Apps Plus

We Have Moved

2012-12-05T14:33:00.001-08:00

Most of you will be aware that we have slowly been transitioning over to our new blog here and in the transition we have been cutting out certain posts and only putting them out on the new blog. I've also been warning that soon we would leave this web address completely and publish all of our content exclusively on our new blog. Well that day has come. All of the posts including our recommendations of the week, app bites, app reviews, Brick Wars, commentaries, and everything else, plus more, will now be on our new blog http://www.apps-plus.blogspot.ca/ .

If you try to use the web address for this blog (our old blog) you will automatically be redirected to the new blog so that you don't miss out on anything. If you are a mobile viewer, however, you won't receive the redirect, so this is a message to you to make sure to bookmark the new website or visit our YouTube or Blip pages so you don't miss any of our content.

From all of us at Apps Plus we look forward to see you over on our new website.

App Bites #38: Movie Guide

2012-12-04T12:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome back to another edition of App Bites. As promised today I'll feature another Windows 8 app.

Movie Guide:

Movie Guide, created by Zühlke Engineering AG, is your go-to-source for all things about a movie. I love it because I can launch the app, then right in front of me are all the new movies (and other categories too of course) and I can pick one and see a quick blurb about the movie and more. When you select a movie it shows the user's ratings of the movie as well as how well it is doing in the box office, when it comes out, and other important information that I like to look at when deciding on a movie to see. It also has nice tiles with all the major actors, producers, and directors in the movie and if you select a particular tile it will give you some information about the person and a list of all the movies they've been in. You can also see a list of movies that are similar to the movie you're looking at which is great for finding other movies that are popular in the same genre of your selection. Of course there exists websites that offer the same type of service, but with Movie Guide you get it all in one nice convenient package that happens to look great too.

So if you're interested just hit up this link here to get Movie Guide.

App Bites #37: ARMED!

2012-11-29T12:00:00.000-08:00

Today's App Bite will be the first App Bite to talk about a Windows 8 app. Exciting eh?

ARMED!:

ARMED! is, as mentioned, a Windows 8 app and it was created by Sickhead Games and you can pick it up for free right here for any of your Windows 8 devices. Basically the app is like a much simpler version of Civilization but with robots instead of people. What you do is you build different buildings that either defend, heal or create units or your main powerhouses which are like your bases. ARMED! is a played through a turn based style of play over multiple modes including one to play against your friends online. There are currently seven unique maps, and tones of upgrades and things to build. The game is very fun to play, and seems relatively glitchless which is quite a feat considering its a Windows 8 app. I also love the graphics, sure they don't compare to console or other PC games, but they do look pretty darn good for an app.

So I recommend checking this app out, just hit up the link above if you can't find it. And I'm going to try and do more App Bites or full reviews on Windows 8 apps because there really isn't much information about these extremely new apps out there and I know most of you are curious as to how good (or bad) Windows 8 apps really are. So check back soon for more Windows 8 app reviews.

Recommendations of the Week: November 28th

2012-11-28T12:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome to this week's edition of Recommendations of the Week. Today we look at three awesome YouTube channels.

Vsauce:

I want to talk a little bit about the pure awesomeness that is Vsause and by extension Vsauce 2 and 3. If you haven't heard of the YouTube channel Vsauce you need to hit up this link and check it out immediately, and trust me you won't be let down. Vsauce is this channel that does these great videos that try to answer questions like "What would happen if everyone jumped at once?" or "Why do we have two nostrils?" but the guy behind Vsauce does it in and extremely interesting way that keeps me captivated till the end of every video. There are also tonnes of other videos put out on the channel that show you cool things you can do or buy on the internet and other such information. The Vsauce 2 channel puts out videos about crazy things you'd never think of as well as recaps all of the weirdest things in the news from each month. And the Vsauce 3 channel is all about gaming.

I frequent all three of these channels and today I'm recommending that you do too. You'll find that Vsauce has a video for everyone.

Apps Plus Reminder

2012-11-27T16:04:00.001-08:00

Just a reminder to all you folks to check out our new blog over here. The official new Apps Plus blog features everything you're used to here plus more! If you've noticed that a considerably less amount of posts are being posted here it's because those posts are being shown exclusively on our new blog. So if you haven't done so already, now is the time to switch over.

Apps Plus Comms- Battlefront Part 2

2012-11-21T15:00:00.000-08:00

The Cake Loving Artist and I dive into the main campaign and finally solve the ranking system of capes in part 2 of our play through of Battlefront!

Recommendations of the Week: November 21st

2012-11-21T12:00:00.001-08:00

Welcome back to another edition of Recommendations of the Week. Let's begin.

Wii U:

Now I don't actually own a Wii U, but I have very briefly used one, so I'd still like to recommend it. I always get very excited whenever developments are made in any technological field, so naturally I was very excited when I first heard about the Wii U. That was a long time ago though when we first heard rumors of the Wii U, and man am I ever happy the wait it over. I find the Wii U to follow along with Nintendo's whole innovation theme going on. Take the Wii, for instance, which was the first console to really implement motion controls and to bring those motion controls front and centre for the whole world to have easy access too. Or look at the 3DS, though personally my eyes get extremely bothered by the 3D, I still admire their efforts in advancing 3D technology and bringing it to everyday consumers. Once again Nintendo has brought us something completely unlike the competition (as far as consoles go) with the Wii U. And word on the street is that the Wii U is actually pretty awesome. So those are the reasons as to why I'm recommending the Wii U this week.

