Tag: Five for Friday »

This week at 148Apps.com, everything was hopping in celebration of Easter weekend. We started with Jennifer Allen's Five for Friday feature, showcasing an array of Easter-themed apps. Allen writes, "Happy Easter folks. No matter how you may celebrate it, and whether you do or not, we’ve got some fun Easter themed apps and games to cover in this week’s Five For Friday. Much like the event itself, the apps are a little geared towards families but there’s still fun to be had for all."

Read the overview of all five apps on 148Apps.com.

Jennifer Allen has also compiled a comprehensive list of apps on sale this Easter weekend. Grab 'em while they are cheap! Read the full list at 148Apps.com.

Meanwhile, Amy Solomon from GiggleApps reviewed a new interactive children's book - Nedi the Yeti. Solomon says, "Nedi the Yeti would make a great first app for babies and toddlers as the animals are friendly looking and engaging as well as not so well hidden that children of all ages could not find these creatures with ease, as a drag of a finger will coax these animals from their hiding places and a tap will trigger a speech bubble and a fun animal sound, be it either cartoony or realistic as is the case of the included bird or owl sounds found within."

Read the rest of the review at GiggleApps.

Finally, 148Apps.biz writer Kevin Stout explored ways for developers to acquire new users for their apps. Stout says, "Getting recognition and acquiring new users for mobile apps has gotten harder and harder as the app ecosystem has grown. This week, at the VentureBeat Mobile Summit 2012, strategy was discussed about the rising cost of user acquisition by three people close to the issue: Gabriel Leydon, chief executive of Machine Zone (free MMO developer of iMob and Original Gangstaz), Maria Alegre, CEO of Chartboost (app promotion solution), and Chris Akhavan, VP and GM of Strategic Partnerships at Tapjoy (app discovery and sharing platform)."

Read more about the VentureBeat Mobile Summit at 148Apps.biz.

Thanks for another great week! If you want to keep track of the latest reviews, news and contests, there's a great way to do it - just follow us on Twitter and Like us on Facebook. It's just that easy - promise! See you next week, law-abiding citizen!

Happy Easter folks. No matter how you may celebrate it, and whether you do or not, we've got some fun Easter themed apps and games to cover in this week's Five For Friday. Much like the event itself, the apps are a little geared towards families but there's still fun to be had for all.

Easter Candy Recipes
Particularly for the non-religious, Easter has become all about eating plenty of chocolate and other good food with the family. Easter Candy Recipes offers plenty of Easter themed recipes to satisfy people's urge for candy and other treats. Cakes and candies are available here, all through well laid out recipes and some tantalizing photos of the results.

What would happen if the Easter Bunny got sick?
An app for the little ones in the family, What would happen if the Easter Bunny got sick? deals with the terrifying proposition of if the Easter Bunny got sick and couldn't deliver all the Easter Eggs! Fortunately, Lucy Goosey comes to the rescue and the story is cute and charming. There's a coloring book included within the app, too.

Easter Bunny Scanner
The Easter Bunny is smart, much like Santa Claus, so he knows how to figure out if a kid has been naughty or nice. This app helps parents keep a check on things by providing a "magic" way of scanning their kids. Parents can, of course, choose what result they want but it's a neat idea to encourage kids.

Color Me !!! Easter Edition
One more app that's ideal for kids and adults in need of regressing - Color Me is a digital coloring book with an Easter theme. There are Easter eggs and bunnies to color in, as well as other Easter based things like smiling eggs. Simple yet cute. Adults might find it quite calming to color in and relax, too!

Easter Egg Invaders
One for older children and adults, Easter Egg Invaders is an example of what happens when good eggs go bad. It's an action packed shoot em up that's a little reminiscent of arcade shoot em ups of old. Easter Eggs from space have come down and need to be defeated across 30 levels of explosions. It's as crazy as it sounds!

The year is flying by. Somehow, it's the end of the week already and the end of the month. On the plus side, that means time for another Five For Friday! This week, we're leaning towards the entertainment route with a mixture of games, photo filtering and an app to help regular cinema goers. Without any further ado, on with the fivesome.

After Flick
As a regular visitor to my local cinema, I spend many a credits reel wondering whether I should stick around for after the credits have ended just in case there's a few seconds of extra footage in there. After Flick takes the wondering out of the equation by informing users whether there's something at the end of the film and, if so, what's actually there.

