Best Iphone Apps Review

Catacombs is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

( $0.99 )

A great top-down dungeon shooter with perfect controls

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Newton’s Balls: Kinetic Physics Newton’s Cradle Simulator is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

You know the look.  You know the sound.  

Some things you hear and never forget them.  The ‘chung-chung’ sound of a Law & Order episode.  The sound of the Bionic Woman or the $6 Million Dollar Man running.  The sound the moving red eye of a Cylon from the original Battlestar Galactica. 

Chances are, you’ve seen a Newton’s Cradle before.  In science or physics class, the teacher would break out one of those bad boys to illustrate the principle of Conservation of Momentum, or maybe the difference between potential and kinetic energy. And, yeah, the Cradle might have taught you about science, but in truth, it was just fun to watch and play with. 

Now, through Logic Consulting, LLC, you can have your very own simulated Newton’s Cradle on your iPhone or iPod Touch.  

And it’s a very realistic simulation; object movement is fluid and natural and it looks (to a point) and sounds just like the real thing..  Using the tip of your finger, you can touch a ball, draw it back, let it go or even fling it (be careful, though, since you can easily get these tangled up) towards the other balls at rest.  The simulator will take it from there.  The balls (which can be set to chrome steel or wood) clack against each other in that characteristic way you’ve come to know and love.  Wood makes a different sound than steel and you can clearly hear the difference on this app.  And as added bonuses, you can switch on the accelerometer to mimic the effect of gravity, tilt your device to affect the arc and swing of the balls, lock a tilt in place and even add or subtract the number of balls hanging from the cradle. 

The only drawback of this app, and I’m not entirely sure that it’s a drawback of the app so much as the actual toy itself itself, is that I don’t know that it can hold your attention for long periods of time.  After a few minutes, I got bored.  I also worry that the $1.99 price tag might scare away otherwise interested buyers even though this is clearly a quality app. 

And- for what it’s worth to you- the original inventor of the Newton’s Cradle toy has approved this particular Newton’s Cradle app.  I also have to be honest: I wasn’t expecting to be as easily entertained as I was playing around with this thing.  It makes for a nice, fun diversion. 

iTunes Link – Newton’s Balls Kinetic Physics Newton’s Cradle Simulator 

Version 1.0 

Tested on an iPod Touch 3.1.3

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iPad Gets April 3 U.S. Launch Date is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

Apple’s touch-screen iPad tablet has received an official U.S. launch date of April 3, with launches in international markets to follow later that month.

The 3G version of the iPad launches later in April as well. On Friday, Apple confirmed the markets outside the U.S. in which the iPad will launch: Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK.

Equipped with a multi-touch screen and accelerometers like sister tech iPhone and iPod Touch, the iPad has drawn some interest from game developers, particularly those who have already found success on the iPhone. Existing iPhone games can be run on the iPad with no modification, either centered in the screen at original resolution, or pixel-doubled to cover about two-thirds of the screen.

Neil Young, head of iPhone developer Ngmoco, recently told Gamasutra his company has been readying “a lot of support” for the device, and PopCap’s Andrew Stein has suggested the larger screen can enable new kinds of touch-and-tilt gaming experiences for which the iPhone is too small.

Even companies outside of the mobile gaming field are paying attention: Epic Games, which has recently begun developing a version of its Unreal Engine 3 development platform for the iPhone, says it will likely explore opportunities on the iPad, too.

Only Nintendo, which enjoys a major share of the portable gaming market, was unimpressed by the iPad reveal; president Satoru Iwata dismissed it as a “bigger iPod touch.” Nintendo itself, however, is sizing up its portable with the U.S. launch of the larger-screened DSI XL at the end of March, just days before the iPad hits stores.

Cross Research analyst Shannon Cross told Reuters that the iPad could sell 4 to 5 million units in its first year.

The screen is a 9.7-inch IPS display, and the device is half an inch thick and weighs 1.5 pounds. The device is available in 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB versions. Pricing for the iPad lands in between iPods and Macbooks. Wi-fi-only iPads cost $499, $599, and $699 for 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB variants, respectively. Models with wi-fi and 3G go for $629, $729, and $829.

[This news item was written by Leigh Alexander and originally appeared at FingerGaming sister site Gamasutra.]

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Round-Up: Gamasutra Network Jobs, Week Of March 5 is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

In this round-up, Gamasutra highlights some of the notable jobs posted in its industry-leading game jobs section this week, including positions from Sledgehammer Games, Crystal Dynamics and more.

