Tag: Apple »

I'm sure this won't come as much of a shock to you, there's a good chance Apple will be showing off, or at the very least announcing, the next generation of iPhone. We wouldn't be so sure about it if there hadn't already been so many leaks, but we could still be surprised.

As is standard, we want to know everything about it: what it's like, how thin it is, whether the glass is actually shatter-proof, if it has a headphone jack, how much it'll be – I'm sure you've had a few thoughts.

Unfortunately, there's not a lot of solid information floating about at the moment, but we've had a bit of a dig and here's everything you need to know about it so far in one helpful place. Aww, aren't we nice?

Apple's still not officially confirmed any of this, so do take everything with a pinch of salt for now.

It's always tempting to have the best thing. As game players we're almost conditioned to chase the biggest processor, the most power, the next generation. Even mobile gaming isn't immune to this push to progress - there are games on the App Store that don't work on an iPhone 6 any more.

Which means the iPhone X should be the device at the top of all of our want lists right? It's get the sharpest processor, it's as future proof as an Apple device ever gets. It's the top of the toppest range of smartphones. We should all be clamouring to get one.

Well, no. We shouldn't.

Apple's new premium mobile model, the iPhone X has finally hit stores, though competition is quite fierce if you want to get your hands on one. Supply of the phone will be limited for the next few weeks, so if you want to grab one early, you might have to fight for it.

But if you're wavering over whether or not you should by the latest, shiniest iPhone, here are a few pros and cons to help your decision along.

The Apple press event is Wednesday. Officially, we don't know what the company is going to roll out, because Apple never officially tips its hand about such things ahead of time.

Unofficially, there's an entire cottage industry devoted to reading the tea leaves grown in Cupertino. So not only do people think they know what Apple is revealing tomorrow, they also feel pretty confident about when you'll be downloading all your favorite games and apps onto it.

If you’ve been known to frequent the Game of Dice title and have a penchant for that cute little Japanese cat (who is apparently actually a little girl…), JoyCity’s latest update of the game will be right up your street.

The general gist of the game centres on a table-based board game situation, where players must outsmart enemies using a variety of different cards and skill sets, including Boost Items and Characters who work to bankrupt opponents of their JOY.

Lovers of the Star Trek franchise will already be aware of the original release of this game, which has now been transformed with the release of a new version by Genera Games: Wrath of Gems.

Whilst previously, players could strive to attack foes in weekly battles only, this new update brings with it an exciting new social feature: Alliances. With this, players can form their own teams with allies across the globe, hunting down the strongest crews and fleets to complement their own. Ensuring that choices are well thought-out is paramount to success when it comes to this new version of the game.

Pack your suitcase, kiss your kids goodbye: come June 9th you’re set to be jetting off with astragon’s new flight simulation release, Take Off - The Flight Simulator.

For those who find flying a disconcerting prospect in reality, or just really fancy the idea of soaring into the skies from their office chair, this title offers an immersive experience without the hassle of, you know, having to attend a flight school and buy your own plane.

Pairing slick visuals with a frustratingly addictive premise, ZPlay’s Inner Circle is a must-play for anybody who enjoys a good time-sensitive puzzle game. Using a simplistic (but highly effective) layout, the game is opened up to a vast demographic of players – young and old.

To succeed at the game, players must work to line up rings of colour to match that of the ‘inner circle’, whilst the ring shrinks in size and looms closer to its orbit. If players don’t line up the colour before the ring hits the centre - by tapping the screen to rotate and swiping to shrink faster - they will lose the game.

With an impressive 250 levels to get stuck into, the title offers extensive gameplay and promises to get right under the skin of its players. Perfect for those who lean towards brain-training and cognitive challenges, with its Tetris-esque format.

Inner Circle possesses a selection of interesting features, including a night-mode to ensure the brightness of the nigh-neon colours doesn’t affect eyesight, and an Arcade mode that allows players to plough through levels indefinitely. The night modeis achieved by altering the colour scheme presented in the original version of the game.

The title will be available soon, for iOS devices, so keep circling in on that App Store!

This article is sponsored as part of Steel Media Preferred Partners.

iPhone/iPad users are in luck: slickly animated RTS game Battleplans is now available for iOS systems from the App Store. Released by En Masse Entertainment this week, the title offers fully immersive gameplay despite being for pocket devices. For those who are looking for a quick-thinking game that will test their strategy skills – Battleplans is the one.

