Best Iphone Apps Review

‘Entombed’ — A Puzzler That’s Grave Robbery…In Reverse is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

Yesterday, Fun Guy Media released Entombed for the iPhone [App Store], an exploration puzzler set in the labyrinthine underground tombs of ancient civilizations. The game is something of a grave-robber scenario, but the other way around.

You play the role of Blake (indeed), whose father, a heroic archeologist of his time, has recently died in a freak accident, leaving you with a dread family legacy. During his life, your father explored the ancient tombs of long lost civilizations — the Egyptians, the Incas, the Aztecs, the Persians, and the like. He stripped them of their treasures for display in museums around the world, but, known only to his closest family members, he secretly kept a number of precious items for his own, personal collection. Over the years, your family has seen many a dark and tragic event befall them, your father's recent demise among them. Upon consulting an Egyptian mystic, you learn that the only way to avoid the same unfortunate end as your father is to return the artifacts in the secret collection to their rightful resting place.

And, so the adventure begins. As you move through the levels of this game, your goal is to return the artifacts in question, which requires solving various puzzles that riddle these subterranean labyrinths to get to your final destination. Along the way you will find various objects and obstacles that must be collected, moved, or crumbled in order to gain access to closed off areas of the tomb. There are pits, dart traps, sliding walls, and sketching challenges that test your observation skills as an archeologist.

You negotiate the many twists and turns of these catacombs by tapping where you'd like to move. Certain objects can be tapped to trigger interactions and a pinch / spread mechanic is used to zoom in and out of the play area. The angled top-down 3D graphics are simple but nice, with great, moody lighting accompanied by a similarly atmospheric audio track.

See our demo video that shows bits of early gameplay.

I, along with several forum readers, encountered a few glitches here and there in the game which required a level restart. It's an unfortunate blemish on a clever and enjoyable game, but I expect the developer to address these in a near-term update. Despite the glitches, our forum members are rather enjoying this one.

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‘Aerox’ Review – A Stylish Physics-Powered Ball Roller is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

If you're one of the many people who always loved the Super Monkey Ball games on consoles, but never could really get in to the iPhone and iPad iterations because of control issues (I'm definitely one of those people), Aerox [$1.99] by Synoptical Studios is worth checking out. Aerox features extremely clean looking graphics, almost as if the game itself was designed as some part of a Aperture Science training program. This graphical style is paired with soothing music which creates an oddly relaxing experience– A phrase I never really thought I'd use to describe a ball rolling puzzle game.

Much like Super Monkey Ball, the object of Aerox is to roll your ball to the end of each level. In between the beginning and the pillar of light you must reach are all kinds of crazy obstacles ranging from simple ramps, moving platforms, and narrow platforms. It doesn't take long for the difficulty of the game to ramp up and throw other physics-based obstacles at you. For instance, you'll need to bump in to tall skinny blocks to get them to fall over to make a bridge to cross, other times there will be objects you need to move around to pass, or even move out of the way so a ramp can drop down to climb up.

The ball is controlled by tilting, and tilting your device back and forth controls rolling while tilting right or left controls the camera. For additional precision, you can touch and hold the screen and the camera will lock behind your ball at which point tilting right or left causes you to roll that direction. It's a pretty decent setup, although I have found myself rolling out of control by tilting too much and having the camera skew to an unexpected angle. A sensitivity slider in the options would likely solve this problem, which the developer has mentioned is coming in an update in the Aerox thread on our forums.

Aerox utilizes the graphical power of the iPhone 3GS, 3rd generation iPod touch, and iPhone 4 to do realtime reflections on the ball along with some fancy shadow generation not available on other devices. Currently the game runs at the typical 480×320 iOS game resolution, but in the not too distant future is getting updated with complete Retina Display support along with universal iPad compatibility.

With 30 levels to go through, online leader boards (although they haven't been working for me), and updates on the horizon to make the game take advantage of the increased resolution of iPad and iPhone 4, there's a lot to like about Aerox. The game isn't perfect, as I'd love to see some mid-level checkpoints added, but people on our forums are enjoying it, and it's easy to get behind any game with developers actively participating in the forums with plans to implement user suggestions in future updates.

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All-in Fitness Review is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

Calorie counting, body measuring, and workout logging are the life staples of the gym rat. People who are in the gym 4-7 days a week aren’t messing around with their training. They want to see results, no matter how small. Many people find that using the good ‘ol pen and paper tracking method is a bit archaic, so for these workout warriors, digital versions are the way to go.