Each position posted by employers will appear on the main Gamasutra job board, and appear in the site’s daily and weekly newsletters, reaching our readers directly.

It will also be cross-posted for free across its network of submarket sites, which includes content sites focused on online worlds, cellphone games, ’serious games’, independent games and more.

Some of the notable jobs posted this week include:

Activision Minneapolis: Associate Producer
“Great games start with great people. Join Activision Minneapolis to help take some of the biggest brands in the business to the next level, our portfolio includes, Bakugan, Monster Jam, Cabela’s, Rapala, iCarly and many more household names. We run a flat organization where innovation, passion, personal responsibility and individual contribution are valued and rewarded appropriately. If you are a success oriented, proven high achiever, we want to hear from you.”

Monolith Productions: Staff Software Engineer, Engine
“As a Senior Engine generalist you will work closely with the Game Team leads and the rest of your peers on the Core Technology Team to develop state-of-the-art runtime technology for the PS3, XBOX 360 and PC. Your domain will span the entire engine and your responsibilities will include both optimizations of current-gen systems and design and implementation of pivotal new technology for the next generation of consoles.”

Rockstar North: Graphics Programmer
“Rockstar North, one of the world’s leading video game developers, is a community of creative individuals from a variety of backgrounds. We are based in Scotland out of modern, spacious, purpose-built studios at the heart of Edinburgh. We develop original game titles and are proud to be the developer of the phenomenally successful Grand Theft Auto series. Rockstar North has been part of the Rockstar family since 1999.”

Sledgehammer Games: TEA – Concept Artist
“Check out our brand new studio, headed up by industry veterans Glen Schofield as Vice President and GM and Michael Condrey as Vice President and COO, the leaders of the Dead Space franchise. They are joined at Sledgehammer Games by many award winning developers from across the industry. Sledgehammer Games is actively recruiting top industry talent to join their development team. Our studio based in sunny Foster City and is walking distance to plenty of restaurants and shopping, or one of our two free gyms.”

Crystal Dynamics: Environment Artist
“Crystal Dynamics is an award winning, leading game studio located in the heart of San Francisco’s Bay Area. Founded in 1992, Crystal Dynamics has grown into a world class development studio by developing key franchises. Crystal Dynamics is poised to lay the groundwork for the next generation of innovative and technologically stunning projects. Want to be on the front lines of these brand new projects? We’re hiring across all disciplines, apply today!”

To browse hundreds of similar jobs, and for more information on searching, responding to, or posting game industry-relevant jobs to the top source for jobs in the business, please visit Gamasutra’s job board now.

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Magellan RoadMate 2010 North America is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

While the basis for the GPS functions in RoadMate is as good as we’ve seen in any other GPS app for the iPhone, it’s once again the little things that are lacking. RoadMate is, as we’ve seen with other iPhone GPS applications, just a port of a non-iPhone application shoved onto the iPhone platform. Just like many of the others they have taken very little consideration to making the application integrate with the iPhone standard interface elements at all. In addition, they have done nothing to take advantage of the iPhone’s always connected data stream. There’s no live traffic, no network POI search, nothing. Well not yet anyway.

Navigation

The on screen display is rather nice. Including well displayed road signs when you approach an intechange on the highway. Not something new, but well done at least. There’s also the 3D+ display mode that shows 3D representations of major landmark buildings along your route. Great for double-checking your location. Unfortunately though, due to the size of the graphics this can obstruct your view of nearby roads. You might find yourself turning this off more than you have it on.

Routing

RoadMate routing is a fairly simple to use but robust system. There are some fairly detailed options available for finding your route and looking at the map to compare the different travel options. One of the options you have to set as your routing point is a contact from your address book. I was not able to get this to work in multiple attempts though as the app could not parse the standard US addresses in my address book.

While there’s no menu to specify this, you can add more than one stop in your route. Once you have created a route with a single destination, just go through the process to find another destination. When you find the location, the app will ask you if you want to cancel your current route or add to it. A fairly good method to handle the rather complex process of editing multiple point routes.

One great feature that RoadMate has right out of the bat is turn by turn text-to-speech navigation. A feature that was missing in initial versions of GPS apps on the iPhone.