FMX IV Pro
Fancy flying through the air on a motorbike? Try doing it in a game before practicing in real life. FMX IV Pro is one such option, promising numerous different types of events, seven different locations and plenty of different tricks to master, all with a realistic physics engine. It should keep many a stunt biker happy.

1-Bit Camera
Once upon a time, before the Nintendo DS, the Nintendo Gameboy offered a camera attachment that created images a lot like the ones depicted in 1-Bit Camera. There's a certain charm to the appearance too with a real 1980s look to them that will be a fun walk down memory lane for many.

Cannibal Cookout
A fun game all about playing a cannibal. How sweet. It actually is quite cute though with players enjoying 70 levels of silliness as they must speedily keep enemies at bay, all for the sake of a tasty meal. Besides dodging enemies, it's also imperative to create increasingly impressive meals, making for a fun yet frantic time.

Universal Movie Tycoon
Plenty of games have offered the opportunity to build up homes, towns, even hospitals. So it's only natural that the latest step is to build a movie studio and hopefully make a fortune as a successful film tycoon. It's a simple affair but should keep movie fans happy across the weekend as they decorate their way to success.

Thanks to a little-known game called Angry Birds Space, it's not been the busiest of weeks for new game releases. That's not stopped us here at Five For Friday, though. We've rounded up a selection of apps and games with a hint of a focus on family use, but still perfectly relevant for many others.

Dr. Seuss Beginner Book Collection #2
One aimed squarely at young families, Dr. Seuss Beginner Book Collection #2 brings five classic Dr. Seuss titles to life for young readers including Green Eggs and Ham, The Cat in the Hat Comes Back and others. All are available in three different forms. Readers can listen to the story and watch the highlighted words appear, they can read it to themselves or the story can play by itself like a movie.

Basil
Basil helps cookery fans discover and collect new recipes, while also offering the ability to add the user's own recipes within the app. Cooking timer functionality is thrown in there too for good measure. The ability to instantly save and import reviews works alongside major sites such as allrecipes.com and foodnetwork.com amongst others.

AfterFocus
We at 148apps can't resist a neat photo filtering app and AfterFocus offers a pretty cool DSLR-style effect. By simply selecting a relevant area on a photo, AfterFocus allows the user to create a more natural looking image via blurring and smart focussing.

Outline Pro
Ideal for students of all ages, Outline Pro aims to help them learn how to plan and structure their essay in an academic form. It's often the hardest part of learning to master but Outline Pro ensures that nothing goes amiss by getting the user to divide things up according to topic, introduction, body paragraphs and conclusion. Structured bullet points help organize ideas in a coherent form.

Crosswords for iPad
Crosswords have formed the basis of many a word fan's weekend morning. So what better way to do it this weekend than through an iPad? That's what Crosswords for iPad offers. 100 different crosswords are available through the app, with easy to use controls making for a very relaxing and wordy affair.

At last the weekend is here and about time, too. So, how best to enjoy it? We can't make any suggestions on whether to spend the time out and about or chilling indoors, but we can provide you with some great suggestions of apps and games released over the past week to try out.

DoDonPachi Resurrection HD
One for the bullet hell gaming fans, Cave has released another impressive yet insane to look at crazy-o-thon of shooting. Fast reactions are vital as the bullets never let up and the pattern of bullets need to be memorized for any chance of survival. An Arcade Mode offers a port of the arcade game, while a Smartphone Mode tailors the experience to the iOS format.

The Final Hours of Mass Effect 3
An unbeatable offer for fans of the Mass Effect series of games, The Final Hours of Mass Effect 3 takes players behind the scenes during the creation of the phenomenal RPG, offering a plethora of video interviews, quizzes, games and even deleted scenes from the game. It's the ideal companion piece for those wanting to learn more about the series.

Shoptown
A lighter gaming experience now, ideal for casual gamers. Shoptown is all about running a shop and getting the best price out of items while keeping the customers happy. There are freemium elements involved but it's not essential for progression.

Chaos Rings II
Previous Chaos Rings games have been pretty special so there's not a lot that needs to be said about Chaos Rings II. The storyline promises to be compelling with numerous hidden bosses and endings. The graphics are even better and the battle system has been revamped. RPG fans may need more than just a weekend with this title!