With its recent Apps for Earth campaign, Apple has partnered with the World Wildlife Fund and a handful of developers to help give something back to the Earth.

What this means in practice is that participating apps will donate all of the money made from certain in-app purchases to WWF, and there's a bunch of new content being added to games just for the event.

The new content is only available until the 24th of April, so with that deadline looming, we thought we'd pick out the best updates to focus your time on while you can.

If you’re like me, you’ve probably downloaded a bunch of health and fitness apps in the past. Did you know that there’s a free one already available on your iPhone, though? Health is its name, it comes as part of iOS, and it’s pretty useful! Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered for teaching you the basics.

Leap Into Fall With 148Apps

How do you know what apps are worth your time and money? Just look to the review team at 148Apps. We sort through the chaos and find the apps you're looking for. The ones we love become Editor’s Choice, standing out above the many good apps and games with something just a little bit more to offer. Take a look at what we've been up to this week, and find even more in our Reviews Archive.

Kubiko

Kubiko is a fun little game. It’s slightly reminiscent of logic puzzles used to test your intelligence, but that’s not a bad thing at all. Across 40 different puzzles, you’ll find yourself having to piece back together various creatures and objects by rotating groups of pixels to turn the work into a recognizable shape.It’s simply done. While you’re restricted in terms of how many moves you must do this in, there’s no timer or anything particularly stressful going on. Instead, the worst that happens is you run out of moves and the stage immediately restarts. That relaxing nature immediately makes Kubiko more endearing. It’s so easy to just dip in and work towards solving something, any time you have a few minutes spare.--Jennifer Allen

Timecrest

Rob was right when he said we’d see more games like Lifeline. One such game is Timecrest - a tale of time traveling wizards who are trying to save their world. It’s a kind of adventure game book app with you having to make multiple decisions to see how things work out, with different endings encouraging you to try out different paths. There’s an almighty catch though, that soon puts you off.That catch is time. Timecrest is a free game that is utterly littered with timers. As the story unfolds you regularly find yourself having to wait. A few lines, maybe a whole paragraph or two, of story are provided to you, along with a couple of choices as to what to do next. Hit one of those choices and invariably you’re left having to wait to see how things pan out.--Jennifer Allen

Hotel Transylvania 2

If there’s one thing that Hotel Transylvania 2 offers, it’s an abundance of cute but spooky characters - much like the film the game is based around. Unfortunately, while the creatures might seem imaginative the actual game is fairly tired. It’s your usual run-of-the-mill settlement building game, only with a hotel instead. Starting out, you’re gradually introduced to all the elements of Hotel Transylvania 2. That mostly involves placing buildings down exactly where the game wants you to place them. It soon opens up a little though. You then find yourself completing various quests offered by the characters within Hotel Transylvania 2. These sound quite quirky, such as playing a guitar or video game, in order to lure someone in. Unfortunately, all you do to enact this is press the relevant button and leave the character to it. --Jennifer Allen

Lifeline 2

The launch of the first Lifeline… coincided with the release of the Apple Watch. There were a couple of hangups but it was a decent enough take on what I’m starting to refer to as the “timed adventure game genre.” Now we’ve got a sequel with Lifeline 2. It’s ditched the sci-fi in favor of a more modern fantasy setting, and it feels like it might be a bit longer in terms of the amount of story, but some of the hangups are still there.
For the unfamiliar, Lifeline 2 (and games like it) is a sort of choose-your-own adventure with a real time twist where the protagonist will go silent for minutes to hours at a time while they’re performing various tasks. In this instance you share a connection with a woman named Arika (pronounced kind of like “Erica) as she sets out to gather magical items to help her on her quest for revenge against whoever (or whatever) murdered her parents. She’ll fill you in on the details of her current situation, then you get to pick from one of two responses that could lead to a different line of dialog or even change the outcome of the story. --Rob Rich

Call of Champions

Call of Champions, by Spacetime Studios, is a distilled multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) that's reminiscent to Blizzard's Heroes of the Storm in that your team of 3 champions must cross a battlefield to destroy the enemy's base. Each match is timed so you only get 5 minutes to score, and capturing your enemy's base is no easy task. Each team has four towers guarding their base, as well as a wall as their last line of defense. You'll need to guide an orb along a path between the two bases to disable those towers and bring down the wall before you can attack the base proper. All along the way your enemy will be attacking and trying to steal away the orb. If either side fails to destroy the other's base, then the winner will be decided by whomever destroyed the most towers. --Jessica Fisher

