I really tried to love Rate My Puppy, but for the life of me I could not.  Ok I admit it, I’m a cat lover.  So I was eagerly awaiting Pistol Shrimp to release this app Rate My Kitten (App Store Link).  Now I can while away the hours swiping through hordes of cute furry kittens!  So I admit it, I am biased.  Therefore, in the name of journalistic integrity I got my 12 year old daughter to write the review:

“This app will have cat lovers purring. Rate My Kitten is a neat new app, much like Rate My Puppy, that enables you to rate other cat owners’ cats pictures. I found the layout very simple and effective, even non-tech savvy cat lovers could use it with ease.

If you’re looking for a way to brighten up your day, just open this app and it will have you smiling and aww-ing in seconds. There are contests that the app creators have produced.  If your cat picture gets a high rating you will receive a prize! I think that by providing some incentive the creators will get a higher amount of buyers.

But the fun doesn’t stop there, anyone can add their own cute-as-a-button kitty pictures, too. I, personally, love cats and I think this app will be a good way for cat lovers, owners and everyone in between to showcase their cats. Basically, it’s a cat show for people who can’t or don’t want to go to one!”

Ooops, I forgot to mention she is a cat lover too, actually our whole family is, so there is no way this review can be unbiased!

One irritation should be noted with this app.  When my daughter downloaded it she got an ad-free version.  My app includes banner ads which really detracts from the whole cuteness thing.  Even an ad for Rate My Kitten…really?  Pretty hard to concentrate on cute when you are being bombarded with stupid ads.  I would gladly pay $1.99 for this app to forgo the ads.  Are you listening Pistol Shrimp?  K thx lolz.

App Review Score:  4/5

Rate My Kitten is now available for free download in the App Store.

This is an app review by The Apps Machine.

New Years Resolution 2010 time!  Who is with me??  I suspect more than a few!  Luckily we have the wonderful world of apps to draw from in order to help us keep our butt going to the gym and the donuts out of our guts!  I have been making a ritual of going through the app store and trying out every fitness/nutrition app and website that comes along.  Let’s just say my little internet addiction is not enhancing my girlish figure! After many trials and errors I have discovered the Daily Burn app (App Store) , and the FoodScanner app (App Store) which are part and parcel of the dailyburn.com website.  I suspect it will have some staying power!

Daily Burn has been around for a while, having had it’s first incarnation as Gyminee.  Yes I checked it out back then, and found it lacking.  However in May of 2009 Gyminee became Daily Burn and gleefully announced that $525K in seed money had been invested in the site, and presumably the apps.  Tim Ferriss, the 4 hour work week guy, among others, put alot of money and talent into the site and really gave it that six pack ab look.  Weak sand in the face Gyminee became muscle bound Daily Burn!  This feature-rich site and the accompanying apps give the user a great GUI and one stop fitness and nutrition tracking social network!  While you can get a free account on Daily Burn you will probably want to upgrade to the Pro or even Elite accounts to unlock even more features.

This is a great video of Daily Burn CEO Andy Smith describing their site.

Daily Burn is first and foremost a tracker  and goal setter for each user.  You track your weight, nutrition intake, and fitness activities for each day on your Locker Room page.  Finding out exactly how many calories, protein, fat, fibre, etc. you have consumed each day can be a real eye-opener!

I discovered I was not eating nearly enough protein to reach my weight loss goal.  Rather ironic that you need to eat to lose weight but it is a well known fact that protein helps build muscle and muscle helps boost metabolism and high metabolism burns fat!  I have found this nutrition tracking interface to be very easy compared to others.

The list of pre-loaded foods is constantly increasing and they pop up quickly as you search for your food.  Daily Burn’s food scanner app will allow you to scan UPC codes using your mobile iPhone and seamlessly import that information into your daily counts even when you are out and about.  Unfortunately it does not seem to work on foods outside of the USA yet.  Hopefully that will be corrected.

The Daily Burn app gives you a neat on the go summary of your activities, as well as a simple interface to enter food, exercise and weight.  The workout information is helpful for those of you who need reminders at the gym, to keep your workout on track.

You can plan your meals, generate shopping lists and add your own recipes and calculate exact intakes.  Fitness can be tracked easily as well.  Select either a program or minutes of exercises, create your own workouts, or follow a workout posted by another user.

