Category Archives: $8.99

SketchBook Pro Review

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

Developer: Autodesk Inc.
Price: $8.99
Version: 1.2

Design Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Features Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Integration Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Overall Rating: 4.67 out of 5 stars

The iPad’s purpose as a writing device is well recognized. There are countless note taking applications, from the inbuilt Notes application right up to Apple’s Pages. However, as a drawing device, the iPad is not as well known, and Apple hasn’t created a drawing application – let alone have one installed by default. AutoDesk took matters into their own hands with SketchBook Pro for iPad.

SketchBook Pro is an intuitive, fully-featured drawing application, suited for both a quick sketch and a more detailed drawing. The interface is impressively clean for the amount of features that it holds, with full precedence being given to your designs at hand rather than the myriad of customizable options that exist. A small circle close to the edge of the device (changing depending on which way you hold your iPad) provides access to an options bar up at the top or side of your screen, as well a number of quick options: erase layer, undo, redo and enter full screen drawing mode again. This menu bar is also accessible by a three finger swipe down.

The menu bar hosts a number of buttons, including both basic and advanced drawing features. The gallery button provides access to your in-built gallery, where you can see all of your saved drawings, as well as e-mail and export them (more on this later). The usual plus and info icons are present too, adding the ability to create a new document and get information on and help using SketchBook. The Brush Editor tool is probably where most users will spend their time aside from drawing. There are over 75 preset brushes, including pens and markers, pencils and objects. Radius and opacity of each brush is customizable, as is colour in a number of different formats – from block colours, RGB colour codes and almost everything in between. The design is simple for the features that it holds – it is clear that thought has been put into where tools should go.

Basic, essential features like which type of shape to draw and a mirrored drawing tool exist, as well as more advanced characteristics like layers, enabling users to have full control of their work, focusing on certain areas as well as the bigger picture. A 2500% zoom capability compliments the layers feature nicely.

In terms of ease of use, a quick understanding of the menu options goes a long way. Once you’ve covered ground to become familiar with the basics of SketchBook, it becomes very quick to just open up and start drawing. An included help guide sees you on your way nicely. Drawing itself is limited only by the powers of your finger! My art teacher always criticized me for the overuse of a ruler, but you quickly feel at home drawing freehand on SketchBook.

The image export options are rich, with the ability to export to photo library as a flattened (single layer) image to iTunes; PSD to iTunes; flattened e-mail and PSD e-mail. Photos can be imported from your Photo Library, and all creations can be duplicated to ensure a fatal error won’t cause a major setback.

I’m impressed with SketchBook. It will stay on my iPad as the drawing tool of choice. It works seamlessly and operates entirely through you, meaning you can do what you want where you want, without limitation. Highly recommended.

[ SketchBook Pro Review is a post from 148Apps ]


Dodonpachi Resurrection Review

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Dodonpachi Resurrection Review is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

Developer: CAVE
Price: $8.99
Version Reviewed: 1.0.1
Device Reviewed On: iPod Touch

Graphics / Sound Rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars
Game Controls Rating: 4.75 out of 5 stars
Gameplay Rating: 4.75 out of 5 stars
Replay Value Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars

Overall Rating: 4.38 out of 5 stars

I like to think of myself as a well-rounded gamer. But one of the game genres I have never been strong in is the Japanese danmaku, usually translated as “bullet hell.” So, for me – as I suspect it will be for many a more casual iOS gamer – Cave’s recently released Dodonpachi Resurrection may be something of an introduction to the genre.

And oh, what an introduction! Dodonpachi Resurrection is far and away the best top-down shooter I have played on my iPod Touch, and possibly one of the best top-down shooters I have ever played, period. It’s a wild, over-the-top action shooter that will leave you both baffled and exhilarated at the same time.