Other 148Apps Network Sites

If you are looking for the best reviews of Android apps, just head right over to AndroidRundown. Here are just some of the reviews served up this week:

AndroidRundown

Downton Abbey

Yep, it’s Downton Abbey. Enough said.The game starts in such a way that series fans should find familiar: clan cornerstone Carson eagerly welcomes an agent to the Earl of Grantham’s residence. Early on, the idea is to solve stuff by finding stuff in “plain” site.Completing sessions (by finding items) earns one valuable XP and items. There is also an upgrade/crafting element which comes into play and adds some complexity to an otherwise simple game.When it’s all said and done, it is, at its core, a constructed hidden object game. The core competency sought is the ability to pick out selected items from a series of still images, and to do so as quickly as possible with as few helpers as possible. The artwork utilized reflects the time period adequately — at least, in my mind it did — and the scrolling feature that allows for more hidden objects allows the game to feel a bit more mysterious.--Tre Lawrence

The Lost Treasure

It all starts out with a cryptic letter from Uncle Henry, letting the player know that after studying the map that he (the player) found; Uncle Henry’s recommended course of action is to go on and find the pirates hidden treasure both suspect the map points to.With this modest beginning, our adventure is launched, and one gets to be immersed in the digital caper known as The Lost Treasure.
Right from the onset, the game is fairly easy to navigate. It uses still images to advance the gameplay, and the imagery does reflect the jungle environment one expects from the opening letter. The perspective is first person, and to move around, one simply touches the screen intuitively in the rough direction one wants to go; in this way, one can move from scene to scene, or get a closer look at an area within the scene. Thus, this also how ones investigates objects, which makes up a pretty big part of the game.--Tre Lawrence

Door Kickers

As a child of the 80s, I grew up loving some of the iconic shows of the time. The cop shows were the best; CHiPs was a staple, and for me T.J. Hooker — and not Star Trek — was my first introduction to William Shatner. One show I loved was from the preceding decade, and I got to enjoy it via reruns: S.W.A.T. From the opening score to the credits to the uniforms to, well everything, the show defined cool. Yep, the cops that “regular” cops called when stuff got tough.Boyhood fantasies aside, there’s plenty of room for special tactics sims for mobile devices, and Door Kickers, one of the more notable PC ports, has made its way to Android.The game is a full-fledged planning and action adventures. There isn’t much back story, no; this one gets right down to it.--Tre Lawrence

All this, plus news, game guides, and even more reviews than we can share here.

Celebrate September With 148Apps

How do you know what apps are worth your time and money? Just look to the review team at 148Apps. We sort through the chaos and find the apps you're looking for. The ones we love become Editor’s Choice, standing out above the many good apps and games with something just a little bit more to offer. Take a look at what we've been up to this week, and find even more in our Reviews Archive.

Order & Chaos 2: Redemption

Order & Chaos 2: Redemption is a rather gorgeous looking MMORPG. Building upon what worked well for the original, it’s a substantial MMO that doesn’t push you into in-app purchases (although the option is always there). There’s a plethora of content to sink your teeth into. One thing to note very early on is that if, like me, you’re still lumbered with an iPhone 5, Order & Chaos 2: Redemption is going to seem a little creaky. A bit of stuttering and a little lag is a sharp reminder that the iPhone 5 isn’t as powerful as it once was. Given how fancy Order & Chaos 2: Redemption looks, that makes sense but it might infuriate after a time. It also made my iPhone impressively hot to the touch which was unusual. --Jennifer Allen

Devastator

There’s never been a laid back twin-stick shooter, has there? They’re consistently frantic affairs, requiring you to have fantastic reflexes and to be able to keep an eye on many things at once. Devastator continues that trend by being impressively difficult but really rather well made, too. Those of us who are prone to throwing things when we screw up might feel a little despondent after a time, however. Learning Devastator is very simple. Your left side is used for changing direction while your right side affects the trajectory of the constantly firing weaponry. There’s a virtual button for activating a special attack too, something that you should only ever do when you’re in dire need. The button isn’t far from the right stick so it’s relatively easily activated. --Jennifer Allen

Puzzle Craft 2

Bigger and better is precisely what you want from any sequel and that’s exactly what you’re getting from Puzzle Craft 2. It’s a little trickier than before but its potent mix of settlement developing and line drawing based match-3 ensures it’s compelling stuff for fans of well made freemium experiences. As before, your time is evenly split between your settlement and collecting resources. There’s a steady supply of missions to complete, in order to give you some structure in your development. It’s a reasonably cheery affair with cartoon style characters wandering around once you’ve hired them. --Jennifer Allen

