AppCraver » Amelia Sauter

Race For Home Mixes Fantasy with Action

Amelia Sauter — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 23:00:54 +0000

Race for Home is a surreal game that combines adventure with the fantastical. Race for Home is a simple game that draws the gamer deep into its clutch.

Race for Home from Shawn Kollat is delightfully creepy. Your job is to help Grace float home by hooking her umbrella on different things in the sky, such as rockets or angels. On each level in Race for Home, there is an evil one whose only goal is to foil Grace’s progress. For example, Grace is followed on Level 6 by a shooting star who literally shoots Grace.

As Grace hooks her umbrella onto different objects in the sky, she is thrust forward on a trajectory while you try to follow the arrow and guide her to three gifts floating somewhere in the sky. You feel a thrill as Grace is propelled through the air, only to feel devastated as she is shot down by one of the bad guys. Her demise is rather morbid; her burnt body tumbles toward the ground for a few seconds before she recovers.

When you achieve specific amounts of points in Race For Home, you are eligible to “purchase” upgrades for Grace with your points, such as a fireproof dress.

I wish there were more levels in Race for Home, but even more, I wish I could move between the levels at will. Currently, I am playing Race for Home on Level 6, and my only option is to complete level 6 which, unfortunately for me, is significantly more difficult than the other levels. I would love to take a break and play other levels of Race for Home or restart the game, but these options are not available to the user, or at least, not that I can find.

In Race for Home, the themes are odd and the characters creepy, but it feels right. The delicate music adds to the sense of the surreal. Race for Home is a wonderful game as is; with the ability to move between levels and start over (and maybe the addition of a few more levels), I think Race for Home would be nothing short of excellent.

app_name: Race for Home
rating: 8/10

Fluid 2 is Meditation in Motion

Amelia Sauter — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 20:00:44 +0000

There are so many apps now that do so little. Fluid 2 is one of those Zen apps whose motto could be “don’t just do something, sit there.”

Fluid 2, a ninety-nine cent version of the free Fluid from Fabien Sanglard, allows you to do more than tap the screen and watch the waves ripple across the water. With Fluid 2, you can also toss a coin to make a wish, upload your own background from your photo album, listen to ambient music and change the color of the water.

Still, Fluid 2 is a do-nothing app. With so many apps-without-purpose competing for recognition, Fluid 2 does not stand out. Koi Pond, one of the original apps in this category, is more engaging.

Many of the earlier apps in the entertainment category got the attention they did because of the way they demonstrated the multi-touch and accelerometer capabilities of the iPhone. Now that over one billion apps have been downloaded from the app store, we all know how cool the iPhone is and what it is capable of. Fluid 2’s user interface is old news.

That said, Fluid 2 is a cool app. It is fun to drop coins in the water and watch the ripples for a few minutes, while listening to relaxing music. I would describe Fluid 2 as meditation in motion. But Fluid 2 is not keeping my attention any more than Fluid. Unless you have nothing else to do, download the original Fluid and save a dollar. If you already have Fluid and are eager for more user options, then Fluid 2 is worth spending your money on.

app_name: Fluid 2
rating: 6/10

Zimmer Twins are Out of Control in Stunt Wagon

Amelia Sauter — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 17:00:31 +0000

Did you ever race down a long, steep hill in roller skates or in your go kart, against the cautionary advice of your mother? With Stunt Wagon, you can join the Zimmer Twins in a speedy downhill adventure and not have to worry about breaking your leg.

Stunt Wagon from zinc Roe looks like a game for children, but believe me, Stunt Wagon is challenging. As the characters race down the hill, you tilt the iPhone to steer the wagon, avoiding tires and pylons, and tap the screen to jump over the obstacles. You can get speed and power in Stunt Wagon by running over white stars and picking up potions.

Stunt Wagon’s cartoon graphics are wonderful and will appeal to all ages, even teenagers. But you are going to need some patience and skill to race down the hill successfully. I have played Stunt Wagon over a dozen times now and I can’t seem to get the hang of tilting the iPhone just right to steer, nor have I perfected the timing of my tapping to make the wagon jump. When I play Stunt Wagon, the Zimmer Twins spend more time on their butts on the pavement than in the wagon. Schnitzel! My friends fared only slightly better with Stunt Wagon than I did.