POI

There’s also the really good feature for quick access to common destinations, the OneTouch navigation section. A click in the lower right from the main navigation page gets you to the OneTouch page. There you can quickly navigate to one of 24 assignable locations. These can either be specific location or address or a quick search like ‘Nearest Pizza Hut’ or ‘Nearest Emergency Room’. A really nice quick navigation feature.

But how about the POI database. I’m afraid it’s really out of date. Yet another reason for all GPS applications to integrate online search and allow users to search Google, Yahoo!, Yelp, etc. for nearby POIs.

Future support — Magellan have already put out two updates to this app in the time since it’s initial release. I take this as a good sign and hope that we’ll see more updates from them. Hopefully they will address some of the shortcomings of this app as it has the potential to be the best GPS app available.

Overall this is a potentially great iPhone on-board GPS app, but it’s just not there yet. A couple more revisions and hopefully we’ll have this app reach its full potential.

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Zen Bound 2 Coming To The iPad is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

Who would’ve guessed that one of the biggest App Store hits thus far would involve wrapping string around a wooden object? Apparently the success of the original Zen Bound even took developers by surprise. “We never expected the calm gameplay of wrapping wooden statues with rope to find such a great audience on the iPhone, much less win multiple awards over the year.”

Fortunately for us, the team over at Secret Exit announced Zen Bound 2 today, and it is specifically being tweaked to take advantage of the iPad’s graphic and size advantages. On top of that, Secret Exit has said that Zen Bound 2 “is both a sequel and a revision to the original, with more music from Ghost Monkey, new levels and new kinds of gameplay, but Zen Bound 2 also includes the original soundtrack and upgraded versions of all levels from the first game.” Secret Exit expects Zen Bound 2 to launch right around the iPad launch date… my guess is that the launches will coincide. There’s no video trailer yet, but there are a ton of screenshots after the break. Enjoy!

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iPad on the Way: Pre-orders begin next week, delivery in April is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

It’s finally coming. This morning Apple announced that the iPad will be available in the U.S. on Saturday, April 3, for Wi-Fi models and in late April for Wi-Fi + 3G models. Then, in late April, the iPad will show up in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and UK stores.

Beginning a week from today, on March 12, US customers can pre-order (…)
Read the rest of iPad on the Way: Pre-orders begin next week, delivery in April

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DocScanner is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

As a child, i.e. currently, I used to love watching secret agents and private investigators sneak into offices/unauthorized areas and, using hi-tech tools (a camera; it’s no shoe-phone, but it got the job done), take pictures of confidential/top-secret/incriminating documents. How many times have you been in a situation requiring you to do the same (if your answer is anything other than zero, you can skip this review, as I’m sure you already have access to superior technology, e.g. micro-chip/camera embedded in eyeball(s), etc., that renders this review obsolete)?

So, imagine my delight) when I learned of DocScanner, a document scanner app created by (the assumedly non-espionage-related agency) Norfello. Among other features, it boasts Optical Character Recognition, automatic edge detection, automatic perspective and rotation correction and multi-page document support.

The premise behind DocScanner is simple: Take a photo (or an existing image) or a photo of any document with the application and save it to DocScanner or your Camera Roll, send it to Evernote or email it as an attachment (PDF or JPG).

DocScanner boasts the ability to do all the above automatically, without having to manually crop, rotate, etc. According to the developers, all one needs to do is take a photo of any document with the application, or choose a picture from your Camera Roll/Photo Library and determine the options you like, e.g. image quality, aspect ratio and paper size (as long as the target is lighter than its background, DocScanner will understand the edges of the document). The application then automatically determines the edges of the document and prompts its user to decide what they want to do with the image (see above paragraph). All the user needs to do is decide the quality and size of the document. DocScanner then automatically corrects the keystones, requiring no need for manual rotating, cropping or scaling.

Despite DocScanner’s claims, I encountered problems using the app.

DocScanner has no preset image settings and its options do not definitively delineate between color and black and white documents/images. The two image settings are “Background Whiteness” and “Sharpen Image.” “Background Whiteness” is subdivided among three settings: 1) Basic, 2) Enhanced and 3) Aggressive. While scanning color and black-and-white documents/images, I found I was receiving different results with all three options, leaving me confused as to what option was best or should be used in different situations. The other image setting, “Sharpen Image,” makes text easier to read when activated, but only speeds up the scanning process when “off.” Shouldn’t these two co-exist as a standard feature? I think modifying DocScanner’s current image settings/feature set, to include the use of “presets,” would make for an easier and more efficient use of the application.