St. Patrick's Festival Guide 2012
St. Patrick's Day is tomorrow and while it's probably a little late to head over to Dublin to celebrate, there's still the chance to check out the Dublin Parade via this app. It contains all the relevant information for the 4 days from March 16th to March 19th, along with an interactive map. The best feature, however, is the live feed of the Parade. Drink a pint of Guiness while viewing it and it's almost like actually being there.

Maybe it's because it's GDC week or maybe it's because Spring is on the way for the Northern Hemisphere. Whatever the reason, it's been a good week for new apps and games to hit the App Store. While we've hopefully kept a steady stream of information and news on many big titles, here's our regular Five For Friday article, covering five other titles worth checking out.

Zuma's Revenge

It's been a big hit on the PC and Mac, now Zuma's Revenge has made its way to iOS. The concept of Zuma has been mixed up a tad, adding the prospect of boss battles and more structure to the ball busting format we all know and get ridiculously hooked on. While the ultimate form of Zuma, Zuma Blitz, hasn't hit iOS, this will keep many fans keen for a while to come.

Adventure Bar Story

A RPG that isn't about saving the world or being a bit emo and miserable? Yup, really. Adventure Bar Story is all about running a bar and making as much money as possible. That sounds pretty simulation like in nature but there's a crucial RPG element to things: players must collect recipes and food by battling monsters. There's a ton of playtime in this inexpensive package.

My Year In Pictures HD

Slightly more ideal if it had been released at the start of the year, My Year In Pictures HD is still a great way of storing regular photos as part of a photo journal collection. It's pretty to look at and easy to browse. There's even a video feature that lets users create a mix of all the images from their chosen dates.

Roller Journal

Another fun way of tracking life, Roller Journal takes the typical journal app idea and makes a very neat change. Instead of just leaving the user free to write what they want and claw out for inspiration, Roller Journal provides questions that can spark a great line of thought. Questions are consistently fun and interesting so it's a cool way to get thinking and share thoughts.

Via.Me

A mixture of photo filter app with social networking and multimedia capabilities, Via.Me does it all (nearly). Users can choose from 18 different photo filters to adjust their images as well as share videos and music, then share them across multiple social networks at once. It's similarly easy to share comments with friends or browse photo streams.

This week's Five For Friday is leaning towards the way of the iPad. Never fear iPhone owners, we don't completely forget about you, it just so happens that some particularly interesting apps and games have been made solely for the iPad. Maybe it's a sign of the promise of the iPad 3? Or maybe it's just pure coincidence. Regardless, on with the line up!

Incoboto
Incoboto has that quirky look that can't help but intrigue. Throw in the fact it's been developed by an auteur, a sole developer who's clearly both dedicated and a little insane, and there's more reason to be interested. Even better? It promises to be in the spirit of Portal and Ico, and it kind of is! With a distinctive art style and soundtrack, plus great puzzles and storytelling, Incoboto is one to delve into this weekend.

Smart Photo Album - PhotoCal PRO
it's a heck of a long name for such a simple app but Smart Photo Album - PhotoCal PRO knows what to do to be useful to users that have hundreds of photos on their iPad. It's an app that enables users to browse their images and videos. It sounds unremarkable but it's the ease in which users can navigate around it that makes it great. Images can be organized by date and month, as well as viewed on a calendar layout for extra ease. It's an ideal way to browse many photos at once.

Circadia
Circadia looks tremendously arty and conveys a great zen type feeling to the whole experience. Underneath all that is a simple yet addictive rhythm puzzle game that quickly ramps up the difficulty level. A constellation of musical colors exist and it's down to the player to figure out the correct sequence to progress. It sounds quirky and it kind of is. It'll stick in the memory for a while to come.

The World In Figures
Who can resist learning something new? Even more so when it's for the price of waiting for an app to download and nothing more. That's exactly what The World In Figures offers. Courtesy of The Economist, there are plenty of facts and figures for more than 190 countries around the world. Trivia quizzes are also provided and it's easy to share fun facts with friends via Twitter and Facebook.