Information abounds on exercises for each body part and type of goal whether that be losing fat or increasing strength or both!  Your weight is tracked in a nice big graph, showing your progress over the week, the month or the year.  Daily Burn sends you a weekly report of your progress, showing each day you meet your goals as a little fire, the more little fires, the better!

All of this self-tracking can get a bit self-indulgent however and the fun part of Daily Burn is the social network component.  You can pull your own friends into the site and make them your “motivators”, or you can find and friend people who are already burning daily and learn from their progress as inspiration for your own journey.  There are forums, groups, and challenges, all of which provide information and motivation, something that can be lacking with other sites.  All these are fully searchable so you can find just the right motivation you are looking for.

So all in all I would have to say I am sold.  I signed on to a $74.95 per year Pro account which is much cheaper than a personal trainer and yet it allows you to become self-motivated to record all of your information, which is really what a lifestyle change is all about.  I highly recommend this tool to all internet addicts everywhere, let the power of Daily Burn fire up your life in a tangible way in 2010!

Daily Burn is free to download in the App Store (iTunes Link).

Food Scanner is currently available in the App Store for $0.99 (iTunes Link).

I don’t play video games. Occasionally, I drink too much, wish I could quit smoking and definitely wish i could stop chasing the wrong women. Nothing is wrong with wanting to make these things stop, but as Samuel Clemens said, “Everyone could live to be one hundred years old if they gave up all the reasons that made them want to live to be one hundred. Despite my use of quotation marks, I’ve got it wrong.  I can’t be bothered to look it up, I’m playing N.O.V.A. I’m hooked.

The problem is the more I play N.O.V.A, Gameloft’s newest first person shooter for the iPhone and iPod Touch, the more I drink, smoke, and get further from my recently contrived New Year’s resolutions and my quest for the century mark.

Look at the above picture, it’s a Halo rip-off. But I dare Microsoft to create something as innovative as the iPhone much less something that really works on the iPhone.

Truly, I can’t be asked to remember the name of the press-ganged, retired, forced into action space marine this game insists you are, but I loved it every time I had to kill an overly boxy alien from Xeno. The reason I loved killing poor enemies?  Wonderfully rendered worlds, 13 of them, that they inhabit and…

6 weapons.

1. The pistol with unlimited ammo.  Boo.

2 and 3, I forget… no like always.. automatic rifle and shotgun.

4… my favorite, in all games that I’ve become addicted to… the sniper rifle. The only better than sniping is sneaking up to cut throats Metal Gear style.

5. The rocket launcher. (make sure it’s full for a boss fight or two).

6. The plasma gun, which makes game play far to easy. (Gameloft is a French company and you can clearly see how they view Aliens/Germans in a need to win, when we know they just surrender).

It just gets Frenchier, the aliens look horrible yet the countryside or beautifully rendered backgrounds are flawless. A grand indictment of the French way of getting invaded and losing.

Game play itself flows and is really only slowed by the controls. Touchscreen first person shooters make seeing what you are doing difficult. In the case of N.O.V.A you have a virtual joystick in the lower left hand corner to control movement, a fire button in the lower left, and the need to aim and look around somewhere in between. Often I found myself playing a level twice just to see what I missed by changing the default controller options.

The enemies or aliens in N.O.V.A are stupid. Once you are seen, they will chase you down making it far to easy to retire to a safe place and await their arrival where they stand no chance. Though we do play these games to kill things, an easy kill is an easy kill.

One of the more interesting features, however, is the logic problems that exist through in each level in order to unlock doors, start generators, etc…You are given a small logic puzzle that puts your brain to the test every so often. A welcome addition given the limited intelligence of the enemies blocking your progress.

And while this game loses in many respects, it is still a winner and why McDonalds calls France the second most profitable country they serve.

Review Rating: 3 out of 5 stars. $6.99 (iTunes Link), worth it.

Great stuff:

• The ability to skip over a less than worked out narrative
• Access, and the ability to put your iPod library in the background as you play
• Wonderfully derived backgrounds

Not so Great:

• Touch screen controls (a review you will see here shortly)
• Boxy, dumb aliens
• Weapons far too powerful.

