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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HBR Today is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

Harvard Business Review Today provides a variety of content from HBR’s renowned digital and print media. The home screen reveals the twenty-five most recent blog articles, along with four three other menu bar items: audio, video and extra. All sections can be refreshed with a Twitter app-style pull down feature. A progress bar then informs you of what’s happening.

The blog articles are presented cleanly, against a white backdrop, and focus entirely on the content that it provides. The majority of articles are hyperlink-heavy, frequently referring to a number of other sources or quotes. A clean in-built browser means that these links are clickable without leaving the application, and there’s an option to view articles in Safari. Tapping the screen twice will remove the top menu bar, allowing more room for the content to be the centre of attention. The removable menu bar provides buttons to go back, go to the next or previous article, send to Twitter / Facebook / e-mail and to view the article in its original web format in HBR’s built-in browser.

The audio and video sections are relatively similar, the only difference being both of these sections offer the fifty most recent articles, rather than twenty-five. Both the audio and video content are relatively quick to load. The video quality is commendable. The extra section provides a number of book excerpts and magazine articles.

Where HBR falls is in its poor integration. There is no search; you can’t cut, copy and paste unless you view an article in the in-built browser; and tapping the status bar will not bring you to the top of the screen like it does in most other applications. In addition, the constant “give us your feedback” bar takes up precious space on the iPhone’s 3.5″ screen – reducing the area you have for reading articles without scrolling. The lack of certain features almost forces you to visit the web version – which is free. Once these problems are cleared up, the application will become much better value.

It is the extras that make it worth $2.99 – book excerpts and magazine extracts. If you’re just looking for HBR text, audio and video, viewing it in Safari is the wiser option.

[ HBR Today is a post from 148Apps ]

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

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

• Price: $1.99 (Currently free, during one-day introductory special. Download here)
• Version: 1.0
• Official Site: Toco Games

I once worked at a company that celebrated the launch of one of its products by handing out little plastic trinkets to all the employees. One of these trinkets was a puzzle sphere made up of 4 nearly-identical pieces, the object of which was to work out how to build the sphere again once disassembled.

It was readily apparent how the pieces fit together; the trick was trying to do it with only two hands. One day, after fiddling with it for some time, my officemate exasperatedly cried out “This isn’t a puzzle, it’s a skill!”

I have a similar reaction to the puzzle mode in MagniFusion. The goal of each single-screen puzzle is to push all like-colored bubbles into each other, each pair merging to form a larger bubble. These larger bubbles won’t fit through smaller openings, but will slide over smaller pits, meaning there is often a fairly precise order in which the bubbles need to be merged.

The challenge of these puzzles rarely lies in figuring out the order in which to merge bubbles, or the paths on which to move them, but in doing so within the generally brief time limit.

In most cases you do not drag the bubbles directly, but push them along with your fingertip. Since this means the bubbles can easily get away from you if you are not careful, moving quickly whilst avoiding obstacles (including other bubbles you do not wish to merge with yet) can become quite the test of manual dexterity.

Fortunately, most of the puzzles reside on the proper side of the line between challenging and frustrating, so the overall experience remains fun. Unfortunately, the difficulty curve varies wildly, and you could slog your way through one maddening puzzle only to find the next several are cakewalks. Since you must complete all five puzzles in each tier to unlock the next, this can wind up prematurely hampering progress in the later stages.

MagniFusion also contains an arcade mode, which features exactly the same gameplay found in Toco Games’ earlier title, Magnify Physics (see my earlier review for details).  Importantly, however, the terrible slowdown problems that plagued Magnify Physics have been resolved, and the framerate remains smooth even with a large amount of action on screen.

The arcade mode also now comes in three difficulties, which determine how much of the edges will freeze bubbles. Magnify Physics represents hard mode, with all borders off-limits, and the penalty area is reduced from there.

