

Our Rating: :: PRACTICALLY PRETTY
Read Our Full Review >>

Released: 2011-06-10 :: Category: Productivity

Dwarfs vs Orcs HD Review

By Brad Hilderbrand on February 13th, 2012
Our Rating: :: FRUSTRATING DEFENSE
iPad Only App - Designed for the iPad

A tower defense/RTS hybrid that’s high on style and low on fun.

The tower defense genre has waxed and waned in popularity over the last several years, and it’s beginning to seem as though there are no new tricks left to teach this old dog. At least, that’s the impression I get from Dwarfs vs Orcs (DvO), a generic game that is pretty to look at but not much fun to play.

DvO puts players in the shoes of dwarves who are attempting to not only hold of an encroaching orc horde, but also striving to break down their enemy’s defenses and capture their base. The basic gameplay more closely resembles an RTS than a tower defense game, but the sluggish pace and rudimentary resource management don’t really qualify it for that mantle either. Perhaps the best way to describe the game is that it’s Plants vs. Zombies if the plants should shuffle incredibly slowly across the screen.

The game offers a wealth of selectable units and some richly detailed character models, but in this case variety doesn’t really equal depth. None of the units are upgradeable and many of them are so similar to one another as to be inconsequential. Though new soldiers and defensive tools are unlocked after each stage it’s nearly impossible to determine which units are best for any given situation without substantial trial and error.

What ultimately breaks DvO for all but the most hardcore players is the difficulty, as it spikes to near insurmountable highs after only a handful of levels. Enemy attacks come with such ferocity as to be overwhelming, and once the horde sweeps over you a single time the game is setup so that it’s impossible to recover. The moment the orcs break the lines you may as well restart because failure looms.

DvO is functional and beautiful, but it’s also generic and infuriating. With so many other options available in the genre it’s hard to recommend this title over similar fare such as Spice Invaders. Stay away unless you are a masochist who feels no fear when taking on downright unfair games.

DvO

iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Buy Now: $0.99 $1.99

Our Rating: :: FRUSTRATING DEFENSE
Read Our Full Review >>

Released: 2012-01-28 :: Category: Games

EMC Review

By Jordan Minor on February 10th, 2012
Our Rating: :: COLD HARD SCIENCE
Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad

This experimental game makes nuclear physics fun.

The idea of boiling down something as complicated and scary as nuclear physics into a minimalist, indie arcade game sounds crazy. Etter Studios has seemingly pulled it off, though, with EMC. Non-physics majors may not be able to appreciate the accuracy of the science but they should still have fun playing this simple little gem.

Figuring out what to do is easy. Players tilt their device to move a white circle in the center of a black field. Meanwhile, another white circle as well as multicolored triangles are moving across the screen at will. The player’s job is to use their circle to collect the other one while avoiding the game-ending triangles. Once the circles touch tapping the screen will release an explosion, push back the triangles, give the player a point, and spawn another circle therefore repeating the process. It’s a score attack game and nothing more but frantically tilting one’s way out of death only to scrape by with a board-clearing explosion combines desperate survival with player empowerment in a way only this style of game can.

That’s all well and good but what about the science? The visuals are abstract and the music is trippy in a good way that recalls stark science-fiction but that’s not science. Those wanting a more detailed explanation can visit the developer website but the gist of it is that collecting white circles and triggering explosions represent electrons collecting photons to leap into new quantum states. It’s really interesting to see how well actual science can match up with video game mechanics.

Even without being aware of its scientific inspiration, EMC is still a fun little game with a satisfying hook. It’s the kind of time-waster perfectly suited for iPads and iPhones. EMC is a successful experiment.

EMC

Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Buy Now: $0.99 $1.99

Our Rating: :: COLD HARD SCIENCE
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Released: 2010-12-15 :: Category: Games

Lol-a-Coaster Review

By Jason Wadsworth on February 10th, 2012
Our Rating: :: UP AND DOWN
Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad

Ride the rails in a roller coaster powered by sweets, but be sure to avoid any obstacles or the outrageous ride will get cut short.

Many companies have used iOS apps in different ways to market their products and services. Some offer tools while others offer access to content. Some even release games related to their products. Often, these marketing games end up being throw away titles that are only a thinly veiled attempts at getting a brand in front of consumers. While Lol-a-Coaster is a game that is ultimately meant to market the Chupa Chups brand of lollipops, it offers players much more than just a chance to sit and stare at branding while playing a sub-par game.

Lol-a-Coaster is a simple game to play. In each level, a roller coaster automatically rolls forward over some of the most insanely twisted tracks ever conceived. By touching the screen the player can make the cars of the coaster jump to avoid crates on the tracks or to gather lollipops along the ride. Some of the sweets will speed the coaster up and others can be collected and used to unlock new coaster cars and tracks. Each car of the coaster can be changed, giving the player the ability to create any unique hodgepodge of coaster cars they like. They can even discover specific combos of cars called “Sweet Rides.”