I think the reason for my difficulty with Stunt Wagon is threefold: One is that the wagon moves very fast, and there is not an option to slow its pace. Second is the size of the view. I feel like I can’t see far enough ahead on the course to anticipate what is coming. Third is the narrowness of the course. At times, Stunt Wagon requires micro movements to avoid obstacles.

Perhaps Stunt Wagon would be best suited for a more hardcore gamer than I. At the same time, the appeal of the Zimmer Twins is strong. I have become a fan of Edgar, Eva and their cat (who always lands on his feet) and am eager to check out zinc Roe’s other three games: Snack Attack, Flying Furball and Artic Shuffle.

An additional note: zinc Roe’s website is excellent. You and your children can make your own Zimmer Twin cartoon movies, which inspire creativity and look professional. Whether you buy Stunt Wagon or experience the Zimmer Twins through another avenue, you should take the time to get to know these kids.

rating: 7/10
app_name: Stunt Wagon

Expand Your Game Experience with Xpandaballs

Amelia Sauter — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 17:00:02 +0000

I know a game is good when I need to write a review of it and I find myself saying, “Let me just play it once more first.” Xpandaballs is one of those addictive games.

Xpandaballs is unique. I do not know whether to call it a puzzle game, action game or strategy game. Essentially Xpandaballs falls into all three of those categories.

To play Xpandaballs, you try to destroy balls by hitting them with other balls. Each ball requires a different number of hits to be destroyed. When the ball you fired stops bouncing off the walls of the iPhone screen, it expands to fill the space where it landed. If the ball hits the boundary line at the bottom, you lose a life. Different colored balls have different properties; my favorites are the yellow, which can safely hit the boundary, and blue, which destroys a ball with one hit.

I like to challenge myself by playing Xpandaballs as fast as I can, making it an action game. You can also play Xpandaballs slowly and thoughtfully, mapping out the trajectory of each ball in your head before you shoot. Xpandaballs’ ambient music peacefully accompanies the thoughtful moments, but when I am feeling like a daredevil I prefer to turn the music off.

Xpandaballs has three levels, each decidedly more difficult than the previous level, leaving room to grow your skills over time.

Depending on how you decide to play Xpandaballs, Xpandaballs can be whatever kind of game you want it to be. Today you can play fast and furiously; tomorrow you can be meditative and pensive. In a world with so many uncreative apps, Xpandaballs is a truly original game that is both addictive and adaptable. Developer Craig Caldwell is onto something good with Xpandaballs. I highly recommend Xpandaballs; it has earned a permanent spot on my iPhone.

app_name: Xpandaballs
rating: 9/10

Music iQ Tests Your Music Recognition

Amelia Sauter — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 23:00:59 +0000

I smartly downloaded Music iQ before embarking on a four-hour car ride. Perfect timing! I entertained myself, the car trip went more quickly, and I discovered I am terrible at remembering the names of songs, even when I recognize a tune.

Music iQ from Phase2 Media is like an iPhone version of “Name That Tune.” Music iQ plays random songs one-at-a-time from your iPhone’s or iPod touch’s library, and the quicker you guess the songs, the more points you get. The good news is that Music iQ is a multiple choice quiz game, so you are given five options to choose from to help jog your memory.

The music library on my iPhone is small; I keep most of my music solely on my iPod so I don’t use up all my iPhone’s memory. If you do the same, you might find that Music iQ might be better used with your iPod touch than your iPhone. The larger your music library is, the more challenging it will be to play Music iQ.

A nice side effect of Music iQ is that it keeps you in touch with all of your music, not just with the artists or albums that you listen to the most. Along that same line, you can also ban individual songs, albums or artists from showing up when you play Music iQ, for example, an artist whose music you are not in the mood for or a friend’s homemade album whose song names you have listed in your iPhone as “Track 1,” “Track 2,” and so on.

Music iQ functions as described with no problems or quirks. It is easy to play, and you can pick it up whether you have a few minutes or an hour at your disposal. Whether you play to pass the time or to test your knowledge, Music iQ is a great app for music lovers.

rating: 8/10
app_name: Music iQ

Create Dizzy Paintings with SpinArt

Amelia Sauter — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:00:27 +0000

SpinArt will remind you of childhood art projects. Playing with SpinArt feels like a combination of blowing paint with a straw, tie-dying and that game (whose name I cannot remember) where you make geometric patterns by drawing with round plastic things that spin. But SpinArt is not messy, and it is not just for kids.