And don't worry non-North Americans, you only have to wait a ~~short~~ long time till the Wii U arrives in your country.

Happy Birthday! Nintendo DS!

2012-11-21T12:00:00.000-08:00

Apps Plus Comms- Mass Effect Part 17

2012-11-20T14:00:00.000-08:00

The Apps Plus crew is back for more democratic Mass Effect.

Happy Birthday! Wii!

2012-11-19T12:00:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday! Gamecube!

2012-11-18T12:00:00.000-08:00

Apps Plus Comms- TIE Fighter Part 9

2012-11-16T13:00:00.000-08:00

The Cake Loving Artist does some much needed humanitarian work.

Apps Plus Comms- Kingdom Hearts Part 16

2012-11-15T17:00:00.000-08:00

Join Hatok and The Cake Loving Artist as they enter into the ring!

Apps Plus Comms- TIE Fighter Part 8

2012-11-15T15:00:00.000-08:00

The Cake Loving Artist is back and facing some new opposition.

Apps Plus Comms- Kingdom Hearts Part 15

2012-11-15T12:00:00.000-08:00

The Cake Loving Artist joins Hatok for some Kingdom Hearts action!

Recommendations of the Week: November 14th

2012-11-14T22:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome back to another edition of Recommendations of the Week. Today we look at another great book by Christopher Reich.

The First Billion:

I've recommended quite a few books by Christopher Reich in the past so it should come as no surprise to you that I'm back with another one- this time I recommend reading The First Billion. Much like Reich's other books, The First Billion is loaded with espionage and international business. The main character this time round is a millionaire who is trying to save his multi-billion dollar company from bankruptcy, and he's willing to go great lengths to do so. I won't say anymore so that I don't spoil anything.

So go check this book out, it is an awesome read.

Angry Birds Star Wars

2012-11-08T16:00:00.000-08:00

Yes today is the day, Angry Birds Star Wars is now out! The highly anticipated sequel to Angry Birds Space is here bringing along with it all your favorite Star Wars characters along with tones of new abilities for your birds. Angry Birds Star Wars is, in my opinion, the most enjoyable of the Angry Birds games and has brought renewed interest to the series for me and what is sure to be millions over the coming days.

You can pick this game up here in the App Store, or here on Google Play, or here for Windows 8.

Apps Plus Comms- Mass Effect Part 16

2012-11-07T17:00:00.000-08:00

Join us for more Democratic Mass Effect.

Recommendations of the Week: November 7th

2012-11-07T12:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome back to another edition of Recommendations of the Week. This week we talk about one of the best movies I've seen in a long time and possibly the best movie to come out of 2012.

Looper:

Looper stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt who plays the role of a "looper". Basically the year is 2044 and these guys called loopers exist to kill off, and more importantly, dispose of the future's unwanted men. In the year 2074 time travel was invented, but outlawed right away- but that doesn't mean it isn't used anymore. The mob bosses of the future have the problem of not being able to get rid of the guys they kill due to futuristic tracking systems, so they send the bodies back 30 years into the past and have loopers waiting there to shoot and dispose of the bodies. But then a new guy takes over in the future and starts "closing all the loops" which means that he has all the future selves of the loopers sent back in time to be killed by their past selves. The only problem for Gordon-Levitt is that his future self is Bruce Willis, and everybody knows how hard it is to kill someone like that. Of course Bruce Willis is back with his own agenda but I don't want to spoil anything more so I'll stop talking now.

The plot of this movie is amazing. There are so many different things going on at once- since you have the whole time travel aspect- which just makes for an awesome story (don't worry though its not to complicated that you get a migraine). The acting is great, music, and everything else is great too. One thing I love is that they did the future right. Most movies say "hey look, its the year 2044 and everyone has flying cars and there are giant sky scrapers covering every square inch of the planet and we habit all the planets, etc, etc". But Looper does it realistically, like the year 2044 is exactly like what it probably will be like. The buildings are pretty similar, technology like cell phones are quite advanced etc. Which is exactly what 2012 is compared to 1982. And yes the time travel thing isn't exactly the most realistic, but that doesn't come for 60 years in the year 2074, and hey maybe we will have time travel by then.

Looper also has the perfect balance of action and story. You get loads of blood and shooting and explosions, but you also get loads of plot and character development. And everything happens for a very logical reason, like no one just decides to take over the world or something for no reason.

All in all everything about this movie is great, and I definitely recommend seeing it. Its a 5/5 all the way.

App Bites #36: Happy Street

2012-11-06T12:00:00.000-08:00

I'm ashamed to admit it, but I am a fan of the app Happy Street.

In Happy Street you basically build houses and stores and other buildings for the people of your street and you try to complete all the missions the populous asks of you. You can also craft things and go fishing and play a few other mini-games in the app. This is a casual kids game all the way but man is it ever addictive.