Speaking of features, DocScanner’s current interface can be a little confusing. The functional hierarchy (especially regarding DocScanner’s OCR and its integration within the application) could be better-defined/interfaced, in a more linear, cohesive, user-friendly manner. The current interface has a separate “Spooler” option that serves as the app’s text-recognition tool (OCR). One basically has to save the scan to DocScanner, then open the “Spooler” feature to process the scan.

After taking/importing images (from the Camera Roll/Photo Library), DocScanner prompts you to crop the photo/adjust the image’s geometrical proportions/perspective, by dragging the corners of a purple crop-line tool to meet the alignment of the original image. This tool, when used with the optional magnification tool, is very precise, but not without cost: The line is hyper-sensitive to touch and I often became frustrated trying to move the line and have it stay in the spot where I moved it to (after lifting my finger).

Unfortunately, I had to do this with all images (and many documents), as there is no “select all” feature. It’s not a deal breaker, though, as, in the end, the tool’s precision overshadows it’s hyper-sensitivity. That said, I wasn’t impressed with DocScanner’s auto-recognition capabilities as they relate to images. Here’s an image I loaded from my Photo Library (isn’t he a cutie? I sure would hate to do anything to mar his cute face!):

Here’s the same image after loading it into DocScanner, showing the auto-recognition line(s):

Here’s the image after DocScanner scanned it, using it’s auto-recognition:

Aye Carumba! Move onto the next picture, STAT! Now, here’s the same image after I manually adjusted the auto-recognition lines and scanned it into DocScanner:

As you can see, the image’s integrity, while for the most part, is still intact, but it has been slightly compromised. I tried scanning the image under different image settings configurations, but the end result was consistently the same.

Here’s the same image, scanned with a comparable document scanning app, using that app’s built-in auto detection/recognition:

Photographing/scanning color documents with DocScanner, using their suggestion that the document be placed on/against a dark-colored object, works very well. The auto-recognition works as advertised and the quality/integrity of the image and its attributes remain(s), for the most part, uncompromised (uh, this is my wife’s magazine):

Photographing/scanning black and white documents also works well with DocScanner (using their suggestion that the document be placed on/against a dark-colored object). Unfortunately, I found DocScanner’s auto-detection/recognition only detects the edges of a document you are photographing [black-and-white and color] in these conditions. Otherwise you have to manually adjust/define the document’s/images edges, i.e. if you take a picture of a white letter/document on a white/light background, DocScanner can’t automatically detect the edges; the user has to do it manually.
.
That said, I found it difficult to scan legible text-heavy documents, even with the use of DocScanner’s OCR (Optical Character Recognition is the mechanical or electronic translation of images of handwritten, typewritten or printed text [usually captured by a scanner] into machine-editable text). This problem is exacerbated by DocScanner’s somewhat confusing interface, which lists “Documents” separate from “Spooler,” the OCR/Text Recognition function, as opposed to integrating the two to make the app/these functions, more user-friendly.

When taking photos of any documents, especially those containing a large amount of text, the user must keep the iPhone/camera as still/steady as possible, or the words on the subsequent scan will be blurry, illegible and/or difficult to read. That said, DocScanner does not contain an on-screen camera stabilization feature in its current feature-set. Adding this feature would aid/prevent its user from taking unsteady pictures, thus saving him/her a lot of time and effort in the scanning process. Moreover, the ability to select the entire screen/image, without having to revert to (painfully) manually cropping the entire image is noticeably absent. Conversely, the option to share scans via WiFi is a nice addition to the app’s capabilities.

Despite its flaws, DocScanner works well. It’s a decent app (albeit pricey [at $5.99]) who’s developers have promised a variety of improvements/updates in the near future. They’ve created a solid foundation, but need to improve on those features the app currently boasts, e.g. automated edge detection, cropping, rotation and perspective correction (keystone mapping) and place more/added focus on simplifying their feature set/image options while adding integral features found standard in comparable apps, e.g. camera stabilization, making the app more user-friendly.

That said, I would suggest researching the free/cheaper alternatives in the app store before plunking down any of your hard-earned cash on any scanning app.

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Coming Soon: ‘ZombieSmash!’ – A Zombie Castle Defender is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

When you look at the lineup of iPhone games in the App Store you will notice a few genres that seem a little crowded. One of these is castle defense type games, so I was kind of surprised to see a developer working on one to join the ranks of the many other castle defenders such as the highly detailed 2D Knights Onrush [99¢] and Gameloft's 3D Castle Frenzy [99¢].

