Jul 26
Jul 24
Flipboard Review is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website
Developer: FLIPBOARD, INC.
Price: Free
Version Reviewed: 1.0.1
Device Reviewed On: iPad
iPad Integration Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
User Interface Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Re-use Value Rating: 3.25 out of 5 stars
Overall Rating: 4.08 out of 5 stars
Here’s the idea: make an app that pulls content from popular social networks and formats into a slick, ‘zine inspired interface. It’s a simple idea. But is it practical? Flipboard certainly thinks so, and they’ve invested quite a bit of design and promotion into it. The result is a social networking ‘zine that is good-looking and easy to browse, but still awaiting some more advanced features.
Flipboard works like this: connect the app to your Facebook and Twitter accounts. Select up to seven other Twitter feeds or lists that you want to treat as “news,” then browse them via an interface that looks less like Twitteriffic and more like Newsweek. In other words, turn your Facebook friends into something cooler! The appeal is not the content, but the presentation. At a basic level, it is just another feed reader; the big selling point is the interface–the way you read your feeds.
And on that level, boy does Flipboard make my Facebook friends look good. Mimicking the look of slick modern ‘zine, Flipboard really turns mundane links and albums of Little League photos into very appealing things. The very posts that you might gloss over as you browse your friends status updates become front-and-center eye-catchers here, complete with 
headlines and graphics. It does all this through a responsive and intuitive touch control that lets you flip pages just like a book. Everything moves smoothly, and I did not detect any real glitches in the interface. It’s really well done and a treat to use.
Having said that, I also have to say this: right now, Flipboard feels more like a novelty than a killer app. It doesn’t mine the social networks popular links, doesn’t follow hashtags or trending topics, doesn’t allow you to make new status updates or create new tweets within the app. It’s great at what it does, but what is does is limited.
In the case of Flipboard, though, I am willing to temper my judgment of these limitations and put some faith in the future. This is not a small developer firing off their first app, but instead a major venture by a group with a lot of capital behind it. And the developers are promising that more dynamic feed sorting and other features are in the pipeline, as users begin to fuel and shape Flipboard content. If they realize the apps full potential, then it will be a beautiful thing.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention one small but important issue here. Flipbook, for all its slickness, apparently wasn’t ready to handle the level of early interest it has generated. After dealing with Facebook lockouts in the first launch days, they’ve initiated an invite system, which means you may have to wait a couple days before you can make use of the apps primary selling point. And that sucks, just a bit, though it’s certainly one of those things that won’t be a lingering issue once the hype dies down.
So, is Flipboard a novelty social network reader, or a new paradigm in popular media? The jury is still out. If the developers follow through on the potential the app holds, it will certainly rise above the status of eye-candy and become a singular way to consume your daily dose of social media. I, for one, can’t wait.
[ Flipboard Review is a post from 148Apps ]
Jul 15
Casual Sequels Train Conductor 2: USA and Build-a-Lot 2 Arrive in App Store
Games, Puzzle, Simulation, build-a-lot, casual, train conductor Comments Off
Jul 15
Casual Sequels Train Conductor 2: USA and Build-a-Lot 2 Arrive in App Store
Games, Puzzle, Simulation, build-a-lot, casual, train conductor Comments Off
Jul 15
Casual Sequels Train Conductor 2: USA and Build-a-Lot 2 Arrive in App Store
Games, Puzzle, Simulation, build-a-lot, casual, train conductor Comments Off
Jul 05
Infection:Zombies Review
$0.99, $2.99, Games, Infection:Zombies, Magiccube, Reviews, accelerometer, casual, game, iPhone Apps and Games, zombies Comments Off
Jul 04
App Review: Everlands is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website
Turn-based strategy games are quite popular on the App Store, beloved due to heir addictive and thought-provoking qualities. But every now and again, there comes along a genre-shaking game that just blows me away. Everlands, developed by Hexage.net, is one example.
Everlands’s basic plot revolves around the evil spirits taking control of animals, and the brave plethora of creatures that must come together to stop the evil and cleanse their possessed brethren. While this more juvenile, lighthearted storyline seems out of place in a genre filled with macho heroes, futuristic weaponry and vehicular combat, it blends nicely into the game and serves as a much welcomed change of pace.
In Everlands, you and your opponent take turns placing animals on the hexagonal board. Each animal has a certain amount of life and attack points, but can only attack out of certain sides. After attacking out of a certain side, the animal cannot attack out of that side again for the rest of the match. When an animal loses all life points, it will change alignments, resetting all life points but not attack sides. Each species has varying amounts of life and attack points, as well as a unique special ability. For example, the intimidating Tiger is able to reduce the attack points of all adjacent enemy animals, while the prickly Hedgehog is able to attack on almost all sides (and the Raccoon can steal eggs, which is just plain awesome). Everlands is super easy to play, with the bonus of shorter tutorials, but adds just the right amount of depth to avoid being simplistic and dull.