The point of Lol-a-Coaster — other than selling lollipops at the supermarket — is to get the coaster to the end of the track before time runs out. This is accomplished by jumping to avoid obstacles and collecting speed boosting lollipops. What makes this fun is using the jumping mechanic at the right times to take full advantage of the track’s peaks and valleys. Making well timed jumps can often mean the difference between reaching the next checkpoint or not.

Lots of marketing games suffer from overly simplified gameplay meant to get the brand in front of the player for as long as possible without frustrating them, and those game suffer because of it. Fortunately, Lol-a-Coaster hasn’t fallen into this trap. While this is a simple game to play, it’s not so simple to master. It’s outrageous tracks and fast-paced gameplay also make it truly entertaining, even if it is a marketing tactic. For free it’s definitely worth a try and players will certainly have some fun with it before eventually succumbing to the ads, buying some candy, and slipping into a sugar coma.

Lol-a-Coaster

Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Buy Now: FREE

Our Rating: :: UP AND DOWN
Read Our Full Review >>

Released: 2012-01-16 :: Category: Games

Remarks Review

By Lisa Caplan on February 10th, 2012
Our Rating: :: UNREMARKABLE
iPad Only App - Designed for the iPad

Remarks has the raw ingredients of a great app, but lacks some basic features.

Remarks – Write notes and Annotate PDFs has the basic ingredients to be a wonderful note taking and annotation app, but while feature rich, it has one fatal flaw that kills the experience for those using a stylus. And as the icon, product description and in-app documentation make clear, this is an app intended for those who use these pseudo pens for writing on iPad. I have a stylus fetish of sorts, so I was eager to test this new Readdle app out.

What’s so catastrophically absent that it bears mentioning so soon? A wrist guard. As anyone who uses their iPad as a virtual notebook knows, it’s pretty hard to get comfortable unless one can rest their palm on the screen as one would on a piece of paper.

But, without a means to turn off input sensors from the unwritten-upon lower half of the screen, the resting palm leaves marks all over the page while missing intentional input from the stylus. It’s an easy thing to add in an update, but a major oversight.

I appreciate that Remarks works in both portrait and landscape mode, but even when I took pains to lift my hand, the writing experience was not nearly as smooth as with Noteshelf or Penultimate and I can’t judge it against them until a guard is in place.

I am keen on how Remarks allows users to manage folders. Just drag and drop note pages on top of one another, like icons, to create them. 

The pen and highlighter selection and colors are the standard affair and the zoom mode is useful for squeezing in more writing and as an alternative to a wrist guard. The “special joystick” to zoom seems superfluous to me, but I didn’t test the app with huge documents.

The app allows for text entries, has some shape tools and it’s easy to import images and documents for illustration or annotation.

Remarks touts itself as being a PDF annotation tool and to that end it’s great for freehand notes, but still limited compared to Readdle’s own PDF Expert or iAnnontatePDF. To be fair though, one can export a Remarks doc to other PDF apps.

I should add that occasionally when starting a new note I got an error message and had to restart the app to get to a fresh page. I also experienced several crashes.

Remarks, with some tune-ups, has the potential to fill a void between note-taking and PDF annotation productivity apps. Its simplicity is appealing and Readdle has a solid track record of making great apps. But this first release it is missing too many features and lacks the fluidity to make it remarkable in its present form.

Remarks - Write notes and Annotate PDFs

iPad Only App - Designed for the iPad
Buy Now: $4.99

Our Rating: :: UNREMARKABLE
Read Our Full Review >>

Released: 2012-02-01 :: Category: Productivity

Protoxide: Death Race Review

By Dan Lee on February 10th, 2012
Our Rating: :: APOCALYPTIC
Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad

Battle and race futuristic craft in an alternate world

Protoxide: Death Race is a hovercraft racer in the vein of WipEout or Nintendo’s F-Zero franchise. The game features an impressive 3D engine but this comes at a cost, as the game rarely thrills in terms of speed, and the enemy AI isn’t particularly potent.

Protoxide: Death Race is set in an alternate world “after 2012,” where abandoned cities are controlled by violent gangs and the only way issues are settled is via high-speed racing with no rules. It’s here where the game’s single-player campaign mode starts, as the player takes control of a new racer who wants to climb the ranks. The game actually spends a decent amount of time trying to flesh out the story, with a fair amount of text driven cutscenes.

Although the game focuses on racing, combat plays just as big a part. In fact, sometimes coming first isn’t even a requirement; instead, the player will need to take out a number of enemy craft. Dotted about each of the 16 levels are a number of weapon icons, which can be collected by flying through them. That’s about all the control player has over weapons, though, as they fire automatically when locked onto a target.

As expected, the player steers a vehicle by tilting the iOS device left or right. Acceleration is automatic, and braking/boosting is done by pressing the relevant on-screen icon. Generally this set-up works well, although a little bit too much control is lost when using the powerful boost pick-up.

