148Apps Main |
- Beautiful Planet HD Review
- Point & Measure
- Loris and the Runaway Ball Review
- CoinDrop! Review
- PopCap and Make-A-Wish Foundation Make An Aspiring Game Designer’s Dream Come True
- Fast Five the Movie: Official Game Review
- The Royal Wedding Invades Say What You See
- Par Out Golf Review
- Homer Simpson Bumbles His Way Onto TomTom
- Order & Chaos Online
- Virtual Guitar Free Stums A New Tune
| Posted: 02 May 2011 12:04 PM PDT  Beautiful Planet HD ReviewBy Timothy Smith on May 2nd, 2011Our Rating:   :: SHOWCASEiPad Only App - Designed for the iPad Beautiful Planet is an interesting concept that provides some stunning imagery, but it’s not for everyone.
Developer: Banzai Labs Price: $1.99 iPad Integration Rating: 3 out of 5 stars Overall Rating: 3.17 out of 5 stars
[ Beautiful Planet HD Review is a post from 148Apps ]  Beautiful Planet HD: A Photographic Journey Around the WorlUniversal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad Buy Now: $1.99 Our Rating: Released: 2010-04-01 :: Category: Travel :: SHOWCASERead Our Full Review >> Apps mentioned in this post: Beautiful Planet HD: A Photographic Journey Around the Worl |
| Posted: 02 May 2011 11:04 AM PDT  Point & MeasureBy Gianna LaPin on May 2nd, 2011Our Rating: :: FINICKY BUT USEFULiPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad If you can settle for a highly educated guess, rather than an exact measurement down to the inch, then this app could save your bacon the next time you need to know how tall that window is or how much paint you need to cover a wall.
Developer: TapTapSoft Price: $1.99 Version: 1.0 App Reviewed on: iPod Touch 4g iPhone Integration Rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars User Interface Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars Re-use / Replay Value Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars Overall Rating: 3.83 out of 5 stars
It would seem that this app could be used in a variety of different situations. For some reason, the first use case that popped into my head was taking the measurement of a tree before cutting it down; my dad cuts trees for firewood and figuring out how far the tree would fall is always the first order of business. Other people could use it to figure out if that large potted tree will fit in your living room, or whether your four-poster bed will fit in the apartment you are considering renting. I imagine it might come in handy for golfers or anyone else who needs to estimate the distance to a given object.
About half the time the results you get with this app are clearly wrong, and about half the time they seem fairly accurate. I did better the more I practiced with it. I had much better luck taking measurements of far away objects, like trees and houses, rather than measurements of small objects under 3 feet height. Overall, for the price of $1.99, it's worth having if you find yourself in situations where knowing heights and distances would be helpful. [ Point & Measure is a post from 148Apps ]  Point & MeasureBuy Now: $1.99 Our Rating: Released: 2011-05-01 :: Category: Utilities :: FINICKY BUT USEFULRead Our Full Review >> Apps mentioned in this post: Point & Measure |
| Loris and the Runaway Ball Review Posted: 02 May 2011 10:30 AM PDT
As a parent, one of my biggest concerns is that my fearless child will run into the street to collect a stray ball or other toy and get hit by an oncoming car. As much as we talk about this in order to reinforce this important lesson, I worry that it is never enough for this utterly crucial message to sink in. This is a sweet story, told from the point-of-view of a loving older brother Lincoln, about how one day he is playing with his little sister Loris and their ball rolls into the street, and now lincoln needs to save his sister from her horrible decision to go after the ball. Luckily the older brother does get to his sister just in time, something I have not yet had to do, and hope I never have to. Read the full review at GiggleApps!  Loris and the Runaway BallUniversal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad Buy Now: $1.99 Released: 2011-01-10 :: Category: Books [ Loris and the Runaway Ball Review is a post from 148Apps ] Apps mentioned in this post: Loris and the Runaway Ball |
| Posted: 02 May 2011 10:04 AM PDT  CoinDrop! ReviewBy Phillip Levin on May 2nd, 2011Our Rating: iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad A fun iPhone game that anyone can enjoy.