Even with these improvements, the game is still a little rough around the edges. Aside from the inconsistent difficulty in the puzzle mode, the controls sometimes feel a bit glitchy, especially when squashing a bubble to move it more precisely.

In fact, I found the squash functionality in general to be more of a hindrance than a help, especially in arcade mode.  For the most part, though, these minor flaws don’t detract much from the fun, and any puzzle failed due to a glitch is easily retried.

MagniFusion addresses the critical flaws in its predecessor, and adds an equally-compelling puzzle mode. A few polish issues notwithstanding, it is an entertaining skill-based puzzler built around some fresh mechanics.

Bonus Protip: For an additional challenge, enter the code 477201 at the “Codes and Extras” screen to unlock the Special Maze Mode.

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Wide Angle Review is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

Wide Angle is a news photography application that takes images from “big picture” posts – a collection of stunning snapshots, usually at least ten, from a single news story. Short captions are then applied, with the images being the centre of attention.

Presently, there are only two sources to view – The Big Picture and CBC Photo Galleries. There are a significant amount of galleries to view from within these two sources, but this is nonetheless a heavy limitation on the application. We hope that future updates will add more sources.

Navigation is simple, with a single vertical column along the left that lists the titles of all of the galleries. A circle beside them highlights which ones you’ve looked at fully (grey), partially (half grey half blue) and which ones you haven’t seen yet (blue). Viewing the images themselves reveals the Apple-style fast scroll feature, first seen on the iPad and now introduced on the iPhone with iOS4. This is very nice integration – it gives Wide Angle a much more official, respectable feel to it and makes it easier to navigate your way around particular galleries. The images are of reasonably high quality, making good use of the iPad’s generous display.

The captions have some opacity to them, and are limited in size which focuses the attention on the pictures. Captions can turned off with a single tap and remain that way for that particular gallery. Everything bar the picture (and caption, if you have them on) fades away after a few seconds, allowing the picture to take up the entire screen with no distractions. You can scroll the pictures manually with flicks of the finger if you wish.

Its drawback is its lack of sources. It operates by pulling pictures from specific RSS feeds, but there is no way to add your own. In addition, there is no search for a specific gallery. You can share a gallery link over e-mail, but Facebook and Twitter users are left empty-handed. What Wide Angle provides it does with precision: high quality, mesmerising images. It just needs to offer more.

[ Wide Angle Review is a post from 148Apps ]

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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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soundTable for iPad Review is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

A few weeks ago, I wrote a review extolling the virtues of iSequence, a sophisticated new iPad app that allows musicians to construct full-scale songs from their touch screens. That app could be overwhelming to a first time user or a novice musician, but now soundTable fills that void by providing a simplified interface and learning curve for beginners wanting to create interesting electronic sequences.

As its name implies, all controls in soundTable are manipulated from one master screen. You can easily search sound banks to find the beats, synths and other sounds you want, then drag them to the middle of the screen – the “table” – where their volume, speed and direction can be manipulated using circular turntables that surround each individual sound. As you drag sounds to the main table, they “attach” themselves visually to a master control at the bottom of the screen. These attachment lines are actually representations of sound waves and they can be manipulated by attaching additional effects to them. Ultimately, you’ll likely have a half dozen or more mini turntables on screen at once, so it can get a little confusing and often difficult to fully control.

To be fair, though, the interface in soundTable is interesting and unique and easy enough to begin with. It would help if the developers included a comprehensive help file with the app, but you will have to settle for the info button, which merely describes what each set of buttons represents. That’s certainly enough to get you going, but as users continue playing with the app they are probably going to want more and better explanations.

The sounds available in soundTable are pretty standard, but fortunately the developers have included many, many more available for download free. You can sample each sound and decide if you want it, so you don’t have to litter your iPad’s precious drive space with unwanted sounds. Hopefully there will be additional sound packs released as the app reaches maturity. At only $0.99 for the app, I wouldn’t mind paying extra for more sounds.

