Category Archives: ustwo

Friday Five: May 14th, 2010

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Friday Five: May 14th, 2010 is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

Fridays are the perfect time for reflecting on the past week…and Fridays at 148apps are no exception. Here are five interesting apps released in the past week for your perusal!

Inkstrumental
ustwo seems to enjoy creating unique apps, such as the masterfully titled “…“. Inkstrumental is their newest app, and it’s a funky one. The point is to create your own weird music videos and strange soundtracks, using the 31 creatures included. See, each character will emit a musical sound when you tap it. A “VIP character” allows you to record your own sounds, too. By mixing them together against different backdrops you create a unique mash-up of noise and your very own music video. It might not be as complex as other sound-mixing apps, but Inkstrumental is intuitive and packs a ton of character. Who couldn’t love these fuzzy creatures? As an added bonus, you can share your masterpieces by in-app uploading to YouTube.

$3.99

Inkstrumental

iPhone App – Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2010-05-07 :: Category: Entertainment

Nirvana Revenge
By now it’s an established fact that the Tap Tap Revenge series reigns supreme when it comes to iPhone rhythm games, at least in terms of popularity. Nirvana Revenge is the latest spin-off, featuring—you guessed it—hits from Nirvana. Fourteen songs are bundled with the app, including songs like Smells Like Teen Spirit, Breed, Heart Shaped Box, and Lithium. (Note that the fourteen includes three live versions.) The songs give you a good sampling of the band’s work, and you get to tap along to the fourteen tracks for far less than they would cost on iTunes. This being a Tap Tap game, you also have a few neat features like four difficulty levels and four boss tracks thrown in. If you’re a Nirvana Fan looking for a gaming fix, you’d better check out Nirvana Revenge.

$4.99

Nirvana Revenge

iPhone App – Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2010-05-12 :: Category: Games / Action

Komenten
To quote Komenten’s description: “A comet has been born, please take good care of it!” Komenten is a colorful space exploration game in which you zip around the galaxy like an intergalactic tourist. There’s no real objective, but the vivid watercolor graphics coupled with the soundtrack make a relaxing, beautiful ride. Even if you don’t usually enjoy non-traditional games, I’m willing to wager that anyone in touch with their inner child could easily get lost in Komenten’s vibrant, bizarre world. The universe is such an exciting place—why not explore it?

$2.99

Kometen

iPhone App – Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2010-05-12 :: Category: Games / Adventure

Zombie Infection
Gameloft just keeps rolling out games. Zombie Infection is one of their latest titles, and if it looks familiar, well, chances are that’s because it’s highly similar to Resident Evil. That doesn’t stop Zombie Infection from being a technically stunning title, however, and Gameloft’s new zombie game is sure to devour both your brains and your free time. Zombie Infection comes with a 12-level campaign mode in which you switch between ex-soldier Damien Sharpe and journalist Alex Rayne, as well as a Survivor Mode. There are tons of enemies, including mutated and infected animals, plenty of weapons, a sinister zombie-filled storyline, and top-notch 3D graphics. In short? Gameloft does it again…this time, with zombies!

$6.99

Zombie Infection

iPhone App – Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2010-05-10 :: Category: Games / Action

StreetSpark
StreetSpark is one of those apps that needs a large user base to function, which is probably why it’s free! StreetSpark is a location-based dating app that takes your location and searches for nearby users who match your profile (they call this a “Spark”). With an eye towards safety, StreetSpark doesn’t reveal your location or personal contact info. Instead, you can chat in-app or meet up in one of StreetSpark’s HotSpots, which give StreetSpark users discounts and offer users a place to congregate. Think FourSquare, but for dating. It’s a really interesting use of the location feature, and thankfully it looks like the app’s developers are aware of privacy concerns. Sadly, it’s currently limited to the UK, but the developers plan to expand to other countries (and, for that matter, handsets) in the future.

FREE!

StreetSpark

iPhone App – Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2010-03-10 :: Category: Social Networking

[ Friday Five: May 14th, 2010 is a post from 148Apps ]


PositionApp™

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PositionApp™ is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

Developer: Ustwo™
Price: FREE (Introductory)
Version Reviewed: 1.1
Reviewed on: iPhone 3GS

iPhone Integration Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Usability Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
User Interface Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Re-use / Replay Value Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Overall Rating: 4.75 out of 5 stars

IMG_0361

A few months back now the guys over at ustwo™ kindly sent me a pre-release copy of PositionApp™ to check out. Being an app review and blogger, I have to say that the moment I got a sniff that this app was in development, I was excited. At first I thought Apple would never let something like this through, after all .. it kinda dawned on me that maybe an app like this couldn’t physically be created within or conform to the current SDK regulations. Now, after months of playing around with the app, I can finally let you all in of what I think of it!