Happy Street reminds me a lot of the extremely popular app Smurfs Village where you build a village for your Smurfs. Smurfs Village remains to date one of the highest grossing apps ever- even though the game is free- because of a little thing called Smurf berries. These berries speed up times to build things, go you special items, as well as other bonus things and just all around made the game better. But you get the berries you had to fork over real life money, which has earned the creators millions and caused a insane jump in the number of games that were based of this simple philosophy. This is why if you look at the top twenty grossing apps in the App Market, you'll notice that usually around 16 or more of them are free and rely solely on in app purchases. And this is exactly what happens in Happy Street, except instead of Smurf Berries, you're prompted to buy Flooz.

Regardless Happy Street is still an addictive (in a good way) and fun game that I encourage you to check out. You can get it for free here on the Play Store.

Apps Plus Comms- Battlefront Part 1

2012-11-02T12:00:00.000-07:00

In the first part of our brand new series, The Cake Loving Artist and I take on some Star Wars Battlefront!

Halloween Special: Halloween Apps

2012-10-31T12:00:00.002-07:00

If you're looking to play some Halloween themed apps then you've come to the right place. Below are some apps that have some sort of Halloween theme to it that I recommend checking out.

Cut the Rope: Spooky Box

The latest update to Cut the Rope brings the all new "Spooky Box" full of ghosts and more. Check it out in the App Store here.

Doodle Jump:

Doodle Jump is back with 10 Halloween costumes available to buy for your Doodle character. Pick it up here.

Halloween Pumpkins:

This is more of a little kids game. It's just a matching game but with pumpkins and a Halloween type themed look to the game. Grab it over here.

Halloween Special: Angry Birds Halloween

2012-10-31T12:00:00.001-07:00

Yes as suspected Rovio is back again for the third Halloween themed update so far for Angry Birds Seasons. So what is new? Ghost blocks that's what! Ghost blocks are these brand new block which, in the name of Halloween, are pure evil. Basically they can hold up other blocks, but if you launch a bird right at it, the bird will just continue right on through. The only way to destroy the ghost blocks are to have them tumble down causing them to split into four which, if they tumble enough, will then finally cause them to disappear.

Other then ghost blocks, though, there isn't really that much that is new. A new pig called Frankenswine is introduced and the other pigs have various Halloween costumes on, but other then minor aesthetics like that nothing has changed. The levels are still fun to play nonetheless and they get you in the Halloween spirit.

If you somehow don't already have Angry Birds Seasons you can click either of these links to pick it up. App Store | Google Play

Halloween Special: Halloween Recomendations

2012-10-31T12:00:00.000-07:00

Tonight's the big night- Halloween! Time for everyone to eat till they feel fat, then drink till they don't care anymore, all the while dressing up in crazy costumes and partying the night away. Since it's Halloween it's only appropriate to give you a couple of recommendations of how to make the night even better.

Have a Bonfire:

If all else fails, just add more gasoline

Having a bonfire in the background of your party makes everything better. Bonfires give you light in the darkness and warmth if you're cold, while also providing a way to cook up some dogs and smores- plus they look really cool and it's always fun to play with fire. Of course if you live in the city this might pose a problem. So I'll leave this as a recommendation for people of the suburbs and for those way out in the boonies.

Costume Contest:

Why not have a costume contest to see who can make the best costume? There's nothing like a little competition and some friendly wagers.

Free Stuff:

Take advantage of it! Everywhere you go free food, drinks, and more are literally being thrown at you! This is one of the few times a year that this happens, so take advantage of it.

Introducing Android 4.2

2012-10-30T12:00:00.000-07:00

It felt just like yesterday that I was here talking about Android 4.1.2 and now I'm back again with another update to Google's mobile operating system, and this one is fairly substantial, so called Android 4.2.

Keeping the "Jelly Been" moniker, Android 4.2 brings to the table a few impressive new features. For one we've not got something called 'Photo Sphere' which is Google's own 360-degree panorama camera option which, as implied, let's you take complete panoramic photos. The software behind the feature does all the work for you of stitching together the multiple pictures you take of the 360-degree turn.

Another feature added is 'Gesture Typing' which basically let's you use the style of typing that tonnes have already been using for a while with the Swype keyboard. Basically you just swipe your finger through all the letters on the screen for each word you want to type which makes it quicker to write your messages- it's basically like handwriting but for your phone.

Google also added the whole accounts thing to your device. This has been a big issue recently what with the massive consumerism of tablets these days. People want to have a lock screen with multiple accounts on it just like they do on their computer. For whatever reason no tablet OS maker has put this feature in until now. It should also be noted that Microsoft just released a very similar feature that comes with their Windows 8 tablet- Surface.

As well there is now support for HDTVs using Miracast and an improved Google Now. Google Now is basically the Android version of Siri, except way better. And the improvements bring on new cards for flight information, restaurant reservations, hotel confirmations, and shipping details.

The Google Search app has also subsequently been updated and met with extreme consumer satisfaction. All in all version 4.2 boils down to yet another great improvement on an already amazing operating system. Good on you Google.