148Apps Main |
- Zenonia 3 Review
- Burn It All Review
- Rdio Now Accepting Payment Via Amazon Payments
- Third Blade Review
- Dash And Demolish With Demolition Dash
- Pirate Subs!!! Review
- Learn And Have Fun With LazyTown BooClips
- Shrinky’s Anger Remedy Review
- iCasual Video: Trucks & Skulls
- Flick Kick Chelsea Review
- Backflip Reveals “Army of Darkness: Defense”
| Posted: 28 Apr 2011 12:04 PM PDT  Zenonia 3 ReviewBy Carter Dotson on April 28th, 2011Our Rating:    :: HOT AND COLDiPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad Zenonia 3 is the latest entry in Gamevil’s fast-paced action-RPG series.
Developer: Gamevil Price: $4.99 Version Reviewed: 1.0.1 Device Reviewed On: iPod touch 4G Graphics / Sound Rating: 4 out of 5 stars Overall Rating: 3.63 out of 5 stars
Zenonia 3 is a very deep game. You will be sinking a lot of time into the game to try and complete it, and there are plenty of side quests to go along with the main quest. You will get your money’s worth out of this game, for sure, and if you want to replay it, there are Hard and Hell modes awaiting you, the latter mode allowing you to play through the game without worrying about quests, according to the in-game tips. Good luck getting to that any time soon, though. If you do replay the game, you have one of four character classes you can play as. The game is very vibrant and colorful, and the game’s rapid pace never chugs on newer device. While there’s a lot of complexity with the equipment and items, the game’s actually relatively simple to play, as most of everything is done with just the d-pad and one action button, which you will rapidly tap on as you slay enemies. There’s also a 12-slot quick bar that allows you easy access to potions and skills at the bottom of the screen.
Zenonia 3 is a curious contradiction. With overly fast gameplay laced with story sections that feel too slow by comparison, and simple controls fused with menus that are often incomprehensible, this is a game that sometimes suffers from its dedication to the extremes. With some balancing in its pace and complexity, this could have been something truly special. However, as it is, it’s a deep and lengthy, albeit flawed, action-RPG for people who like the action part of RPGs, in multiple senses of the word. Want to play Zenonia 3? Comment on the review below by May 4th to enter to win a free promo code for the game! [ Zenonia 3 Review is a post from 148Apps ]  ZENONIA® 3Buy Now: $4.99 Our Rating: Released: 2011-04-28 :: Category: Games :: HOT AND COLDRead Our Full Review >> Apps mentioned in this post: ZENONIA® 3 |
| Posted: 28 Apr 2011 11:04 AM PDT  Burn It All ReviewBy Carter Dotson on April 28th, 2011Our Rating: :: LIGHT MY FIREUniversal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad Burn It All is an action puzzle game that has you trying to burn all of the rope and other flammable objects using various flames with different attributes.
Developer: Pastagames Price: $0.99 Version Reviewed: 1.0 Device Reviewed On: iPod touch 4G Graphics / Sound Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars Overall Rating: 4.38 out of 5 stars
The game also perfectly layers its gameplay concepts as you go through it – as you play the first 3 worlds, the first few levels in each introduce you to new elements before eventually just letting you loose at the challenges the game sets forth, before the fourth world just throws the ultimate challenge at you. But what makes this game special is the combination of both action and puzzle elements. It’s not just enough to figure out the proper plan, or to be able to skillfully navigate the puzzles – you have to be able to do both. The game nails this blend perfectly, and it makes for an engaging and addictive experience. The game’s elements get more complex, but the game itself remains simple, never requiring you to do more than just move the flame around the levels. Oh, and the game is a universal app, so iPad owners can get in on the fun as well.
Burn It All is one of my favorite games this year – even after completing all 100 of the levels (with a 5th world with a brand new gameplay mechanic coming soon), I still found myself going back to try and improve my scores. This game is an absolute must-have for both casual and core iOS game fans. [ Burn It All Review is a post from 148Apps ]  Apps mentioned in this post: |
| Rdio Now Accepting Payment Via Amazon Payments Posted: 28 Apr 2011 10:30 AM PDT On-demand social music app Rdio has added a new form of payment for their subscription service – you can now pay using your Amazon Payments account. Hurrah!
