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Friday, August 19, 2011

Deo Review

Deo Review

By
Carter Dotson on August 19th, 2011
Our Rating: ★★★★☆ :: JUST WONDERFUL
iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad

Deo is a platformer with a unique visual style that takes place on a series of continuously-rotating planets.

 

Developer: Strapped to a Meteor Studios
Price: $0.99
Version Reviewed: 1.0
Device Reviewed On: iPod touch 4

Graphics / Sound Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Game Controls Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Gameplay Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Replay Value Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Overall Rating: 4.13 out of 5 stars

Deo is a creative original platformer for iOS devices. The game tasks players in controlling the eponymous character, who according to the game’s story is tasked with restoring the world, which he accomplishes by navigating through perilous planet fragments. There are 96 levels in total, divided into fragments of 3 levels each. Deo has a very simple control scheme – holding down on the screen charges up Deo’s jump, holding down longer means that Deo can jump farther. The goal is to get Deo to the red spot on the level by jumping from one patch of green to another. The levels are constantly rotating counter-clockwise, so avoiding the deadly black spots is just as paramount as making sure Deo doesn’t just slide right off of the planet!

Deo‘s simple controls work exceptionally well for the game; the simple tutorial and the simple levels at the beginning help players ease into it before the more complex levels come into play. The visual aesthetic is fantastic, presenting a gloomy, atmospheric world with just enough splashes of color. The Deo character itself is wonderfully animated, and the game looks stunning on the Retina Display.

The game also features a limited user interface – enough to where the game can really shine through on its own style, but not enough to where it’s confusing for users. It’s all very subtle, and even the performance indicator of plant growth on a planet’s section is ingeniously subtle. The best feature, though? Very quick and automatic respawning when Deo dies. This just isn’t a frustrating game. The 3-level segments also make it great for pick up and play gameplay.

The levels where the green and red patches are obscured are among my least favorite in the game, particularly as many of them require not skilled jumping, but random guesswork to figure out which spots are safe and which spots are the black death. While the controls work great, a way to cancel a super-powered jump would be helpful as well. 

Deo is a great fit for mobile devices with both its controls and gameplay setup, has a wonderful artistic style, and is quite fun to play as well. Fans of both platformers and aesthetically pleasing games would do well to explore Deo.



Apps mentioned in this post: DEO


About: Deo Review is a post from 148Apps

Rob Rich 19 Aug, 2011


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Source: http://www.148apps.com/reviews/deo-review/
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Mad Wheels HD Review

Mad Wheels HD Review

By
Carter Dotson on August 19th, 2011
Our Rating: ★★★½☆ :: WHEELS TURNING SLOWLY
iPad Only App - Designed for the iPad

Mad Wheels HD is an isometric-view combat racing game where players use weapons to help take out the other racers.

 

Developer: NewFX Games
Price: $1.99
Version Reviewed: 1.0
Device Reviewed On: iPad 1

Graphics / Sound Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Game Controls Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Gameplay Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Replay Value Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Overall Rating: 3.38 out of 5 stars

Mad Wheels HD is a combat racing game published by Chillingo and NewFX Games, developers of Horror Racing, a similar isometric racer. Unlike Horror Racing, this game runs in a 3D engine, although the goal of Mad Wheels is largely the same: the player and three opponents race around 24 different tracks, using weapons like machine guns, missiles, mines, and vehicle-specific weapons to wreak havoc on opponents to try and win the race by way of damaging them.

Mad Wheels HD brings a bit of variety to its races, with quicker races that favor getting out ahead, combat races that are designed so that racers can blow each other up a bunch of time, and even knockout races where the last place racer is knocked out. The game also is setup very well for jumping ahead to other levels as long as enough medals are collected; secondary objectives can help collect additional medals for unlocking future levels. The game’s joystick controls work well for controlling the racers around the track.

