Friday Five: May 14th, 2010
Posted by Bonnie Eisenman on May 14th, 2010
Fridays are the perfect time for reflecting on the past week...and Fridays at 148apps are no exception. Here are five interesting apps released in the past week for your perusal!
ustwo seems to enjoy creating unique apps, such as the masterfully titled "...". Inkstrumental is their newest app, and it's a funky one. The point is to create your own weird music videos and strange soundtracks, using the 31 creatures included. See, each character will emit a musical sound when you tap it. A "VIP character" allows you to record your own sounds, too. By mixing them together against different backdrops you create a unique mash-up of noise and your very own music video. It might not be as complex as other sound-mixing apps, but Inkstrumental is intuitive and packs a ton of character. Who couldn't love these fuzzy creatures? As an added bonus, you can share your masterpieces by in-app uploading to YouTube.
By now it's an established fact that the Tap Tap Revenge series reigns supreme when it comes to iPhone rhythm games, at least in terms of popularity. Nirvana Revenge is the latest spin-off, featuring—you guessed it—hits from Nirvana. Fourteen songs are bundled with the app, including songs like Smells Like Teen Spirit, Breed, Heart Shaped Box, and Lithium. (Note that the fourteen includes three live versions.) The songs give you a good sampling of the band's work, and you get to tap along to the fourteen tracks for far less than they would cost on iTunes. This being a Tap Tap game, you also have a few neat features like four difficulty levels and four boss tracks thrown in. If you're a Nirvana Fan looking for a gaming fix, you'd better check out Nirvana Revenge.
To quote Komenten's description: "A comet has been born, please take good care of it!" Komenten is a colorful space exploration game in which you zip around the galaxy like an intergalactic tourist. There's no real objective, but the vivid watercolor graphics coupled with the soundtrack make a relaxing, beautiful ride. Even if you don't usually enjoy non-traditional games, I'm willing to wager that anyone in touch with their inner child could easily get lost in Komenten's vibrant, bizarre world. The universe is such an exciting place—why not explore it?
Gameloft just keeps rolling out games. Zombie Infection is one of their latest titles, and if it looks familiar, well, chances are that's because it's highly similar to Resident Evil. That doesn't stop Zombie Infection from being a technically stunning title, however, and Gameloft's new zombie game is sure to devour both your brains and your free time. Zombie Infection comes with a 12-level campaign mode in which you switch between ex-soldier Damien Sharpe and journalist Alex Rayne, as well as a Survivor Mode. There are tons of enemies, including mutated and infected animals, plenty of weapons, a sinister zombie-filled storyline, and top-notch 3D graphics. In short? Gameloft does it again...this time, with zombies!
StreetSpark is one of those apps that needs a large user base to function, which is probably why it's free! StreetSpark is a location-based dating app that takes your location and searches for nearby users who match your profile (they call this a "Spark"). With an eye towards safety, StreetSpark doesn't reveal your location or personal contact info. Instead, you can chat in-app or meet up in one of StreetSpark's HotSpots, which give StreetSpark users discounts and offer users a place to congregate. Think FourSquare, but for dating. It's a really interesting use of the location feature, and thankfully it looks like the app's developers are aware of privacy concerns. Sadly, it's currently limited to the UK, but the developers plan to expand to other countries (and, for that matter, handsets) in the future.