Alien Robot Monsters

Deeply entrenched in the traditional tower-defense genre, Alien Robot Monsters might not offer anything exceptionally original but it’s a solidly dependable entry to the popular genre. In a predictable twist, aliens are out to get us. To be fair to them, it’s our fault this time round. Humans have landed on an earth-like planet and it’s inhabited by a bunch of hostile robotic life forms keen to wipe out humanity. Fortunately, they pursue our bases by following deliberate lanes that happen to go alongside various tower placements. --Jennifer Allen

Explore Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood

On the surface, Explore Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood is immediately appealing and cute. It’s hard not to be cute when you’re dealing with cuddly looking tigers. While the app promises to be an open-ended and imaginative game, it’s actually a little restrictive. That won’t bother some children but the more adventurous user is going to wish that they could do more. It’s all based around the layout of a regular town street. You can visit the grocery store, music shop, bakery, and doctor’s office. Each place is quite cute. You can interact with certain objects too, such as ringing the cash register in the store or playing different musical instruments in the music shop. It’s a little basic because you can’t do too much here, but it’s a fun way to explore. --Jennifer Allen

Other 148Apps Network Sites

If you are looking for the best reviews of Android apps, just head right over to AndroidRundown. Here are just some of the reviews served up this week:

AndroidRundown

UNKILLED

No matter where we go in mobile gaming, there will always be a place for the undead.UNKILLED highlights this, and helps underscore the civic responsibility of ridding the world of zombies.Yes, it’s another zombie apocalypse trip, but this one puts the player in the professor’s seat as part of an elite team that takes the undead out. Completely, that is. If feels a bit like Dead Trigger, which isn’t too unexpected, given its pedigree. --Tre Lawrence

All this, plus news, game guides, and even more reviews than we can share here.

At long last, Watch OS 2 is finally here! I’m legitimately excited about the update [LINK], but in order for all us watch users to start seeing the benefits we have to instal it first. If you’ve never updated Watch OS before, or if you did once upon a time and have since forgotten how, we’ve got a quick little installation guide for you.

First off, you need to go through the Watch app on your iPhone. Open it up and then tap on General - you can find it at the bottom of the screen when you first open the app.

From inside the General menu you can open Software Update, which will be the second choice from the top.

Once the app has automatically verified your current Watch OS version it’ll give you the choice to start downloading Watch OS 2. Before you begin, be sure to follow the instructions at the bottom of the screen (you can find them if you scroll down a tiny bit).

• Place the Apple Watch on its charger
• Make sure the Apple Watch battery is showing at least 50%
• Keep your iPhone paired with your Apple Watch and connected to wifi - don’t wander too far with it or the connection will be broken and the installation will fail

At this point all you have to do is tap Download and wait for it to finish doing its thing. Just be aware that you’ll need to be patient. It’s going to take a while to download everything, verify the files, then actually install to the watch itself. The amount of time will vary a bit depending on your internet connection, but for me it ended up taking a couple hours.

Slide Into September With 148Apps

How do you know what apps are worth your time and money? Just look to the review team at 148Apps. We sort through the chaos and find the apps you're looking for. The ones we love become Editor’s Choice, standing out above the many good apps and games with something just a little bit more to offer. Take a look at what we've been up to this week, and find even more in our Reviews Archive.

Zen Brush2

Zen Brush 2 takes what worked so well for the original app and improves upon it. It’s not like regular drawing software, lacking the variety of a more powerful artistry app, but it’s really quite delightful for evoking a particular theme.That theme is through the use of an East Asian ink brush. Looking a little like a more artistic interpretation of calligraphy, you can use your finger to sweep across the screen, drawing lines from a number of different brush strokes. If you hold your finger to the screen for a time, you can see the ink pool where your finger is resting, ensuring it feels more tactile than most drawing apps.--Jennifer Allen

Legendary Warriors

Looking really rather gorgeous, Legendary Warriors will catch your attention quite quickly. In reality, it’s a fairly hands-off experience that means it’s not going to be for everyone, but it’ll certainly stick in your mind through its beauty. An RPG of sorts, you’re helping a party of characters go from place to place, taking out monsters in their wake, and getting stronger too. How this is conducted is fairly hands-off though. You hit the ‘go’ button to send your character to battle then your only interaction is through activating a special skill as and when it becomes available. When that happens, the game stutters a bit, adding insult to injury. --Jennifer Allen

