Samurise Review

Samurise is on the right track, albeit, for a small target audience. Most people can handle the buzzing, twinkling, or music-streaming from their alarms in the early hours. It does the job. However, if that snooze button is their best friend, perhaps it’s time for something a little stronger. Enter Samurise, the alarm clock app that requires violent moves in order to shut it up.

This is a simple app. It’s love it or hate it. The sound effects - the gongs, grunts, and strange pumping music - are not what everyone wants to wake up to. In order to stop the alarm sounds, swing the phone like a sword until the samurai warrior is “defeated" by draining his energy bar at the top of the screen. The harder the swing, the faster he is defeated. Oh, and to add to the audio assault, the flashlight strobes like a disco ball as the phone shakes and swings its mock battle.

This is a good app for those who need the extra help waking up because the obnoxious sounds do not stop until one wins the fight; unless users click Give Up in the bottom left corner. That’s worse than hitting a snooze button because the samurai doesn’t come back, which is a definite downside. But maybe this app is just the ticket. Maybe users should feel proud of their samurai fighting prowess? Or just proud that they got out of bed? Then they can Tweet it or Facebook it, of course. Who wouldn’t?

Another downside - if the phone’s “old-fashioned” numerical passcode feature is enabled, it must be unlocked before the fight can begin. The annoying music will pierce the room until the app can be accessed. Unlock the phone to start the fight, or... ignore it. The pulsing soundtrack will stop after about 15-20 seconds. No worries, though, it returns until the phone is unlocked. Get out of bed, Sleepyhead! So, the fight must go on! Or just hit cancel, really.

Most likely this app will only appeal to a small slice of the public. Most will just stick to something a little less obtrusive. But those whom obnoxious works for should give this a chance.