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Tuesday, June 28, 2011

D.A.R.K Review

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D.A.R.K Review

By Jennifer Allen on June 28th, 2011
Our Rating:

:: FUN BUT LACKING
iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad

D.A.R.K makes for an interesting departure from the norm but needs more of a hook.

Developer: Chillingo
Price: $0.99
Version Reviewed: 1.0
Device Reviewed On: iPhone 4

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

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

When thinking of reasons why Chillingo is such a big and successful games publisher, it’s games like Cut the Rope and Angry Birds that come to mind. Not atmospheric, creepy shooters like D.A.R.K. Assuming this is a sign of things to come, Chillingo could soon be the name to go for solid mature games too. D.A.R.K isn’t perfect but it is enjoyable and very easy to dip into. Further expansion on the idea could have made for a great title.

To say that D.A.R.K is a twin shooter slightly undersells it. The combat sequences involve using the left virtual stick to move and the right stick to shoot but there’s a bit of exploration available too. D.A.R.K is unfortunately pretty linear with players mostly finding themselves going from room to room fighting set waves of enemies but it’s still quite fun. Shooting is pretty easy to get to grips with thanks to D.A.R.K offering a form of lock on system thus making it easy to hit the right target. There’s also the addition of a roll button, bizarrely placed above the fire button, but I never really found cause to use it.

To add further interactivity, D.A.R.K provides a simple upgrade system. Experience is gained through killing enemies with a levelling up system allowing players to boost their health, regeneration, speed and power. Shops also allow for new weapons and armor to be purchased and upgrades to be acquired. A decent scattering of weapon types is available too with the inclusion of the likes of flamethrowers and lasers.

It’s the prospect of a compelling story that would have made all the difference for D.A.R.K but alas there isn’t one to be seen here. Instead a loose and fairly uninspired story provides the backdrop for this game. It’s not the end of the world as the game is still fun and provides a few key atmospheric moments but it does feel like a missed opportunity.

D.A.R.K isn’t a must buy but players could do a lot worse than to buy this. It’s fun enough for what it is, it just feels like it could have been more. It certainly provides an interesting new direction for Chillingo, one that I look forward to seeing what comes next. It could just do with a bit more personality.

D.A.R.K

iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Buy Now: $0.99

Our Rating:

:: FUN BUT LACKING
Read Our Full Review >>

Released: 2011-06-23 :: Category: Games

Apps mentioned in this post: D.A.R.K

About: D.A.R.K Review is a post from 148Apps

Jennifer Allen 29 Jun, 2011

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Source: http://www.148apps.com/reviews/dark-review/
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Powerslide Penguin Review

at 8:07 AM

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Powerslide Penguin Review

By Jennifer Allen on June 28th, 2011
Our Rating:

:: ADDICTIVE FUN
iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad

Chillingo offers up another fun casual puzzler experience, this time with a cute Penguin.

Developer: Chillingo
Price: $0.99
Version Reviewed: 1.0
Device Reviewed On: iPhone 4

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

Overall Rating: 3.94 out of 5 stars

Powerslide Penguin sticks to one idea and runs with it. Or perhaps that should be slides with it. It’s a simple game but like many simple games before it, it hits the spot just right when it comes to casual gaming. Players take control of Penn Gwynn (get it?), the world’s only powersliding penguin. Penn Gwyn has to collect all the loot from the evil Pengros who has robbed the Chilly City Bank. Outrageous puns aside, Powerslide Penguin is compelling stuff.

Offering 79 levels in all, Powerslide Penguin gradually introduces many of the key elements that draw the player in. At first, players simply need to slide around ensuring they collect as many coins as possible. As things progress however, so the obstacles grow. It’s not long before players find themselves having to be increasingly precise with their movements. Walking dynamite forms a large part of the problem, desperately chasing after Penn with one touch wiping him out. Bears also emerge, taking away precious coins and loot. Puzzle elements also feature with switches opening up areas and bombs affecting the trajectory of Penn’s travels. The control system also places a limit on progression.

