Category Archives: iPhone Apps and Games

Trainyard Express Review

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Developer: Matt Rix
Price: FREE
Version Reviewed: VERSION

Graphics / Sound Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars
Game Controls Rating: 4.45 out of 5 stars
Gameplay Rating: 4.05 out of 5 stars
Re-use / Replay Value Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Overall Rating: 4.19 out of 5 stars

Trainyard express is a spartan (as in bare bones, not Greek) puzzle game with a simple task to boot. The simple goal is to get a few trains from their departure point to their ending point without crashing them or breaking the dreaded color rules.

The first few levels are incredibly easy, easing you into the monster challenge that will soon come. All you have to do from the get-go is to get the blue train out of the blue departure point and into the blue terminal. As you progress through the game, you have to deal with switching tracks, color blending, timed collision blending, and obstructions. The extremely shallow learning curve for the first bunch of levels gets incredibly steep once you get to Quebec (the levels are all named after Canadian provinces).

As for the details, the game is pretty bare bones, with just a black background, a grid overlay, and some simple track graphics. Any additional graphics though would be unwanted because it would just make the game more difficult.

Trainyard Express certainly isn’t for everyone, but I don’t think the developer intended it to be that way. There really aren’t any graphics or sound to speak of, and there are no exciting action sequences to go through. There is also no time limit and no lives, so there’s no need to hurry.

Overall, it’s about as exciting as doing a Sudoku puzzle, which for some (including myself) is the perfect way to spend a bit of free time. If you like slow paced puzzlers that will actually give you a good challenge, Trainyard Express is a good buy.

For a bit of back story, Trainyard Express is technically the free version of the original game, Trainyard. In Matt Rix’s promo email, he writes that, “I prefer to think of it as a “prequel” rather than a ‘lite’ game, because it’s WAY bigger than most lite games. I spent a lot of time creating 60 brand-new puzzles just for it, so it can really be considered a full game on its own.” If you do in fact enjoy playing Trainyard Express, don’t hesitate to pick up Trainyard too. It’s not free, but it’s always good to support good devs.

[ Trainyard Express Review is a post from 148Apps ]

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Zentomino Review

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Zentomino Review is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

Developer: Little White Bear Studios
Price: $0.99
Version Reviewed: 1.9.4

Graphics / Sound Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Game Controls Rating: 4.45 out of 5 stars
Gameplay Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Re-use / Replay Value Rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars

Overall Rating: 4.43 out of 5 stars

You know you have a problem on your hands when you are playing a puzzle game that gives you four hints per puzzle and you still have problems winning. Maybe that sentence should’ve started with, “you know your a redneck when…”

Zentomino is described by the developer as a game of pentominoes. Since most of the world has no idea what a pentomino is (including my spell checker), it is a game that gives you one big shape, and you have to exactly fill it with a bunch of odd shaped blocks (each block is made up of five squares, hence the “pent”). While the individual shapes never change per se, it is up to you to rotate and flip them to get them to fit in the puzzle. Pieces can only be used once, and not every piece is used in every puzzle, so you must pick wisely.

If/when you get stuck, you can ask the game for help up to four times. Some of the levels, as explained earlier, are pretty rough even after hint #4, but I suppose that the dev might as well turn the game into a YouTube video if they are just going to give you a fifth clue.

With 240 levels to begrudgingly march through, you’ll have plenty of Zentomino to play from now until the end of time. If you get too upset about not being able to solve a puzzle, just ease your ears into the soothing zen sounds that the game throws at you in your moments of fury. In all fairness, Zentomino really is a great game that will certainly test even the most senior of puzzle masters. If you are a fan of the genre, you won’t be disappointed with Zentomino. You may be upset by your lack of pentomino prowess, but don’t blame it on the game.

[ Zentomino Review is a post from 148Apps ]


Jumbline 2 Review

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Jumbline 2 Review is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

Developer: http://www.jumbline.com/
Price: $0.99
Version Reviewed: 1.5.1

Graphics / Sound Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars
Game Controls Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Gameplay Rating: 3.9 out of 5 stars
Re-use / Replay Value Rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars

Overall Rating: 4.01 out of 5 stars

Word puzzles, along with tower defense and line drawing games, were the coolest things in the beginning stages of the app store. Unlike other genres, word genres were the perfect storm for the original iPhone, a slightly underpowered gaming system that was owned by the masses. Now with crisp retina displays and fancy processors that would make my $3,000 computer circa 1997 jealous, iPhone gaming has moved on to bigger and, well, bigger things. Better is what we’re striving for though, and word puzzles have a bit more jive than the average chicken.

