Tag: Humor »

Inappropriate Llama Disaster!

Now, that's a name worthy of being on a line all of its own, such is its absurdity. It's the kind of name that coupled with being free makes it a must buy for many. How about those who want to know a little more than just the awesome name?

The name says it all, admittedly. The app is all about choosing the most inappropriate moment to unleash a llama. Yes, really. Six different situations are available including a funeral parlour, the end of the world, a bomb disposal scenario and potentially worst of all: an intimate bedroom moment.

All the player has to do is watch the scene unfold then wait for the most inappropriate moment possible to unleash the llama. It's as simple as that. Developer, Mediatonic, are pretty confident reckoning there's an 83.3% chance of making the player burst out laughing.

For free, I reckon it's well worth making the effort to give Inappropriate Llama Disaster! a shot.

It's out now for both iPhone and iPad.

Python fans are certain to welcome the best bits from the penultimate season of the BBC sketch comedy in a new iPhone app: Python Bytes 3 - Monty Python Series 3. If you have a flair for the obvious, you'll correctly assume this is third in a series of apps that feature the best skits from the cult-classic, Monty Python’s Flying Circus.

The 20 most popular skits from series three are presented in a style that looks like Terry Gilliam had a hand in the design. The app launches right into a random sketch, and a shake of the iPhone launches another arbitrary dose of funny.

Tapping on a video toggles a menu where users can select specific sketches, create playlists and even delete scenes – a nice touch for space-freeing purposes. The app, like the rest of the series, sells for $2.99 -  a fair bit less than buying the complete season and a fair bit less tiresome than a YouTube search. The app even comes with some cast audio commentary.

Let’s be honest, while vintage Canucks (like this humble Python head) were weaned on British sketch comedy, for an American audience it’s a decidedly acquired taste, particularly in its retro-absurdist Python perfection. There were always laugh-beer-out-yer-nose moments, but for each one, if we’re being candid, there was also an unmitigated dud. That makes this final greatest-hits package a perfect lightweight introduction for those who haven’t yet reached the point where even bad python is good python.

Check out the trailer from the first app to see the UI:

Photo manipulation apps, especially the apps that mess with peoples faces, can be particularly fun. Role Play, by Dim Dim Sum App, is an entertainment app that allows users to take pictures of themselves and friends, apply “digital make-up,” and put them into different roles.

Users can take photos from their existing library or taking a picture within the app. Then users place position markers on various parts of the face in the picture like the eyes and mouth. After that, the user can apply a “role” from the app to the photo and the person instantly becomes something like a pirate or a clown. This can be a fun way for users to give themselves digital make-overs or screw with their friends by putting their faces into roles that would be humorous.

The app comes with two free “make-over” roles: Princess and Pirate. Other roles can be purchased with in-app coins that can either be purchased or earned by sharing Role Play pictures via Twitter or Facebook. Some other roles that can be purchased include Cat, Cleopatra, and Geisha.

Role Play is free to download.

MAD Magazine, a source of completely ridiculous humor, satire, and just sheer stupidity, has just been released (on April Fools’ Day of course) for the iPad. On top of new issues, the iPad app has special access to classic MAD articles.

The pricing structure for MAD Magazine is similar to other magazine apps. The app itself is free. Buying single issues of MAD Magazine come in two prices. Back issues (these won’t have the interactive elements of the newer issues from this month and on) will cost $1.99. Buying the current issue will be $4.99. Subscriptions will obviously save the avid MAD reader money. An annual subscription (six issues) will cost $9.99, saving $20 compared to buying every current issue when it’s released. A bi-monthly subscription is also available (an issue every two months) for $1.99, still saving readers money from buying the current issue for full price.

Of course, MAD Magazine will feature pop culture related articles, but the magazine will also feature classic pieces like Al Jaffee’s Fold-In, Spy vs. Spy, and “A MAD Look At...”

It's important to take note of what's going on in politics, especially near an election, but that doesn't mean that we can't mock the process and what's said. Hugely popular cable TV station Comedy Central has clearly taken note of it as it has just released its Indecision Election Companion.

The app provides fans with exclusive jokes, interactive content, photo galleries and more. There's an iOS-optimized version of Comedy Central's "Indecision" blog, along with a 2012 Election Calendar and an exclusive "Peanut Gallery" commentary feature that offers exclusive live commentary from the Indecision bloggers and special guests. It also lets users share their reactions to the debate.

It's all suitably entertaining with a keen satirical edge as it covers the spectacular highs and extreme lows of the election. Even for those not overly interested in politics, it should make the whole thing more accessible and interesting.