Apps like All-In Fitness are really not for the average dieter. I’m sure that there will be plenty that will buy the app and love it, but it really takes a dedicated soul to track every bit of your life that pertains to fitness. Like the average day of a hardcore gym goer, All-in Fitness is very demanding, so proceed only if you plan on sticking to it.

As for the app itself, it is a very polished fitness app that is very easy to get around. The main screen is laid out in four sections, My Workouts, Exercise Base, Food & Calories, and Body Tracker. Exercise Base and Body Tracker are fairly straightforward, with the Exercise Base showing you how to do just about every exercise on the planet, complete with the exercises history and a video, and Body Tracker tracks your body measurements over time.

The My Workouts area is where the meat of the app is. Instead of just giving you an area to write in your workout (which it does have), there is also a “Quick Recipes” feature that gives you customized workouts like “Killer Abs” and “Top Gun Muscle Gain”, and a “Personal Trainer” that customizes your workout based on your body and your goals. Everything you do, workout wise, is tracked on the main calendar (which also tracks everything else you do in the app), so you can see your gains as soon as you make them.

The other main section is the “Food & Calories” section. in it, you get your personalized daily calorie goal based on your age, height, and weight. You have to add in all your daily activities in this area so that they will work into your daily calorie burn, so if you burn 1000 calories working out, you can eat an extra 1000 to maintain weight. The major component of the Food section is the food tracker. When you add food, you get to search through a giant food base, filled with full nutritional information from most chain type restaurants, most popular brand foods that you can buy at the grocery store (including supermarket brands), and a section to add in your own calorie content in case you eat out somewhere unique.

Again, if you have it in you to be extremely diligent with your fitness routine, All-in Fitness is a great choice. It really does have everything that one would need to track just about anything fitness related, and isn’t limiting in its features. Pick it up for less that the price of a double double at In-N-Out Burger… which will be fine since your diet won’t allow you to ever eat one again.

[ All-in Fitness Review is a post from 148Apps ]

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Cat Run Review is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

Cat Run is a Flight Control-like line-drawing game, but with a ton of obstacles and a simultaneous simplification of paths. The resultant game looks great on the surface and has a lot going for it. It’s not quite as addictive as some other line-drawing games I’ve played, but it’s still fun.

In Cat Run, you shepherd cats across the road by drawing paths. There are four roads available: Cat District and Gardens are open initially, while Space and Aquarium must be unlocked. Either way, it’s pretty straightforward. Arrows warn you when cars are about to zoom on screen. You draw paths with your finger; tapping a cat pauses it. If you get hit once, it’s game over, unless you’ve collected an extra life.

Skunks appear at irregular intervals, and their stench can send cats flying into the street. The solution? Send the skunks to be run over instead! Obstacles in the street range from benign objects to octopi lurking in the sewers. Interestingly, you can still interact with obstacles: tapping octopi to send them packing and directing skunks. As if those threats weren’t enough, the cats start attacking each other if left alone for too long.

There are four different types of cats, too, so you’ll need to take into account their different speeds, sizes, and temperaments.

However, while it’s fun to watch your cats run, screeching, between flashy sports cars and roaring motorcycles, the gameplay eventually becomes monotonous. Because you’re going from Side A to Side B for each and every cat, versus separate or even small destinations for different cats, very little juggling is involved. As a result, the game is less challenging than I’d like.

There are achievements, but most are monotonous (shepherd X cats across) rather than quirky. High scores are integrated through OpenFeint as well as in-app.

Cat Run looks gorgeous, and the soundtrack isn’t bad, either. The basic mechanics are good; it’s a fairly fun game. Still, the simplicity of the path-drawing prevents it from being challenging enough for my tastes. Instant classic? Not quite. Cat-filled, fun mayhem? Yes.

[ Cat Run Review is a post from 148Apps ]

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Rafter HD Review is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

Unlike Bonnie, I never played the original Rafter. My first experience with Rafter was in the iPad version, and I love it just as much as she loved the original. With the additional 30 levels OVER the additional 40 released for the iPhone version for Rafter, this is a safe bet for fans of the game and a must have for newcomers.