3 out of 5 stars is a damn fine effort.

Wait, wait…There is a multiplayer option that really changes things up and should be a springboard toward further additions to N.O.V.A . No more silly enemies but rather a 2 player game by Bluetooth and a four player game by network with an international leaderboard accessed through the game itself. Good Stuff. 4 stars out of 5. Well Done GameLoft.

P.S Stop changing my weapon to a pistol when they are at close range Frenchie, it was my mistake and I should be meant to pay for it. not just hit a button and score an auto head shot.

Review Score: 4/5

N.O.V.A. is currently available in the App Store for $6.99 (App Store Link).

Watch the Trailer below to experience this great game.

This is a N.O.V.A review article by The Apps Machine.

Rarely have I played a well polished iPhone/iTouch platform game as good as Plushed (App Store).  Plushed is a 2D platforming game by Black Smith Games that takes place in a fantasy setting.  A fairy mouse appeared when a girl and her bunny plushie put a cheese in front of a mouse hole.  After consuming all the cheese, the fairy mouse offered grant the girl a wish to become a princess in her fairy tales.  However, the fairy mouse’s evil twin interfered with the spell, and the girl and her bunny are magically transported to a realm inside the fairy tales.  There, the bunny starts its quest to search for her human friend and ultimately escape from this fantasy land.

Plushed features 9 magical realms to explore.  Each level is beautifully rendered, each with a unique theme.  Explore ancient ruins, wild plains, mountain trails, forests, swamps, and enjoy the fantastic scenery while dodging monsters and avoiding traps.  In most of the levels, players has to run and jump toward the goal to complete them.  Some levels require players to collect items before that level can be beaten.  There are even boss fights.  Even without a weapon, bunny plushie is able to use items or rocks in the surrounding area deal damage to the bosses.

Plushed also has some unlockable secrets.  Players can unlock mini-games as they collect the golden beetles present throughout the game.  Collect gems and control a jetpack after you unlock these interesting mini-games.

Plushed makes use of the accelerator to do a shaking effect in the game.  When players shake their iDevice, it may make pizzas drop from trees, clear the haystack, or make rocks fall from the ceiling.  The accelerator can even be used to move bunny plushie around in one control scheme.  However this control scheme may work better in some of the mini-games as it is hard to imagine moving your character left or right for hours just by tilting your device.  Most people would probably prefer to use the left and right buttons on the screen to control the bunny.

Plushed’s greatest feature is its graphics.  Its hand drawn environments and characters make you really feel like you are in a fairy tale.  Bunny plushie’s  animation is smooth and enjoyable to watch. It is a great feeling to watch it turns as you complete each level. But Plushed’s vibrant graphics aren’t the only pleasing feature in this great adventure.  Plushed is a challenging game.  You can’t just breeze through a level without dying a few times. The level design will force even a veteran 2D plaformer player to die constantly as spikes and traps appear in the most unexpected places.  In later level, only with lots of tries will players get to the next checkpoint safely.

Plushed also packs some nice surprises in its level design.  Get ready to run for your life as you jump into a field with a giant harvester chasing after you.  Some items such as pizza can be amusing to use as it will open the mouth of snakes, attract rats to help you attack bosses, and even make a plant with a big mouth to grow sprouts that you can step on to continue your adventure forward.

Plushed does have some drawbacks.  There are only a few checkpoints in each level that make this already challenging game even more challenging. Having to play the same levels over and over is also frustrating.  There may also be some players that will have problems continuing the game due to its high difficulty level.

The controls could also be a bit better.  Tapping any area above the virtual control pad will make your bunny jump.  Players can sometimes miss the virtual left and right buttons and accidentally hit jump.  During intense levels, that will probably cause the player to die and restart from the check point.  Also, jump is not activated when tapping near the bottom right of the screen, that should also be fixed.

Seeing the bunny plushed in an armor with a talking sword makes you wonder why can’t your main character attack enemies directly.  Perhaps the developers feel that most of the enemies should be avoided and not defeated to make this game more challenging.  Still, it would be nice to have your bunny attack enemies instead of evading them all the time.