Snackerdoodle
Kids love to play with their food. Secretly, so do many adults. For those with that urge, there's an easy way to play with food and draw pictures with it, without getting messy or wasting good food. Snackerdoodle is the answer, providing a simple and creative way of making fun images, all with items of food rather than regular paints and crayons. Food available ranges from fruit and nuts to macaroni and frosting.

The year is picking up pace. We're already nearing the end of February, with this marking the final Five For Friday of the month. While there's not a lot I can do about slowing down time, I can pick out five apps and games from the past week that are each worth checking out over the coming days.

Name That Movie
Movie Awards season is culminating this weekend with the Academy Awards, or Oscars, ceremony on Sunday night. While the official app has been out for the past month, an ideal app has just hit the Store for those after movie themed trivia. Name That Movie is inexpensive at the moment and offers 5 different rounds, consisting of Clips, Posters, Still shots, Hangman, Clues and more. It's an ideal game to play in preparation for the ceremony.

Midway Arcade
Nostalgia fans will love this. For $0.99, fans of Midway's Arcade classics can enjoy the delights of Spy Hunter, Rampage, Joust, Root Beer Tapper, Defender, and Arch Rivals. The asking price is more than reasonable for smashing up buildings in Rampage alone. In-app purchases extend the fun with the ability to unlock NARC, Total Carnage, APB, Gauntlet I and II, and Wizard of Wor.

Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions
New to the iPad, Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions is a classic of the strategy roleplaying genre remade for the PSP then enhanced for iOS. The iPhone conversion was a strong one but on the iPad, the extra screen space makes it all the more appealing. Controlling characters is arguably simpler than on the original PSP version with touch based controls immediately intuitive and the graphics have been optimised. The asking price may be hefty but there's a heck of a lot of game playing time here.

Mosaic Creator
Fast yet beautiful results aren't hard to come by when it comes to many photo filtering apps. Mosaic Creator is another satisfying gem. It lets users easily create mosaic images which involve all the photos on an iPhone or iPad, even up to tens of thousands of different images. Everything's optimised for the best results and users can check a real-time preview as the mosaic effect is created. It's clever stuff.

Towers N' Trolls
The App Store isn't short of a good Tower Defense game but that doesn't mean there isn't room for another title of great quality. Towers N' Trolls is that game, featuring hand-painted environments across 30 unique maps and six different worlds to explore. It might be a concept we've seen before, but the different enemy types and general charm of the game could keep things feeling fresh and fun.

It's the end of the week already? The week and the year appear to be flying by, that or I'm getting old. As it's Friday, again, it's only right that I discuss five apps and games worth taking the time to look at this weekend and into next week. This week's offerings are a little app heavy but there's certainly fun to be had.

Graffiti Me!

Some may see it as unsightly but graffiti can look extremely impressive and artistic when drawn by someone with talent. Graffiti Me! takes that kind of style and offers the ability to turn photos into beautiful and cool graffiti art. Like all the best photo filter apps, it takes seconds to create the effect at the touch of one button, with further control stemming from adjustable parameters.

Sam & Max Beyond Time and Space Ep 2

The rabbit and dog detective duo, Sam & Max, have been popular for many years, offering sharp and witty humor and some very surreal storytelling. While Beyond Time and Space has been available on other systems in the past, it's only now that iOS gamers get the chance to try out the series. This week marked the release of Episode 2, Moai Better Blues, and it's one of the best of the season.

WinZip

WinZip has been saving precious hard drive space for the past 20 years with its leading file compression technology. That technology has now reached iOS, offering users the ability to open and browse Zip files while on the move. Numerous zipped file types can also be previewed covering all the major file extensions.

Pinmark

There are a ton of different journal apps out there. Pinmark does things a little differently, however, by automatically collecting and organizing the places the user visits as well as the photos they take and music they listen to, all alongside a note taking facility. All information is stored on the iPhone rather than on any remote server and it makes for a great way to look back at places visited to relive some memories of what happened back then.

Fractal

Originally a PC and Mac title, Fractal is a puzzle game that will seem quite familiar, yet offers compelling gameplay. Players must manipulate fractals to a gloriously imaginative backdrop and memorable musical score. Think Bejewelled but with more style.

Another week of the year down and so we look back at five of the best apps and games of the past seven days. This time round, we have a healthy dose of education and knowledge, alongside a new way to create animations and some fun with droids.