Dead Synchronicity

Dead Synchronicity is dark. Really, really dark. Set in a world that has been mostly wiped out by a mysterious thing called The Great Wave, leading to martial law and some terrible suffering, it’s a bleak existence. You’re a man suffering from amnesia, but unlike other games you’re not here to liberate the world - you just want to survive. This is done through exploring the land and solving various puzzles. At times, it’s a little sick, suck as when you’re mutilating a corpse in order to set the man up in the case of a murder. It’s consistently well written though, and really quite enticing. This doesn’t feel like a by the numbers tale, instead sticking in your memory for a while to come. --Jennifer Allen

Chrono Space

The reasons why are unimportant. All you need to know is that some badguys are gunning for you and the only way you can fend them off is by creating, placing, and upgrading defensive towers - in space. But despite the familiar setup, Chrono Space (to its benefit) does things a little differently.There are no paths or anything to worry about here; since you’re in space enemies can approach from any direction. Fortunately they’ll stop to attack your towers, so while you can’t block them in you can at least delay them. Unfortunately you never really get a proper heads-up about which section of the screen they might be attacking from but it ultimately doesn’t put you at much of a disadvantage because the game is pretty brutal either way. --Rob Rich

Power Ping Pong

Once upon a time, I used to play table tennis for a team. I was supposedly pretty good at it and nearly participated in a few tournaments. I was young though, and therefore foolish, and gave up because, well, I don’t know. While real table tennis doesn’t offer special moves or power-ups, Power Ping Pong does bring back some fun memories. It’s table tennis with a Kung Fu style twist. Throughout the arcade mode, you take on various competitors, showing them just what you’ve got, with an option to delve into a survival mode or multiplayer. Controls are simple to pick up but require some mastering. They mostly involve performing gestures, such as a sweep upwards at speed invoking a fast hit, with the opposite providing more of a kind of lob. Side swipes can also prove useful at the right time. It takes some practice but it's reasonably rewarding, much like the real sport. --Jennifer Allen

Other 148Apps Network Sites

If you are looking for the best reviews of Android apps, just head right over to AndroidRundown. Here are just some of the reviews served up this week:

AndroidRundown

Speedy Ninja

Speedy Ninja packs a lot.On the surface, it’s an endless runner. The main job is to get our hero — a sassy, excitable ninja with just a hint of stickman sensibilities — to go as far as possible. Running occurs in an intuitive left-to-right fashion, and once a run commences, the ninja moves forward continuously… until an obstacle of some sort says otherwise.The obstacles will be somewhat familiar to ninja aficionados, and have a touch of the fantastic: bamboo stakes, spinning blades, homing spears and more. To navigate these, there is a handy jump button that allows one to vault and double-vault such run enders.--Tre Lawrence

TYLT FLYP-DUO Reversible USB Cable

We are a mobile society.Or, to be fair, we are getting there. In any case, some thing seem to be becoming more commonplace, such as households with multiple mobile devices, and households with devices from multiple platforms.Hey, I should know… this one has units from all major platforms, and then some.
Still, now, with the joy of multiple devices comes the challenge of keeping them charged. Since Apple uses proprietary cables, it does add an extra cable to be carried when an iDevice. Since I like to be prepared, it pays to have a lightning cable, and even if not for me, I do get a weird sense of accomplishment when I can provide a cable to a needy friend or colleague.Ah, enter the TYLT FLYP-DUO Reversible USB Cable.--Tre Lawrence

Stick Squad 4-Sniper's Eye

If truth be told, I am not the biggest fan of sniper games. Call me a wuss, but there is just something so… well… final about them. Yes, some find it silly, but talking about it frees me.I think…But then there’s Stick Squad 4 – Sniper’s Eye, the fourth installment in Stick Squad series. It’s the sequel to the sequel to the original sequel, and looks to bring the best of stick figures and sniping to handheld gaming.For folks vested in this particular gaming series, the general look will be familiar. One gets the expected stick figures, and they’re moving, relaxing and otherwise living in the lfe. the motions are mostly natural looking, and the visuals work well, even if perspective takes a weird turn a time or two. The gameplay is presented in first person format, through a scope for vision. Moving said scope is a matter of holding/dragging it around till one gets a target in one’s sights. There is a simple shooting button, and it is very reactive.--Tre Lawrence

All this, plus news, game guides, and even more reviews than we can share here!