If you’re new to the genre like I am, the game may take a little getting used to. You begin by selecting a mode – iPhone or Arcade (I recommend iPhone) – then selecting a ship and, if in Arcade mode, selecting a combat style. A few seconds of cutscene later and … bam! The whole screen becomes filled with bullets, missiles, explosions, and enemies. It can be a bit overwhelming to the new player, until you are able to grasp the flow of the game.

Once you get used to it, though, it’s a whole lot of fun. Controls are simple touch; you slide your thumb to move the ship, tap buttons to change weapons, spin a frantic circle to charge up your hyper cannon. There’s a scoring system in place that rewards multiplyers and the collecting of badges released from destroyed enemies – still a bit arcane to me, but important if you’re going to try and improve your score.

It all runs smoothly, embracing its fast pace and letting you slide comfortably into the destruction zone. And the graphics presentation is well executed. Even with the sky full of munitions, you can generally keep track of what’s going on — though sometimes the screen does become little more than a fugue of colors. It’s finely managed chaos, set to a funky sci-fi soundtrack.

Do be advised: the game sports high technical demands, such that any device older than an iPhone 3GS will not run it properly. It also comes in at a relatively short seven levels for its $9 price tag; so if you are the more casual gamer who only expects to play through once, you may find the price a bit steep.

I think that you will want to play it again, though. I know that I am certainly enjoying it enough to keep going back, doing my best to fight my way up the leaderboards (I’m currently 10,775th … sigh … ). If you have the right device, and if you don’t mind the price, then you must play Dodonpachi Resurrection.

As a final note: after playing through it myself, I introduced the game to my six-year old son, who loves to play “shoot-em-up” games. He spent the next twenty minutes giggling over the screen, making shooty noises from the side of his mouth and occasionally noting with glee, “You get to blow everything up!” I couldn’t have put it better myself.

[ Dodonpachi Resurrection Review is a post from 148Apps ]


‘Espgaluda II’ Gets Update, iPod Fix, and Lite Version

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‘Espgaluda II’ Gets Update, iPod Fix, and Lite Version is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

For those of you who had issues installing Espgaluda II onto your 3rd Gen iPod Touches, the new update now fixes that. Along with a few other bugs being fixed:

- Fixed install error for 3rd generation iPod touch
- Fixed issue where sound does not play when receiving a call
- Fixed issue where save data is not saved under certain conditions
- Fixed issue where some achievements do not unlock due to data not being
saved.

The game is a bullet hell-style shooter by Cave Co. that we reviewed earlier this month and really loved.

However, due to the number of projectiles in the game, Espgaluda II requires a 3rd generation device. This includes the iPhone 3GS, 3rd Generation iPod Touch and even the iPad (works great even in pixel doubled mode).

In addition to releasing an update to the full version, a free Lite version is now available to try out to see how you like the game. It is also suggested that you install the Lite version to confirm that the game is compatible with your device.

Compared to the full version, the Lite version only includes the first stage, one character, one difficulty mode, and OpenFeint is not integrated.

Here is a video of the game in action:

App Store Link: Espgaluda II, $8.99, Espgaluda II Lite, Free (Both games; 3GS, 3rd Gen iPod Touch or Pixel-Doubled on iPad only)


ESPGALUDA II In-Depth Review

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ESPGALUDA II In-Depth Review is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

Developer: CAVE Co., Ltd.
Price: $8.99
Version Reviewed: 1.0.0

Graphics / Sound Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Game Controls Rating: 4.75 out of 5 stars
Gameplay Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Re-use / Replay Value Rating: 4.75 out of 5 stars

Overall Rating: 4.88 out of 5 stars

photo3The creators of Espgaluda II, a Japanese game software development company called Cave, created some of the most successful arcade scrolling shooters to ever grace the genre. Cave is responsible for bringing a new, frenetic genre of shooters, known as “manic shooters,” or “bullet hell” shooters, to the gaming masses, incorporating intense game play with massive amounts of enemy fire-filled screens, requiring players to dodge and weave their way through oncoming onslaughts of enemy fire using meticulous handling and control. While games like Espgaluda II have seen much success in Japan, we in the US have yet to fully embrace this take on the genre: until now.