The app costs from $4.99 a month, which was previously only payable by Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express. Now you can let Amazon Payments handle it all, thus saving you from entering your card details on another source -something that’s bound to be reassuring to many. If you’ve not tried Rdio before, there’s a 7 day trial available on the website for US and Canada based residents.  RdioiPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad Buy Now: FREE Our Rating: Released: 2009-12-17 :: Category: Music :: STILL WAITING FOR SPOTIFYRead Our Full Review >> [ Rdio Now Accepting Payment Via Amazon Payments is a post from 148Apps ] Apps mentioned in this post: Rdio |
| Posted: 28 Apr 2011 10:04 AM PDT  Third Blade ReviewBy Blake Grundman on April 28th, 2011Our Rating: :: BLOODY MESSiPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad When your quest is this sorry, your princess is better off left in the clutches of evil.
Developer: Com2us Price: $2.99 Version: 1.0.0 App Reviewed on: iPhone 4 Graphics / Sound Rating: 3 out of 5 stars Overall Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
When it comes to visual appeal, Third Blade has it in spades. The game’s hand drawn environments and character designs look amazingly lush and colorful. An unfortunate side effect of this art style seems to be the character animations that resemble a slideshow more than an actual game. It is hard to say if this is more of a technical or artistic issue, but it makes the action feel dated and unpolished.
Probably the last nail in the coffin is Third Blade’s lackluster storyline that in many cases seems almost non-existent. Remember the classic plotline of rescuing a female in peril? Featuring a tedious storyline that is hard to invest yourself into, a deluge of the same enemies over and over again, plus a little visual tarnish to boot, Third Blade is a game that doesn’t live up to its own high aspirations. There are better places in the App Store to spend your hard earned $2.99. [ Third Blade Review is a post from 148Apps ]  Third BladeBuy Now: $2.99 Our Rating: Released: 2011-04-27 :: Category: Games :: BLOODY MESSRead Our Full Review >> Apps mentioned in this post: Third Blade |
| Dash And Demolish With Demolition Dash Posted: 28 Apr 2011 09:30 AM PDT There’s a new jump n run game on its way to the app store soon: Demolition Dash and we’ve got screenshots to show you!
Looking at the screenshots, the visual style looks great and I reckon Demolition Dash could do well when it hits the App Store in May for the iPhone and iPad. Take a look for yourself below. We’ll be sure to keep you informed on this game’s progress. [ Dash And Demolish With Demolition Dash is a post from 148Apps ] |
| Posted: 28 Apr 2011 09:04 AM PDT  Pirate Subs!!! ReviewBy Jennifer Allen on April 28th, 2011Our Rating: :: SATISFYING FUNUniversal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad Blow submarines up with the touch and a swipe of your finger.
Developer: Super Boise Price: $0.99 (LITE version available) Version Reviewed: 1.1 Device Reviewed On: iPhone 4 Graphics / Sound Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars Overall Rating: 3.69 out of 5 stars While some games available on the App Store set out to demonstrate how you can pay a couple of bucks for hours of deep entertainment and storytelling, others exist purely to distract you for five or ten minutes here and there during your day. Think of it as like food. While an RPG or FPS game is your lunch or dinner, you’re still going to want to snack on something in between. Pirate Subs!!! is that snack. Fortunately it’s like an apple, a healthy snack that’s also enjoyable to eat, rather than one that just makes you feel bad afterwards.
The simple control system means it’s easy to play with the main joy coming from trying to beat your previous high score. It’s the kind of game that you succeed best at once you get into the right rhythm. There is a little more to it than simply tapping submarines though. For one thing, if one of the subs goes off the screen to the right, you lose a life. You’ve only got three lives before it’s game over. You also lose lives for tapping the polar bear cubs and whales that are trying to mind their own business as they swim past. There’s more on offer than just the standard classic mode too. An expert mode offers a harder challenge, while a Zen mode offers a much easier challenge – a variation on difficulty levels really. There’s also a time trial mode to see how many points you can acquire in a minute as well as a cheat mode. This cheat mode allows you to turn on invincibility, change gravity, remove all big submarines and polar bears, as well as inflict ‘uber blasts’ on the subs. Ultimately it’s the same kind of experience but at least it’s mixing things up a little. Pirate Subs!!! is a snack of a game but a tasty one. The music also sounds very much like the Pirates of the Carribean theme music which was rather appropriate. You won’t spend hours upon hours playing Pirate Subs!!! but you’ll enjoy dropping by every now and then in order to compete with friends thanks to the Game Center leaderboards and achievement system. [ Pirate Subs!!! Review is a post from 148Apps ]  Pirate Subs!!!Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad Buy Now: $0.99 Our Rating: Released: 2011-04-12 :: Category: Games / Adventure :: SATISFYING FUNRead Our Full Review >> Apps mentioned in this post: , Pirate Subs!!! |
| Learn And Have Fun With LazyTown BooClips Posted: 28 Apr 2011 08:30 AM PDT Despite not having children of my own, I know all about LazyTown. My cousins were hooked on the show when they were younger. They loved the rather quirky world it offered and its combination of puppetry, animation and real people. They’re unfortunately a little too old for it now but I’ve no doubt they’d have been thrilled by the arrival of the LazyTown BooClips app.