The concept of PositionApp™ is to let you track the daily, weekly and monthly rankings of every application on the App Store, right from your phone, a feature that Apple probably should’ve put out themselves. Because the app centers around app ranking, PositionApp™ will more than likely appeal to both sides of the coin; App Store customers and App Store developers, but then there’s this other side. App reviewers. With PositionApp™ ability to show an applications ranking over a day, week and month, PositionApp™ really does become a must have for app reviewers like myself.

So, now we get down to the actual app. Opening PositionApp™ you’ll greeted with a list of the ‘Top 8 Movers’ from the top 100 applications across all store genres. This gives you a quick glance of the apps that are the hottest at that very moment. Need more scope? Swiping across will widen your field of search bringing back the ‘Top 8 Movers’ this time for the top 300 applications across all store genres. Swiping across again will reveal your saved favourites which we’ll get into a bit later.

The app has four tabs along the bottom ‘Dashboard’ (as just explained above), Favorites, Search and Browse. Tapping any apps icon within the app will throw you to a more detailed pane, with each position number in it’s own bubble. Here, you can see the app’s current store position, the change in it’s store position and sort position results by country. Tapping the ‘Day’ button in the bottom right will give you even more options to see this data for both that week or across a number of months. Tapping any of one the results will also flip all of the position bubbles around to reveal the app’s change in position for that week or month. You also have the option to switch between that app’s category, or see its position in the whole of it’s store. To do this simply tap ‘All’ (bottom left). PositionApp™’s absolute unique selling point though is this is the first app every to offer 6 months of retrospective app positioning data.

Okay, so .. Maybe you’d like to follow a set number of apps you want to keep an eye on more than others? This is where ‘Favorites’ comes in. Throughout the app you’ll find little stars. Tapping them will instantly add that app to your Favorites tab. Once in your Favorites tab you’ll be able to see the developer, name, its current price and date of release or last update for each app you’ve favourited. Tapping on the price of any app within PositionApp™ will take you to the App Store to purchase or download that app.

IMG_0358

Need to find an app yourself? Head to the search tab. Here, just like the App Store, you can search for any app which takes your fancy. Maybe you’re a developer looking to keep a track on the position of your own app, or a high-profile app reviewer looking to see if your last review(s) made a positive effect. The search tab gives you the ability to search the whole store by the app’s name, developer, or if you want to search the whole store for the keyword, just tap ‘All’. The Browse tab on the other hand will let you search by country, in each category, for the app you are looking for – it’s pretty nifty.

My only little caveat is that the ‘Share’ option throughout the app, which allows for mailing app positions straight from within the app, doesn’t seem to be active in this shipping version, stating a: “This device cannot send e-mail.” error, on trying to use the feature.

Overall, I like PositionApp™ and I think that it is one app certain to make an impression on the App Store crowd. From everyday customers, to app developers and app reviewers, this app applies to everyone looking to keep an eye on what’s happening in the App Store at any given time. The best bit? – thanks to world’s largest ad network AdMob, PositionApp™ is absolutely free. Although there is word that the app will be put up for sale in a few months, so my advice to all of you is – get in quick!


Mobile Showdown – Game Trailers

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Mobile Showdown – Game Trailers is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

Game trailers are serious business. The decisions that you come to on a daily basis sometime come down to whether or not a quality game trailer has been made. Even if you don’t particularly care for trailers, I watch them religiously and often highlight apps that put in that extra bit of effort.

