iPhone App Reviews

Keep Defenders

Swain Valasek | Aug 13, 2010 Games

User rating: (17 votes, average: 3.53 out of 5)

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I’m as delighted as I am pained to review Keep Defenders from Itty-Bitty Games LLC and hopefully that statement makes sense by the end of this review.  What we have here is a game billing itself as a fast-paced realtime combat game.  I’ll buy that; quite accurate and while some reviewers are lumping it into the castle defense genre it far more resembles a traditional (medieval) RTS sans base building.  You control a small army consisting of 3 unit types (soldier, knight, archer) and attempt to fend off wave after wave of enemy units (which are unfortunately just darker-colored versions of your own guys).

First the good: the graphics and sound…excellent in both categories which definitely takes the game up several notches in production value.

So now the bad stuff mixed in with some sincere suggestions:

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Tags: $2.99, castle defense, rts, Swain Valasek

Free Codes: Laura Jones and the Secret Legacy of Nikola Tesla

Tony Mei | Jul 5, 2010 Free iPhone Promo Codes, Games

User rating: (14 votes, average: 3.50 out of 5)

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Adventure puzzle hidden-object finding games are always good…especially when they’re free! Check the bottom of the post for a promo code.

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Tags: $2.99, Free Codes, Games

Laura Jones and the Gates of Good and Evil

Brad H | Jun 1, 2010 Games

User rating: (16 votes, average: 2.25 out of 5)

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Growing up I was a big fan of point and click action games. This was due to that fact that my step-father worked at sierra entertainment, and we got all the games for free. I have been waiting for these types of games to surface in the app store.

When I came across Laura Jones and the Gates of Good and Evil the first thing that popped into my head was Laura Bow and the Dagger of Amon Ra (a sierra game). I was excited, so I loaded up the game and waited and waited and waited while the game was chopping through the intro sequence. Then I tried entering my name to start a new game and had to shut it off because my 3G couldn’t process the game fast enough. I then loaded up the iPad with the game and wala it worked. Mind you this problem has been fixed and is currently playable on the 3G. So we know Astar-Nevosoft was aware of the problem and got it fixed a.s.a.p.

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Tags: $2.99, Games, puzzle

CUE

Michael E. | Apr 25, 2010 Music

User rating: (6 votes, average: 2.17 out of 5)

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The iPod Touch and iPhone music players, although adequate and stable, haven’t really seen a revolutionary change since it debuted in the very first iPod.  That’s not to say that it’s a bad player, because it isn’t.  It still sets the standard for the majority of players out there.  But it is a little…how do you say…boring?  Bland?

Apparently, I’m not the only one who thinks so.  Even the briefest of perusals of the AppStore will find any number of music players designed to do everything the stock i-device player does while adding a splash of color and attitude.

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Tags: $2.99

Uni Sudoku

Tony Mei | Apr 21, 2010 Games

User rating: (7 votes, average: 2.43 out of 5)

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For the past few days, I’ve been rolling out lots of reviews for the action-y, thrilling and edge of your seat type iPhone games. So I figured that I would change pace for a while, and review an app that features a calm, relaxing and ubiquitous type of app store puzzle- Uni Sudoku by David Ross Software.

Completing Sukoku puzzles is easy- simply tap a box, then double tap a number to insert it or a single tap to just enter in a ‘pencil mark’ for numbers you aren’t quite sure of yet. For those of you who are sporting a brand new iPad, you apparently have the ability to ‘draw the number you want in an open square’, which seems pretty awesome, but I can’t personally attest to the functionality of this app on Apple’s latest gizmo.

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Tags: $2.99, Games, puzzle, Sudoku

Luna Story

Jacob Jones | Apr 16, 2010 Games

User rating: (8 votes, average: 3.00 out of 5)

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I’ve been enamored by the concept of gaming since before I could read; Zelda on the NES being the first game I ever played. Back in the day, a half-way decent story and a sword was all that was needed to make a good RPG but the genre has come a long way since the early days of Zelda and even earlier days of ROGUE. Today’s standards have forced developers to push the limits of their thinking to create a living and breathing world. As a result, a lot of mediocre RPGs flood the market with only a select few shoving their way to gaming greatness. Njoy’s Luna Story doesn’t quite make the cut for gaming greatness… but don’t let that fool you. Luna Story is pretty solid RPG.