Cave’s mission statement, “The Spirit of Cave,” is simple: “Entertaining people and make them happy.” Well, if Espgaluda II is any indication of Cave’s success, their employees must all travel by private, tricked-out helicopters and sleep on mounds of cash money.

photo47While Espgaluda II was a hit on the Xbox 360, it is Cave’s first port foray into the iDevice market and they’ve essentially cannon-balled their way into the app store’s pool, splashing us with an indelible, new game play experience while leaving little water for the rest of the genre. Espgaluda II is an extremely well-designed graphical masterpiece that shatters the bounds of its genre predecessors, setting a new standard for 2D vertical scrolling shooters for the iDevice. In creating their ported version of Espgaluda II, Cave has preserved the gorgeous graphics and game play of its arcade version while offering an additional mode, made specifically for the iPhone.

As previously mentioned, Espgaluda II is a 2D, vertical-scrolling arcade space shooter sequel ported from the Xbox 360 to the iPhone. Right from the jump, be forewarned: Unfortunately, due to its heavy/dense graphics and animations, it sucks battery life at a rapid pace and is currently only available for the iPhone 3GS. Fret not, however, as Cave has announced it plans to offer support for the iPod touch (32GB and 64GB) as soon as possible.

Espgaluda II features:

  • Beautiful graphics
  • 3 Levels of Difficulty, Control Settings and Display Options
  • 2 Game Modes: iPhone Mode, which features a scoring system optimized for the iPhone and Arcade Mode, an adaption of the arcade hit
  • Several customization options available
  • Bullet Storms just as Intense as the Arcade and Xbox 360 Versions
  • Controls specially adapted to/for the iPhone
  • Slide controls for comfortable play on your iPhone/iPod Touch. Quick dodges that were difficult even using joysticks can now be performed with just your thumb, allowing you to dash and weave your way through Bullet Hell
  • Open Feint integration and Achievements
    •

    As stated earlier, Espgaluda’s graphics are visually stunning, immersing players in rich, crisp, colorful, detailed environments. That said, game play animations are surprisingly smooth for such a graphics-heavy powerhouse. During my time playing the game, I experienced no lag, slowing or stuttering of any kind.
    photo2 photo4 photo31
    The game’s soundtrack features quality, upbeat techno-electronica that perfectly complements and blends with the game play and sharp, crisp sound effects, immersing players in a pristine environment of manic game play which will make them forget they’re playing on a smart phone.

    photo48Espgaluda II is a pick-up-and-play powerhouse, short on story and big on action. I wish I could explain it’s storyline, but it’s rather ambiguous and non-committal, which is fine by me, as I’m only here to unleash hell. Judging from the intro and epilogue screens (which appears after you beat the game), there’s a scuffle which causes your winged-weaponed character to take to the air and embark on a quest to destroy the Big Boss and his/her minions. Once finished, your character mumbles something about having the death of many children on his/her hands, blah blah blah and the other characters tell him to get his/her expletive together, as they need to build a new, peaceful world and that’s about it.

    As mentioned earlier, Espgaluda II features two modes of play: iPhone and Arcade. Basic game play within each is pretty much the same, but iPhone mode has an embellished touch-control scheme and character “Awakenings” are different between the two (explained further below). Each mode has three different difficulty settings: Novice, Normal and Hard.

    photo49Each difficulty setting has three control types players can choose from: Simplified, Normal and Expert. Simplified contains one control button (Awakening button, explained further below), Normal has two: Awakening and Guard Barrier and Expert has four: Awakening, Shot On/Off, Guard Barrier and Shot Change. Auto-fire is standard throughout the game, so players can concentrate on movement and strategy. Players can then choose which side of the iPhone screen they want their controls displayed on, left or right.