The campaign is a reasonable size, but Protoxide: Death Race also comes with both WiFi and online multiplayer, featuring a race mode. Other modes, such as deathmatch, have been promised in future updates. While it is a welcome addition, finding online games proved to be difficult.

Visually the game is impressive, especially the detail on the 12 vehicles. The flip side to this is that, unless the craft is boosting, the speed is actually fairly low for this type of game. The AI never really impresses either, and there seems to be some significant rubber-banding going on, as no matter how far the player pulls ahead, the opponent craft will appear moments later.

Protoxide: Death Race is an enjoyable enough racer, with a good amount of content. While the gameplay never really excels, there’s also very little wrong with it, meaning just about anyone can pick it up in short bursts and feel satisfied.

Protoxide: Death Race

Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Buy Now: $0.99

Our Rating: :: APOCALYPTIC
Read Our Full Review >>

Released: 2011-07-14 :: Category: Games

Jigsaw Mansion 2 Review

By Rob Rich on February 10th, 2012
Our Rating: :: TOO EASY
iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad

Jigsaw Mansion 2 is bound to make plenty of puzzle fans (as in puzzle-puzzles) happy, so long as they don’t mind having their hand held all the time.

There’s something about jigsaw puzzles that speaks to a very broad audience. Pretty much everyone has a fuzzy memory or two associated with the… well I guess calling it a pastime wouldn’t be much of a stretch. For me it’s a three-way-tie between quietly helping my grandmother put one together, finally finishing that stupid 3D Millennium Falcon (all the pieces were gray!) and that episode of Salute Your Shorts when Budnick finally opens up to someone. Anyway, Jigsaw Mansion 2 does a good job of recreating the simultaneously calming and frustrating effect of putting such a puzzle together with one drawback: it’s a little too user-friendly.

The formless and nameless stand-in character used to represent the player has just inherited a mansion. A mansion filled with, surprise surprise, lots and lots of jigsaw puzzles. There are a number of galleries, each with their own collection of puzzles to frame, and more can be unlocked by spending coins earned through doing the obvious (i.e. completing puzzles). The faster a puzzle gets finished the more coins it yields. Anywhere from one to three, with a time limit that depends largely on a given puzzle’s complexity.

I’m not too crazy about some of the subject matter (a little too sappy for my taste) but I have to admit the artwork is great. Some very talented illustrators put a lot of work into these images and it shows. The coin-based progression system is also a nice touch because it encourages and rewards repeated attempts at besting a previous time. It’s also possible to create custom puzzles using personal photos, which can then be shared with friends. Pretty neat.

The thing about Jigsaw Mansion 2 that keeps bugging me is that it’s almost impossible to do badly. Pieces can be rotated and will auto-lock into place when lined up relatively accurately, as with many a puzzle game of this nature. Problem is, the pieces are all pretty much oriented correctly right out of the tray, so there’s no need to rotate them. Even without the special mat that makes these puzzles practically finish themselves (seriously, the mat makes things waaaaay too easy) I found myself zoning out after finishing a few. There’s just not much of a challenge to it. At all.

As long as no one expects something that will put their skills to the test, Jigsaw Mansion 2 won’t disappoint. It’s got plenty of oddly-shaped pieces to line up with other oddly-shaped pieces to make lots of pretty pictures. And once all the pictures are finished it’s still possible to create some custom challenges. It’s certainly not a bad game, it’s just that it’s not a particularly difficult one.

Jigsaw Mansion 2

iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Buy Now: $0.99 $1.99

Our Rating: :: TOO EASY
Read Our Full Review >>

Released: 2012-01-30 :: Category: Games

Doodlecast Pro Review

By Lisa Caplan on February 10th, 2012
Our Rating: :: SIMPLE BRILLIANCE
iPad Only App - Designed for the iPad

A simple recording tool with endless possibilities.

The beauty of Doodlecast Pro is that while its applications are limitless, it’s so simple it almost defies description. At least beyond saying if one has a visual idea that needs recording and sharing get this app.

Doodlecast, an educational and creative app for children, made its iOS debut last year. The idea behind it is to allow kids to draw and record themselves so they can watch their creative process played back to them. It also serves a learning aid when teaching little people how to write their letters and numbers. Zinc Roe took the concept and ran in a winning direction. The new pro version is a wonderful productivity app for all kinds of users.

Like its kid sister, Doodlecast Pro allows users to start with a blank sheet or simple templates like grids or comic panels, and using a basic but adequate set of standard digital painting tools record themselves creating, well, anything.

The app is not intended to serve as a teaching tool for artists, but as a teaching and communication tool for anyone. The process of creating a comic strip can be recorded, with audio, but so can a math lesson, driving directions, or a simple presentation for work.

To start, users just tap on “new doodlecast” from the homepage and an almost blank canvas appears. Up top are the recording and sharing tools in a tiny bar, and an equally unobtrusive horizontal bottom margin hosts the creative tools. They disappear when not in use and in recordings.