Developer: Full Fat Price: $0.99 Version Reviewed: 1.1 Device Reviewed On: iPhone Graphics / Sound Rating: 4 out of 5 stars Overall Rating: 3.88 out of 5 stars
This is a pachinko-style game, not unlike PopCap Game’s hit Peggle. The goal of the game is to drop coins from the top of the screen to the bottom, earning points as they bounce off objects and barriers that rotate, twist and move. You can drop up to five coins at a time, creating a frenzy of coins bouncing all around screen. In order to complete each level, you have to collect blue coins by hitting them with the coins that you drop. Once you’ve collected them all, it’s just a matter of trying to get as many bonus points as possible. The challenge here, of course, is that you have a limited number of coins you can drop before you run out of them and the level ends. Coin Drop! has over 60 levels, and each one lasts a minute or two tops, so the game moves quickly, which I like. Also, there’s a good variety to the design of each level, so the game doesn’t get old. You’ll come across plenty of crazy gimmicks, including portals and magnets, which really mix things up. The gameplay is perfectly suited for those ADD moments in life when you want to play a game or entertain yourself for a few minutes while you’re waiting to do something else. This is a fun, easy to play game that nearly anyone can enjoy. One criticism I do hold with Coin Drop!, though, is that I often found that I was more successful with the game when I’d just quickly release five coins at a time – with no strategizing whatsoever – and let them bounce all over the place. This is when I’d score the highest number of points, in fact. However, whenever I’d carefully choose when to release a coin, one at a time, and plan where I’d like it to go, I didn’t do so well. It seems that the game favors chaos and luck more than it does strategizing or skill. However, this is still an enjoyable, fun, light iPhone app that both hardcore and casual gamers can have a good time with. For only a dollar, it’s definitely worth downloading. [ CoinDrop! Review is a post from 148Apps ]  Coin Drop!Buy Now: $0.99 Our Rating: Released: 2011-04-28 :: Category: Games :: Read Our Full Review >> Apps mentioned in this post: Coin Drop! |
| PopCap and Make-A-Wish Foundation Make An Aspiring Game Designer’s Dream Come True Posted: 02 May 2011 09:30 AM PDT
Upon reaching out to the great folks over at PopCap Games, Make-A-Wish enlisted the talented development team to help bring the child’s game design to life, in the form of the upcoming iOS title, ‘Allied Star Police.’ According to TouchArcade, the is described as “a sci-fi real-time strategy game where you play as a base commander who must deploy ‘automated battle machines’ and ‘targeted ballistic ordnance’ in an effort to fight of a race of aliens known as the Flamions.” Owain has been credited as the app Lead Designer and has made trips out to PopCap on a weekly basis to assess the game’s progress through the development cycle, providing his own input every step of the way. Fox’s Q13 News just ran a great segment on this uplifting story, which you can enjoy below. It will still probably be quite some time before ‘Allied Star Police’ makes its debut in the App Store, but when it does PopCap has already said that 100% of the proceeds will be going towards the continuing efforts of the Make-A-Wish Foundation. When you hear stories like this, it highlights how many amazing people there are hard at work in the game industry. Here is to hoping that the game is successful in launching Owain into the pantheon of amazing game designers. Watch your back Cliffy B, you are going to have lots of competition incoming soon! [ PopCap and Make-A-Wish Foundation Make An Aspiring Game Designer’s Dream Come True is a post from 148Apps ] |
| Fast Five the Movie: Official Game Review Posted: 02 May 2011 09:04 AM PDT  Fast Five the Movie: Official Game ReviewBy Blake Grundman on May 2nd, 2011Our Rating:  :: MORE OF THE SAMEiPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad Rather than a racing game inspired by a film, it feels more like a retread of Gameloft’s prior racers.
Developer: Gameloft Price: $4.99 Version: 1.0.1 App Reviewed on: iPhone 4 Graphics / Sound Rating: 4.75 out of 5 stars Overall Rating: 3.69 out of 5 stars
When it comes to racing centric movies, there are few that can rival the Fast and Furious brand. Then why would you expect a generic racing experience when there is such a rich body of work to draw from? Loosely following the storyline of the flick, the game somehow attempts to draw the cobbled together storyline using Gameloft’s traditional racing, drifting, elimination and other assorted minigames. These events have no actual bearing or basis in the story whatsoever, but act more to fill out what would have otherwise been a rather meager offering.
If there is one area that the title excels above all others, it is the visuals department. Everything looks very sharp and well detailed, with very little distracting visual pop in. In another added touch, the game seems to have somewhat aped from Split/Second’s scripted environmental events. These massive explosions or other landscape altering events can drastically modify the way a track will need to be approached from lap to lap.