    Espgaluda II contains all the standard game play options found in most games, such as controlling sound effects, music volume, etc., but it also features the ability to have players select between one of three screen sizes: Small, Middle and Large, with Middle being the default.

    photo50The game features three different characters: Ageha, Asagi and Tateha, each with different skill attributes and six separate stages of play. Players can progress through the levels or choose whichever one they wish to start from. After selecting a stage, players are introduced to an eight-screen tutorial, explaining game play mechanics. After the tutorial screens, the carnage begins.

    The game’s control-scheme is simple and precise: Players use a finger (or thumb) to control their character’s movement and to press the appropriate button(s), depending on player control selection. Auto-fire is standard in all control types, eliminating the need for superfluous gestures while adding to the control scheme’s simplicity. The controls are very responsive, allowing players to accurately weave in and out of intense, dense onslaughts of enemy fire and incorporate perfectly into both modes of play. Be forewarned, however: Playing Espgaluda II is not unlike drinking several 40-ounce bottles of your favorite malt liquor on a random, weekday night: Sure, it’s smooth and satisfying and should garner the attention of any babes/dudes within close proximity, but inevitably you’ll disappear for hours, only to reemerge alone and hungry, with no recollection of what’s happened around you, sporting sore eyeballs and a severe headache.

    Prior to playing Espgaluda II for the first time, my expectations were conservative, to put it nicely. In my experience, iPhone 2D scrolling shooters provide relatively repetitive, mundane game play. When starting the game, I was instantly amazed by the colorful, pixelated graphics and smooth, fast frame-rate/animations flying about on the screen before me. Technically, Espgaluda II is, by far, the most impressive 2D scrolling shooter I’ve ever played; on a console or on an iPhone.

    As stated earlier, players use touch controls to traverse over the playing field, dispatching enemies, dodging enemy fire and collecting power-ups, Spirit Gems and coins. The function buttons along the left or right side of the iPhone (depending on the player’s preference) are used to activate their Guard Barrier, Awakening, Shot On/Off and/or Shot Change, depending on the user’s preference.

    Game play, in both Arcade and iPhone mode, centers around destroying enemies and dodging bullets, while collecting Spirit Gems, released by killed enemies. In turn, Spirit Gems power your Awakened Perception mode, which players initiate by pressing the “Awaken” button. Once activated, your character “awakens,” causing all movement onscreen to slow down to a crawl. In iPhone mode, while in Awakened Perception, characters are unable to move, but players can touch the screen to use the “Awakening Pulse” to damage enemies and remove bullets from their path or wherever they touch. Bullets fired by destroyed enemies will dissipate and transform into Spirit Gems. The more bullets a player cancels at once, the higher their score multiplier goes. If a player kills an enemy in Awakened Perception, it creates a small explosion, turning any enemy bullets caught in the explosion into gold. Conversely, if a player is struck by an enemy bullet while in Awakened Perception, their Guard Barrier will automatically engage, but it will deplete half of their meter. While in Awakened Perception, your Spirit Gems counter will continuously decline. Once depleted, the player returns to normal status. When switching out of Awakened Perception, enemy bullets transform into gold. A gold multiplier takes effect according to how long your character stays Awakened. If you do not disable Awakened Perception by the time your Spirit Gem counter reaches zero, you will automatically default back to normal state.

    In Arcade Mode, however, players can move while in Awakened Perception mode, but bullets do not change to gold when returning to normal. In addition, players can further enter Awakening Over mode. This mode occurs when you run out of gems in Awakened Perception, but you still have gold remaining. Bullets will turn red and enemies drop a higher amount of gold. The longer you stay in this mode, the faster bullets will begin to travel and the more your Awakening Over Level begins to rise. The higher your Awakening Over Level, the more gold enemies will drop in and the more gems enemies will drop in normal mode.

    Holding the Guard button will form a barrier around your character, making him/her invincible to enemy attacks. Guard Barrier can be used as long as your Guard Barrier Gauge is filled. Holding the Guard button for a couple of seconds then releasing it unleashes a Guard Barrier attack, causing massive damage to your enemy. The longer it’s held, the stronger the attack.