Jumbline 2 is a word puzzle game that is comprised of three word puzzle minigames, all three of which are variations of the same anagram game.

Here’s a quick recap of what an anagram is, because some of us have been out of 1st grade for too long to remember. Anagrams are word jumbles that you have to mix up to find real words. For example, if you had the letters, DSOWR, you could make the words, SWORD, WORDS, WORD, ROWS, RODS, etc.

Ok, now that we’ve gotten past that, it’s back to the review.

As I was saying before, all three of the minigames in Jumbline 2 are variations of the same thing. The key in every game is to pound out anagrams, using as many words as you can possibly use, in speeds slightly faster than your brain is supposed to think. What’s great is that once you’ve decided that you’re too hardcore for regular anagrams, you can move onto the “expert words”. Being the cunning linguist that I am, I went on to this mode, but then failed to beat level 1 after failing to unravel the word “belleek”.

I don’t want to sound like a sore loser, but I’m fairly certain that belleek is a made up word. Situations such as this are typically solved by using the in-game dictionary (which is a fantastic addition), but “belleek” came back with the unexpected message, “No Definition Found.” I then went to wikipedia and found that it “may refer to” one of two villages in Northern Ireland. I’m fairly certain that names of villages are proper nouns, and that proper nouns shouldn’t be included in word games like this. Maybe it can be used as an adjective describing the pottery that comes from the village. Seems like a reach to me.

Regardless of my opinion of the game’s (outrageous) use of the word “belleek,” Jumbline 2 is a fun puzzle game that will be appreciated by any fan of the genre. As far as word games go, It’s not quite as exciting or original as Word Fu or Wordsworth, but it is definitely a worthy purchase.

[ Jumbline 2 Review is a post from 148Apps ]


Five For Friday: Week of September 24, 2010

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Five For Friday: Week of September 24, 2010 is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

Dark Void Zero:
Dark Void on the consoles may have bombed on the review charts, but the iPhone version is an utterly different story. 8-bit visuals, achievements, online leaderboards, and so much more make this side scrolling shooter a highly addictive game. Capcom, being the devilishly nice company they are, is even feeling a bit generous and letting you get it for a lousy $0.99 this weekend.

$0.99
$2.99

Dark Void Zero

iPhone App – Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2010-04-12 :: Category: Games / Adventure

Mega Man II:
The Blue Bomber is back and better than ever. Enjoy the original NES game without having to do any funny stuff with ROMs and emulators. Enjoy all 14 levels and 8 bosses in this side scrolling shooter. Even better, this game is rocking a sweet sale right now. Capcom, we thank you for giving us a reason to skip out on chores this weekend.

$0.99
$2.99

Mega Man® II

iPhone App – Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad

Our Rating: ★★½☆☆ :: UNDERACHIEVER
Read Our Full Review >>

Released: 2009-03-27 :: Category: Games / Adventure

Gangstar: Miami Vindication:
Gameloft is back at it with another edition of Gangstar. Hit the streets of Miami for over 75 missions of enemy sniping, car stealing, escorting, and car chasing entertainment. Of course, a criminal needs a sleek way of getting around town. Boost cars, motorcycles, boats, and helicopters to give those walking legs a break. Crime has never looked so good, or consumed so much time on the iPhone.

$6.99

Gangstar: Miami Vindication

iPhone App – Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2010-09-23 :: Category: Games / Racing

iA Writer:
Sometimes you just need a distraction free writing zone. No noise, no auto correcting of grammar or words, not even toolbars bars stand in your way with this app. iA Writer will give you a distraction free writing area. Once that draft is completed, look at how long it will take to read with the included reading time feature. Sometimes you just need a minimalistic writing space to get your thoughts out. iA Writer is that place of writing Zen.

$4.99

iA Writer

iPad Only App – Designed for the iPad
Released: 2010-09-21 :: Category: Productivity

Numbers:
Numbers is not a new app by any means. What is new about it is a patch that now makes this app worth your money. Exporting to Excel files is FINALLY available after a long waiting period. All the complaining can finally be put to rest over this issue. If you need a good-looking, yet powerful, spreadsheet editor, this is worth your coin.