While there are instructions, anyone familiar with basic drawing apps will know what to do. Just in case, though: first, layout whatever is wanted as the opening frame, then tap on the record button and select either the brush, eraser or pointer tool. Speak naturally while working – the sound quality is quite good – while explaining an equation, describing a photograph or pointing your friends right to your door.

Doodlecast Pro allows users to select any photo library image as a background and recording can be paused when a scene needs changing. Once saved, the video can be exported for further editing or incorporated into a larger project in iMovie or any video editor. Playback in-app is done with a tap, and the file can be compressed.

Sharing by email is easy and the app integrates with YouTube accounts for no-hassle direct uploading. I would like to see a few more actual drawing tools, but beyond that, the app’s functionality is limited only by one’s creativity. Doodlecast Pro is so simple and refined it’s a must-have for frequent presenters and educators and a creative way to explain and share images for anyone.

Doodlecast Pro

iPad Only App - Designed for the iPad
Buy Now: $3.99 $4.99

Our Rating: :: SIMPLE BRILLIANCE
Read Our Full Review >>

Released: 2012-02-01 :: Category: Productivity

Caylus Review

By Rob Rich on February 10th, 2012
Our Rating: :: NO SIMPLE TASK
Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad

Caylus has all the trappings of a deep iOS board game, assuming complexity isn’t a problem.

History books are full of tales involving kings and queens, the lands they’ve ruled, lavish castles they’ve inhabited and the battles they’ve fought. They skimp a bit on the details involving the peasants who built said lavish castles. At least until now. Granted, a game about working one’s fingers to the bone to build a somewhat impractical house with little more than a “Thank you” (if that) doesn’t sound all that exciting, but Caylus does alright for itself. Mostly.

As I’ve said, the point of Caylus is to build a castle for the local monarch and gain their favor. Each turn is broken down into smaller turns in which players will vie for use of special buildings (farms, quarries, etc…) in order to gather resources. After everyone has finished placing their workers and claiming resource-generating structures the spoils are divvied and the next turn begins. Everyone has the option of contributing to the castle’s construction by supplying their own wood, stone and whatnot, and throwing enough materials into the job will make the king/queen happy. Sound complicated? Well that’s the “short” explanation of the rules.

See, Caylus is a very complex game. At least in comparison to what most iOS users are accustomed to. There are so many different factors to consider, and so many various things happening at a given time, that simply learning the ropes can feel like homework. During finals week. In grad school. The sluggish interface certainly doesn’t help matters. It’s also not much of a looker, but the graphics get the job done.

However, despite being one of the most daunting “board games” I’ve ever sampled on my iPhone, I’m still getting a decent amount of enjoyment out of Caylus. Little by little, all the nuances (so… many… nuances…) start to sink in and it starts to feel less like work and more like a game. A surprisingly complex game but a game nonetheless. It also supports single player, single-device multiplayer and turn-based online multiplayer options, each allowing up to five total participants (AI or otherwise).

I’m not entirely sure how well the iOS crowd will take to something like Caylus. It’s certainly an interesting resource-focused game that would fit right in with the likes of Settlers of Catan and Carcassone, but it’s nowhere near as easy to learn. Anyone with an interest in leisurely-paced board games who isn’t afraid of very in-depth instructions will most likely enjoy it, but those used to simple pick-up-and-play titles might feel like they’ve bitten off more than they can chew. I suppose there wouldn’t be any harm in giving it a shot, though.

Caylus

Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Buy Now: $4.99

Our Rating: :: NO SIMPLE TASK
Read Our Full Review >>

Released: 2012-01-16 :: Category: Games

Writing Kit Review

By Carter Dotson on February 10th, 2012
Our Rating: :: VALUABLE TOOL
Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad

Writing Kit is a text editor that focuses on writing and editing text in markdown format.

I am always on the hunt for useful new text editors for iPad, and lately, what I’ve been looking for is the best way to write in markdown on my iPad. Markdown, created in part by noted Apple enthusiast John Gruber of Daring Fireball, is designed to allow writers to type up HTML code in their text that both looks readable in the plain text, and is more easily accessed than with some of the characters that are involved in HTML text. Writing Kit is a markdown-focused text editor; it features a text tool bar above the keyboard (and persistent at the bottom of the screen for Bluetooth keyboard users) that offers access to nine commonly-used markdown commands.

For those looking to work in markdown, Writing Kit appears to be the best choice. There’s an easy preview option to see how the markdown looks as formatted text. There’s a quickly-accessible guide to markdown commands, for those just starting out with learning the syntax. Text can be exported directly to a .md file, converted to an .html file, and the source code can be copied and shared, which is perfect for someone like me who has to format text to be pasted in to WordPress. Even for those who don’t use markdown, the app’s quick-access web browser will be great for bloggers and writers who need to look up links and don’t want to switch out to Safari. That and the handy universal support make this a contender for my new iPad writing app of choice.