Comedy Central's Indecision Election Companion is out now, it's universal and free.

Funny or Die is bringing their special brand of star-studded comedy to the iPad with The Occasional, a bimonthly magazine which will feature completely original content. Don't expect a traditional magazine though, as the FoD crew has freely admitted that they have no idea what they're doing and thus plan to spice up every issue with some offbeat content.

So far what we've seen in the first issue is fairly standard magazine fare, but with a very humorous twist. There's an interview with Ed Helms conducted by comedian Zack Galifianakis, a "Hippo Fact Page" of dubious scientific accuracy, and oh so much more. If you're tired of "serious" magazines with "real" information then this just may be your solution.

You can download a free trial of The Occasional for free, but it only provides a small taste. A full issue is $3.99 and an annual subscription is $9.99. But in all honesty, can you put a price on laughter?

A series of absurd mini-game platform challenges, Pizza vs. Skeletons is one of the strangest – and yummiest – casual games on the App Store. Suspend disbelief and jump in, this silly action title has more variety on the menu than Pizza Hut and Dominos combined.

The games pits the player, a giant pizza, against the skeletal remains of humans and the odd beast in short levels. Don’t try to make sense of it, just roll with the dough. There is no backstory, only simple instructions. Use a combination of tilt controls and one-tap jumping to keep the pizza safe from anything sharp on the level.

The game starts with a pepperoni pie rolling into or jumping and tilting over skeletons holding spears. The pizza needs to crush the bundles of bones by rolling into or jumping onto them without hitting the spear point. Simple right?

But, master that dynamic and suddenly the pizza is rolling down a ski hill following a coin trail, dancing atop a giant skull, saving puppies, or rapidly consuming fish skeletons. Just when I was certain I’d seen everything the game would throw something new and wonderfully bizarre at me.

There are Sumo wrestling boss battles, which are slow-paced compared to the regular action and a bit of a hit or miss when it comes to strategy, but the other levels are zippy and full of challenges, however ludicrously or sublimely dressed.

My only problem with the game is, well, I really don’t like pizza. But that's ok, with money earned players can dress their pizza with mushrooms and sausage, or morph it into anything from a snowflake to an old tire and add toppings like beetles and Ben Franklin. Yes, you read that right, and it’s this delicious nonsense that makes the game a standout.

With all that customization, the attention to graphic detail is not just on the pizza. Each level is actually beautiful – not an adjective used often to describe death matches between sauce and bones – but they are lush and look hand painted and the attention to every detail is striking.

The controls work so well they don’t really seem like controls at all. And, the tilt can be calibrated easily. The only real issue with the game is it can become repetitive after 100 levels, but this isn’t the kind of game you sit down with for hours. It’s a perfect pick-up-and-play game packed with silly charm.

Pizza vs. Skeletons is what I love about reviewing. In an endless queue of redundant concepts out pops a game that is utterly unexpected, irreverent and loads of fun to play. Expect this one to be a long-time hit and to spawn many cheesy copycats; it’s just that tasty.

Bruno Bozzetto might not be a name instantly familiar to US audiences but he certainly deserves to be. He's a very sharp witted and sarcastic Italian cartoonist with a background in satirical animated shorts, one of which (Grasshoppers) was a nomineee for the Best Animated Short Oscar in 1990. In recent years, he's switched over to flash cartoons and other web based entries which is how we come to Shake Up Bozzetto.

Shake Up Bozzetto is an app that offers 101 black and white as well as color sketches by Bozzetto. They're all quite simple yet witty, the kind of thing that people would expect in a newspaper. It's much akin to the likes of Garfield but with a bit of an edge to them. The cartoons follow the world through Mr Rossi's eyes, a deeply sarcastic character who enjoys thinking over numerous different universal and timeless themes. Much of the humor stems from observational humor with a welcome dose of cynicism too, just the kind of thing that many can relate to.

The app itself comes in iPhone/iPod Touch and iPad varieties. The iPad version stretching more accurately across the larger screen space. Each app allows for viewing the cartoons either in a linear mode, by simply swiping from side to side. They also allow for a more random mode in which iPad owners touch the screen to find a random selection and iPhone owners can shake their device.

As is often the way with such things, favorites will be quickly determined by Shake Up Bozzetto's readers so it's possible to mark these entries as favorites for easy consultation in the future.

Shake Up Bozzetto looks to be a very entertaining and satirical read, ideal for those looking for a touch of humor to their lives.

It's out now and priced at $0.99 for either iPhone/iPod Touch or iPad varieties.