Overall, Plushed is a wonderful platforming adventure game that will entertain and amuse you for hours.  With 9 vibrant and challenging levels along with unlockable mini-games, it is a well designed game that could have easily costs 20 dollars on another portable gaming platform such as the PSP or the DS.  Gamers should be satisfied with the game after several hours into it.  Despite its difficulty and minor control issues, the fantastic visuals and game play will have you coming back for more until you have defeated the final boss.

Review Score:  4.5/5

Plushed is currently available in the App Store for $0.99 at the time of this writing.  Its usual price is $1.99.  (App Store Link)

This is an iPhone and iTouch game review of Plushed by The Apps Machine.

You use this app in conjunction with the iPhone’s copy and paste function.  You identify images or text to copy, and launch Pastebot to automatically store the new clipping.  To copy a clipping from Pastebot you tap on it to light a blue light then paste it in wherever you want, even to your Mac from your iPhone.   It will allow you to paste search terms into Google, send as email or move to a folder.  On the way to doing that you are given numerous settings or filters which allow you to tailor your clipping the way you like it:  all uppercase or lowercase, coded HTML entities or uncoded, wrap in HTML tags and find and replace.  It will aslo allow you to Quote lines, Smarten Quotes and Straighten Quotes.  You can even copy photos out of your iPhone and paste them into your iPhoto  program on your Mac, although only one or two at a time.

pastebot is pretty! and useful!

You can keep up to 99 clipboard entries, and then you can create folders to move the clippings to.  This really helps to keep lots of information and pictures at your fingertips within the app.  The next step for Pastebot would be the capability of copying whole files and pasting them from your Mac to your iPhone and vice versa.

All of this is wonderful but of course you will need to be in wifi for Pastebot and Pastebot Sync to be able to talk to each other from your iPhone to your Mac.   The instructions are a little hard to find and unless you are familiar with this type of program you will probably need to find them in the Pastebook Sync program on you Mac.  Or you can go to the developer’s website at Tapbots. com and Pastebot.com.

This useful app will be very popular for the hardcore iPhone user and is already getting high marks in the app store.

Review Rating: 5/5

Pastebot (iTunes Link) is currently available in the App Store for $2.99






This is an app review article by the Apps Machine

Once you download this 99 cent app, the iPhone opens with a video feed from the iPhones camera.  The screen has a transparent text box in the top third.  At the top are two boxes for phone number and email address.  You can also access your contact list using the blue plus sign.  At the bottom of the screen are icons:  settings which gives you an about for Text Vision with a brief how-to,  a manage accounts which allows you to log in to Facebook and Twitter (which you will have to do in advance if you want to post your text as a status message on either utility).

TextVision screen capture

There is a camera icon which gives you the option to take a picture or choose a picture from your camera roll to add to your post.  Once you have chosen or taken your picture it shows up in a tiny thumbnail at the bottom of your text input window.  You have the option to removed the picture and take another before sending.  There is another camera icon on the bottom of the text input box as well as a character counter.  Tweets cannot exceed 140 characters and the Facebook status is a bit longer but not much.

text vision facebook twitter interface

Returning to the bottom icons, you can bring up options to post to Facebook or Twitter or both.  The remaining icon gives you the option to send your post as a text or to send as email.  However these options are NOT seamless.  They will turn off the Text Vision camera and  go into your SMS and you will have to restart Text Vision to get back into it.  Sending email from the text box is a bit faster as it copies the text and will allow you to move back and forth quickly.  You can even send photos quickly via email with this method.  Apparently no app on the App Store will allow you to send a text directly from the app itself, because it not allowed by Apple yet. Any app that does send texts from the app is sending it from their own server.

The downside of this application obviously then is that it cannot seamlessly text and view where you are going at the same time.  It does however give you the capabilities to seamlessly Facebook and Twitter while walking, and almost email too.  Rather ironic considering the app is called Text Vision.

Rating 4/5

Text Vision (iTunes Link) is available in the App Store for $0.99 as of this writing.

This is an app review article by The Apps Machine

I knew I was in trouble two-thirds of the way into my boat trip from Buenos Aires, Argentina to Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay. I lost my iPhone’s carrier signal when I just as I was going over the recap of The University of Wisconsin’s stunning defeat of the Duke Blue Devils for the second time.