$9.99

Numbers

iPad Only App – Designed for the iPad

Our Rating: ★★★★★ :: BEAUTIFUL FORM
Read Our Full Review >>

Released: 2010-04-01 :: Category: Productivity

[ Five For Friday: Week of September 24, 2010 is a post from 148Apps ]


Alarm Clock Connect Review

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Alarm Clock Connect Review is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

Developer: McLean Mobile Solutions
Price: $0.99
Version Reviewed: 1.21

iPhone Integration Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
User Interface Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Re-use / Replay Value Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Overall Rating: 3.67 out of 5 stars

An alarm clock app is arguably one of the most important apps you’ll use — if it doesn’t work, you miss important events. It’s also the first thing you’ll see in the morning, and often your first stop for basic information such as the weather. Alarm Clock Connect is yet another candidate in this massive field, and while it lacks the curious, psuedo-scientific features of apps like Sleep Cycle Alarm Clock, it delivers a basic, sleek alarm clock with plenty of extra information packed into one manageable package.

Alarm Clock Connect wakes you up according to the alarms you specify (multiple alarms are supported, naturally). You can pick a song, a default sound, repeat frequency, and add a note. Individual alarms can be saved and switched on and off as necessary.

The extra features, however, are Alarm Clock Connect’s real strength. By flicking through the panes you can check the weather, control your music, view your calendar events, and scroll through your Facebook or Twitter feeds. The app always remembers what pane you were viewing, so you can always wake up to the weather, for example. None of these features are revolutionary, but it’s nice to have a simple app that delivers basic-but-important information.

The app itself works fairly well. Sometimes it suffers from lag, but closing and re-opening the app usually solves that. My biggest complaint is the app’s lack of full background support…apparently you need it to leave Alarm Clock Connect running for the alarm to really work. Local notifications are sent if the app is closed, but those are hardly disruptive enough to awaken a heavy sleeper. It’s not a dealbreaker, but the battery drain may be annoying.

Alarm Clock Connect isn’t some mind-blowing new technology—but it doesn’t need to be. Instead, it delivers a sleek, visually appealing alarm clock with support for all the necessities. For many of us, that’s exactly what we need.

[ Alarm Clock Connect Review is a post from 148Apps ]


Monster Memory Match for iPad

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Monster Memory Match for iPad is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

“Monster Memory Match for iPad” is a matching game that uses a combination of monster drawings and sight words to make this app both fun and educational. This app begins with the screen full of cards. Tap to flip each card over and try to remember what monster or word is on the other side, in the interest of making pairs.

I am really pleased with the educational nature of this app. Half the cards to be turned over contain sight words, being some of the most commonly used words in the English language that most school children are expected to learn. The other half are fun monsters to keep the game light and entertaining.

Read the entire review on Giggle Apps!

[ Monster Memory Match for iPad is a post from 148Apps ]


Nike+GPS Review

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Nike+GPS Review is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

Developer: Nike
Price: $1.99
Version Reviewed: 1.0.2

iPhone Integration Rating: 4.65 out of 5 stars
User Interface Rating: 4.75 out of 5 stars
Re-use / Replay Value Rating: 4.75 out of 5 stars

Overall Rating: 4.72 out of 5 stars

Ok, I just want to get something out of the way real quick. I didn’t run 7.13 miles in 13.33 as the screenshot would suggest. That’s impossible. It was 110 in Phoenix (the hottest Sep. 20 in history!) the day I tested the app, so I sat in my car and drove to the closest drive-thru coffee shop. Yeah, it was cheating, but I got the same results out of the app that I would otherwise, I just didn’t have to bake my skin in the process.

As you’d expect, Nike+GPS is a GPS based running app (powered by MotionX GPS) that brings Nike+ to those who don’t choose to have Nike+ shoes with the $20 sensors. There really isn’t a whole lot that sets Nike+GPS apart from the competition other than the fact that it has an established, thriving community to motivate you to train. While other apps give you goals for the day, or claim to have the magic formula to train you for a marathon, the Nike+ community lets you set goals and challenges with your friends, who are indeed your best source of motivation.

The app itself is fairly utilitarian, ditching most of the bells and whistles that other apps have and instead strives for simplicity. When you start a run, you just set up what music you want to listen to, as well as your powersong (when times get tough), and then whether you are running indoors or outdoors, and then go. As you complete more and more races, you can check out your history screen so you can stack your current tun with your previous ones. Once you decide you want to run again, you can either start a normal run, or challenge yourself with a “Challenge Me” run. The “Challenge Me” runs let you choose to go further, longer, or faster than your previous run, or you can choose to take on your own personal best.