When I sat down to use SpinArt, the first thing I realized was that I needed to read the instructions. SpinArt isn’t hard once you read the descriptions of how to the tools, how to start the spinning, and how to make it stop. The learning curve is not steep, but it definitely helps to watch a SpinArt demo video (available after the jump).

SpinArt fans have uploaded a plethora of SpinArt projects onto a SpinArt Flickr photo group as well, many of which put my juvenile creations to shame.

One request I have for developer Brian Smith is to add an undo button to SpinArt that would undo a step or two without clearing the entire canvas. That way, if a mistake is made, it does not have to ruin the piece.

The only other downside of SpinArt, besides my obvious lack of artistic ability, is that I got dizzy after watching it spin for a few minutes. A little Dramamine might help.

Some user reviews on iTunes reference a problem using SpinArt with the iPod touch. The developer’s notes say that SpinArt is compatible with iPod touch. I tested SpinArt on an iPhone so I can’t comment on this possible problem. I would suggest you research this issue before buying SpinArt for the iPod touch.

SpinArt is a fun app for all ages. SpinArt will not turn you into an artist, but it will give you a way to add some color to a rainy day.

Watch the SpinArt video demo:

rating: 8/10
app_name: SpinArt

Nabbed Makes Fun Photo Captions

Amelia Sauter — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 22:00:24 +0000

Using hundreds of letters cut from magazines, Nabbed from More Blu Sky is a creative way to add captions to your photos.

I am not sure how Nabbed chose its app name, but perhaps it is because the letters look like a ransom note when they are used to make words to add to your photos. With Nabbed, you can use a picture currently in your iPhone library, or take a new one. You can rearrange the words once you have typed them so you can choose their placement aesthetically.

Nabbed is cool to use as is, but it needs some tweaking. Nabbed cannot view photos in landscape (horizontal) position. When you save an altered photo with Nabbed, the image is saved in portrait (vertical) format, which leaves awkward white borders on all pictures that were originally landscape-style.

I would also appreciate it if Nabbed included the ability to re-size letters and angle words. You can shake the phone to get different styles of letters, but you cannot individually change the letter sizes. To make a word appear to be at an angle, you have to type the individual letters with spaces between them as if each letter was a word, and then line up the letters on an angle.

Another critical missing feature from Nabbed is punctuation marks and numbers. If More Blu Sky took the time to cut out 260 letters from magazines, why stop there? Grab those scissors! Without question marks, exclamation points and numbers, it feels like Nabbed was released prematurely.

Used creatively, Nabbed can be an art form unto itself. The concept behind Nabbed is good. With an update that includes the suggestions above, Nabbed will be great.

rating: 7/10
app_name: Nabbed

You Might Need iWrecked – Auto Accident Assistant

Amelia Sauter — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 16:00:37 +0000

I would like to say that I have never had a car accident but, unfortunately, this is not the case. I have been in five car accidents in the past 15 years. (None of them were my fault. I swear it). I wish I had iWrecked- Auto Accident Assistant at the time.

iWrecked – Auto Accident Assistant is an iPhone app from Vurgood Applications that allows you to easily record the details of a car accident. Sure, a pen and paper will do, but good luck finding them in your messy glove compartment when you are stressed out.

When you have an unsettling or traumatic accident, you might also have a difficult time remembering what information to write down. iWrecked is like a friend who asks you all the right questions; all you have to do is fill in the blanks.

iWrecked prompts you to record all the things that your insurance company will need, including the location of the accident, the other driver’s information, the police report number and witness information. iWrecked – Auto Accident Assistant has a “Notes” section if you need to write down additional details such as injuries or multiple cars involved. iWrecked also allows you to take photos and save them as part of the accident report.

The best part about iWrecked is that it creates a PDF with the accident information that you can preview and email from your iPhone to yourself, your insurance company, or anyone else. The insurance rep is going to love how comprehensive you are.