The app is simple to use for all age groups and you can stop or start it wherever you like, it keeps track of where you left it. It looks to be a great app to get your kids into reading while still feeling as interactive as any game too. It’s available now for the iPad. The BooClips app is a free download with additional books such as Dr Rootenstain and Lazy Town Sportfake available as in-app purchases for $4.99 each. Take a look at the video below to see just what the interface is like.  [ Learn And Have Fun With LazyTown BooClips is a post from 148Apps ] Apps mentioned in this post: LazyTown BooClips |
| Posted: 28 Apr 2011 08:04 AM PDT  Shrinky’s Anger Remedy ReviewBy Jennifer Allen on April 28th, 2011Our Rating: :: SOOTHINGiPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad Shrinky’s Anger Remedy offers a little bit of calm in an otherwise hectic world
Developer: Berger LCSW Enterprises Price: $2.99 Version Reviewed: 1.0 Device Reviewed On: iPhone 4 iPhone Integration Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars Overall Rating: 3.83 out of 5 stars Life likes to throw constant sources of stress at you. Whether it be because someone cut you up on the freeway or because you split milk everywhere trying to open the carton, you’re going to end up angry sooner or later. But how do you calm down? It’s not always that easy, especially not in our high pressure world in which it’s tough to find five minutes for yourself. Fortunately, there’s an app for that in the form of Shrinky’s Anger Remedy.
Ultimately cynics towards therapy of any sort are going to be a bit underwhelmed by such an app. You’ve got to go into it with an open mind. But you know what? Having suffered some anger issues in recent days, Shrinky has helped me a little in calming and regaining some perspective. Will it replace real therapy? No, but it’ll give you those few moments to relax and accept the world once more. That’s got to be worth the asking price, right? [ Shrinky’s Anger Remedy Review is a post from 148Apps ]  Shrinky's Anger RemedyBuy Now: $2.99 Our Rating: Released: 2011-04-27 :: Category: Healthcare & Fitness :: SOOTHINGRead Our Full Review >> Apps mentioned in this post: Shrinky's Anger Remedy |
| iCasual Video: Trucks & Skulls Posted: 28 Apr 2011 07:30 AM PDT Title: Trucks & Skulls Developer: Appy Entertainment Inc. Price: $1.99 Version: 1.6 Reviewed on: iPod Touch and iPad iCasual is a free audio podcast that we deliver to you! |
| Posted: 28 Apr 2011 07:04 AM PDT  Flick Kick Chelsea ReviewBy Blake Grundman on April 28th, 2011Our Rating: :: GOOOAAALLLL!!!!Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad This game shoots and scores in a big way, just be ready to deal with the aftermath of gaming addiction.
Developer: Pik Pok Games Price: $1.99 Version: 1.0.0 App Reviewed on: iPhone 4 Graphics / Sound Rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars Overall Rating: 4.19 out of 5 stars
At risk of oversimplifying the controls of Flick Kick Chelsea, if you can gracefully slide your finger across the screen, you have what it takes to be the most dominant goal scoring force the world has ever seen. Better yet, if you can slide and hook your finger quickly, that is all it takes to bend it like Beckham, and then some. Seriously, this is the most oversimplified way to play soccer in the history of gaming, but if you can wrap your brain around it, long hours of addiction await you.