    Each level concludes with a boss battle (some levels have mid-boss battles). During these battles, boss characters unleash large amounts of bullets that players must dodge (or cancel using Awakened Perception). Strategically using Awakened Perception and Guard Barrier during these battles is crucial.

    In all, Espgaluda II is a beautiful, well-developed port for the iPhone and the best 2D vertical shooter I’ve ever played. It’s breathed new life into a stale, complacent genre and raised the bar for other 2D scrolling shooter developers (here’s hoping they follow suit). Beautiful, fantastic game play, varied game/scoring modes and OpenFeint integration/achievements result in virtually endless re-playability that should appeal to all game lovers. If you’re a fan of this genre, this game is a must-have. If you’re not, you’ll still enjoy playing this gorgeous game, regardless of its price.

    [ ESPGALUDA II In-Depth Review is a post from 148Apps ]


    ‘Final Fantasy’ and ‘Final Fantasy II’ – Excellent Ports of RPG Classics

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    ‘Final Fantasy’ and ‘Final Fantasy II’ – Excellent Ports of RPG Classics is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

    Facing the possibility of bankruptcy in 1987 after a string of failed titles, SquareSoft (now Square Enix) only had the resources left for one final game. Hironobu Sakaguchi was in charge of the seemingly insurmountable task of saving the company. Aptly named, Final Fantasy needed to succeed, and with the help of artist Yoshitaka Amano and composer Nobuo Uematsu, Final Fantasy not only was massively successful, it also spawned the series that has since become the benchmark that nearly all roleplaying games are compared to in one way or another.

    Final Fantasy tells the tale of four "Light Warriors" with mysterious backgrounds that have joined forces to restore light to the world and vanquish the evil that has spread across the land, illuminating four elemental orbs in the process. While the plot of the game is entirely cliche by today's standards and the in-game dialog is succinct and non-sensical at times, Final Fantasy was unlike anything console gamers of the late 80's had ever seen before with an epic world map spanning three continents, party customization, and unmatched gameplay depth.

    Final Fantasy

    The original Final Fantasy [App Store] was not an easy game by any means. The magic system didn't make much sense, the death and save system was extremely unforgiving, and some of the later dungeons required tons of grinding to earn experience and money to buy the provisions needed to make it through alive– And even then, a string of random encounters could put an end to hours of progress. A strategy guide was practically required, and in its day, Funco Land (now GameStop) sold the used Final Fantasy NES cartridge for far more than its original retail price after the supply dwindled following the surprise success of the game.

    Final Fantasy has since been remade and rereleased several times over the years, and while the basic story and gameplay mechanics have remained the same, many tweaks and refinements have been applied in the process. The iPhone port of Final Fantasy includes the high resolution graphics and reworked soundtrack of previous revisions, the additional "Soul of Chaos" and "Labyrinth of Time" dungeons, as well as a greatly reduced difficulty level which has served as a point of contention amongst Final Fantasy fans.

    Your party seems to level up much faster, you can save anywhere outside of battle, and ineffective attacks are a thing of the past. (Previously if you assigned a party member to attack a monster and that monster dies before they attack, they just swing at nothing instead of the next available target.) Like any good iPhone game, your progress is saved when you quit the game. When you load the game again, you will be able to resume from where you were in a dungeon or on the world map. This has one side effect though, in that you can cheese your way through skipping random encounters by just quitting the game when you enter battle. On your next launch, you'll be right where you were before the battle and can keep on truckin' through the dungeon.

    SquareSoft never imagined Final Fantasy would be a smash hit, as the game in no way lends itself to a sequel. A year after the original Japanese release of Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy II hit the streets, starting the trend of releasing Final Fantasy sequels that all feature a similar theme with a new game world as well as tweaks, refinements, and modifications to things like the battle and leveling systems. Again you play as a party of four (this time without the ability to customize which classes were in your party like the first) and once again save the world from evil.