Writing Kit does not offer live conversion in the text to markdown formatting. This is likely due to the lack of processor capability to handle it, though; iA Writer does not support this on iPad for that very reason. The interface can be confusing at times to use – commands and icons’ purposes require some exploration to discover their exact functionality..

Writing Kit is an extremely useful app for writers, especially for those looking for a good markdown-focused editor. Especially with its useful Dropbox synchronization, this is a great tool for writers like myself.

Writing Kit - Research & Write Your Documents in Markdown

Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Buy Now: $4.99

Our Rating: :: VALUABLE TOOL
Read Our Full Review >>

Released: 2011-05-24 :: Category: Productivity

Ragdoll Blaster 3 Review

By Carter Dotson on February 9th, 2012
Our Rating: :: A BLAST
iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad

Ragdoll Blaster 3 is the newest, most colorful entry in the Ragdoll Blaster franchise from Backflip Studios.

While Backflip Studios rule the top grossing charts with DragonVale, they’re going back to their first big hit, the Ragdoll Blaster franchise, with a new sequel. The game features the same basic gameplay as the previous 2 entries: launch Ragdolls out of a cannon, trying to hit a target. Levels involve elements like timing to hit the target at a certain point, launching multiple ragdolls to interact with objects, and just incredibly precise angles as well. The big new element in Ragdoll Blaster 3 is the addition of new elements and Ragdoll types. There are now ice Ragdolls that slide across icy surfaces easily – and levels are set up to exploit this. Gold buttons can be collected in the levels, and they’re part of the quest to get 3 stars. These represent a currency also available via IAP for the game, but they aren’t used for any gameplay-altering purposes; they only are used to unlock new Ragdoll designs.

The visual style in each Ragdoll Blaster game has dramatically changed; where the first game used a doodle style, the second game had a steam punk aesthetic, Ragdoll Blaster 3 has a more cartoony and colorful style. The Ragdolls are no longer just, well, rag dolls, they actually have some character to them. It’s just an infinitely more visually appealing experience. The new environmental effects and different ragdolls make for interesting and exciting new puzzles that leave the game feeling very fresh, even compared to its predecessors. Also, the game actually has 4 stars that can be earned per level – by launching a maximum number of ragdolls, collecting all the gold buttons, and finishing under a certain time, a fourth star for each level can be unlocked. The parameters are clear, and having something to mix up the now-traditional three star system is somewhat refreshing!

While the game is available for iPhone/iPod touch and iPad, the game doesn’t feature any kind of save game synchronization, and the iPad version isn’t universal. The core gameplay is the same as the first two games, so for those not enamored with earlier entries, this one may not necessarily win them over, though the new elements are a great way to get reacquainted with the series – or for newcomers to get into it. The high-pitched voices of the ragdolls in the cutscenes between each world are extremely grating. Be ready on the volume switch!

Ragdoll Blaster 3 is a great return to a franchise that laid relatively dormant over the past couple of years. The heart of the game is as addictive as ever, and the new envrionmental aspects are great additions. Physics puzzlers fans need to check this out.

Ragdoll Blaster 3

iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Buy Now: $0.99

Our Rating: :: A BLAST
Read Our Full Review >>

Released: 2012-02-09 :: Category: Games

Call of Cthulhu: The Wasted Land Review

By Rob Thomas on February 9th, 2012
Our Rating: :: ANSWER THE CALL
Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad

Battle foul cultists and star-spawned evils amid the gas-soaked trenches of World War I in this turn-based strategy game, courtesy of Red Wasp Design.

I’ve always felt World War I to be a criminally neglected setting for games; horror-based ones especially. Thankfully, Call of Cthulhu: The Wasted Land–the first major offering from UK indie developers Red Wasp Design–helps fill that grossly underutilized niche a little more. Considering how much H.P. Lovecraft’s tales of cosmic horror were an integral component of my adolescent literary development, I jumped at the chance to review this one. Finding out that it was a turn-based strategy game (yet another of my weaknesses)? Even better.

An eerily distorted version of “It’s a Long Way to Tipperary” helps to set the mood for the proceedings. The premise sees a unit of British soldiers being joined by Professor Brightmeer from Massachusetts’ infamous Miskatonic University. Brightmeer informs Captain Hill and his men that dangerous cultists are conspiring to unleash unspeakable evil into the world and only their swift intervention can save humanity. The usual stuff, really. It’s not an incredibly original narrative, but in a game focused on combating eldritch horrors over cerebral investigation, it serves its purpose just fine.

The Wasted Land draws inspiration from a variety of pedigreed sources. Certain elements (character attributes, percentile-based skills) come directly from the pen-and-paper Call of Cthulhu RPG. Meanwhile, the Action Point-based tactical squad maneuvering and combat bear more than superficial resemblances to the classic X-COM PC strategy series. The “Basic Training” tutorial level (don’t confuse it for an “Easy” difficulty setting, despite finding it in the difficulty menu) will quickly acclimate most players to the nuts and bolts of the game and is highly recommended.