Here’s the thing about Mad Wheels HD; it’s just kind of soulless. The style of the game is generic with little that makes it stand out from other games. Even the levels are hopelessly generic forest, desert, and snow environments. Does it detract from the core gameplay? Not necessarily, but when the game just looks and feels bland, it’s harder to make a connection to it. The combat part of this racing game feels largely like a mild annoyance because it really only knocks enemies out for a couple of seconds, and is only made important by way of medals that are earned for combat. Otherwise, it kind of feels like a waste of time. What made combat worth focusing on in a very similar game, Death Rally, was the permanence of it. It just isn’t worrisome at all here. As well, there’s a wifi multiplayer feature in the game, but it could really use Game Center for inviting other players. The description claims it’s online-enabled, but I never found anyone online to test the game out with.

Mad Wheels HD is a decent game, but there’s just nothing too special about it, sadly. Fans of combat racing games might enjoy this one, but this is hardly the best game in its genre, either. Horror Racing from the same developer is free as of when this review was written; go check that out!


Mad Wheels HD


iPad Only App - Designed for the iPad
Buy Now:
$1.99
Our Rating: ★★★½☆ :: WHEELS TURNING SLOWLY
Read Our Full Review >>
Released: 2011-07-28 :: Category: Games

Apps mentioned in this post: Horror Racing, Mad Wheels HD


About: Mad Wheels HD Review is a post from 148Apps

Rob Rich 20 Aug, 2011


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Source: http://www.148apps.com/reviews/mad-wheels-hd-review/
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Photo Academy Makes it Easier to Take a Good Picture. In Theory

Photo Academy, from the makers of PhotoCaddy, is a nifty little photo app that’s just been released on the App Store. Why is this worth mentioning? Because it’s looking to be a must-have for amateur shutterbugs, that’s why.

This is no mere camera filter. No, Photo Academy is a massive cross-referenced database absolutely full of tips, tricks and techniques for almost any imaginable photo-op situation. Within reason, of course. Users simply have to choose a topic, then can browse through a number of sub-categories that range from how to handle different lighting situations to what equipment to use. Useful tips can even be bookmarked for later/repeated use.

Photo Academy also includes a “Photo 101″ guide for total greenhorns, example photos and a Shoot Diary for more adventurous users. The Shoot Diary lets them keep track of almost all the details surrounding a particular image, including weather, time of day, location and, of course, the photo itself. Diary entries can even be posted online through Twitter, email and Facebook in order to document personal achievements (i.e. brag) or offer up pointers for other users. I’m honestly quite interested in seeing if and how a community forms around this app.

Again, this is no mere iOS camera app. This is a full-blown how-to encyclopedia of photographic knowledge. These tips apply to actual cameras, with aperture settings, shutter speeds and the like. Some of the basics can be applied to the little hole that sits in the corner of a given iOS device, but it’s meant more for the real thing. Which is something that all amateur photographers are probably more interested in anyway.




Apps mentioned in this post: Photo Academy, PhotoCaddy


About: Photo Academy Makes it Easier to Take a Good Picture. In Theory is a post from 148Apps

Rob Rich 20 Aug, 2011


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Source: http://www.148apps.com/news/photo-academy-easier-good-picture-theory/
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Help This Bouncy Mouse Find His Cheese

Bouncy Mouse is a physics game where players fling a mouse — which is actually much more like a rubber ball than a rodent — around obstacles and through traps collecting bits of cheese on the way. All of the mouse’s cheese has been stolen by a dastardly cat and the mouse needs to get all his cheese back so he and his friends can enjoy it together.

The slingshot-like pull and release mechanics of the game are very similar to those found in other physics based flinging games like Angry Birds. The difference here is that players aren’t trying to knock anything down or destroy any structures, they are just trying to traverse an environment while avoiding obstacles and collecting cheese. The goal is to bounce the mouse off of the cat in each level and retrieve the cat’s stolen cheese.