If you are up for dodging player cutouts and squeezing shots in just under the pipe, odds are you will find this game entertaining. Just do your best to avoid paying too close attention to the leaderboards, otherwise you will never be able to put the game down. Rest assured that Pelé would be proud of you for this purchase, available now in the App Store. [ Flick Kick Chelsea Review is a post from 148Apps ]  Flick Kick ChelseaUniversal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad Buy Now: $1.99 Our Rating: Released: 2011-04-07 :: Category: Games / Sports :: GOOOAAALLLL!!!!Read Our Full Review >> Apps mentioned in this post: Flick Kick Chelsea |
| Backflip Reveals “Army of Darkness: Defense” Posted: 28 Apr 2011 06:04 AM PDT
The game, created in partnership with MGM Studios, and based upon the movie of the same name, features over 150 lines of dialogue from the movie. The camera focuses on Ash as you play, but features otherwise traditional castle defense gameplay, as you have to summon and upgrade troops like peasants, swordsmen, spearmen, archers, and even Arthur to help you protect this castle. Ash can be upgraded to help dispatch the undead using gold you collect or pay for with in-app purchases. Backflip insists that these in-app purchases are purely optional, and just there for users who want a quick boost. You can upgrade your health, damage, chainsaw, broomstick, iron glove, and various spells with the gold you collect. Oh, and you can upgrade your castle with the Necronomicon itself to help protect you from the Deadites, including evil Ash. The game will release on May 12th, and will cost $0.99 for the iPhone/iPod touch version, and $2.99 for the iPad version. Backflip promises that the game will be perfectly accessible even to those who aren’t familiar with the franchise at all, although there is plenty of fanservice for those who are familiar with the franchise. As Backflip CEO Julian Farrior puts it, "We're excited to be partnering with MGM on this project and to say that our studio is a fan of the Army of Darkness film would be a gross understatement. This has truly been a labor of love where we have had the joy of working with some of the best movie dialogue and characters out there. Our goal was to create a truly compelling mobile castle defense game and layer it with this rich and whimsical IP that already had a mass following. We think this game will be fun for the AOD fanboy and newbie alike." Backflip has a tradition of addictive games, with 95 million downloads of their titles across iOS and Android, and this shows promise to be part of that tradition. As well as this game, Backflip is launching several new free games in May and June, and Ragdoll Blaster 3 is currently in development. Check out some screens and a trailer of Army of Darkness: Defense below. Army of Darkness: Defense (Backflip Studios / MGM) from Backflip Studios on Vimeo. [ Backflip Reveals “Army of Darkness: Defense” is a post from 148Apps ] |
What happens when you take the action-RPG genre, and give it a 12-pack of Red Bull? You get Zenonia 3. The third game in Gamevil’s franchise, this puts you in control of Chael, a young warrior under the tutelage of his father and former protagonist Regret. One day, Chael suddenly finds himself transported to the realm of Midgard, where the Divine and Devil Tribes are at war. He must help the Divine Tribe defeat the Devil Tribe, all while finding a way home. This is all just window dressing for the gameplay, which has you hack and slashing your way through hordes of enemies, along with collecting gold and mining for materials to craft new items along the way.
Seriously, though, Zenonia 3 needs to take a chill pill. There is no pacing, the game gravitates toward the extremes – there’s the fast-paced action gameplay that moves a bit too quickly, and the story sections, which are problematic as you’re so used to the fast-paced gameplay, that when the game decides to slow things down with dialog or important story sections, your immediate reaction may be like mine, which was a mixture of impatience, and frustration at being unable to will myself to skip the story sections, lest I find myself even more confused by what’s going on. The game throws a lot of info at you, and often without explaining what is going on – there are tons of menus and items that you have to learn the purpose of, and often, the best way is to learn through trial and error, as the game sure won’t tell you. Now, I’ve said that the game is very fast; while you can decrease the game speed from the options menu, this really only reduces the frame rate, making the game just feel clunky and slow compared to its default speed. My suggestion is to just turn the speed up to 11 and learn to live with it.
Burn It All seems familiar at first, but as you dig into it, you find something more unique than you might expect, and a game peppered with brilliant game elements that kept me coming back long after I had completed it. It might immediately seem like a clone of Burn the Rope, what with the similar ideas of rope burning as a gameplay mechanic, but the similarities end there. You drag your flame around the levels, with your goal being to burn every flammable object in the level, from rope to wood to enemy bats. Soon, faster and slower burning rope types are introduced. Then you’re given blue flames that can ignite from anywhere on a rope, not just on its endpoints, and can also burn wood are introduced. There’s then green flames that can cut through multiple objects. After all these elements are introduced, the game throws one final loop at you, literally. A time loop is introduced, where you play through a puzzle as one flame, then when time is up, you go to the next flame, and the actions of the first flame happen as you play with the next flame. Your goal is to complete the levels as quickly as possible to try to collect up to 3 gems.