In order to complete a stage, you must have possession of more than 50% of the board with your creatures. If you are victorious, you unlock another animal to add to your arsenal. While the story mode starts off easy, the difficulty quickly ramps up as you learn to synergize your animal’s abilities and weaknesses together. However, the story mode is rather short, and with the conclusion of the game you are left little replay value. Perhaps in a effort to combat this, Everlands also features a two-player duel mode where you can square off against a friend using the same device.
Everlands is able to simultaneously pay homage to strategy game and casual game principles, making it a blast to play. Everlands is a must-own game if you’re a lover of strategy games, or just have the desire for a great game. Hexage.net builds on a classic hexic strategy game with its own unique quirks and twists, creating a game that shouldn’t be missed.
Jun 16
Review: 180
180, Games, Puzzle, Reviews, casual, headcase games, match three Comments Off
Review: 180 is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
- Price: $1.99 (Download here)
- Version: 1.0
- Official Site: Headcase Games
180 from Headcase Games, is a fun and fairly gentle matching game that will surely reward puzzle game fans, but left me wanting a little more.
In 180, players must match flippable coins in rows or columns of three or more, trying to keep the ever-encroaching stack from reaching the bottom of the screen.
What makes the game interesting is that every piece has two sides, with images like moons, hearts, musical notes, and so forth printed on each face. Before launching a piece, the player can flip it to make a better match.
Even better, the player can flip any piece already on the board, setting up big combos and possibly clearing the entire screen for a serious bonus. Even on the game’s easiest mode, the speed picks up pretty fast, and 180 can become a real challenge.
In addition to the “endless” mode, which just lasts until you run out of room and the stack hits the bottom, there is a “time attack” mode, which gives you 90 seconds to try and maximize your score, and a “drop attack” mode, which has something to do with depth.
For this last mode, no real explanation was offered, and I wasn’t quite sure what the goal was. Fortunately the game plays pretty much the same in all three modes, so when in doubt, match!
With OpenFeint integration, this is another good app for people with an itch to see their name at the top of the score list, but it doesn’t have to be a mad dash for the highest score. The endless mode can be very relaxing until you lose control, and while the game only features one music track, its dreamy melody helps set the mood.
Despite 180’s good points, there are a couple of things that keep it from standing alongside the puzzling greats. When I first picked up the game, I often found myself pressing the wrong column to send my coin down, which can mess up a game real fast.
While I improved rapidly, the “fat finger” tended to return when the game got more frantic and I was in a hurry. Nothing is more frustrating than misplacing a critical piece with only seconds to spare, and losing the game as a result.
While the game is fairly visually polished, it never quite came together either. This is more of a whine than a criticism, since it has no effect on gameplay, so take it with a grain of salt. PopCap, the ultimate standard for puzzle gamers, has mastered the art of making the action visually and audibly rewarding, which really adds a layer on top of the game itself.
While 180 isn’t ugly, its aesthetics aren’t appropriately rewarding to the player. The end result was that I was less likely to start a new game right away after losing.
May 24
Crazy Test – Simple, Addictive, Fun!
Wario Ware, best, casual, mini-games, openfeint Comments Off
May 23
LilRacerz is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website
LilRacerz , an inaugural app by developers Blast One, is by definition an arcade ‘micro racer’ style game. However, so much energy, polish and life is infused into this game that it transcends its genre, making you forgot you’re playing a top-down 2D racer that only cost two dollars.
The game play revolves around nine different tournament cups for you to win, each consisting of several unique races. At the end of each race you receive gold coins to spruce up your ride and at the conclusion of each cup (if you scored first or second cumulatively) you unlock a brand new car for the new tourney. It’s a simple and effective no-frills formula that kept me hooked right from the start.
Racing itself is made very easy by efficient and simple controls. You have your acceleration and brake pedals, two steering buttons for maneuvering left and right, and the ubiquitous ‘nitro’ key to give a little jolt to the engine. Controls were generally responsive, and I appreciated how the dev ingeniously placed the nitro right above the acceleration pedal, allowing you to activate it without taking your thumb off the acceleration. All the races consists of two to three laps with four AI opponents, usually making for a frenzied jockeying for position that makes this game a whole lot of pulse-pounding entertainment.
One of the major selling points of LilRacerz are the impressive and stylish pixel-art graphics. Blast One did a fantastic job in making sure their game looked nice, and the different sceneries, ranging from a snowy arctic to desert wasteland to rainforest, all looked bright and crisp. The game is 2D, although I tended to forget that because of how nicely the basic physics system was woven into racing and steering and how realistic the graphics are. As an added bonus, you can laugh manically as you chase and run over skittish pedestrians, reducing them to splatters on the track.