Cinemagram
Offering something a little like Kinotopic, Cinemagram gives users the tools to create their own mix of photo and video. Simply record a few seconds of video and apply relevant filters to create some startingly original pieces of photographic art.

Raid Leader
Combining RPG and RTS elements, players take the role of Raid Leader in the game of the same name. Three different character classes help the player through 15 encounters as players level up as they come across increasingly fearsome bosses. A casual yet challenging trip into genres that are normally less welcoming.

Fotopedia Women of the World
Women accomplish a lot in the world and now there's an app that focuses on their efforts. Fotopedia Women of the World does precisely that, offering some stunning imagery from 75 different countries as well as visual stories and explanations of just what is being witnessed. There's no reason not to download this. It's free, after all.

Star Wars Pit Droids
Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace divided many upon its initial release and understandably so. With the release of the film in 3D, so too do we get another chance of seeing what games come out of the Star Wars universe. Star Wars Pit Droids is one such title, offering a form of tower defense game set around the pit droids during Anakin Skywalker's racing days.

Celebrating Dickens

200 years ago, on February 7 1812, author Charles Dickens was born. Celebrating Dickens, developed by the University of Warwick, UK, looks at the life and times of the classic storyteller. Along the way is some fantastic academic insight into his work from A Christmas Carol to Bleak House, with podcasts explaining all.

Another week has left us behind along with the first month of the year. As always with the arrival of Friday, we take a few moments to round up five of the most interesting apps and games that we've yet to cover in a more extensive form. There will be fun to be had and new recipes to be learnt, amongst other things.

Remarks

At its simplest, the iPad makes for a fantastic note taking tool. Just because the process of writing notes is relatively simple doesn't mean that the results have to be plain though. Remarks is part PDF annotating application, part PDF notes creator. It's simple to edit and view PDF files but just as easy to write or sketch ideas, through either handwriting or text input.

Avid Studio

Aspirations to master film editing? Avid Studio has it covered. Offering simple yet effective video editing functionality, the app allows for easy rearranging of clips, the ability to add high-quality transitional effects and even a soundtrack. It's surprisingly powerful stuff so iPad 1 owners may find themselves suffering from a few problems but iPad 2 owners will revel in the creativity.

Off The Leash

Off The Leash is all about helping Steve the loveable Golden Retriever escape the Chief of Police. 7 different dogs can be unlocked across 90 different missions. Tilt-based controls mean that Steve's quest is simple to learn but great fun to master. It's got a great 'one more go' vibe to it.

Veggie Meals

New recipes are fun to discover and nutritious meals are all the more satisfying. Veggie Meals offers 55 easy to cook vegetable based recipes, catering for both vegetarians and vegans. Salads, soups, pasta, stews, burgers, pies and bread and desserts are all provided for here with attractive photography and informative step by step instructions sealing the deal.

Tweet Land

Tweet Land isn't th usual kind of racing game. It's one that changes according to the real world and the tweets that world events invoke. Each experience with Tweet Land is different, changing according to real-time events. It makes the old school looking game feel that bit more exciting and the ideal game to drop in on a daily basis to see what's changed. Plus, there's the opportunity to escape tsunamis and zombies, all in the same game!

Things are ramping up on the App Store with Christmas well and truly behind everyone. While most of these apps and games will be covered in reviews, we take a look here at five of the best from the last week.

Orphion

Turning an iPad into an unique musical instrument by the same name, Orphion creates a fantastic sound that's reminiscient of a string instrument and percussion. Like all musical instruments, it takes some practice to master but it's immensely tactile and doesn't take much effort to see some great results. Surely the ideal app to spend some time with over the weekend.

Super Snake HD

Games featuring snakes have been around for as long as cell phones. Super Snake HD offers a fun twist on the usual format with 100 levels of puzzles and power-ups keeping things fresh and fun. There's even head to head multiplayer functionality so that friends can join in. It's a fine reintrepretation of a classic game.

Shakespeare In Bits: Hamlet

An ideal way to learn a classic play in a simple, study guide style manner, Shakespeare In Bits: Hamlet offers over 2 and a half hours of unabridged text, animated re-enactments and the classic play broken down into easily digested sections. Biographies of each character and key theme discussions go a step further to helping analysis of the play. Ideal for those studying at the moment and those who just want to learn more.