Most levels contain multiple mission objectives that reveal themselves sequentially. Some require holding specific locations for a time against waves of enemies. Others require the squad to escape the battlefield before a specific number of turns pass. The variety is welcome and it’s nice to see that Red Wasp wasn’t simply content with relying on the same thing over and over, driving players into tedium-spawned insanity.

The ending is rather anti-climactic, which is a little bit of a letdown, but even the few issues the game does have are largely tolerable. Selecting units and UI elements is a bit fiddly on the iPhone’s small screen, but the recent addition of a pinch zoom makes that part somewhat less problematic. My only real complaint is, well, that it ends, mainly.

For the amount of influence his writings have had on the realms of fantasy and horror, it’s sad that more games haven’t been set in the realms of Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos. There have been a few, sure, but they’ve been rare and the good ones are rarer still. Thankfully, Call of Cthulhu: The Wasted Land falls pretty firmly in the latter category. I’d love to see a console port and a sequel would probably make me vomit tentacles of joy. There’s certainly plenty of untapped material in Lovecraft’s shared universe to work with.

Call of Cthulhu: The Wasted Land

Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Buy Now: $4.99

Our Rating: :: ANSWER THE CALL
Read Our Full Review >>

Released: 2012-01-30 :: Category: Games

Tweetbot for iPad Review

By Carter Dotson on February 9th, 2012
Our Rating: :: WELL-BUILT MACHINE
iPad Only App - Designed for the iPad

Tweetbot for iPad is a Twitter client, created by design-conscious iOS developer Tapbots.

There are very few apps that someone could say “this has been released!” that I would buy immediately. Tweetbot for iPad was apparently on that list, because as soon as I saw on Twitter that the iPhone/iPod touch Twitter client was now available on iPad, I went out and bought it sight-unseen with an urgency unlike the way I approach many other things in my life.

Tweetbot, for the unengaged, is an app from design-conscious developer Tapbots for browsing and posting to Twitter. The iPhone/iPod version brought their design principles, along with a variety of advanced functions like gestures, user muting (be gone, banal check-in service tweets!), multiple account support, and notifications for just about everything involving the user.

Users of the iPhone/iPod touch Tweetbot will be happy to know that the app works in much the same way. Sliding right on a tweet for conversation view, sliding left to view replies to that tweet, and the user-configurable triple tap command are all here. All the configuration options are largely identical, buttons are placed in the same places, multiple account support is here. Even the new tweaks from Tweetbot’s 2.0 update for the iPhone/iPod touch have all been incorporated, and tapping on elements directly in tweets works fantastically. It just has all been designed to fit on the iPad. Timelines, lists, settings, and different accounts can all be quickly switched between on the app’s new left-side menu.

Being used to Twitter for iPad’s sliding card view, it is a little disappointing to see links take up the whole screen, along with the ‘compose new tweet’ view – with a screen that size, having a single view can feel kind of limited, though the conversation view when composing a reply is great. As well, I’m a big proponent of universal apps, and Tweetbot for iPad is not universal, but – paying for great software trumps that desire for universal support.

Having been fed up with the inadequacies of Twitter for iPad – particularly the unresolved bugs that the last update introduced and never fixed – having the Twitter client that I love to use on my iPod touch available for the iPad is something that I need. Users of the smaller version will love the experience on the iPad as it translates perfectly, and the layouts and settings feel immediately familiar. Those who haven’t used it need to check it out – it is the best designed Twitter client out there, and is a dramatic step up in the tweeting experience on iPad.

Tweetbot — A Twitter Client with Personality for iPad

iPad Only App - Designed for the iPad
Buy Now: $2.99

Our Rating: :: WELL-BUILT MACHINE
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Released: 2012-02-08 :: Category: Social Networking

Huntville Review

By Kevin Stout on February 9th, 2012
Our Rating: :: GREAT MULTIPLAYER
iPad Only App - Designed for the iPad

While Huntville may not be the most enjoyable game, it has some awesome features that can’t be overlooked.

Huntville is similar to one of those festival games where the player shoots at various objects with a laser gun. It’s a jungle-themed iPad game in which a slingshot fires at various animals that are probably illegal to hunt (e.g. giraffes and elephants). While Huntville may not be the most enjoyable game, it has some awesome features that can’t be overlooked.

In single player, the game is fairly simple. Players work their way through various levels with an increasing number of animals that come across the screen and occasionally a “boss” animal with a larger health bar. The player slingshots various types of ammo at the animals and tries not to let too many get away. If three get away (symbolized by three hearts at the top-right of the screen), the player loses.

Huntville is a “free to play” game that makes its money off of people buying “meat.” Meat and oranges (oranges are earned in levels) are the currency for various types of ammo and unlockable characters. It isn’t absolutely necessary to buy meat, which I appreciate. A player can get an almost equal amount of enjoyment from the game without spending money on in-game currency.