Rounding out LilRacerz is the Crystal integration for score and achievement tracking, a ‘quick race’ mode to race on tracks you’ve already unlocked, and a thumping retro-style soundtrack for your listening enjoyment. From the superb gameplay to excellent graphics, LilRacerz is a very welcome addition to the app store, a great casual racing game that I highly recommend. I’m going to be keeping a lookout for more games by Blast One, because LilRacerz is an optimistic sign of great things to come.
Version 1.0
Reviewed on iPod Touch 2g 3.1.2
May 20
Jump O’ Clock Latest Casual Game From Glu
Blog, First Looks, casual, game, glu, glu mobile Comments Off
Jump O’ Clock Latest Casual Game From Glu is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website
Glu has a great history of casual games. They have produced one of our favorite casual iPhone games including Glyder, Beat It!, Bonsai Blast. Today they have released a new casual game and their first with Open Feint integrated, Jump O’ Clock.
In Jump O’ Clock, you play a tiny robot with magnetic feet in a Steampunk world trying to climb as high as possible. You do this by jumping from rotating gears and jumping off of the wall.
Along the way you can gather bolts that are scattered around the levels. The more bolts you gather, the more energy you get. If you gather enough energy, you can activate a super jump that nearly instantly bumps up your travelled height by a few hundred feet.
Jump O Clock marks the first game from Glu Mobile to integrate the leading social gaming network, Open Feint. It allows you to track your score and achievements against your friends and everyone else in the world.
Jump O Clock is available in the App Store now, for $0.99.
Hit the jump for the official game description and features and some more screen shots.
Game Description:
Playing Jump O’ Clock can lead to severely extended sessions of gameplay! Take control of the lovable steampunk robot LE0 and jump from gear to gear while avoiding hazards in an endless upward world. Collect bolts to fill your SUPER-JUMP METER, and BOOST the height of your jumps. Timing is crucial to keep from winding up on the wrong side of the razor-sharp teeth, scalding steam, electrified wires or broken pipes. Connect to OpenFeint and compete for the dizzying heights of high-score greatness. If you’ve got time, Jump O’ Clock has your challenge – an endless platform adventure which never plays the same twice. Why try and beat a clock when you can JUMP O’ CLOCK?
FEATURES:
- Endless vertical platform game – LIKE DOODLE JUMP – jump from gear to gear in an effort to climb as high as possible
- The infinite adventure is NEVER THE SAME GAME TWICE!
- OpenFeint enabled! Challenge friends and post and share the highest scores with other players, Twitter and Facebook.
- Earn more points as LE0 climbs higher and higher in the clockworks. COLLECT BOLTS for extra points and to fill the SUPER-JUMP METER, earning BOOSTS to jump HIGHER.
- 15 additional CHALLENGES ranging from mildly tricky to devilishly difficult.
[ Jump O’ Clock Latest Casual Game From Glu is a post from 148Apps ]
Apr 20
Retro Paddle is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website
You have to respect the classics.
Retro Paddle is Richard Fennema’s tribute to Pong for the iPhone! Although insanely simplistic in nature, Retro Paddle serves more to remind to the world how far the gaming world has come since Pong’s console release in 1974 (roughly three years before home computers were available to the public). This ridiculously simple concept was something the world had never seen before: at home console gaming! Pong, with sales totaling over 40,000,000 in it’s first year, was a massive hit and the public ate it up. This simple game sparked a series of innovations that led to cartridge based gaming and the decision to port classics like Space Invaders from the arcade to the TV screen.
After the console gaming crash of 83′ and 84′, the general public avoided console gaming until gaming legends Nintendo and Sega hit the scene in the late 80’s with the NES and the SG-1000. From there, it’s all history and the world’s youth would never be the same because of it. In fact, Pong indirectly set in motion – albeit an extremely indirect set of motions- a line of events that would ultimately lead to the creation of IAR and for that we pay tribute! It’s hard to believe that the at home gaming phenomenon came with instructions that said: “Avoid missing ball for high score.”
Retro Paddle has the same basic rules. To win… you must not miss the ball. Simple and to the point. The only difference is that Retro Paddle has some cool new features; you can change the control settings from touch to tilt and adjust the difficulty! Not much in comparison to other games currently in the app store but enough to satisfy the retro gamer. So if you’re a nostalgic gamer like me, then chances are you’d probably enjoy Retro Paddle! You can purchase this game for $.99 in the app store.
Version 1.0
Reviewed on iPhone 3G 3.1.3
Feb 28
App Sale: Compression
App Sale Alert, Games, casual, free, sale Comments Off
App Sale: Compression is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website
Compression is on sale for free – normally $1.99
Compression is a snazzy, Dr. Mario – style tetris game that I reviewed a few months back.
It’s casual, fun and pretty easy to pick up and play. There’s also a new $0.99 in-app purchase that unlocks another addictive game mode. A recent update fixed some of the issues with the first version, giving you another reason why you should definitely pick up this game while it’s on sale.
Version 1.1