Graphically, soundTable really impresses. With a variety of virtual turntables and sound waves going at one time, the interface of the app looks something like an art piece. It remains to be seen (and heard) what the most ambitious of users will be able to sonically do within the confines of the iPad’s screen.

At this point, soundTable is more of a toy than apps such as iSequence, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It represents a good first step for those just now venturing into the ambient unknown.

[ soundTable for iPad Review is a post from 148Apps ]

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‘Graveyard Shift’ Review – A Fun Physics Puzzler with Great Style is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

Graveyard Shift [$2.99/Lite] is a new physics puzzle game where you are literally working a graveyard shift in a graveyard putting back skeletons that have inexplicably decided to pop out of their coffins. It features a charming art style that's Retina Display ready, a multitude of levels, and best of all some great level designs that are hard not to appreciate. It also doesn't hurt that the game is universal, and there's a lite to try before you buy. If you like games like Saving Private Sheep, Angry Birds, and Ragdoll Blaster, then Graveyard Shift should be right up your alley.

The premise is that you're a boy looking for a job to earn some extra cash, and you come to find that the local graveyard is hiring. For some odd reason, the skeletons from the graves have popped out of their coffins and perched themselves precariously amongst objects throughout the graveyard. It's your job to use the different properties of these objects and the physics in the game to get the skeleton back into their coffin homes. Some blocks can be touched to make them disappear, some must be touched by the same type block to eliminate them, and some just can't be removed from the level at all. There are also boxes of TNT that can be used to launch objects or the skeletons themselves to aid the task of getting them back to their eternal resting place.

The graphics in Graveyard Shift are nice, with lovely hand drawn backgrounds and crisp in-game elements that look especially great on the iPhone 4. The music is also very catchy and fitting, but the thing that really stands out about the game is the excellent level designs. Some levels are very straightforward, with the skeleton on top of stacks of blocks that must simply be cleared in order for him to fall into the coffin. But others are more complex, and almost Rube Goldberg-esque in their execution. For example, you may pop a box of dynamite that sends a ball rolling down an incline, that will then cause a latch that is holding back a giant pendulum to disappear. Gravity will then cause the pendulum to swing, and once it hits it's apex another box of dynamite is used to blast the pendulum further upwards into a platform where the skeleton resides, catapulting him into the nearby coffin. There's plenty of examples of situations like these during the game's 72 levels, and I certainly had my fair share of laugh out loud moments as I stared in amazement while the level played out.

As much as I enjoyed playing through Graveyard Shift, it's not without a couple problems. The biggest issue is the extremely finicky physics system. While it does create for some hilarious moments with the ragdoll skeleton, it can also cause objects in the game to behave wildly different from one play to the next. As a result, some of the levels can be frustratingly hard as you try to get things to do what you want them to, and completing each one is more luck than anything else. Somehow this doesn't really hinder the enjoyment though, and levels are easy to instantly replay at any moment, which you'll be doing often. The other issues with the game are very minor glitches where sometimes graphics don't display properly or levels load without any objects. These are easily fixed by simply reloading a level, and the developer is already working on an update to iron out these kinks.

Minor issues aside, I had a ton of fun with Graveyard Shift. The moments of figuring out how a level should work and then executing it, all while the ragdoll skeleton is flailing about the screen, brought a smile to my face every time. As an added challenge each level has a par for completion time and taps used, so beyond just completing each one you can also shoot for these goals. Unfortunately there's no sort of social network like OpenFeint to tie these accomplishments together, but at the very least it still adds replay to the game. If you are a fan of these physics games you should definitely try out the lite version of Graveyard Shift, and join in on the forum discussion for further player impressions and developer responses.