My iPhone is my office, my lover, my friend, and a necessary evil as a fervent sports fan. Without it and its 3G reception or wireless connectivity, I am incomplete.  ESPN´s Scorecenter app delivers all a sports fan could ask.  The app is well put together. It offers up to the minute coverage of most major sports. With ESPN ScoreCenter you get real-time scores, live game details, game summaries and stats.  You simply select the sport you are interested in following and determine whether you have a favorite team, and allow this team’s information to come to you. Your team, if selected, always tops the page, and each sport is given their own color for simple scrolling between them. I know green is Chelsea in the EPL, blue Chelsea in the Champions League, orange the NBA and so forth.

ESPN’s Scorecenter has recently added push notifications to its app.  Now, your iPhone will alert you the minute a touchdown has been scored. It will save you the trouble of  staring at the screen for the latest scores and stats so you can actually enjoy that vacation, feed the kids, or just finish your job without too much distraction.

It truly is a user friendly application providing up to the minute information on games in progress, recaps of those you may have missed, and a thorough preview of the ones you must read about to truly enjoy them when they are played.
My only argument with ESPN´s Scorecenter in its present version is its lack of general breaking news in the world of sport. Additionally, while illegal for some, sports betting is a reality and the inclusion of the betting line would be welcome.

With my huge love for my iPhone and sport news, you could not have believed the relief I felt when I finally found a Wi-Fi signal in Uruguay. As I sat in the cafe that had given me access to its Wi-Fi listening to music on the iPod app, suddenly, I was pleasantly/rudely interrupted by the familiar DA-DA-DA..DA-DA-DA.  It was the Sportscenter theme, I had said yes to enable its new feature, push alerts.

Scorecenter is a must-have app for me, and it is an essential app for any sport fan.  ScoreCenter already provided the same recaps, boxscores, and GameCasts as the espn.com site but now with fully customizable push alerts there is no better sport application for the iPhone. Download it here.  It’s free!

Rating: 4.5/5

This is an iPhone App Review from The Apps Machine

When iPhone text fanatics (that’s most of us!) first hear of Type n Walk (App Store) our first reaction is “Cool I need that!”  For the students who are falling down the stairs at school while texting the latest drama, for the business people running into lamp posts arranging their next meeting, and for this poor girl who fell down an open manhole while texting, we all are looking for an app that allows us to walk and text at the same time.  All while being able to see where you are going rather than being focused on a tiny 2×2 screen.  I mean really, who wants to just walk anymore?

So I eagerly downloaded this 99 cent app and anticipated being able to text and walk while being able to see what is in front of me on the iPhone display.  Well caveat emptor people!  Notice that this app is called Type n Walk?  Not Text n Walk?  Yes this app will allow you to compose on the display while the camera feeds you video of what is in front of you (you have to hold the phone up mind you or you get a picture of the ground beneath you not what is ahead of you).  Once you have finished your message you then have to copy and paste said text into whatever communication medium you are using be that SMS, Facebook, Twitter or email.

According to the developer Type n Walk works with any app that accepts copy and paste and any website that works correctly in Mobile Safari.  Type n Walk will allow you to do the copying but after that you have to open your other application to paste in the message, thus losing your video feed, and that’s when you crash into that garbage can.  This application is probably best suited to those times when you are sitting and still want to be aware of what is going on around you.  Like for those people taking public transit to keep an eye on potential pickpockets, but what if they jump you while you are pasting?

Some users will find a use for this app but for the majority this app is a big disappointment.  Most reviewers on the App Store are giving it  a 1.  Some are asking for their money back.  This app may have been developed as an April Fool’s Joke and then been recently updated.  Regardless, this app definitely has potential.  If Apple was smart they would buy the basic technology of this app, finish it off to make the text and video seamless, then install it on every iPhone through an update.  But perhaps they are thinking of the implications…some dolt would try to text and drive, but surely no one is going to try that dangerous maneuver. Right?

App Rating:  2/5

Type n Walk (iTunes Link) is currently available in the App Store for $.0.99

Mikamobile, the developer of the hit game Zombieville has done it again. Their newest hack and slash game featuring katana wielding ninjas and foul mouthed pirates is a masterpiece. The unique cartoony graphics and smooth animations, along with a tough but enjoyable ninja styled hack and slash gameplay make OMG! Pirates! one of the best games in the App Store.