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Tags: $2.99, Jacob Jones, rpg

Pistols At Dawn

Brad H | Mar 24, 2010 Games

User rating: (8 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5)

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If I asked you “Who shot Alexander Hamilton in that famous duel?” you might answer something like aaon uhr, or maybe Aaron Burr. WRONG! I SHOT HIM!… O.K. you were right, I didn’t shoot him, but I shot someone that looked like him…O.K., O.K. maybe he looked nothing like Alexander Hamilton but I did shoot some one in Pistols at Dawn by Cedar Hill Games Inc..

In PaD you take on the role of William Gibb, an early 17th century man, who is bumbling his way through a rough patch in his life. Some people might read a motivational book, watch a funny movie, take a walk in the park, but not our friend Will. He seems to find himself looking down the barrel of a gun.

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Tags: $2.99, fun, funny, Games

SUPER WHY!

Michael E. | Mar 20, 2010 Education, Games

User rating: (8 votes, average: 3.00 out of 5)

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As the father of a 5-year-old girl, I’ve become familiar with all kinds of kids programs.  Yo Gabba Gabba, Dora the Explorer, Curious George, Handy Manny, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Ni Hao Ki-Lan…you name it, I’ve watched it. Many, many times.  Some shows are just barely tolerable and others have me wondering what the heck those grown-ups were smokin’ when they conceptualized this or that show (I’m referring to you, Yo Gabba Gabba!).  Still others have me wishing I could claw my eyes out rather than watch even one more second of it.

Given that I watch all these programs, it would naturally follow that I would know about Super Why!, a public broadcasting kids show I’ve watched with my daughter on many occasions. I’ve always been impressed with the educational quality of PBS shows because they teach vital literacy skills.  It’s also one of the few networks where I genuinely don’t have to worry too much about inappropriate subject matter.  So when I heard that PBS Kids had released a Super Why! app, I just had to have my daughter give it a try. 

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Tags: $2.99

Farm Frenzy 2

Michael E. | Feb 25, 2010 Games

User rating: (8 votes, average: 2.75 out of 5)

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When it came time to give Farm Frenzy 2 a test drive, I was- I’ll admit- kinda looking forward to it.  The description of the game sounded like it had a lot in common with a certain Facebook game involving farms:  growing grass, feeding farm animals, collecting eggs, taking produce to the market, making buildings, etc. 

The game began simply enough.  I was given a couple of chickens that had to be enticed to lay so many eggs which then had to be collected in order to proceed to the next level.  The chickens would only lay eggs after eating grass, so a barren field with a well off to the background had to be grown.  After so much grass was planted a certain number of times, the well ran dry and had to be replenished.

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Tags: $2.99

Bubble Trouble

Sara | Feb 14, 2010 Free iPhone Promo Codes, Games

User rating: (6 votes, average: 3.33 out of 5)

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Bubble Trouble can be described by one word: addictive. This app by XWUZ Entertainment my sport a $2.00 price tag, but is well worth every cent. It is a game with a simple objective: get rid of as many shapes as possible.

The way that this task is accomplished is by clicking groups of three or more of the same shape/color. When you do this, they disappear. You get to keep going until you run out of moves, and then the spaces are filled up with more shapes, and a new level is started. You keep going until the entire board is filled up and no more moves are possible. It may seem easy, but as you advance through each level, more shapes are added slowly until you are dealing with at least five!

This game has cute arcade, style graphics and an easy way to navigate through the game. It even provides you with the instructions whenever you launch the app, so that if you give it to you friend to play, you won’t have to explain. I have played a game similar to this with the exact same objective; however, whenever a space opens up, the stacks of shapes squish together to close the gap. I would have been able to get more points if this was true in this app, but the fact that it doesn’t do that adds the difficulty of the app.

This app is also very child friendly. It has no violence, gore, blood or any of the “bad stuff.” Plus, it allows you to randomly click on things that aren’t pairs (if on accident or not) and not dock any points. I really liked this feature because it made me remain sane when I couldn’t find the last group of three (the game does not start a new level until all existing groups of three or more are gone).