[ Fast Five the Movie: Official Game Review is a post from 148Apps ]  Fast Five the Movie: Official GameBuy Now: $4.99 Our Rating: Released: 2011-05-01 :: Category: Games :: MORE OF THE SAMERead Our Full Review >> Apps mentioned in this post: Fast Five the Movie: Official Game |
| The Royal Wedding Invades Say What You See Posted: 02 May 2011 08:30 AM PDT
One such game to get in on the act is the interactive puzzle game Say What You See: The Collection, which just announced that their popular “Romantic Comedy” puzzle has been updated for the next week, to reflect a backdrop of the recently exchanged nuptials. There will be hints to fifty different romantic comedies hidden in the image, so be sure your have your magnifying glass, gumshoe. This should keep you more than busy until news of the eventual royal annulment breaks. Long live the king, indeed!  Say What You See: The CollectioniPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad Buy Now: $0.99 Released: 2010-10-30 :: Category: Games / Puzzle [ The Royal Wedding Invades Say What You See is a post from 148Apps ] Apps mentioned in this post: Say What You See: The Collection |
| Posted: 02 May 2011 08:04 AM PDT  Par Out Golf ReviewBy Blake Grundman on May 2nd, 2011Our Rating: :: AWESOME DRIVEUniversal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad A unique take on a aging genre that still manages to maintain the charm and appeal of the original subject matter.
Developer: Endless Wave Software Price: $1.99 Version: 1.0 App Reviewed on: iPhone 4 Graphics / Sound Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars Overall Rating: 4.06 out of 5 stars
Calling Par Out Golf an actual golf title doesn’t really do the game justice, because it is also part puzzle and hand-eye coordination test as well. When a player would normally be teeing off in a traditional golf game, you are instead checking out the surroundings of the course from a top-down perspective that the player actually remains in at all times. Upon tapping the ball to begin your shot, the screen is quite literally clouded so that players can no longer see the course below them. At this point the player then carefully slides their finger across the course in a manner similar to a game like flight control, while attempting to dodge any of the earlier observed obstacles and landing their finger in or around the actual flag itself. Also, it should be noted that there is no reason to worry about the normal flight of a golf ball, because you could have it do more zigzags in the air then a fighter jet and it will spit in the face of the laws of physics.
The core gameplay of Par Out Golf is quite fun and offers more challenge than you might actually expect. The cartoon inspired visuals also compound the charm tenfold, while the game is true to the sport by instilling elation one moment, followed soon thereafter by the burning hatred and frustration of a thousand suns. With a fully featured multiplayer through GameCenter and unlockable courses to boot, this game is more than worth the $1.99 price of admission. [ Par Out Golf Review is a post from 148Apps ]  Par Out GolfBuy Now: $1.99 Our Rating: Released: 2011-05-01 :: Category: Games :: AWESOME DRIVERead Our Full Review >> Apps mentioned in this post: Par Out Golf |
| Homer Simpson Bumbles His Way Onto TomTom Posted: 02 May 2011 07:30 AM PDT
As part of a partnership with Twentieth Century Fox Consumer Products, The Gracie Films Worldwide Brand Division and Locutio Voice Technologies, the Simpsons will now be making the jump from your television onto your GPS software, and as you could imagine Tim Roper, the President of TomTom Inc. couldn’t be more excited:
While the voice of Homer alone would be enough to at least entice my interest, this isn’t the only part of the software update worth noting. A new feature named TomTom Map Share will allow users to make corrections to existing maps within the app itself, which can then propagate these modifications to all users. This is another perfect example of crowd sourcing hard at work to make the traveling experience better for everyone. Luckily this constantly updating feature will come at no cost to all TomTom users on the iOS, and should drastically improve the quality of the maps in virtually no time flat. There is one question that still remains though, if you make a wrong turn, will you hear Homer’s patented, “d’oh!?”  TomTom U.S. & CanadaiPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad Buy Now: $59.99 Our Rating: Released: 2009-08-17 :: Category: Navigation :: TOO MUCH, TOO LITTLERead Our Full Review >> [ Homer Simpson Bumbles His Way Onto TomTom is a post from 148Apps ] Apps mentioned in this post: TomTom U.S. & Canada |
| Posted: 02 May 2011 07:04 AM PDT  Order & Chaos OnlineBy Timothy Smith on May 2nd, 2011Our Rating: :: MASSIVEiPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad Gameloft brings the PC MMO experience to iOS with their newest entry. The title is heavily inspired by Blizzard’s World of Warcraft, but its portability adds a dose of novel freshness to a familiar outing.