The controls are the only sticky part of the game – the controls work with a 1:1 offset, that sometimes are awkward when you need to reposition your finger, but this is really just a minor, and largely unavoidable complaint. The initial release to the App Store doesn’t support the Retina Display on the iPod touch 4th generation, although this is a minor oversight that will be fixed, according to the developers. The game does support OpenFeint and Game Center, although you have to enable them manually from the options menu, there’s no prompt when you launch the app for the first time, as is the norm for most OpenFeint games. The benefit to this choice is that you can enable only one of the two services separately if you want.
For those who haven’t tried it yet, Rdio is a social music service from the founders of Skype that allows you to listen to as much music as you want through your iOS device as well as the web and your PC or Mac. You can build your online music collection from a catalogue of over 8 million songs while also checking out other people’s collections and playlists, as well as see what’s popular at the moment. Chris reviewed it favorably upon launch 
Hack and slash games have a long history that date back to the early days of console gaming. There is something about the visceral action of tearing an enemy limb from limb that seems to be timeless. The iOS has seen their fare share of developers looking to take their whack at the genre, with the most recent being Com2us and their new game, Third Blade. Can a game that screams out to the 16-bit era strike a chord in this new generation of gamer, or is this another retro revisitation that would have been better off staying in the nineties?
As long as you can grasp the simple concept of fighting your way from the left side of the screen to the right, the actual game mechanics should be a breeze, especially considering that there is really only a single attack button. Sure, from time to time the player can jump into the air to launch a super attack, but other than the optional switching of weaponry, the monotony of combat will ensue very quickly. It doesn’t really help matter much either, when every stage devolves into a series of glorified kill rooms.
Get ready, because there is going to be plenty more of that to go around, that’s as long as you can manage to stay awake for long enough to advance that far into the game.
You’ll be playing Zilla, a small and red monster who likes to inflict fear and terror on a variety of different metropolises. You’ll be jumping, smashing and roaring your way through the stages and collecting red stars so you can transform into GodZilla. There’ll be a few power ups on the way fortunately like chilli peppers to increase your roar radius and wings to turn you into Super Zilla. 24 levels are on offer here covering numerous famous monuments which presumably you can destroy in a Rampage style attack. 
The concept is incredibly simple. You have to blow submarines out of the water by tapping them. Once they’re in the air, you then have to swipe your finger across them thus flinging them across the screen. Simple eh? Don’t worry about your motivations. I have no idea what they are and I’m not convinced it matters much either. 
BooClips aims to improve your children’s reading skills while also stimulating their imagination. Using a combination of different features such as word for word narration, 3D and even picture in picture sign language intepretation, it’s bound to enthral kids. Voiceover recording is also available so that your children can become part of the storyline, no doubt boosting vocabulary skills.
Having previously set out to solve 
Chelsea is one of the most dominant football clubs in the entire world, so it would only make sense that they would also have an iPhone game dedicated in their honor. Based off on the original game Flick Kick Football, Flick Kick Chelsea is essentially more of the same, only bearing the colors of the blue and red. Is there enough under the hood to warrant a purchase, or is this an attempt at bleeding the pitch dry?
Featuring eight different modes to indulge your inner striker, players will be at odds with the online leaderboards, shooting their way to international supremacy. Leaderboards not enough for you? There are even options to face off with total strangers in online multiplayer, all made possible by GameCenter’s matchmaking features. The interesting thing is that despite all of the modes being fairly similar, they can still manage to hook you fairly quickly with the “one more round” mentality that it fosters.
Hail to the king, baby! Backflip Studios are bringing the cult Evil Dead franchise’s 3rd installment Army of Darkness and Bruce Campbell’s famous protagonist Ash to the App Store with Army of Darkness: Defense. This castle defense game puts you in control of Ash as he tries to defend a medieval castle from the armies of the undead, known as the Deadites.| You are subscribed to email updates from 148Apps - iPhone App Reviews, iPhone Game Reviews, and iPhone News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
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