:: SEND IT BACK :: SEND IT BACK :: Read Review »If you're a fan of My Singing Monsters then you might recognize PomPom in her new game, My PomPom, from Big Blue Bubble. Now you can talk, juggle, and dance with Pompom. As you play with her, you'll earn diamonds that can be traded in for treats. PomPom likes treats.
PomPom also likes juggling. Play her juggling mini-game to level her up and unlock new worlds and animations. You can Poke her head, belly, back, or feet to see her reaction, record and share videos on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, or send them by email, and make PomPom dance, do tricks, and sing. Just don't shake your phone or you'll cause an earthquake!
My PomPom is available for free on the App Store, so download it today to get a tiny monster to do your bidding.
Mammott, a singing character from Big Blue Bubble's My Singing Monsters, has just gotten his own game in My Mammott. You'll be able to talk to him, take care of him, teach him tricks, and even bring him into the real world (kind of) using Augmented Reality.
My Mammott is available for free (with optional in-app purchases) on the App Store.
**FEATURES**
- Talk to Mammott and he will repeat everything you say with a monstery voice.
- Poke his head, belly, back, or feet.
- Feed him treats such as cookies and donuts
- Shake phone to create an earthquake for him
- Make Mammott dance, do tricks, and sing
- Interact with him in different environments, including the Real World!
- Play a mini-game where you need to fling Thumpies at Mammott for diamond rewards.
- Record and share videos on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, or send them by email.
Being asked to sum up the past five years of the App Store, on a personal level, is tough. Partly, because I have the memory of a goldfish, but also because so much has happened in those few years. How do you highlight what's so great about a device and service that you can't imagine being without? My iPhone and the App Store, by proxy, has been immensely important to me in this time. It's given me so much information, enjoyment and even been a great outlet in times of need. Here's a feeble attempt at trying to sum up how vital it's all been for me.
Memories
Launch day: Despite the goldfish analogy, I do remember when the App Store first launched. I'd had an iPhone for a couple of months previously and had dabbled in jailbreaking, but didn't feel too comfortable with it. The day the App Store started was genuinely exciting stuff. It's hard to believe, for those newer to the Store, but it was possible to browse from start to finish, thanks to there being a mere 500 apps available. I did that, regularly, until it got to a point where there were just too many titles to look at. Like with any launch day event, these apps didn't show off everything the technology could do, but they did offer a glimpse of a thrilling future.
Flight Control: Excluding a dabble with the no longer with us, Bejeweled 2, Flight Control was my first great iOS love. It showed me how great the touch controls of the iPhone could be, and how quickly one could gain satisfaction from a phone game. My past experiences with mobile gaming had been fun, but lacking that certain something that made me think it could rival handheld consoles. Flight Control changed that, for me, and I loved spending ages battling to improve my high score. Not that I was any good at it, though!
Exploration: I like apps that enhance my life, and I've used many in the past. Star Chart sticks in my mind, however, thanks to it enabling me to learn more about an area. While at the summit of an ancient ridge, Cefn Bryn, I could load up Star Chart and work out exactly what stars were above me and where. It was pretty magical.
Highlights
A career path: It's a pretty significant one, but if it wasn't for the App Store, I wouldn't be writing this. In fact, I'm not entirely sure what I'd be doing, given throughout my freelance career thus far, the App Store and iOS have played a very big role. It's changed my life for the better. It's been nearly three years since I wrote my first review for 148apps, Carnivores: Dinosaur Hunter, and I'm immensely grateful for how far I, and the site, have come.
The indie uprising: I always passively appreciated the efforts of indie developers, before the advent of the App Store, but my love for them has definitely grown. Perhaps more excitingly, I feel enabled to give it a go myself at some point. While I haven't yet found the time spare to really pursue it, Xcode, Stencyl and Gamesalad are waiting for me, reminding me that the era of the bedroom coder has returned. That's got to be a good thing for creativity, right?
Beloved Apps and Missed Titles
Favorites: I've struggled to narrow the list down. Really struggled. The memories of one Saturday morning avidly playing Game Dev Story in bed, before realising it's practically lunchtime are particularly strong. Much the same as my hundreds of hours spent with Fairway Solitaire are fond, if tarnished by the time it inexplicably lost all my data and progress. Or how about the time I demonstrated the power of the iPad to my mother with the double whammy of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and XCOM: Enemy Unknown? The former being one of my favorite games of all time.
Out of them all, though, a select bunch are used nearly every day. I take photos each day to track my life and have some fond memories to look back on, so Instagram is a must have for me. I like to back up such things, as well as my social networking sharing, so Momento is always at the forefront of my recently used apps. As a writer, iA Writer completes the selection, thanks to its cloud syncing ensuring I can always write up a quick idea, no matter where I am. New Star Soccer remains the key game that I regularly find myself returning to, living my fantasy as a world class soccer player.
Apps I miss: There are a couple of apps I miss, though. Puzzle Quest being one such title, given my love of the Match-3 genre and the fact I've played it to death on all other formats. Similarly, I adored Big Blue Bubble's use of the Fighting Fantasy license, although at least Tin Man Games is doing a brilliant job of taking over that mantle.
It's been a fun five years, and given how far the App Store has come in that time, I'm excited to see what the next five years will bring. It's looking like a pretty rosy future to me!
:: A FEW SOUR NOTES
The 5 apps being pulled from the App Store on August 14th are The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, Deathtrap Dungeon, Citadel of Chaos, City of Thieves, and Creature of Havoc.
Those who missed out on some of the titles of the series, or want to check them out for the first time need to hurry. However, buyer beware: with the apps being pulled, support to fix bugs that may pop up in future iOS versions will be unfixable with the apps being pulled. They may not also support future iOS devices at all, with no recourse for the user. While Tin Man Games is an experienced gamebook developer, and business interests from one or more parties may have caused this situation (for what it’s worth, Tin Man’s Twitter account retweeted a tweet about the last call for BBB’s games), it is somewhat disappointing for fans of these gamebooks to see them go away.
:: TOO STIFF
Burn the Rope Lite also has the Puzzle of the Day feature, available for free. This ad-supported version of the game comes with a unique feature, usually limited to freemium games - by following up offers to install apps of both free and paid variety, it is theoretically possible to unlock every single level from the full version of Burn the Rope in Burn the Rope Lite. As well as the updates to the iPhone/iPod touch apps, Burn the Rope is now available on the iPad as well - Burn the Rope HD features an option to use the same tilt control scheme as the iPhone/iPod touch version, as well as a new control scheme that allows you to rotate the rope using your finger. However, the Puzzle of the Day feature is not in the iPad version yet, but it hopefully will be soon. Otherwise, it is feature identical with the iPhone/iPod touch version, and is available now.
:: MODERATE HEAT
:: STRANGE BEATS