Players are only able to move 9 times in any level so while at first it seems like a wise idea to move quickly, it’s often better to make small and precise movements while waiting to see where Penn settles. Movement is done through a kind of flicking. Players drag Penn back with a finger and then let go. Afterslide can also be applied which can make getting through some maze like levels a bit simpler. It all takes a bit of practice but it’s not long before players will be pros at shooting Penn around.

Like many other casual puzzle games, Powerslide Penguin rewards its players with a three star system depending on how well they do. Points are awarded for speed and collecting lots of coins so there’s a reason why players will want to replay earlier levels.

Powerslide Penguin does just what players would expect of Chillingo. It’s simple but addictive and cute. For the asking price of 99c, it’s an ideal game for those looking for a new hook during their daily commute.

Powerslide Penguin

iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Buy Now: $0.99

Our Rating:

:: ADDICTIVE FUN
Read Our Full Review >>

Released: 2011-06-23 :: Category: Games

Apps mentioned in this post: Powerslide Penguin

About: Powerslide Penguin Review is a post from 148Apps

Jennifer Allen 28 Jun, 2011

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Source: http://www.148apps.com/reviews/powerslide-penguin-review/
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VS. Racing Review

at 7:06 AM

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VS. Racing Review

By Phillip Levin on June 28th, 2011
Our Rating:

:: VROOM
iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad

A tilt-based racer with eye candy.

Developer: Maciek Drejak
Price: $1.00
Version Reviewed: 1.0
Device Reviewed On: iPhone

Graphics / Sound Rating: 4 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: 3.75 out of 5 stars

When players first start up VS. Racing, the game asks if they want to try and learn the game’s new, special take on tilt control or stick with the “usual.” This is important because it turns out these controls are responsible for much of what makes VS. Racing a fun little racer.

VS. Racing is an overhead racer in which players tilt their iOS device to steer your vehicle around twists and turns. There are 34 different races to complete, spread out across 5 different cups. Many iPhone games use tilt controls, so in this sense there’s nothing all that original about VS. Racing. But the control scheme here does work quite well and it really is what makes the game what it is. The use of tilt controls in this title is actually a little different than what we typically see in racing games, however. Since the game is overhead and gamers tilt their device to control their vehicle, it gives the effect that they’re rolling their vehicle around the track instead of steering it. Think Super Monkey Ball, without the challenge of having to fall off a track. In fact, during the game’s tutorial, players actually practice the control scheme by rolling a ball around the track. Indeed, this rolling/tilting control scheme gives the game a fairly unique feel.

There are other control options to note, both of which actually work well too. Gamers can either steer left to right by tapping a designated area on the screen or they can use a virtual analog stick that is rendered in the corner of the screen. However, neither of these control schemes work quite as well as the tilt setup does.

This is a respectable little iOS racer, but it does fall short in at least one regard. All together, there are just six different courses, which are recycled throughout the game’s 34 different races. It would have been nice to see a larger number of courses. Also, while VS. Racing is actually a very solid-looking iPhone game, utilizing retina display visuals, crisp textures and detailed visuals overall, there could be more variety to the game’s environments.

There is also local multiplayer, which lets players connect to and play with up to six other friends using a local Wi-Fi connection. This is definitely a nice little extra.

VS. Racing is not an impressively realistic iOS racing game, but it is a fun racer, nonetheless. It’s got a unique, functional control scheme – one that actually lends itself to creating a stand-out experience – and it visuals serve as nice eye candy. Not bad.

VS. Racing

iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Buy Now: $0.99

Our Rating:

:: VROOM
Read Our Full Review >>

Released: 2011-06-20 :: Category: Games

Apps mentioned in this post: VS. Racing

About: VS. Racing Review is a post from 148Apps

Phillip Levin 28 Jun, 2011

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Source: http://www.148apps.com/reviews/racing-review/
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Import and play Gameboy Advance Games (Gameboid)

at 1:38 AM

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Instructions:
-Download and install Gameboid from the Android market, the free version only limits you making save states (saving whenever you want outside the GBA games save system, to an external file) but the ture game save states work perfectly.