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Domino Box HD is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

Dominos was my favourite game as a kid (heck, it’s still in my top ten now). The idea is simple: you have to match one end of a domino tile to another end on the board. For example, if there’s an open “5″ on the board then you can only put another domino that has a “5″ on either end of it by that particular domino. If your tiles don’t match anything on the board, you’ll have to take more dominos until you have a match somewhere. Once you’ve reached a certain number of points – the amount of which is customizable – you’ve won. Getting rid of all your dominos will get you points.

Domino Box HD keeps things easy – the gameplay is refreshingly simple. Whenever you tap on a domino in your own box, the game highlights where it can go. You tap on the space where you want it to go and it sorts out the rotating and positioning for you. Although you could theoretically “cheat” with this method, it is the same technique employed in similar games. An ability to drag a domino manually, and rotate it manually, would resolve the issue altogether.

The game can be played in single player against a bot, or by multiplier with three other friends. Each friend’s tiles are hidden once they’ve made their move, as the idea is you pass the iPad around. There are three sets of rules to choose from, each explained within the application: draw game, international and points by 5’s.

The dominos and board are customizable with mix and match. There are five different boards to choose from – wood, chalkish and red, blue & green carpet. Dominos can be in black with white spots, wood with black spots or wood with coloured spots. The sounds are optional, and you can choose to play your own background song through iTunes.

And that’s really all there is to it! You aren’t faced with a myriad of options or configurations, the focus is on simplicity and gameplay. Resultantly, there aren’t any structural flaws to the application. Its only drain is its re-use value – like any game, after a while it gets repetitive. With the limited amount of action in Dominos, that feeling of repetitiveness does come quicker than usual – even to a domino lover like myself. There’s no online play, meaning your stuck against a single AI – an ability to play against multiple AI wouldn’t have gone amiss.

Overall, Domino Box HD is a nice addition to your iPad – it’s fun, simple and brings back fond memories to those of us who used to play the game long before even the iMac was around.

[ Domino Box HD is a post from 148Apps ]

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StopMotion Recorder Review is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

The art of stop motion is a filming technique that’s been around since the late 1800s and popularized in the swinging 1960s. It’s created by photographing every movement a character or prop makes, then stitching them together in rapid succession. Although, it’s quite complicated and therefore mainly left to the pros. Now, you can make your own stop motion film easily with just your iPhone and StopMotion Recorder.

The app is basic; just point and click. When you first go into the app, the camera will be deployed. The principal is easy – pose your characters and touch the screen to take pictures. A nifty feature to make sure you line up each shot from one to another is a shadow of the previous picture (aka onion skin), so there will be no unwanted differences once you put the frames together.

Once finished, you get a chance to review all the frames, cut ones you don’t want and set the speed of your movie (how many frames you want to play per second) and that’s it! A stop motion movie in minutes. The list of your finished movies can be accessed any time from within the app.

There are lots of options to chose from for sharing for creations; send to Twitter using YFrog or TwitVid, mail it or upload it to Flickr or YouTube. Interestingly, if you want it in your camera roll, you have to export it from the app first. It would be much better if the movie was automatically added to the camera roll, like many other picture and movie apps do. There is a settings menu, but nothing there is too complicated and instead just invites you to try different effects on your pictures.

The photo quality of the movie is also only as good as the iPhone camera. Don’t expect to have a very high quality movie unless you are in natural sunlight. Though the app does try to focus each frame as you take it, giving each frame a much crisper look. Due to the quality restrictions of the camera, StopMotion Recorder might be a little too irritating for those without patience or a steady hand.

One very strange detail is the lack of auto-rotation when taking the photos. If you hold the iphone on its side to make the most of the screen, then you might end up with an upside down or sideways movie that needs editing once uploaded to a computer, defeating the object slightly.

Anyone looking for a bit of fun should give StopMotion Recorder a go, as it’s bound to bring hours of entertainment to an individual or a group. The creativity is pretty much boundless, only tampered slightly by the lack of rotation and camera quality. For just $0.99, this is an absolute steal.

[ StopMotion Recorder Review is a post from 148Apps ]

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