I only had one gameplay-related problem. I was told on some occasions that I had “run out of stamina,” but there was no stamina bar to be found. It wasn’t until about an hour later that I noticed that the slingshot itself was the stamina bar. If it’s dark brown, the stamina bar is full, and when light brown, it’s empty. Speaking of the stamina, it did NOT regenerate quick enough. With a game like this, the player has the urge to rapid fire stones. I don’t enjoy being told that I can’t.

The multiplayer is simply great. In multiplayer, iPhones with the Huntmote app connect to the iPad via bluetooth. I was quite impressed by how quickly and smoothly the iPhones linked up with the iPad. Each iPhone has its own slingshot that corresponds to the slingshot on the iPad screen. As expected, there’s a slight delay which, as a gamer, I had a hard time tolerating. But it was as close to a console experience I’ve had with an iPad. I even played on my Apple TV. Two iPhones hooked up to my iPad being AirPlay’d onto my Apple TV. That is the future of Apple gaming. And for that, I’m happy to have the game.

Huntville

iPad Only App - Designed for the iPad
Buy Now: FREE $0.99

Our Rating: :: GREAT MULTIPLAYER
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Released: 2011-12-22 :: Category: Games

Unstoppable Gorg Review

By Kevin Stout on February 9th, 2012
Our Rating: :: UNFORGETTABLE
iPad Only App - Designed for the iPad

Unstoppable Gorg is an unforgettable tower defense for the iPad with a 50s sci-fi theme and some incredibly unique gameplay elements.

The App Store is overflowing with tower defense games. Some are instant classics, like Fieldrunners, but most feel like copycats and are easily forgettable. Unstoppable Gorg is an unforgettable tower defense for the iPad with a 50s sci-fi theme and some incredibly unique gameplay elements.

In the story mode, the opening cutscene has that weird, almost creepy, 50s sci-fi movie feel. Like most tower defense games, the story mode slowly adds more towers to the arsenal, satellites in this case, to ease the player into learning the game. The player places various satellites in orbit around bases they are meant to protect. The orbits are moveable and the satellites continue firing even while the orbits are being moved. This unique orbit system completely changes the feeling during gameplay from a traditional, sit-back tower defense to an engaging, active game.

To add to the craziness of constantly moving the orbits, the paths of the enemy ships are always different, even within waves. They’re curving lines that can take a roundabout path to the base or go nearly straight at it, making the player move the satellites often. To top it off, asteroids start coming at the base and satellites from all directions. Asteroids can severely damage both the base and satellites. I’m also fairly sure I saw one destroy an enemy ship as well.

I enjoyed the arcade mode more than the storyline. Cutscenes during the storyline are great, but I like the ‘endless wave’ feel of the arcade mode. While traditional to tower defense games, the endless wave game tends to result in the most challenging and enjoyable experience.

Unfortunately, going through the storyline unlocks more satellites in the arcade mode. So for the best arcade mode experience, the storyline is necessary. The story mode is definitely enjoyable, but I’m the kind of tower defense player that wants to get into the action more quickly. Most tower defense stories take off too slowly and are simply too easy for the first few levels. This one is no different.

Unstoppable Gorg is a must-have app for any tower defense or sci-fi fan. Now go download the app and protect the Earth from UFOs!

Unstoppable Gorg

iPad Only App - Designed for the iPad
Buy Now: $1.99 $4.99

Our Rating: :: UNFORGETTABLE
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Released: 2012-01-19 :: Category: Games

Boy Loves Girl Review

By Jennifer Allen on February 9th, 2012
Our Rating: :: TOUCHING
Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad

A charming and memorable game about a boy desperate to impress a girl.

I can tell a lot about how much I’m enjoying a game when I set out to take screenshots of it and find that I keep forgetting to do so. Yes, I was so busy enjoying Boy Loves Girl that taking screenshots took a lot longer than usual. This is something that’s far from a complaint, of course!

Boy Loves Girl offers a storyline that’s a bit different from the normal things we’ve all seen in video games. It’s all about a young man who is determined to find the ultimate gift for the woman he loves. Obviously in order to make the game exciting, this is far from an easy task. As any cynical person will declare, wooing a woman is far from easy, especially the woman in Boy Loves Girl who seems obsessed with cute animals such as gazelles, kangaroos and baby elephants. She’s clearly a woman that won’t be satisfied with a box of chocolates and a romantic movie!

Gameplay is simple, certainly in comparison to the course of true love. The boy runs through each level while flying a kite made out of the moon. Along the way, he’s given objectives such as to collect a sufficient number of smiles or to touch particular clouds. The level culminates in reaching the item that the girl so desires. Clouds are quite vicious things in the way though and will quite easily gobble up or electrocute the moon, depending on their type. The combination of optional objectives and simply completing a stage keeps things interesting and rewards the player swiftly.