Overall, this is a fun game and well worth your $2.00. It’s easy to learn and hard to put down, so if you are looking for something new to freshen  up your iPhone, check out Bubble Trouble in the App Store.

iTunes Link – Bubble Trouble
Version 1.4.3
Reviewed on iPhone 3GS OS 3.1.2

Tags: $2.99, fun, Games

PomodoroPro

Michael E. | Feb 14, 2010 Productivity

User rating: (6 votes, average: 2.67 out of 5)

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In spite of the numerous ways an iPod Touch or iPhone can help you to stay connected or easily call up information on just about everything, most of the items in the AppStore share a singular purpose: they serve as distractions, as a means to help us pass the time.  They can be fun distractions, educational distractions, but I doubt there would be all that many people who would argue with my assertion that an iPod or iPhone can also be an excellent time waster.  There’s nothing wrong with that- it’s called relaxation and entertainment- and we all need rest and relaxation.  Once we’re suitably entertained and relaxed, we can resume whatever it was that we were doing in the moments before needing a distraction.

The purpose of Peer Assembly’s PomodoroPro is to help you make the most of your time by helping you focus and concentrate on the task at hand, whether you’re studying, working, or simply reading.  In other words, it’s a time management app.

But PomodoroPro isn’t just any old time management app; it employs the Pomodoro Technique, a method of task management created in 1992 to better manage time and reduce distractions. 

How does the Pomodoro Technique work?  There are 5 steps to the technique:

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Tags: $2.99

Speedylicious Pro

Michael E. | Feb 7, 2010 Productivity

User rating: (8 votes, average: 2.75 out of 5)

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I am an avid reader, always have been.  What I read has changed dramatically, however.  These days, I read mostly work stuff.  Email, journal articles, memos, forms, handbooks- you name it, I read it.  But I’m not the fastest reader in the world, especially when I’m not reading for pleasure.  And because I’ve always wanted to learn how to read faster, I was excited to take a look at James Massey’s Speedylicious Pro.  Speedylicious Pro is an app that works by flashing text- one word at a time- on the screen in rapid bursts that can be set by the reader.  It’s known as Rapid Serial Visual Presentation (RSVP) and it is said that by reading this way over a period of time, a person can significantly increase their reading speed and rate of comprehension.

Most of the speedreading applications available today only allow you to read items from a preset library database.  They have bookshelves full of stuff like Sun Tzu’s ‘The Art of War’ or Mark Twain’s ‘The Adventures of Tom Sawyer’.  There’s nothing wrong with that and they’re great works, but if you’re like me, you’re probably far too busy trying to get through the all the other stuff you’re required to read to have time to read about how to defeat an enemy or fill your head with the exploits of some bratty kid.   

Speedylicious Pro can sync with Readitlaterlist and Del.icio.us, so any article bookmarked with either of those services can be automatically imported into Speedylicious Pro the next time the app is opened.  This means you can read online content at any time, offline.  That feature alone makes it worth the $2.99 sale price, since there aren’t all that many apps that are able to do that.  

I did have my problems using Speedylicious Pro.  Articles I deleted using the ReadItLater Free app still appeared on my Speedylicious list after syncing, and syncing between ReadItLater and Speedylicious proved to be a continual source of frustration.  Articles I bookmarked to send to my ReadItLater list via MobileRSS, TwitBird Pro, and Mobile Safari, were hit or miss; sometimes the text would import just fine and sometimes it wouldn’t.  This was the case even when I could see that the article had been successfully brought into ReadItLater and could be viewed through the ReadItLater Free app.

On the plus side, Speedylicious Pro allows the reader to edit imported articles.  This is a good feature to have, since so many web articles are filled with text that isn’t relevant to the article itself.  It isn’t the developer’s fault, but it does get more than a little annoying to have to constantly edit the beginning and end of articles.  The only workaround is to bookmark the article via the ‘print this article’ option most newspaper and magazine articles offer, as the page that’s generated there lacks the junk text.

Speedylicious Pro is a solid addition to the speedreading app offering.  A couple of enhancements come to mind forme, though.  Adding Instapaper as one of the article sync sources would be great, as would the ability to clear the reading list.

If you’re interesting in learning how to read faster, Speedylicious Pro is certainly worth your consideration.

iTunes Link- Speedylicious Pro

Version 1.0.0

Tested on iPod Touch 3.1.3

Tags: $2.99, speedreading