Developer: Gameloft Price: $6.99 Graphics / Sound Rating: 4 out of 5 stars Overall Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars
Gameloft has created a true MMO for iOS with Order & Chaos Online. The user interface, graphics, and gameplay elements all work together in harmony for an exciting taste of possibilities. From a technical aspect the game is impressively sound. I rarely experienced any lag, and the few minor game glitches (getting stuck on certain in game obstacles) didn’t hinder the experience. Hopefully, Gameloft will continue to support the game, so that players will have a reason to keep coming back to it. As of now there is quite a bit to do in the game, but I know a lot of players will get burned out if updates aren’t provided regularly. It’s too soon to tell if the community will improve or worsen, but I’m going to remain optimistic. If you’re a fan of massively multiplayer games, this one is definitely worth a try. [ Order & Chaos Online is a post from 148Apps ]  Order & Chaos© OnlineBuy Now: $6.99 Our Rating: Released: 2011-05-01 :: Category: Games :: MASSIVERead Our Full Review >> Apps mentioned in this post: Order & Chaos© Online |
| Virtual Guitar Free Stums A New Tune Posted: 02 May 2011 06:04 AM PDT
Easily the most obvious benefit of the actual update itself is that it is now a Universal app that works natively with the iPad. While that alone would make this free app worth downloading, there is a bevy of new online features that are sure to strike a chord with all the digital musicians out there. Aspiring rock stars will now be able to upload and share their creations with the world. Conversely, you will also have the ability to download other people’s digital opuses and play them on your own virtual axe. You should definitely take a look a the budding musical community that is building around Virtual Guitar Free. Remember: if your ears aren’t bleeding, you’re not rocking hard enough!  Virtual Guitar FreeiPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad Buy Now: FREE Released: 2010-09-16 :: Category: Music [ Virtual Guitar Free Stums A New Tune is a post from 148Apps ] Apps mentioned in this post: Virtual Guitar Free |
Beautiful Planet HD is an interactive journey around the world that features some very nice photography by Peter Guttman. Upon firing up the app, you are presented with a map of all the continents. You can slide around or pinch to zoom in on various thumbnail pictures that dot the globe. If you click on a point of interest a slide show of pictures relevant to the geographical area pops up in full screen. The slideshow interface offers some nice options such as music controls, the ability to share or save the photographs (to your iPad’s photo library), and an information panel that explains a bit about each picture. There are several locations to view, and each location has a handful of photographs tied to it. All the photographs are great resolution with interesting subject matter, but I was a little upset about not being able to zoom or pan the photos. The app description also mentions that the app is a travel planner, but I couldn’t find any features conducive to preparing for a trip (other than looking at some of the pictures and saying, “I’d love to go there!”).
The app has a relatively limited scope considering that the content is all from one source. I actually finished viewing all it had to offer in a very short amount of time. It is almost as if the whole app was designed to be an art opening for a single photographer. I can see it being appealing as a form of coffee table entertainment because it could easily replace a travel photography book, but I would’ve liked to see a higher level of interaction and connectivity. Perhaps routine app updates could provide more content and keep the experience fresh, but an in app connection to the featured photographer’s escapades would’ve been more appealing. I know you can access his website via an in app link, but I think it would be cooler to be surprised by new thumbnails popping up on the map. As it stands, purchasing this app will net you a nice collection of travel photography, but if you don’t plan on showcasing the images to friends and family, you will probably be finished with it within an hour.
Loris and the Runaway Ball is a simple and lovely universal storybook app about the dangers of running into the street after a run-away ball.
Coin Drop! comes from developer Full Fat, who is responsible for other iPhone titles such as Flick Golf! and Zombie Flick. 
When it comes to organizations that are making a big difference in the lives of children strikened with life threatening diseases, the 
This will surely come as a shock to anyone who has been watching television commercials for the last month and a half, but there is a new The Fast and The Furious film coming out. Like clockwork, Gameloft is on top of the situation, with a brand new racing game that will take advantage of this release. With a title that is surely the product of weeks of focus testing, Fast Five the Movie: Official Game, is going to take another trip down the tilt controlled lane of racing, minus all of the action of the film itself. Does it have enough to set itself apart from other iOS racers, or are we looking at another last place finisher?