The game starts when pirates attack a ninja village. Our ninja must fight its way against the pirates, ultimately defeating the pirates in their home turf.   The game features 9 missions and 3 bosses. During each mission, the player must fight tens of pirates arming themselves with swords, bombs, and guns. These pirates aren’t all that easy to defeat. They can even defend against your attacks. Only by perfecting your fighting style through jump attacks, special combos and techniques can you complete a mission without being seriously injured.Each level has a player rating after it is completed. If you lose too much lives trying to complete a level, you just might be rank “terribad.”

This game also feature boss fights. Bosses are big and bad with special abilities. Usually, players have to deal with the lesser pirates as they are fighting the bosses. Bosses can take plenty of hits so be prepared to conserve your energy to outlast them in the fight.

Once the player completes the regular campaign mode, the hard mode and survival mode appears. By then, you should be more skilled to fight the pirates. The survival mode is definitely challenging and fun. Fight through tons of pirates with just one life. Lets see how far you can go.

OMG! Pirates! has graphics that will catch your eyes. They are like well-drawn cartoons fighting fluidly on your iPhone or iPod Touch. The animations are smooth as you slash your sword and launch combo attacks against those pesky pirates.

Gameplay is where OMG! Pirates! really shines. The game includes a leveling system for your ninja. As the player level up, new attacks, combos, and techniques may be learned. Ninja’s speed, life, and attack power may also be increased. Thus you will start the game with little more than the standard attack button. But as you progress through the game, you will learn to use the various jump attacks and combo attacks to evade and finish your enemies.The game is tough. Your ninja may face enemies in front and at the back of you at the same time. Getting out of those situation with timely ninja jumps and shielding moves is imperative to completing the mission alive.

Attacked from both sides!

OMG! Pirates! is nearly a perfect side scrolling ninja fighting game.  But it could be improved by including even more missions and bosses.  Addition of multiplayer modes would be welcome too.  But with survival mode, a harder difficult level, and mission rankings, OMG! Pirates still has what it takes to keep gamers entertained for a while.

Overall OMG! Pirates! is one of the best games on the iPhone. The graphics and animation alone will just make you want to get the game. Along with the excellent gameplay, there is really no reason any gamer should pass up on this masterpiece. Just watch the video to see why it is so good.

Overall rating: 5/5

OMG! Pirates! (iTunes Link) is currently available in the App Store for $1.99.

This OMG! Pirates! review is a post by the Apps Machine

Donut Game’s Traffic Rush (iTunes Link) is topping the charts on the top 25 free app list.  It is there for a good reason.  It has a simple control with addicting gameplay.  Players will have to keep an intersection clear from crashing cars and trucks by moving or stopping the cars at the right moment.  The controls make the game simple and fun.  By swiping your finger on a car, car can accelerate through the intersection.  Tapping on the car will make it stop and wait.  But the car won’t be stopping for too long.  It will move again by itself if no orders are given.

The game will get more difficult when there are lots of cars heading toward the intersection from every direction.  Furthermore, the default car speed is different for every car.  Thus getting a score above 100 may be difficult for some players.  In Traffic Rush, scores are based on the number of cars that have successfully exited the intersection.  Top scores can be transmitted to Donut Game’s website for ranking.  Top players in the world have been seen with 2000-8000 points.

It is the urge to achieve higher scores that keeps players from coming back for more.  Share scores with friends to see who is better at clearing out the intersection.  The ability to accelerate the cars also makes the game really fun.  Swiping to accelerate cars gives players an adrenaline rush.  It greatly increases the game’s pace and fun factor.  Just try and see if you can beat your old top score when swiping at every car that passes your intersection.

The graphics and sound in Traffic Rush is simple but adequate for a casual game like this one.  Worth mentioning is the acceleration sounds.  They are nicely done to make players feel the adrenaline as each car zooms pass the intersection

The controls are intuitive and responsive.  The vehicles stops and accelerates immediately as they are swiped or tapped.  Accurate controls make Traffic Rush a winner.

Traffic Rush could have been better with more maps such as multiple intersections.  The current map only features one intersection to manage.  Multiplayer could also work in this game.  It would be fun to seen how 2 or more players can work together to make intersections free from car crashes.