Gamedoctors, an independent developer form Germany, is hard at work putting on the finishing touches on a game they call, ZombieSmash! In an effort to have their game standout they’re using the strangely popular (and arguably overdone) theme of zombie killing to draw gamers in.

After watching the trailer you can see the game has cartoony look and some amusing killing methods. ZombieSmash! also includes something they're calling the "splatter engine" that is powering the zombie ragdoll physics and excessive amounts of blood spewing everywhere. Gamedoctors is trying to get people to call it a survival comedy, but we’ll have to wait and see if that sticks.

The game should hit the App Store in March for $1.99.

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Scanner Pro is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

It seems the number of document scanning apps in the app store is slowly beginning to increase, as developers have (finally) identified the need for a utility which allows portable, on-the-go document/image scanning. Personally, this is a Godsend for me, as, until now, I had no way to scan and post old, embarrassing family photos of my siblings on-line (Now, I have many app solutions to choose from. One of these is Scanner Pro, a member of the Readdle document and file management app family.

Scanner Pro claims to transform the iPhone into a portable scanner, allowing one to scan multi-page documents, email them and even upload them to Dropbox, MobileMe iDisk or any other WebDAV enabled server. In addition to Evernote integration, it also boasts the ability to scan documents, business cards, receipts, notes and whiteboards and subsequently email them, all using special algorithms to enhance image quality and make the scan as readable as possible. Nothing we haven’t already heard (at least in theory). Does Scanner Pro deliver?

The very first thing I noticed when opening Scanner Pro, is it’s “New Document” menu/ interface:

It’s refreshingly clean, straight-forward and not confusing and the icons are all labeled, instructing you exactly where to go. Similar apps I’ve reviewed were clunky, confusing and non-linear. This is not the case with Scanner Pro, which also contains a built-in user guide.

Scanner Pro’s main screen is also clean, linear and intuitive. You can choose an existing document or press the “+” in the bottom-left corner to enter the “New Document” screen (above). Pressing “?” brings up the User Guide and the IP address is displayed at the bottom of the screen:

The only preset image settings within Scanner Pro’s main “Settings” are the ability to turn “Enhanced Image” on/off and the choice of using “Grayscale” by default. All other image options present themselves after the image is imported, during the “Preview” process, allowing you to make the proper adjustments after the image/document is initially scanned and before it’s final “process.” Users can make the correct image adjustments in “real-time,” (including changing the page size and image orientation) without having to rescan the image/document repeatedly, using different image setting variables. Simply choose the adjustment(s) you want to make (contrast, brightness and grayscale) and use/move the slider accordingly. After a second, the image is processed accordingly and the changes are displayed:

The “Preview” menu also features “undo” and “redo” options, making it much easier for the user to make corrections to the image. After processing the final scan, users can save the document in Scanner Pro, send it to Evernote or save the image to the Photo Library.

While Scanner Pro does not possess such advanced image processing features such as automatic perspective and rotation correction, it does feature advanced image/edge detection. Users simply tap anywhere on the screen to move the crop lines to their desired/target location. After taking/importing images (from the Camera Roll/Photo Library), Scanner Pro allows you to crop the image by dragging the corners of the image to your desired location. This feature is precise, but, like similar apps, the crop lines are sensitive to touch and I often had to move the line several times before I got it to stay in its proper spot. This issue in Scanner Pro is far less pronounced when compared to similar apps.

Because I’ve no tolerance for “sissy” applications, I went straight for the Achilles heel of those scanner apps I’ve tested/used; one area where similar apps have consistently failed: Scanning text-heavy documents.

The first document I scanned was a page from a W-9 tax form and I was amazed at the results:

The subsequent PDF scan was clear and legible. Additional scans would produce the same results. Scanner Pro: 1. Similar apps I’ve tested: 0. I was able to combine these scans, thanks to Scanner Pro’s “user-friendly,” linear interface, into a multiple-page PDF with relative ease.

Next, I scanned an imported image from my Photo Library. Here’s the original:

Here’s the scanned JPG I imported using Scanner Pro:

As you can see, aside from lighting enhancements, the image’s integrity is, by far and large, uncompromised.

