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Monica Stevens

Contributing Writer | 148Apps

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Kinkle Review

iPhone App - Designed for iPhone, compatible with iPad
By Monica Stevens on February 26th, 2015
Our rating: starstarstarhalfstarblankstar :: A KINKLE IN TIME
Kinkle is design-savvy but, like other upstarts in this space, lacking content.
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On Time Review

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
By Monica Stevens on February 10th, 2015
Our rating: starstarhalfstarblankstarblankstar :: SLEEP LATE
Is there a purpose for an app that frequently funnels you to other, better, apps? No, there is not.
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Rowl Review

iPhone App - Designed for iPhone, compatible with iPad
By Monica Stevens on January 28th, 2015
Our rating: starstarhalfstarblankstarblankstar :: MISSING MORE THAN A G
Do we really need another social network? Does the question even need to be asked anymore?
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Blood Brothers Review

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
By Monica Stevens on September 20th, 2012
Our rating: starstarstarstarhalfstar :: BLOODY GOOD
Exchange virtual bodily fluids with nymph-like creatures and earn treasures in the process.
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Picture Me Something Review

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
By Monica Stevens on September 12th, 2012
Our rating: starstarstarstarhalfstar :: PICTURE YOU AND ME
Tons of fun for you and your friends at your fingertips.
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Food Network On the Road Review

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
By Monica Stevens on September 7th, 2012
Our rating: starstarstarstarhalfstar :: SAVORY AND SWEET
Get your grub on with a visual and tactile road trip menu.
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Offworld Review

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
By Monica Stevens on September 7th, 2012
Our rating: starstarstarstarhalfstar :: GORGEOUSLY GRITTY
A gritty, sexy future is on the horizon. Will you fight for it?
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Throne of Swords Review

iPad App - Designed for iPad
By Monica Stevens on September 6th, 2012
Our rating: starstarstarstarhalfstar :: NICE TOUCH
Build your own kingdom as you play with friends and wander through a mellow and magical land.
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Age of Chaos Review

iPhone App - Designed for iPhone, compatible with iPad
By Monica Stevens on August 20th, 2012
Our rating: starstarstarstarhalfstar :: Resplendent
Step back in time with bow and arrow battles and stone forts.
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Happy Street Review

Posted by Monica Stevens on August 10th, 2012
+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad

Developer: Godzilab
Price: FREE 
Version Reviewed: 1.0.3
Device Reviewed On: iPhone 4

Graphics / Sound Rating: starstarstarstarstar 
Game Controls Rating: starstarstarstarhalfstar 
Gameplay Rating: starstarstarstarhalfstar 
Replay Value Rating: starstarstarstarhalfstar

[rating:overall] 
 
Okay, Haters, say what you will. I just landed on Happy Street, and, well, I couldn’t be happier. Light and babbling, Happy Street, a universal app by Godzilab, is giddy fun for adults and children alike.

The gorgeous and playful design is an immediate attraction for me. Characters Billy and Pepin greet me on screen. Billy is a spry, open-armed fox with turquoise goggles perched upon his cartoonly tangerine mane. Pepin is a greyish-blue wolfen character who bares a single grinny tooth in profile and wears a cap, a vest, a backpack, and a bit of an attitude.

App developers Godzilab advertise: “Discover a lively world where everybody is happy. In Happy Street you will be able to build your own village, discover new places, make friends, play with mini games, fish, craft objects, collect resources, and much more. . .”

Fans of Happy Street adore its graphics, playful approach, and likeness to the wildly popular game Animal Crossing. Fans also note that children will find Happy Street delightful and, in the words of one fan, “Really pleasant and fun to play--lots to do and explore.”

While I play, Pepin and Billy babble nonsensically as English word “translations” roll across my iPhone screen. The English translations direct me on actions to take, such as the suggestion to “build a fruit stand.” Interjected are sweet and friendly statements Billy and Pepin make to me, “You need to rest!” How do they know? I’m assured that Billy and Pepin truly understand my needs on this day.

Happy Street is a fremium app, which means that my going farther down this street requires my commitment to making in-app purchases. In-app purchases allow me to continue building my happy village, and I can pop balloons for extra coins. A neat social feature may appeal to those looking for this type of interaction and play.

I am not usually a huge fan of in-app purchases, and I don’t prefer fremium games for my own personal use, but the stylized playfulness and attractive sound design and graphics are highly tempting. I can see the appeal of gamers to continue their journey down this dusty, mocha-colored road.

Happy Street is aptly titled. I get a light and giggly feeling as I listen to Pepin and Billy’s forested giggles and punchy quipping. Godzilab’s new app is pure and decadent pleasure. The fluff I see on my iPhone screen is the achingly sweet, pastel, and crystallized cotton candy of kiddie carnivals that melts on the tip of my tongue when it meets me.

Look, Haters gonna hate. There’s nothing to be done. Meanwhile, I’ll trip the light fantastic in my patchy hot air balloon and ride the fields and forests to and through Happy Street.

Mus + Lang L1 Review

iPhone App - Designed for iPhone, compatible with iPad
By Monica Stevens on August 10th, 2012
Our rating: starstarstarstarhalfstar :: Lovely
Music and Language: two classic disciplines collide to educate and inform in a pleasurable process.
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Ticket to Ride Europe Review

iPhone App - Designed for iPhone, compatible with iPad
By Monica Stevens on August 2nd, 2012
Our rating: starstarstarstarstar :: ALL ABOARD!
Exquisite details and complex strategy combine for one pleasurable and enticing ride in board game app Ticket To Ride Europe.
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Castle Man HD Review

iPad App - Designed for iPad
By Monica Stevens on August 1st, 2012
Our rating: starstarstarstarhalfstar :: GOLDEN
A Gilded Castle of Coining Fantasies! Castle Man HD is a lush 3D coin gathering game from SuperTomGame.
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Next Issue Review

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
By Monica Stevens on July 31st, 2012
Our rating: starstarstarstarstar :: NO HOARDING REQUIRED
Slick, gorgeous, and tantalizing pleasures available at your fingertips.
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Ready to Jump Into The Sandbox Again?

Posted by Monica Stevens on July 18th, 2012
+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Our rating: starstarstarstarhalfstar :: CREATE :: Read Review »

Retro gaming and God complexes: two great tastes that taste great together. And in the case of 148Apps Editor's Choice app The Sandbox, that's exactly what gamers get. Now, though, the fun expands to the magical iPad screen (including full retina display support), providing a universal experience on either iOS device. Reviewer Rob Rich had this to say about the game: "Sometimes a game’s title just fits. It does a perfect job of getting the point across without bombarding the reader with unnecessary words...games like The Sandbox do titles right. It’s pretty much dead-on about what players can expect. Which is to say it’s a sandbox. A glorious, pixilated, element-manipulating sandbox."

This latest update from developer Pixowl and Bulkypix does more than just make The Sandbox universal, it also adds 11 new tree species, 7 new backgrounds, 8 glowing gems and 30 missions to solve. That's enough to keep any budding godling busy.

More additions are on the way, including new ways to bring lifeforms to your creation, so get in The Sandbox, start playing and 'unleash the pixel artist dormant in you.