My Little Monster

On a lighter note, My Little Monster lets players return to their youth with a dinstinctly retro appearance as the player takes care of a monster while training it to take on 31 enemies. Simple yet nostalgic, it's smile inducing.

NewsFlash

News moves fast in the world and it can be tough to keep up. NewsFlash lets the user quickly catch up with all the breaking news from many leading publications, all merged into one single news feed. Easy to use and understand, it's a great time saver and highly informative.

This week at 148Apps.com, the news was all about education and how Apple plans to transform it through a variety of iOS and Mac apps. While the new version of iBooks, and the Mac iBooks Author got most of the press, writer Jennifer Allen focused her attention on the newly-released iTunes U for iPad and iPhone. "More than 500,000 free lectures, videos, books and other resources are accessible from within this app with the ability to browse collections from institutions such as Stanford, Yale, Oxford and the New York Public Library. Notes and highlighting functionality makes everything easy to review through this informative app."

Read more in Jennifer's Five for Friday post.

Meanwhile, Amy Solomon investigated Operation: Math over at GiggleApps. She writes, "The style of this app is simply wonderful, but I am embarrassed to admit that I was not able to get past the last addition level and have had problem passing other levels in the subtraction, multiplication and division levels that include double digit mathematics – not from a lack of mathematical ability – but from a lack of time."

Read GiggleApps for more information on this new way to school your kids in math.

Finally, site editor Rob LeFebvre took a closer look at Game Dojos, a not-so-run-of-the-mill business incubator. He writes, "Game Dojos wants to connect the best of the business with the newest to the business, helping find some micro funding and even office space for program participants. “We’d love the game companies to come here,” Burkett said, referring to San Francisco, where Game Dojos is based, “but we’re also looking into the virtual thing. We’d prefer teams to relocate to SF if they can for the three months, however we are not going to refuse to take a strong talented team based elsewhere, and will talk to them individually for consideration.” They’re not just looking to fund the studios, then, but actually nurture them to help create “longer term companies,” she said."

Learn more and read the full article on 148Apps.biz.

And that is the week that was. If you want the latest news, reviews and contests, don't forget to follow us on Twitter or Like us on Facebook. We're always there for you! See you next time.

Another Friday, another week drawing to a close and that means one very important part of the day: the Five For Friday! Here's our roundup of five of the best apps and games that have been released on the App Store in the past 7 days.

iTunes U

Lauded as a great way of providing education right to an iOS device, iTunes U gives access to complete courses from many leading universities and other schools. More than 500,000 free lectures, videos, books and other resources are accessible from within this app with the ability to browse collections from institutions such as Stanford, Yale, Oxford and the New York Public Library. Notes and highlighting functionality makes everything easy to review through this informative app.

Puzzlejuice

We've all seen puzzle games that involve colored blocks falling from the top of the screen, in need of arranging to clear them. We've all seen games that provide a similar experience but with letters and words needing to be created. How about a game that combines both? Puzzlejuice is exactly that, making for a very potent mix of fun and brainteasing.

Timelapse Video Recorder

Ideal for those with a creative eye, Timelapse Video Recorder enables users to create time lapse videos quickly and simply. One tap of the screen records the video with similarly easy to use buttons available for adjusting video length and speed up relevant sections. It's smooth and set to produce some great results, all at 60 frames per seconds for maximum smoothness.

OnLive Desktop

Harnessing the power of cloud computing with remote PC desktop utilization is how OnLive explains this app and that's pretty much exactly it. OnLive Desktop enables iPad users to view, edit and create documents using Microsoft Office Word, Excel and PowerPoint all through this form of PC virtualization. Users can easily transfer files between the app and other devices and the experience is lag-free and simple to use.

Smash Cops

Fun should always be had on the weekend and Smash Cops should supply bucketloads of it. Reminiscient of classic game, Chase HQ, Smash Cops is all about taking out runaway felons in races spread over 20 missions and 4 different mini games. Fast and furious, Smash Cops will be great for Burnout and Need For Speed fans.

January is in full swing now and the same can be said for the App Store which is offering boundless potential as always. As is customary on a Friday, we've taken the opportunity of highlighting five of the best apps and games that have hit the store in the past seven days. Hit the break for all five of the apps you might have missed.