Last week I went ahead and put in my best trailer ever vote for Chillingo’s newest title, The Hero. Perhaps my vote was premature. This week I’m not even going to leave it up to me. Let the readers be the judge! This weeks showdown is between two game trailer powerhouses. On one side, we have Chillingo’s trailer of the hero, which is still all sorts of amazing to me. On the other side, we have ustwo’s trailer for ..™. They pride themselves on their trailers for the entire .™ coolectable series, but I personally like the ..™ trailer the best. Watch both trailers after the break and let us know who wins… I have to know!
chillingo_logo

VS

ustwo_logo

The Hero

..™


…™

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…™ is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

Developer: Ustwo™
Price: $1.99
Version Reviewed: 1.0.0
Reviewed on: iPhone 3GS

iPhone Integration Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Gameplay Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Controls Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
User Interface Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Re-use / Replay Value Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Overall Rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars

IMG_0267

A simple game, and part of the studios 48hr series, …™ is the third unique installment from UK-based design studio ustwo™. If you’re not familiar with the 48hr series of apps, basically these are applications the studio has made within the space of 48 hours. No more, no less. All in all there are 6 apps within this special app series, and more information on each can be found at the official 48hr app site.

Onto …™ as a game though, and just as with the previous two installments, …™ is a tilt-based game which uses the iPhone’s built-in accelerometer, only this time, we see the series return to a its roots – a 2D layout. Monotone in its approach, the game is based around a simple concept of guiding the dot through a mirage of differently placed slots within moving panels. These panels are constantly moving upwards towards death… or the spiky ceiling thingamajig. As the dot successfully drops through the hole each patterned platform, the previous platform above then disappears. Just as with the previous titles in the series, the aim of the …™ is simple, using your sense of skilled timing, you have to survive for as long as you possibly can… and surviving means avoiding that terrible spiky fate that lies above.

Graphically, this addition is just as “fresh” as .™ and ..™ – if not, fresher. I can definitely see that there’s been a difference in approach with …™. It’s sort as if they said, we’ll completely change the whole basic mechanic. You won’t find the light blue dot with the dark red enemies, …™ has been drained of all colour, leaving I have to say an immersive frenzied and challenging game which screams “retro-modern”. The real challenge in the game comes with the realization that because these holes within each panel are obviously scattered in their location, you have to physically work out which way to tilt your iPhone, in order to make a clear path for the dot to fall through – and I have to admit, it caught me out on a number of occasions! While it’s obviously not as 3D intensive as maybe ..™ was, …™ brings something that I’m finding hard to put into words. I think what I’m trying to say in so many words is, the fact they reverted to 2D doesn’t seem to take anything away from the game. In fact, this new design is definitely something I’m diggin’.

Managed to beat your previous score? As with .™ and ..™, …™ allows for sharing of scores through Twitter, and with the studio having a sense of humor, the tweet you send out is, well, hilarious.

“My balls stopped dropping at 43 #dotdotdot http://link.ustwo.co.uk/dotdotdot“

As for gameplay, …™ runs extremely smooth (as least that was my experience running the game on my 3GS). As with ..™ though, I really can’t see where the studio will take the series next. Could we see a tilt-based side-scroller ‘Rolando-esque’ take for ….™? Overall a simple game, one which I personally found hard to pick fault with .. and put down for that matter. …™’s gel of sheer challenge and a super well designed playing field had me hooked from the start. I’ll be back when I drop my balls some more! See what I did there?


Crazy Cool Halloween Costume Alternatives From MouthOff

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Crazy Cool Halloween Costume Alternatives From MouthOff is a post from: Best Iphone App Review Website

You poor iDork (term of endearment for individuals who are obsessed with the iPhone … like us) … Halloween is just three days away and you got nothing. No costume, no pumpkin, no love – nothing. Sure you could dress up as Dr. Richard Head or Nurse Connie Lingus … but come on, you’re an iDork … go large or go home! Plop down $1,000 … rig up a 42-inch LCD TV and be a giant working iPhone.

 

costume-7 Now we understand if a grand is a bit steep … and if the cash doesn’t kill you, the weight of this puppy will. Each giant working iPhone weighs 85 pounds … not exactly mobile friendly. So you could be cardboard cutout iPhone dude. It’s cheap, lightweight …. but unfortunately looks like total crap.

So if you’re still in that Halloween costume rut, turn to ustwo … the developers of the MouthOff [iTunes] app. As the video below illustrates, these guys are completely insane … but there is a method to their madness. With the 99 cents MouthOff app and two rolls of toilet paper, you’ll be transformed into an uber-cool MouthOff Mummy.

 

Plus MouthOff includes a Hell-oween update which includes four new Halloween-themed mouths for your ghoulish delights.

Now if rain is in the forecast for your area on Halloween, obviously the toilet paper MouthOff Mummy will look crappier than cardboard cutout iPhone dude. But no fear … there’s a safe alternative that’s equally crazy cool … MouthOff Pumpkin-Head.