iPhone App Reviews

Posts Tagged ‘Sports’

Let’s Golf! 3

Michael (Admin) | Nov 3, 2011 Games

User rating:

(No Ratings Yet)

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Let’s Golf! 3 (Free) by Gameloft

Available on iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad

I’d give this game 5/5 stars if it wasn’t for that damn wait-or-pay thing that game developers like to do these days. As a golf game, Let’s Golf! 3 rules. I mean really, what else would you expect from Gameloft? Those guys rake in mountains of App Store cash for a reason!

And if you’ve ever played Hot Shots Golf on Playstation then you already know how to swing because the action is exactly the same: tap to start your swing, tap again to determine stroke power, tap a third time for accuracy. For the uninitiated this may sound complicated, but it’s super easy after you do it a couple times and putting only takes two taps.

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Tags: Games, golf, Sports

PlayFootball

Michael (Admin) | Aug 13, 2009 Games

User rating:

(5 votes, average: 4.80 out of 5)

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Jebudas Communications, aka Destroy Objects, Inc., knew that porting a Madden clone to the iPhone would be pretty impossible to pull off so they did the next best thing: they kept the play calling and got rid of the players! Well the players haven’t been ditched completely, but they’re now reduced to little dots that make very Madden-like grunts while they’re executing plays called by you, their offensive and defensive coordinator.

PlayFootball is a funny little game that’s boiled down to making coaching decisions rather than trying to figure out how to run, catch, and throw. Just call your play and watch the little dot people run into each other until the whistle blows and it’s time to huddle up again for the next down.

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Tags: $2.99, american football, Sports

Knot Guide

Swain Valasek | Jan 30, 2009 Utilities

User rating:

(4 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5)

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My inner Boy Scout was excited to get Knot Guide from Winkpass Creations onto my iPhone. Since I’ve barely tied my shoelaces in the last decade, much less fancy knots, surely this would bring back the mojo of my youth. I found that this app pulls no punches and exactly as the name implies, it’s a streamlined, step-by-step guide to tying every knot from the Apline Butterfly to the Zeppelin Loop. Featured are 66 knots in 13 categories, 40 of which are unique.

My usual outdoor activities aren’t quite in season so I didn’t test any knots in real-world settings; instead I employed my highly advanced alternate scientific method: a ball of string, some pencils and my favorite deadly-sharp scissors. Don’t laugh, this actually worked better than I expected, plus my goal was to test the ability to tie knots following this guide, not stress-test them in the field. So then, upon loading the app you’re presented with a popup warning about knot safety (which you can subsequently disable as desired) and then it’s down to business. The first thing you see are the knot categories such as Bends (for securing 2 separate lengths of rope) and Lashes (for securing sticks or poles together). Next, drill down to the desired knot and select ’Tie the Knot!’ for detailed instructions; simple and fast. The knot-tying instructions are presented with actual photographs enhanced with drawn arrows and other overlay data which I found uniformly clear and easy to follow across the board. Each category and knot has a little blurb describing the most common application and any extra warnings plus there’s a ‘knot lingo’ page that explains common terminology. You can also mark your favorite knots for easy recall, a feature just added in the 1.7 release so kudos to the developer for supporting their app!

After checking out approximately half the knots covered here, it’s clear to me this app could save your butt someday. It will help you hang a simple drying line with easy-release hitch knots or lash a raft together after your Fedex jet crashes into the ocean and leaves you stranded on a desert isle with a volleyball. Perhaps best of all, it will help you tie the correct knot for the application at hand (instead of the same knot for everything and you know who you are) and get this, you will actually learn a valuable skill, imagine that!

My single beef is that the 1.6 version kept the buttons at the bottom ‘hot’ so you could always back out to the logical beginning no matter how far you were into a knot. 1.7 gave us favorites but also took away this ‘hot button’ behavior which IMO unstreamlined the app a bit. I emailed the developer about it (who have been great and very responsive all around) and it looks like they agree! So we might see this functionality returned in a nearby update.

Sure, you could do some Google searching and put together your own knot-tying reference but look, Winkpass Creations has already done it for you with a streamlined interface, the mobility of the iPhone and an extremely affordable price. This app is great; I’m now going out of my way to find applications for some of these knots around the house and yard. If you never thought tying knots could be fun, think again!

Consider Knot Guide a highly recommended app with tons of utility value…and that’s a wrap.

Version reviewed – 1.7

: The gist of it (note you can disable this popup)

: Being a knot-n00b I found it easier to start with categories and drill down

: Example of clearly drawn instructions overlayed on a photograph

: Go ahead, make it a favorite, who doesn't love the sheepshank?

: Cool, even decorative knots are included

Tags: $3.99, knot guide, knots, Sports, Swain Valasek

iGolf

Michael (Admin) | Sep 22, 2008 Sports

User rating:

(4 votes, average: 1.75 out of 5)

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SGN’s iGolf claims to be “like having a driving range wherever you go”. You choose from one of three different clubs, swing your iPhone as hard as you can without hurling it at innocent bystanders, and see how far your “drive” goes.

I have to admit that iGolf is a pretty cool implementation of the iPhone’s accelerometer and, even though I’m not a golfer, it’s kind of fun to practice my “swing” on this virtual driving range. There are a few problems though… for starters, there’s really no need for three clubs since you’re going for distance and not playing an actual course (which, btw, would be so sweet but sadly that’s not what iGolf is). Of the three clubs, only the wood is of any use since I believe the other two are an iron and a wedge, neither of which can come close to the wood’s whacking power.

The other problem with iGolf is that, if you do a true golf swing, your backswing will set off the accelerometer before you bring your iPhone back down to “hit the ball”. What this means is that, after you tap the “hit” button, you have to very carefully extend your arm and then make your swinging motion in one swoop, more like you’re holding a tennis racket. You could do it with two hands on the iPhone, but it’s almost easier to get a good swing with just one.

iGolf’s graphics are nice, the sound effects are good, and if you can make peace with the way swinging has to be performed it’s probably worth installing. A word of caution though: be careful of people who want to use your virtual driving range! If you let everyone in the office take a swing on iGolf, one of your jackass coworkers will eventually throw your phone across the conference room. It’s bound to happen so don’t be shocked when it does!