To traverse each level the mouse is flung from one anchor point or peg to the next. When the mouse gets close enough to an anchor point he will latch on with what might be his super elastic tail and players can then pull him back and release him in any direction to get to the next peg. Progressing from peg to peg and bouncing the mouse off of different parts of the environment will get him to the cat, and finally to his cheese. More points and unlocks like costumes and visual effects can also unlocked by collecting all the cheese in a level.



Apps mentioned in this post: Angry Birds, Bouncy Mouse


About: Help This Bouncy Mouse Find His Cheese is a post from 148Apps

Jason Wadsworth 20 Aug, 2011


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Source: http://www.148apps.com/news/bouncy-mouse-find-cheese/
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Football Manager RPG Review

Football Manager RPG Review

By
Jennifer Allen on August 19th, 2011
Our Rating: ★★★½☆ :: DIFFERENT
iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad

Football Manager RPG offers all the human elements of soccer management with a Choose Your Own Adventure style vibe.

 

Developer: WookSoft
Price: $0.99
Version Reviewed: 1.12
Device Reviewed On: iPhone 4

Graphics / Sound Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars
Game Controls Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Gameplay Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Replay Value Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Overall Rating: 3.69 out of 5 stars

Football Manager RPG is a pretty fascinating concept to explore. While soccer fans have had years of statistic riddled management games, no one’s really explored the human side of management. Football Manager RPG does exactly that, bypassing all the statistical nonsense and focusing purely on keeping people happy through the power of successful decision making. In that way, Football Manager RPG is more like a Choose Your Own Adventure style game than anything else.

Players must first pick out the managing style and general personality of the manager they take the role of. Choices range from the likes of the hard hitting and brash manager to the more sensitive, keen to listen to their players type. Experience can also play a role with players choosing from being an ex-professional star to someone who’s never played a game of football but has conducted plenty of research on it.

Similar choices reside for the rest of the game from everything to solving team disputes to the team talk in between the two halves of each match. Even tactics are chosen via being given a series of options of how to approach things. Statistics are kept to a bare minimum with the only sign of numbers really residing from the Tactics, Harmony and Attitude section at the bottom of the screen. Each of these increase and decrease depending on how well the manager is doing in specific areas.

The game’s developers promise over 350 scenarios in all with more to be added and it’s fun to pick and choose a route through each problem. The hand drawn nature of the game also adds a great personal touch to things and, for UK fans in particular, will remind many of the classic days of comic strip Roy of the Rovers. Football Manager RPG won’t supersede the likes of Football Manager 2011 but as a form of management title with a twist, it’s a lot of fun.




Apps mentioned in this post: Football Manager RPG


About: Football Manager RPG Review is a post from 148Apps

Jennifer Allen 20 Aug, 2011


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Source: http://www.148apps.com/reviews/football-manager-rpg-review/
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Healthy Fast Food: Fast Food Options That Are Healthy

The term healthy fast food sounds like a bit of an oxymoron but it is possible to an extent. Some types of fast food isn’t as bad as other types. Knowledge is power, so the occassional treat is no bad thing if planned carefully. This is where an app like Healthy Fast Food could help a ton.

Tracking the likes of McDonald’s, Burger King, KFC, Subway, Taco Bell and more, the app cleanly and simply lays out the healthiest menu options available. It gives users that chance to know how they can enjoy their favorite food without consuming more calories, saturated fat, and other bad-for-them-stuff than they need to.

While obviously none of it is going to be quite as healthy as a home made salad with no dressing, Healthy Fast Food does allow users to take a calculated break from their diet, thus encouraging them to stick by their regime.

Healthy Fast Food is out now, priced at $0.99.



Apps mentioned in this post: Healthy Fast Food


About: Healthy Fast Food: Fast Food Options That Are Healthy is a post from 148Apps

Jennifer Allen 20 Aug, 2011


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Source: http://www.148apps.com/news/healthy-fast-food-fast-food-options-healthy/
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