Scanner Pro is capable of scanning any type of documents ranging from simple one page letters to multi-page documents. It’s “user friendly” interface allows it’s user(s) to add, move, delete pages and even combine pages in landscape and portrait orientations. These files can, in turn, be emailed, uploaded to WebDAV or any FTP application and can even be transferred to your Mac or PC via WiFi. I was able to connect to my PC via WiFi and by typing my IP address into my browser’s address bar with no problems.

In addition, to protect sensitive documents, users can assign passwords to documents/ images by tapping the lock icon on the bottom bar.

Other features included with Scanner Pro is a built-in PDF viewer which allows the user to preview his/her scans exactly the same as they will look on desktop computer, the ability to upload scans to online file storage venues, such as MobileMe iDisk, Box.Net, Humyo and any other WebDAV enabled online storage, the ability to print, via “Print n Share” provided by EuroSmartz (owners of both apps [Scanner Pro and Print n Share] can scan and then print documents to any printer via a Mac or PC), the ability to sync scans with Dropbox-enabled computers and the ability to upload processed images directly to an online Evernote account.

All said, As a result, I use Scanner Pro exclusively and it comes in handy often. At $6.99, it’s priced within the same range of other scanner apps in the App Store. I recommend Scanner Pro to anyone looking for a portable scanner app or anyone needing to scan, view or share documents (regardless of where you are), “on-the-fly.”

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Major Update to Sentinel 2: Earth Defense to Bring Downloadable Content! is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

Origin8 have today announced that a major update to their hit iPhone and iPod touch tower defense sequel “Sentinel 2: Earth Defense,” Version 1.4 is now in submission. The new update will enable players to have access to a bunch of downloadable content, as well as providing free enhancements to the base game. Expansion Pack One, priced at $0.99 or regional equivalent, will be available as an in-app purchase upon approval.

Here’s just some of what you can expect from this new update:

Free content features:
- One menacing new enemy unit, integrated into all existing campaign maps.
- A new Sentinel ship weapon, the ION bomb, providing a spectacular explosion and damage over time.
- Two new missions based on existing campaign maps.
- New OpenFeint achievements.
- Bug fixes and balance tweaks for existing missions.

Expansion Pack One features:
- Two new maps, Barracks and Overpass, with unique mechanics and challenging layouts.
- A tough new enemy present on DLC maps only.
- Three new missions based on DLC maps.
- OpenFeint leaderboards and achievements for the new maps and missions.

Look out for this update hitting very soon!

Sentinel 2: Earth Defense

Our Rating: :: INCREDIBLE :: Read Our Full Review >>

Category: Games / Strategy
Released: 2009-06-26
Price: $2.99

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‘Volkswagen Think Blue. Challenge’ – Free Edutainment… With Online Leaderboards is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

Late last year Volkswagen teamed up with Firemint to bring us Real Racing GTI [Free], a cleverly disguised free demo of Real Racing [$4.99] loaded with VW cars and branding that is still totally worth downloading if you haven't tried out Real Racing yet.

VW's most recent collaboration was just released today, this time working with Fish Labs to bring us what appears to be some kind of crazy economical driving edutainment game that appears to share a similar game engine to their previously released Rally Master Pro 3D [$4.99]. In Volkswagen Think Blue. Challenge [Free], instead of racing as quickly as you can, players are forced to drive economically.

As silly as this sounds for a video game, doing well is actually quite challenging. You start the game with a small amount of gas, and with each checkpoint you come to, you're asked an often obvious question about fuel efficiency to get more fuel. You then try to drive as far as you can with the amount of gas the game gives you. This means intelligent throttle management, coasting down hills, taking turns properly to not lose speed, and other economical driving techniques the game explains for you.

When you finally run out of gas, your distance is submitted to a global online leaderboard showing how far the world's most economical drivers have gotten in the game. Initially I just wrote Volkswagen Think Blue. Challenge off as a marketing gimmick, but after playing a few games it's really kind of neat how the game encourages highly technical driving. So often in driving games you're able to just go all out, bounce through corners and off other cars with little if any penalty at all and this is a nice, albeit fairly odd, change of pace.

Volkswagen Think Blue. Challenge is free, and who knows, you might even learn something about economical driving that could end up saving you money on gas in your own car. If you like the graphics in the game and how it calls out turns for you, be sure to check out Fish Labs' game this seems to be based on, Rally Master Pro which we posted a review on when it was first released.

App Store Link: Volkswagen Think Blue. Challenge, Free

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