To me, the best thing about the app is that it does indeed track indoor runs. Running outdoors is great and all because you get to see your route mapped for you at the end (and you get some fresh/semi polluted air), but indoor running is almost a necessity in the Phoenix summer (which goes to Halloween). The indoor running workout requires you to have your iPhone on you because the app uses accelerometer movement, as well as your height, to calculate how far you’ve actually gone.

As far as running goes, an app will only motivate you so much. It takes a community to really get you going, and that’s where the Nike+GPS app thrives. The Nike+ community is far and away the most widely used digital running community out there.

[ Nike+GPS Review is a post from 148Apps ]


Healthy Food Finder Review

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Healthy Food Finder Review is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

Developer: CALORICIOUS
Price: $2.99
Version Reviewed: 1.1
Device Reviewed On: iPod Touch

iPhone Integration Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
User Interface Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Re-use Value Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Overall Rating: 3.33 out of 5 stars

Healthy Food Finder by Caloricious is exactly what its name implies: a shopping app that focuses on healthy foods. If a product is organic, low-fat, sugar-free, or otherwise an alternative to what you might typically choose in a supermarket, it may be found in this app.

The Healthy Food Finder works in two ways. First, it is a shopping list maker; second, it is an in-the-store decision-maker. In both cases, what it offers to you is access to nutritional information, along with an evaluation of the good and bad points about the specific item. While it presents everything in a clean, readable manner with pictures of most products, it does rely in part on user-generated content, and some of the entries were incomplete. Note to iPod users: the app requires an Internet connection to work, so if you’re in the store, you’ll want to have a pre-made list with you.

Due to its focus on healthy foods, it is not a robust shopping database. For example, when searching for jarred spaghetti sauce, there’s not a Ragu nor a Prego to be found. Hunts spaghetti sauce makes it in there; but then Hunt’s recently announced that they were only using sugar, not high fructose corn syrup, in their products. Thus, foods with certain ingredients are excluded by default — in this case, HFCS, but after a few more searches it seems that things like traditional white flour and lots of artificial preservatives are also out . Meat is free-range; bread is organic; granola is gluten-free. This means that the app will probably be more useful to you if you have access to a Whole Foods or other alternative supermarket.

The app itself functions as advertised. You can search for ingredients, make a shopping list, check food labels, even rate and review the food you buy. There’s also Facebook integration for sharing your shopping with your friends. The interface is a little stylized to match the Caloricious website, but otherwise it’s pretty standard tap-and-swipe iOS fare.

If you’re pursuing one of the eating philosophies championed by the app, Healthy Food Finder by Caloricious could very well be the app for you. It will certainly point you to product lines you might never have heard of before … albeit product lines that you will probably have to seek out a Trader Joes to purchase. And if you’re a user of their website, it’s certainly something you’ll want to have on the go.

[ Healthy Food Finder Review is a post from 148Apps ]


iPhone Review: RollOut

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iPhone Review: RollOut is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

Developer: Bullypix
Price: $0.99
Version: 1.1
App Reviewed on: iPad

Graphics / Sound Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
User Interface Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Gameplay Rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars
Re-use / Replay Value Rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars

Overall Rating: 3.88 out of 5 stars

Simplicity with a side of mind-bending difficulty is often the heart of any puzzle game on the App Store. Some games soar to greatness with this philosophy at their heart. RollOut is looking to top the charts of puzzle solving greatness with a new take on challenging your noggin. Does RollOut succeed in this task, or is it sucking the scum off the bottom of the barrel?

RollOut is a puzzle game about making for the exit. Players are tasked with getting Wabba to the exit of each level. Wabba is not just going to sit around and wait, though. Wabba forms into a saw blade ball and proceeds to start rolling through the level. To bad Wabba can’t just cut his way to the exit.

The puzzle part comes in with getting Wabba’s pointy posterior to the exit. Jump arrows scroll across the stage. Players control these arrows to get this Sonic wannabe to the exit door. The complexity starts to rack up when the player realizes these jump arrows can only be moved to the left. Wabba starts on the ground floor and it is up to players to jump him to an exit door strategically placed somewhere way above his starting position.

While this all sounds rough enough, there is yet even more complexity to throw into the mix. Sometimes an elevator is necessary to get to higher ground. Landing on it will stop Wabba just long enough to get to the next level. Wabba can also fall all the way back down to the starting position. Adding into these levels of heck are areas where the jumping signs won’t work.