Showing its true colors as simply a Burnout-inspired racing experience, Fast Five also includes a fully functional online multiplayer. That said, this multiplayer is not based off of GameCenter’s matchmaking; instead, it uses Gameloft’s proprietary multiplayer technology, which quite frankly leaves something to be desired. This is not to say that it is unusable, but when you already have an existing friends list, it becomes increasingly frustrating to start all over again.
Though Fast Five the Movie: Official Game is supposed to be a compliment to the film, it honestly feels like another attempt to milk Gameloft’s existing customer base. Other than an occasional cartoon vignette in between stages, there is very little that could not be found in one of their existing titles. If you don’t own any of said titles, by all means give this a download, but if you have already dipped your toes into this market, you may be best maintaining your distance.
I realize that I am not a Brit, so honestly this whole royal wedding business dominating the world’s news is starting to get a bit old. Really, I am more baffled at why people give a darn about the marriage of a monarchy figurehead that actually carries no actual political significance whatsoever, but maybe this is the ignorant American in me bleeding through. Should it come as any shock, however, that game developers have decided to cash in on the buzz as well?
Golf is one of those sports that has been around for ages and has fans in all walks of life. There is no better reflection of this than the wide breadth of different varieties of golf games that exist. You can find traditional simulations, arcade games, and a cornucopia of other interpretations of the sport, and that is just what is available on the iOS alone! Par Out Golf is the embodiment of this grab bag genre, yet still finds a way to still make the game entertaining, which is a feat in and of itself given all of the competition on the platform.
Once your finger has lifted from the screen, the course uncloaks itself and then you get to see how your shot plays out. It is interesting to see how the wind plays tricks with the ball’s trajectory in certain ways, making what could otherwise be simple shots quite difficult. Further confounding the short game is the fact that it is impossible to tell with any amount of precision where a shot is ending due to your finger actually obscuring the view. This unfortunately makes putting far more difficult than it really needs to be.
Ever since it was introduced on the iOS platform back in 2009, 
Love them or hate them for their sources of inspiration, Gameloft has a great track record for bringing console and PC style game experiences to the iOS platform. They often provide gamers with genres that other developers just aren’t interested in bringing to the portable scene, and most of the time the games are pretty decent. Gameloft has done it again with their ambitious MMO, Order & Chaos Online. The game is not only good, but it’s also an exciting example of what is possible in the realm of iOS MMORPG’s. Sure, there have been a few before it, but nothing really felt like the real deal. It isn’t all peachy though because there are still a lot of kinks that need to be ironed out.
Order & Chaos features 4 playable races and 4 classes (each with two separate skill trees) to choose from. After choosing a race and class, you can customize your appearance. The character customization is acceptable, but there is definitely room for more options. Upon completing your character you are thrust out into a massive world filled with quests, loot, and tons of other players. Completing the early level quests provides an introduction to all the game mechanics, and by the time I was around level 10, I was very acquainted with what the game had to offer. The graphics are pretty impressive considering the scope of the game, and at times I really felt like I was playing a mobile version of World of Warcraft because of the similar art direction. The soundtrack is decidedly generic, but there is a great playlist option that lets you listen to your own jams while questing. The gameplay and user interface are both very intuitive, and anyone familiar with a traditional PC MMO should feel right at home while playing. Even the combat system begs to be compared to its PC counterpart, but a convenient thumb wheel makes using special attacks more practical. The one aspect of the interface that disappointed me was the chat window. It is intrusive, and it uses the default iOS keyboard for text input.
You will probably spend the majority of your time questing, grinding, and crafting because there aren’t any dungeons at this point, and the long term success of the game will hinge upon Gameloft’s willingness to continuously update the title. They really have no excuse not to considering there is a $0.99 subscription fee and an eShop that sells various in-game currency for real world money. Another factor that will influence the game’s success is the community. A good or bad community of players can make or break an MMO, and at this point there are scores of players spamming the global chat channel with useless and sometimes offensive banter. I think it will be a challenge for Gameloft to monitor the activity and keep inappropriate behavior to a minimum so mature players can enjoy the game. The sheer amount of low level players at this point make it a little difficult to complete some quests (the player to monster ratio is a little thin), but that is expected considering the young age of the game.
Those who have downloaded the music app | 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 |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
No comments:
Post a Comment