The crisp look and feel of Rafter on the larger real estate of the iPad really help to enhance an already great experience. The game play is largely unchanged from the smaller iDevice platform. Players draw various sized round and four sided objects in hopes of securing the correct path to the, what really looks like, a ball of yarn. Adjust the gravity of the level, the buoyancy of the ball, and the strength of the machines to reach that ultimate goal.

With over 100 levels, a new large sized screen, and an intense challenge level, Rafter HD is sure to keep you busy for some time. It took me about 20 minutes or so to get through the first 26 levels, and then I became completely stuck. Those who can stick with it for all 101 levels, and achieve that OpenFeint recognition, are in for a bumpy ride. You can check out Rafter for the low price of $0.99, Rafter HD for the ridiculously low price of $1.99, and Bonnie’s review of the original game here.

[ Rafter HD Review is a post from 148Apps ]

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Popular Mechanics Interactive Edition Review is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

Reviewer’s note: Functionality Rating refers to how you expect to interact with the magazine and how it actually works. The version reviewed is not the final product, and so this rating is likely to change positively in the future.

Popular Mechanics is the latest in a string of interactive magazines to enter the iPad App Store. With integrated video, animation and links, the future of magazines is surely digital.

The first thing that struck me about Popular Mechanics was its apparent lack of a contents page. But a single tap reveals this and so much more. A discreet menu bar at the bottom of the screen plays host to six buttons. On the very left is Contents – a large interactive box, vertically scrollable, revealing the seven major categories of Popular Mechanics and their articles. Next up is a beautifully designed page viewer. Each category of the magazine is colour coded, and each individual page is given its own coloured bar according to its category. A preview of each page is also available (and adjustable in size), with a single tap pointing you to exactly where you want to go. Options to share a specific page via e-mail, Facebook and Twitter also exist. Individual pages can be bookmarked (loving this), with titles automatically added according to the contents.

A live news feed is also available from the menu bar, meaning there’s always new content to read. The design is succinct and smart, with two fixed scrollable columns – one for a list of content, one for the articles themselves. The final menu bar button allows you to leave feedback and personal comments.

Back to the magazine itself – specifically its design. Videos can be spotted with a gently pulsating play sign and some even have interaction within them. All ad videos were YouTube embedded, and all article videos and animations were integrated into the magazine itself – meaning if you aren’t connected to Wi-Fi or don’t have 3G, you still have the premium features that a digital magazine offers. Text, although not adjustable, is reasonably sized. There is a bit of a discrepancy between longer articles that scroll vertically and scroll horizontally – in other words, for some it was flick down, others a flick across. The norm – which I favour – is for each article to be on its own page, vertically scrollable. This review is covering a version still in development, meaning such confusion should be made void with later versions. Popular Mechanics expect to be rolling out fully-digital versions of their magazine by the end of the year.

That said, the interaction is to be found on a number of pages. One particular feature worth noting was a “swipe for more” gesture, which kept the text body of the article where it was, but the top half of the page becomes a horizontally scrollable area that offered more information on a certain article.

The problems for Popular Mechanics are limited and nit-pickety at worst. The only significant problem I was faced with was a frozen screen when I stopped a particular video mid-way through. Something a quick fix should resolve. The magazine does not rotate, but is instead built almost entirely for portrait mode. The very few times that you do need to rotate (for video), it’ll tell you first and won’t activate the video until you do so.

I was very impressed with Popular Mechanics’ integration. It feels like what a digital magazine should be like. And there really isn’t a better device than the iPad to read it on.

[ Popular Mechanics Interactive Edition Review is a post from 148Apps ]

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PAC-Match Party is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

Pac-Man recently turned 30 years old, and his friends at Namco decided to honor the occasion by releasing a new game starring the aging superstar. What better way to celebrate Pac’s big three-oh than with a bare-bones, match-3 puzzler! Hmm, wait a sec. I thought they liked this guy? All kidding aside, PAC-Match Party is a cute little puzzler with a large dose of retro Pac-Man charm. Unfortunately, the aesthetics alone do very little to mask a shallow and ultimately uninspired package.

PAC-Match Party makes a good first impression. Instead of matching 3 or more jewels, you need to match the signature ghosts of the series, as well as cherries and gifts. Matching 3 or more gifts gives you special abilities, such as drawing a line on the board for Pac-Man to munch on ghosts, as well as the standard clearing of a row or column, etc. As you perform matches in the main playing field, Pac-Man is propelled around the border of the screen. Ghosts are chasing Pac-Man along this track, so you need to match quickly in order to stay ahead of them. This visual gimmick is a very nice touch, but amounts to little more than a glorified timer.