    Final Fantasy II

    The most drastic change in Final Fantasy II [App Store] is way your characters level up. Instead of strictly increasing in level as you earn a certain amount of experience, the more you use certain abilities, the more powerful they become. For instance, by taking damage you will eventually earn more hit points and by casting spells you eventually earn more magic points. This often confusing cause and effect system was supposed to allow players greater customization of their characters instead of the rigid class types of the original Final Fantasy, but also allowed several opportunities to cheat the system to artificially inflate the various attributes of your party members.

    Final Fantasy II also comes with a new system to interact with the various in-game characters where players can memorize certain key terms, then recall them to question townspeople. While there is more interactivity than finding the correct character and talking to them until they tell you the next part of your quest, the new dialog system introduces tons of trial and error as you explore multiple conversation trees with each character you come across.

    While advancing the plot may be tedious at times, Final Fantasy II is the first game in the series where you can have less than four party members, with new characters rotating in and out as the plot progressed instead of playing the part of silent protagonists in the first. New vehicles were added, and the chocobo was first introduced, a rideable bird that allows players to move around the game world without random enemy encounters.

    Final Fantasy II wasn't available in the US until 2003, as before then what we knew as the Super Nintendo Final Fantasy II was actually Final Fantasy IV, a confusing numbering scheme that wasn't rectified until the release of Final Fantasy VII for the Playstation. The iPhone port of Final Fantasy II also comes with bonus content released in previous remakes of the game. Both the "Soul of Rebirth" and "Arcane Labyrinth" dungeons are included.

    Final Fantasy II features the same save system, allowing players to save anywhere. The game also will resume where you left off, and is susceptible to the same random battle cheesing as the original Final Fantasy where you can just quit the game and load it back up before the random battle occurred.

    iPhone Adjustments

    Both Final Fantasy games are controlled via an on-screen D-Pad for character movement and a button to run while in town or dungeons, with similar menu systems as previous releases, except now the various menu items are all touch sensitive. Movement and menu navigation works well enough to get the job done, but the D-Pad feels stiff and much larger than it should be. Also, navigating the menus can be irritating at times, as the touch areas for scroll bars and some menu options are annoyingly small. Regardless, this didn't hinder gameplay much as neither Final Fantasy game really requires quick or precise movement or menu work.

    In battles, the menu system as you may remember it is gone, instead replaced with a row of icons on the bottom of the screen to attack, cast magic, use items, etc. Targeting is as simple as touching the party member or monster you want to select, and overall the battle system works well although like most games with random battles, can get very tedious, especially when backtracking and potentially fighting much lower level enemies that you can kill in one hit but still have to go through all the motions of attacking and targeting.

    Conclusion

    As far as which game you should get, both are substantial pieces of gaming history. If you weren't around when Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy II were released, keep in mind these early RPG's lack many of the features that have since become commonplace. Because of that, you might require a trip to GameFAQs to figure out what to do or where to go next as it's not always spelled out for you. There's also no quest log if you forgot where you were supposed to be going.

    Personally, I love the original Final Fantasy. I've played through the game more times than I can even remember, on more platforms than I'd even care to admit starting with the NES and ending with the iPhone. I'd recommend anyone who considers themselves a fan of RPG's or the Final Fantasy series to download the iPhone port immediately. If like me, you've been around since the beginning, the iPhone version is a competent port and an excellent blast from the past, even with the mediocre controls.

    The sequel is good as well, but I've never been a fan of the wacky leveling system, and the new dialog trees that are the result of the key term memorization system will quickly have you heading to GameFAQs. I'd really recommend playing through the first before downloading the second, as if you can't make it through Final Fantasy, you likely won't have the patience for Final Fantasy II.

    As an aside, I'm absolutely ecstatic that Square Enix has decided to start porting Final Fantasy games to the iPhone. I think I speak for every iPhone-owning fan of the series when I say: Please, don't stop. Bring them all.

    App Store Links: