Reviews - page 99

As the app store is refreshed every Thursday, incoming apps bring new games and ways to make life both easier and enjoyable. The app Jump! Chump! is a newcomer that brings fresh gameplay that is sure to have players playing and playing. Help Jump! and Chump! last for as long as possible by tapping their halves of the screen, and avoiding all blocks coming their way. Will Jump! Chump! become your new favorite game?

Take a look at Jump! Chump! and find out what you think.

This is a Cult Of Mac video review of the iOS application Jump! Chump! brought to you by Joshua Smith of “TechBytes W/Jsmith.”

I have fond memories of waking up Saturday morning, pouring myself a bowl of Marshmallow Mateys (because Count Chocula was out of season), and plunking down on the couch to watch my favorite cartoons. And then, when the cereal was gone and the show was over, I opened my laptop and cranked out that review of Demolition Crush that went up Monday.

I am not an adult, is what I’m getting at here.

Glorkian Warrior: The Trials of Glork is a collaboration between developer Pixeljam and comic-book artist James Kochalka. It feels like a mashup between classic arcade shooter Galaga and Adventure Time, which means that it hits all the right notes for people whose favorite breakfasts still end in bowls full of chocolate milk.

Applications are downloaded all over the world, giving developers the ability to share their work with everyone. Amongst them is Japanese developer Ayumu Kinoshita, who has recently found his app Don’t Step the White Tile on top of the charts. A game where players must think fast and react, players everywhere are quickly becoming addicted. Will Don’t Step The White Tile become your new favorite game?

Take a look at Don’t Step the White Tile and find out what you think.

This is a Cult of Mac video review of the multi-platform application Don’t Step The White Tile brought to you by Joshua Smith of “TechBytes W/Jsmith.”

Faif is a weird game.

It’s kind of like Bejeweled, only you’re not trying to match anything. And it’s kind of like a role-playing game, except you’re not really on a quest (or are you?). It’s sort of like gambling, but you don’t win anything, and it’s a smidge like a free-to-play game, but you don’t have to pay real money for the in-game currency.

All of these kindas and sortas add up to a unique experience that I think I enjoy, but I’m honestly not sure.

Tons of photos are posted daily onto social networks like Facebook’s “Instagram”. While many may feel like they’ve taken the perfect picture, the app makes them compromise by not being able to post the whole photo in view. The app InstaSize is an application made to aid this common problem. Scale your photos down and do so much more thanks to tons of awesome features. Will InstaSize become your go-to editing app?

Take a look at InstaSize and find out what you think.

This is a Cult Of Mac video review of the multi-platform application InstaSize brought to you by Joshua Smith of “TechBytes W/Jsmith.”

Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve never had a problem with storage on my iPhone. I run a middle-of-the-road iPhone 5 with 32 Gb of space on it, I load a ton of games and take a lot of pictures with the thing, and I rarely worry about running out of space.

I do, however, continually run out of battery life. The Mophie Space Pack has both issues (or non-issue plus issue, it gets confusing) covered with both a kick-ass extra battery power feature and a extra 32 Gb of space feature. The Space Pack works with a neat little app called, appropriately, Space, which definitely gets the job done.

I’m just not sure it was a job that needed doing.

The cosmos has a bunch of ways to kill you, and in Out There, one of them will probably succeed. And it’s just as well, really, because I have it from a reliable source that it’s lonely out in space.

But if you insist on surviving, you’re in for a challenge because this game is as cruel and random as life itself. You play the role of a lone astronaut who wakes up from cryosleep to discover that your circuit’s dead, and there’s something wrong. And now, you’re stuck in uncharted territory with limited resources.

It’s up to you to get the stranded hero across the map, but it’s not at all easy.

While there may be plenty of games in the app store with complicated stories and features, sometimes the simplest of games can be the best. The new app Red Bit Escape is an application that has made it to the top of the charts with its addictive yet simple gameplay. Last as long as you can to get a high score, that’s all. Do you think you can get a high score?

Take a look at Red Bit Escape and find out what you think.

This is a Cult Of Mac video review of the multi-platform application Red Bit Escape brought to you by Joshua Smith of “TechBytes W/Jsmith.”

Wireless charging is a beautiful concept that fails to live up to its promise in reality. That’s not to say it’s unusable – far from it. I’d put wireless charging pads in the same place as Wi-Fi was some years back – useful when it works, but frustrating to get working properly.

The little iQi panel goes some way to fixing up the main problem of wireless charging on the iPhone. Because it’s not built in, you usually need a bulky case to pair with the charger itself. The iQi is so tiny it can be used with any case.

Wave Wave reminds me of the end of a story called “Blind Alleys” from an old Tales from the Crypt comic. It’s about the residents of a home for the blind seeking revenge on their unscrupulous caregiver by setting him loose in a maze lined with razor blades with a starving dog. He’s running from the beast, slashing himself to ribbons but still staying ahead, “And then some idiot turned out the lights.”

Why does this twitchy arcade game remind me of that sadistic story? Because it hates me in the same way, starting me out at a disadvantage and then continuing to throw in sudden changes until I lose.

It’s a random, cruel, mechanical bull of a game, and you should absolutely play it.

While popular video games like Battlefield and Call of Duty rule home video game consoles, good shooter games have been hit or miss on mobile platforms. The developers at Glu Mobile aim to solve this problem with their new app Frontline Commando 2, the sequel to their popular third-person shooter title. Will Frontline Commando 2 find its way onto your devices?

Take a look at Frontline Commando 2 and find out what you think.

This is a Cult of Mac video review of the multi-platform application Frontline Commando 2 brought to you by Joshua Smith of “TechBytes W/Jsmith.”

I like Angry Birds as much as the next person, but it’s a little too, I don’t know … angry.

Sure, those birds have valid beef with the egg-stealing pigs, and destroying their blocky structures is a lot of fun, but I don’t find any joy in it. Revenge is a rough business, and it takes its toll. Just ask the eponymous villain from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Oh, wait, you can’t — he’s dead. And also fictional, but whatever.

Demolition Crush, however, is a new free-to-play game that brings fun back to rampant and wanton destruction, and it’s worth your download.

Men can be quite particular when it comes to their clothing and with so much being offered in stores, shopping can be nothing more than a headache. Luckily the app Dapper is an application that categorizes clothing for men to check out. Always learning from what you like and dislike, Dapper just may become your new shopping buddy.

Take a look at Dapper and find out what you think.

This is a Cult Of Mac video review of the iOS application Dapper brought to you by Joshua Smith of “TechBytes W/Jsmith.”

I play a lot of games about getting one thing and maybe getting three other things along the way if I can (or feel like it). I just reviewed one Wednesday, in fact. But it’s a solid premise, and as long as getting all those things isn’t boring, developers can keep making them until everyone’s thumbs fall off.

Developer Klei Entertainment’s first mobile title, Eets Munchies, is another “one and maybe three” game, but it’s also a clever puzzle title that is equal parts Lemmings and Rube Goldberg. It’s the latest in Klei’s debut series, and it’s interesting to see the company go back to the cutes after its recent dalliances with hyperviolence in games like Shank and Mark of the Ninja.

Don’t let the adorable graphics fool you, though; once you really get into it, this game is to difficulty as cake is to delicious flavor.

As laptop speakers go, those built into Apple’s MacBooks aren’t bad — particularly if you have a MacBook Pro. But they can be so much better. Plug Twelve South’s BassJump 2 into one of your USB ports and you have a mini sound-system that dramatically improves your MacBook’s audio performance.

Whether you’re listening to music, watching a movie, or just enjoying a podcast, the BassJump 2 subwoofer gives you significantly richer and fuller sound that you won’t believe is coming from your MacBook. There’s no need for expensive external speakers that take up too much room in your bag, or headphones that limit the experience to just one person.

The BassJump 2 is priced at $69.99, and Twelve South calls it “an essential road tool for listening to and editing tracks on the tour bus, hotel room or anyplace else your music takes you.” Now, I’m no musician or music producer — but I definitely agree.

After turning your device on and off throughout the day it can be easy to get tired of your lock screen. While normal wallpapers can offer you a basic lock screen experience, the app FancyLock can offer so much more. Create your own personalized lock screens in seconds, thanks to tons of cool themes.

Take a look at FancyLock and find out what you think.

This is a Cult Of Mac video review of the iOS application FancyLock brought to you by Joshua Smith of “TechBytes W/Jsmith.”

Sometimes, you just gotta break something.

But you probably don’t want to break your own stuff, and people get mad when you smash up their things. This is where gaming often enters the picture: It’s an environment in which you can demolish the crap out of things with no consequences. And it’s even more satisfying when the things break realistically.

Smash Hit is a game about literally that, and it’s incredibly satisfying.

When going into the App Store it’s inevitable to find clone applications everywhere based off of the late “Flappy Bird”. While many clones can feel exactly like the original experience, the new app Jumpy Jack has taken a new twist on the gameplay genre. Are you up for the challenge in this fast paced game?

Take a look at Jumpy Jack and find out what you think.

This is a Cult Of Mac video review of the multi-platform application Jumpy Jack brought to you by Joshua Smith of “TechBytes W/Jsmith.”

You know how it goes: You’re up late, feeling a little peckish, and you don’t have anything in the fridge. What do you do?

I mean, I’d go to the store down the street and get some sour bears. And if you’re Draku, the star of Midnight Bite, you do the same thing. Except substitute “store down the street” with “village at the base of the mountain,” and substitute “sour bears” with “blood of the sleeping townsfolk.”

But he’s a little guy, and the humans are prejudiced against vampire children who stalk up in the night and murder them, so he has to be careful. And as the one controlling him, you also have to be careful because the controls are apparently also racist against the undead.

The more and more we use our devices daily, the easier it is to become tired of them. In the effort to rejuvenate your experience with your device, changing your wallpaper can make a big difference. From the developers behind the hit app “Pimp Your Screen” is a new app called Wallpapers for iOS 7 that can give you access to tons of great wallpapers right away. Are you ready to love your device again?

Take a look at Wallpapers for iOS 7 By Pimp Your Screen and find out what you think.

This is a Cult Of Mac video review of the iOS application Wallpapers for iOS 7 By Pimp Your Screen brought to you by Joshua Smith of “TechBytes W/Jsmith.”

A waterproof case for your iPhone is more fun than you might think – especially one that is designed to fit onto any of a zillion different action mounts. And a waterproof case for your iPhone that also comes with a box of interchangeable lenses is even better.

Last summer I used a Griffin case to take photos in the pool, kayaking at the lake and in many other places I would never usually take a phone, let alone a camera. That case broke (thankfully not when it was submerged), and also took bad pictures thanks to the cheap plastic window over the iPhone lens.

The Optrix PhotoProX has no such problem, thanks to the proper, screw-on lenses. And its no slouch as a case, either. In fact, I’d say that not only is it the best waterproof iPhone case I’ve tested, it’s the best rugged iPhone case I’ve tried, too.

God of Light has a simple, fun concept. It has pretty graphics and some cool music by British electronica outfit Unkle. And it has realistic light physics. And all of these are great, but a lot of games look and sound good.

But God of Light is special because in addition to all of these good qualities, it also offers something else: a meditation on what puzzle games are, what they do, and how and why we play them.

And the best part is that the developer accomplishes this not by telling us, but by building all of these qualities into the gameplay and mechanics.

We use our devices everyday tapping and swiping to perform the actions we need to. Effortlessly doing these things time after time, it’s only natural for us to become quite good at doing them. In the new fast-paced app Teggle you can put your gesture skills to the test. Do you think you have what it takes to get a high score?

Take a look at Teggle and find out what you think.

This is a Cult Of Mac video review of the iOS application Teggle brought to you by Joshua Smith of “TechBytes W/Jsmith.”

Monkeys are cute.

They’re fuzzy, they make little noises, and they act like tiny people if you train them well enough. And they’re mostly cool to hang out with once you factor out bad seeds like that one in Raiders of the Lost Ark that was a Nazi. And the ones who attack humans. And those other ones who attack other monkeys and steal their food for no reason.

Actually, you know what? Monkeys are awful. Here’s Monkey Boots, a fun game about getting one killed repeatedly.

App developers everywhere are posting their own clones of the hit app “Flappy Bird” to the App Store. While few have been able to publish their apps with many significant differences, the app developers behind the new app Flappy Fall have incorporated their own twist on the gameplay. Will you too become addicted to Flappy Fall?

Take a look at Flappy Fall and find out what you think.

This is a Cult Of Mac video review of the multi-platform application Flappy Fall brought to you by Joshua Smith of “TechBytes W/Jsmith.”