Things start to go downhill when you realize that there is only 1 game mode in PAC-Match Party. This single mode is 30 levels long (talk about rubbing it in), and the goal is to make matches over the highlighted squares on the board. The ghosts on your tail get faster as the levels progress, although the game doesn’t really get difficult until the last few stages. If you lose all your lives at any point, it’s game over. The game itself performs well, although there is the occasional bout of unresponsiveness when making a match.

The main goal of the game is to rack up an impressive score by performing combos and collecting fruit from extra long matches, but there are no social networking features available in order to compare your scores, etc. Leaderboards and achievements are local only, leaving very little incentive to replay the game. The scoring system seems a bit suspect as well, as you can abuse and mind-numbingly prolong the earlier levels by avoiding making matches that will clear the highlighted squares.

One note of caution with PAC-Match Party is that version 1.0.1 does not perform correctly on iOS4. When run on a device with iOS4, the highlighted squares on the playing field are no longer visible. You need to guess where you need to execute matches to complete the levels, which essentially breaks the game. Pac-Man fans may want to wait until a new version is released and these issues are resolved before picking up the game. In the meantime, you can try the original flash version of the game for free on the official Pac-Man website. The online version is essentially the same, but with a welcomed bigger board, and with a slightly different ghost-eating mechanic that I personally prefer.

PAC-Match Party is an attractive melding of the Pac-Man vibe and a match-3 puzzler, but the overall game is just too simple and insubstantial to contend in such a crowded genre. Much of the potential of this intriguing mash-up is very much unrealized, especially considering that there is only a single, straightforward game mode. There are more standard features missing from the game, like global leaderboards, adjustable difficulty settings, multiplayer or puzzle modes, etc., than there are included. There’s just not much to bring you back for more, and, if Pac had some creeping doubts about losing a step or two with age, this game does little to ease his insecurities.

Here’s hoping Pac-Man’s 40th birthday is more satisfying, and that he doesn’t end up growing a ponytail and buying a red sports car to overcompensate. That would just be sad…

[ PAC-Match Party is a post from 148Apps ]

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‘Frogatto & Friends’ First Impressions – One Awesome Old School Platformer is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

One of the coolest things about the App Store is the sheer amount of obscure ports it exposes us iOS gamers to that we would have otherwise missed. Prior to the news of the iOS port hitting our forums, I had never heard of Battle for Wesnoth [$4.99 - iPhone / iPad] and tonight its creators are unleashing another open source game on to the App Store, Frogatto & Friends [$1.99]. Frogatto is a platformer with some of the most blatant classic video game influences I've seen in quite some time, and I mean that in the best way possible.

Everything from the style of the fantastic pixel art that makes up the game, to the way Frogatto deals with enemies, to interface elements all seem to be lovingly lifted from memories of the sixteen bit era. In the game you play as a tiny unemployed frog who sets out for adventure and employment. It doesn't take long before the villain of the game, Big Bad Milgram, is revealed, and your sights are set on restoring order to the world. Fighting through various boss fights, solving puzzles, and making your way through tons of enemies and platforming obstacles are all vital parts of Frogatto & Friends.

Much like Battle for Wesnoth, Frogatto is freely available online to play on either Mac or Windows machines (as well as some out of date Linux builds). It's really a toss up as to which version is better, as platformers like this really need the physical controls that playing on a keyboard provide. On the other hand, the iPhone port is great, but I'd really love to see some better game save handling.

Currently if you quit the game for any reason, you lose your progress from the last save point. Save points are plentiful throughout the game, but I really think we're at a point now where if you're releasing something more than a simple time waster you should really include better save state handling. Even using fast app switching loses your progress, which is a total bummer given how awesome it has been with iOS 4 to quickly and easily switch between checking your email or browsing the internet while playing a game.

If you can get past losing a little bit of progress if you quit the game, Frogatto is totally worth checking out. I've been completely captivated by both the art of the game, and the game world itself; so much so that while playing through the other games that have been released tonight to write about I kept wanting to go back to Frogatto & Friends. I'm a total sucker for games like this, and I doubt I'm alone on that. If nothing else, at least give the free PC version a try.

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