In addition, iWrecked can find a local tow truck or taxi as well as call 911. Vurgood Apps says auto entry of your location via GPS is coming soon.

iWrecked has one feature that is not user-friendly: As you enter each piece of information, such as the street, and click the save button, iWrecked saves that one detail but not the entire accident report. You have to remember to click the save button back on the accident report main page, too, after you have entered and saved each detail. During my test of iWrecked, I inadvertently deleted three accident histories, and I was not under duress as most accident victims are.

I do not know the statistics, but I would guess that almost everyone will be in at least one car accident at some point in their lives. If you have an iPhone, iWrecked – Auto Accident Assistant is a handy app that can help you out in a crisis.

app_name: iWrecked
rating: 8/10

Baby Maker! Creates Comical Kids

Amelia Sauter — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 20:30:17 +0000

I do not have any children, but I have wondered on occasion what my kids would look like if I had some. Baby Maker! is designed to give me a comical glimpse into a child-filled future.

Don’t take Baby Maker! too seriously. Because Baby Maker! is a joke app, you will not find results that reflect you and your photo partner’s stunningly good looks. Rather, Baby Maker! creates pictures of kids that can be described with one word: creepy.

You start by choosing two pictures. Baby Maker! takes the eyes from one person and the mouth from another and drops them onto a photo of a child with the gender and ethnicity of your choice. The final product is a zombie-like creature with bizarre features. You can also allow Baby Maker! to choose gender and ethnicity randomly, but the subsequent results can be rather tasteless.

Baby Maker! does not have facial recognition capability so your original pictures have to be centered and close up. You have the opportunity to shift the pictures, but Baby Maker! has a major quirk: you can only shift pictures up and to the left, not down or to the right. I spent a lot more time trying to take centered pictures than I expected to. Baby Maker! also both crashed and froze on me a few times.

With Baby Maker!, you can use photos you already have or take new photos. You can merge friends, mates, movie stars or your pets. Yes, like any curious app reviewer I did try to merge my photo with a picture of my dog, and the resulting child was a mutant monstrosity. After that, I decided I would skip my urge to use Baby Maker! to see what my offspring would look like with Keanu Reeves.

If your sense of humor appreciates LOLer Apps‘ rather unsavory Baby Maker! motto, “Don’t SHAKE babies, MAKE babies!”, then the brief, crass entertainment that Baby Maker! provides may be right up your alley. For now, I am done making babies.

app_name: Baby Maker!
rating: 6/10

Bed Bugs is a Sleepwalking Adventure

Amelia Sauter — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 20:30:20 +0000

Sleeping should be a peaceful activity, but for the little guy in Bed Bugs, it can get pretty intense. Igloo Games, the makers of Dizzy Bee, has developed another winner with Bed Bugs.

When playing Bed Bugs, your goal is to use multi-touch to eliminate the floating bad guys so the sleepwalker does not wake up as he snores and travels various landscapes. If you are not quick enough, the sleepwalker will awake with a start and the game will be over.

I had two recurring thoughts when I played the first few levels of Bed Bugs. The first was that Bed Bugs seemed too easy. The second was that Bed Bugs needed instructions. Now that I am playing Level 9, or should I say, kind of stuck on Level 9, I have changed my mind on both of these judgments.

Part of the fun of Bed Bugs is that when new enemies appear on each level, you have to figure out what it takes to squash them. For example, the happy-looking fairies do not disappear until you have gotten rid of the other bad guys, and if you accidentally tap a fairy, she disturbs the sleepwalker’s slumber. Level 9 of Bed Bugs introduces a grey character that you have to blow up by holding your finger down on him for a few seconds. Each of the new bad guys joins previous bad guys, not replacing them, so Bed Bugs gets pretty hectic as you play on, making you wish you had more fingers.

My only complaint is that if you have to re-do a level on Bed Bugs, the setup is exactly the same each time. The same baddies come in the same patterns at the same rate. In the long run, I do not imagine that I will want to continue to play Bed Bugs after I have finished the 28 levels.

Overall, Bed Bugs makes nightmares fun and gets your fingers flying. Bed Bugs is easy enough at the lower levels for kids, and hard enough on higher levels to keep you challenged as the game gets faster and more complicated. And Bed Bugs is darn cute, too. Give Bed Bugs a try, especially if you liked Dizzy Bee.

Watch a Bed Bugs video:

rating: 9/10
app_name: Bed Bugs