Controls do take some mastering. Swiping up or down moves the moon up or down and stops it colliding with the evil clouds. It doesn’t feel quite as intuitive as it could though. Drag based controls may have been more effective and swiping isn’t as responsive as it should be. Once the practice is put into it however, the controls aren’t so bad and it’s still easy to lose one’s self in the experience.

It’s a relatively minor gripe in an otherwise strong effort. Each of the seven different worlds is as creative as the last, and Boy Loves Girl is the ideal game to drop in on for short doses or extended sessions. It makes a pleasant change to play something so full of charm and originality.

Boy Loves Girl

Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Buy Now: $0.99

Our Rating: :: TOUCHING
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Released: 2011-12-21 :: Category: Games

Sudoku Seasons Review

By Jennifer Allen on February 9th, 2012
Our Rating: :: PUZZLING
iPad Only App - Designed for the iPad

Sudoku with a Valentine’s Day theme, it does exactly what the name suggests.

When thinking of romance infused gaming for Valentine’s Day, math-focused logic puzzle Sudoku isn’t the first thing to spring to mind. Sure, it’s fun and satisfyingly challenging but romantic? Not in the slightest. That doesn’t stop Sudoku Seasons giving it a darn good try though.

Instead of using numbers from 1 to 9 like a traditional Sudoku game, Sudoku Seasons focuses on using imagery with romantic connotations. A present, heart, ring, lollipop, red lips, candles, teddy bear, rose and chocolate are all used instead of logical numbers. For the Sudoku veteran, this takes some adjustment. I found it slightly harder to keep track of where relevant pieces should go compared to using conventional numbers. In terms of appearances though, it’s much more attractive to look at and does capture the spirit of Valentine’s Day reasonably well.
There are options to adjust such aesthetic features. One tap of the relevant option switches play from the aforementioned ‘goodies’ to conventional numbers. It feels a little like going against the spirit of the title but can be useful for those in need of a regular Sudoku game. The theme can also be adjusted to Mystic Gems, Icy Blue, Merry Green or Santa Red with the pieces of the puzzle changing accordingly.

Sudoku Seasons offers 30 levels per difficulty level, with three difficulties available. For the low price of $0.99, that’s a lot of Sudoku to play through. Besides the single player side of things, players can compete against friends over Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, thu seeing who can finish a puzzle fastest. Romantic elements come in the form of the Hug option in which the player can send a postcard to their loved ones. It’s a minor part of the game but it does tie into the general thematic backdrop.

Underneath the surface, Sudoku Seasons is a pretty run of the mill Sudoku game. That’s no bad thing though, given that it does the job perfectly and tries to add a few quirks of its own in the form of different shapes. It might not set the Sudoku world on fire but it will entertain for a pretty decent length of time.

Sudoku Seasons

iPad Only App - Designed for the iPad
Buy Now: $0.99

Our Rating: :: PUZZLING
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Released: 2010-11-16 :: Category: Games

My Army Review

By Jason Wadsworth on February 9th, 2012
Our Rating: :: MARCHING FORWARD
iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad

Avoid bombs, barbed wire, enemies, mines, and so many other dangers in this hectic war march.

In reality, there’s no easy way to storm an enemy beachhead, but in the world of iOS gaming, avoiding enemy soldiers, barbed wire, and land mines can be made into a challenging game in which players storm the beach over and over again in an attempt to get farther and farther. Essentially, that’s what My Army is. Simple tilt and tap controls make My Army accessible and easy to enjoy. While controls that are completely touch might give players a bit more fine control, it would make it much more difficult to tap on the other elements of the game when necessary. As it is, My Army does a great job at integrating both touch and tilt controls without having either element get in the way of the other.

In this game, players controls a line of four soldiers as they advance through enemy territory. By tilting their device, the player directs their line of soldiers to move left or right to avoid traps and enemies. While they are advancing, the soldiers are also attacked from the air by bombers and artillery shells. By swiping and tapping on the screen the players can protect their soldiers from these attacks while continuing to steer them around obstacles. The player’s soldiers automatically fire upon enemy soldiers as long as they have ammunition which is replenished by collecting ammo boxes. If the line of soldiers hits an obstacle, the first soldier in the line is killed and the game continues until the last soldier in the line is killed. Soldiers can be added to a line later by rescuing prisoners of war.

Each time a game is played, the player gains army points which can be used to upgrade their soldiers and the vehicles they can obtain during their march. There is also a fun social component to the game that lets players name soldiers in the unit after themselves and their Facebook friends.

This is a simple game where players tilt to guide soldiers through obstacles. However, there are some more sophisticated mechanics at play which keep the game interesting after repeated play. Tapping and swiping aerial attacks makes the game so much more than just tilting and dodging, while the persistent accrual of army points and upgrades gives that extra little bit of encouragement to play just one more game.

My Army

iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Buy Now: $0.99

Our Rating: :: MARCHING FORWARD
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Released: 2012-01-20 :: Category: Games