Oh yeah, there is one last touch to round out those 50 levels of insanity-inducing game play. Jump signs, elevators, and control voids may all sound feeble and weak in comparison. One last thing to consider: not all jump signs are the same. Some will make Wabba race faster, others will pause, and some will even slow down the action. Whew.

RollOut may notch up the puzzle complexity, but it sure skips the visual eye candy. About the only colors that ever come into play here are fundamental primary colors in the control signs. Some different backgrounds would have really upped the ante on the presentation side.

Overall, RollOut is a sadistic take on puzzle platforming. Fifty levels, trophy support, and simple game play make this worthy of being on that iPhone. Just don’t be surprised when your broken blood vessels kick in at the higher levels.

[ iPhone Review: RollOut is a post from 148Apps ]


WMDs Review

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WMDs Review is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

Developer: DARKMOJO
Price: FREE
Version Reviewed: 1.5
Device Reviewed On: iPhone

iPhone Integration Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
User Interface Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Re-use Value Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Overall Rating: 2.83 out of 5 stars

Comic books and the iPad seem like a match made in heaven, but there are still some kinks to work out before they can truly come into their own. Take, for instance, WMDs, a new iPhone-only comic book. I wasn’t exactly sure what it was when I first downloaded it. I couldn’t tell if it was a motion comic, a fully animated short, a traditional comic, or some sort of hybrid of the three. As it turns out, it’s mostly like a traditional comic book, and, unfortunately, not a particularly good one.

Both issues 1.0 and 1.5 are currently available through the app store for free, so there’s no harm in trying them out. What you will find is a series with some promise – the initial trailer for the series uses live action and animation to showcase the series’ premise that superhumans are responsible for many of the world’s great disasters and large-scale military triumphs. But once you get past the initial pomp during the opening sequences, what you’re left with is a pretty standard comic book.

To be fair, the comic book reader software included with each issue/episode of WMDs is clean and simple. You are generally treated to one panel at a time, and you can pinch and zoom to get a closer look at any time. It’s standard stuff for a reader these days, but it’s well implemented here.

I think my expectations would have been lower, and my evaluation of this series higher, had WMDs been released as a standard comic book through an app like Comixology’s Comics. Instead, the hint of animation and live action footage makes the actual comic pale in comparison. It also doesn’t help that the art for WMDs, while serviceable, is sometimes scratchy and seems unfinished in places.

No doubt there will be additional episodes/issues in the WMDs series, but if the developers intend to continue presenting their story using a traditional comic book format, they might have better luck selling individual issues through another venue rather than their one-issue-per-app approach.


[ WMDs Review is a post from 148Apps ]


RingToneMaker Pro review

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RingToneMaker Pro review is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

Developer: Zentertain
Price: $1.99
Version Reviewed: 1.0
Device Reviewed On: iPhone 4

iPhone Integration Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
User Interface Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Re-use Value Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

The clue is in the name when it comes to RingToneMaker Pro, it’s an app that creates ringtones for your iPhone. Load the app, choose a song and a 10-30 second segment of it, then at the touch of one button, it’s created. Then it’s a simple matter of connecting your iPhone to iTunes and a couple of clicks of cut and paste. Voila, one new ringtone. No more suffering that damn Marimba or Piano tune.

As you can see from the screenshots, there really isn’t much to look at with RingToneMaker Pro, it’s all very functional. Its unique selling point is in its ability to adjust the pitch and playback speed. This can make for some entertaining ringtones. You can make any song you like sound like Barry White is singing it, or you can make it sound like Alvin and the Chipmunks’ are strutting their stuff. Admittedly after fiddling around with the settings, I still ended up sticking with the original version of the song. But it’s nice to have the option and I’m sure others would be keen to have a silly sounding ringtone.

It’s all quite simple but works for the most part. There’s even a link to a handy video tutorial so that it’s obvious what you need to do via iTunes. The only real irritant is that you can’t easily preview the song. You can once it’s completed and saved of course but there’s no way of doing it on the fly. It would have been very useful if you could tell where you were in the song rather than simply having to guess the correct timings.

Other than that, RingToneMaker Pro does exactly what the name suggests. Sure you could do it yourself for free via the PC/Mac but using this method is much quicker and simpler. If you’re someone who likes switching ringtones regularly and fancy hearing your songs in an entirely different light then this is well worth a look.

[ RingToneMaker Pro review is a post from 148Apps ]