-Once installed connect your phone with the USB cable and mound the SD card.

-Download the GBA Bios file:
gba_bios.bin

-Download the game you want.
I recommend this ROM (games) Site:
Doperoms.com

Go to the Gameboy Advance section (GBA)
And search for the game you want.

-Once downloaded extract the zip file.
Use the inbuild windows extractor or a 3rd party tool like winrar or 7zip.

-Make a new folder in your SD card on your phone, name it GBA for convenience.

-Place both the rom(the game file, "x.gba" ) and the GBA bios file, in the folder.

-Unmount and launch Gameboid

-When you start it will ask you to load the bios file, do so, (navigate to the GBA folder on your SD card)
Or if you failed to load it earlier, go to setting and tap the "GBA Bios file location" at the top.

-Load the game you want from the GBA folder!

Volia! Your done!

noreply@blogger.com (v3) 28 Jun, 2011

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Source: http://www.javagems.info/2011/06/import-and-play-gameboy-advance-games.html
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Monday, June 27, 2011

Dinosaur Zoo For iPad Review

at 7:29 PM

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Dinosaur Zoo For iPad Review

By Lisa Caplan on June 27th, 2011
Our Rating:

:: DINOLICIOUS
iPad Only App - Designed for the iPad

If visiting a real life Jurassic Park has always been a dream, Dinosaur Zoo will bring you as close to the real thing as possible – without turning you into a T-Rex’s lunch.

Developer: dotnamestudios
Price: 2.99
Version: 1.0
App Reviewed on: iPad 2

iPad Integration Rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars
User Interface Rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars
Re-use / Replay Value Rating: 3.25 out of 5 stars

Overall Rating: 4.22 out of 5 stars

Who wouldn't want to visit a real Jurassic park? But then again, who wants to be raptor-feed? If dinosaurs appeal, there is a new educational app, Dinosaur Zoo, on the App Store worth checking out.

It lets users travel, from the safety of their iPad, to a virtual zoo so lifelike they will will be yanking their finger back before the Monolophosaurus snaps it off.

The app offers up six dinosaurs – on land, in flight and in the sea – and places them in rich photo-realistic settings, with full 3d animation, for users to poke at, interact with, and observe.

Each creature from the murky past has its own section of the zoo, and a tap will reveal some easy-on-the eyes fact-pages about it.

Users navigate with a map that looks just like the one handed to visitors of your local zoo. But, here's where the app runs into some trouble.

The map works perfectly with a nice pinch-to-zoom feature. In fact, the navigation system is flawless, as is the rest of the GUI.

Yet there are 20 crates promising dinos to come, but only six extinct reptiles to visit now. The app is new, though, and the animations are near-cinematic quality and likely complex to make.

Dotnamestudios calls this a "starter pack" and promises, as does the map, much more to come. Hopefully, that will be included in the $2.99 cost, which is more than fair if the additional creatures roll out in stages as free updates.

If they come out as in-app purchases, however, the dinosaur-to-dollar ratio, if not the replay value, will stay low. And, more content is all that stands between Dinosaur Zoo and a permanent spot at the top of the educational apps chart.

That said, this is a kid's educational app, and children thrive on repetition, and they seem love all things dino-related – just ask Hollywood.

I have a "seven-and-three-quarters-year-old" son who has seen every dinosaur app on the App Store because, well, he's an almost-eight year old boy.

Other apps have more breadth and more depth, but none have more appeal. These animations are so lifelike that he and his friends were laughing as much from enjoyment as they were from bravado to mask a whiff of fear when the Euoplocephalus slashed his long armoured tail right at their faces for poking him.

What Dinosaur Zoo lacks in this first release, in terms of substance, is more than made up for with style and does what any good edutainment app ought to – hide the fact that kids are learning anything at all. It's dinolicious.