Traffic Rush is one of the must-own game for the iPhone and iPod Touch.  It has the addicting gameplay that makes players come back for more.     By looking at its success in the App Store, it looks like many people will be comparing their best scores with those from their friends.  Since it is currently free in the App Store only for a limited time, everyone should make it a home in their app library.  So what are you waiting for?  Download it today!

Review Score:  5/5

This is a post by The Apps Machine

Rarely have I played a 2D shooter as refreshing as MiniSquadron (iTunes Link).  MiniSquadron isn’t just like any other 2D shooter.  This unique game is actually a dog fighting aerial combat game that pits player’s aircraft against computer controlled jets in a limited 2D air space.  Players will have to fight against waves of enemy planes.  Some waves have only a few enemy planes, but other waves can bring tens of highly advanced aircrafts that will be difficult to defeat.

MiniSquadron has arcade-like game play.  Flip 360 degrees, twist, dive, and shoot your way to victory, collecting 1ups and special stars to gain advantage over the enemies.  There are also some physics based elements in MiniSquadron as well. Your plane can stall and fall if the plane is flown too high or hit by the enemy.  But if you keep your plane’s head down and dive as you fall, you can still regain control and fly upwards to prevent a crash.

There are 8 stages  for the single player game.  Each stage has 12 waves of enemy aircrafts to defeat.  Enemies can range from propeller planes, bombers, jet fighters, to UFO’s.  They can equip cannons, homing missiles, spray bombs, and even lasers.  As players progress through the various stages, up to 56 aircrafts can be unlocked.  These unlockable aircrafts give players more powerful weapons and faster aircrafts.  Each unlockable aircraft has to meet certain requirements to be accessible by the player.  They can be unlocked when they have achieved a certain score during a wave at a certain stage.  Tapping a locked aircraft will display its unlocking requirements.

Mini Squadron’s graphics and music are well done.  Although nothing amazing, it brings the classic cartoon-styled 2D shooter to life.  The aircrafts have an unique look to them and their animations are fluid.  The symphony classical music in the background also seem to fit perfectly to the aerial action in an odd way.

Mini Squadron uses a virtual control pad.  The controls are fairly simple and responsive.  By default, the plane will fly straight.  But by drawing a circle on the virtual control pad, the plane will flip 360 degrees, making it easier to maneuver to the tail of enemy aircrafts.

The aerial combat action can be intense, especially when going against more than 10 enemy aircrafts during a wave.  Dodging bullets and missiles and maneuvering to finish those pesky enemy jets can be really fun.  And since the game rewards you extra score for defeating enemies without taking a hit, achieving the highest score should be the goal of any seasoned MiniSquadron player.

One of the weakness of MiniSquadron is lack of online high scores and achievements that are present in many other iPhone games.  It would be great to see how your top score rank in the world. There is also a multiplayer mode in  MiniSquadron, but MiniSquadron only supports local network connection. If MiniSquadron allows global online multi-player, that would make this game perfect.  It would be really fun to challenge 10 other players to a fight to the finish.

MiniSquadron is a great 2D shooter.  Its intense gameplay will give players a fun aerial combat experience.  With over 50 aircrafts to unlock and master, the game has a high replay value.  It is a must-own game for any fans of classic 2D shooters.

Review Score: 4.5/5

Available now in the App Store (iTunes Link).

This is a post by the Apps Machine

Very rarely do you get a well polished game as good as Touch Pets Dogs.  Touch Pet Dogs allows players to interact with their dogs in so many ways that you’ll feel the dogs on your iPhone or iPod Touch are actually alive!

Touch Pet Dogs features 7 breeds of puppies you can adopt and interact.  Start your game with a cute Labrador, Portuguese water dog, west highland terrier, German shepherd, Jack Russell, dachshund, or even a robot dog.  Within each breed, players can select puppies based on their look, gender, and personality.  These puppy traits can affect how your dogs will interact with you as well as other dogs.

In Touch Pets Dogs players care for their puppies’ everyday needs including petting, feeding, bathing, grooming, and even scooping their poop.  These needs are displayed in the dog’s status menu as a percentage.  With time, these needs gradually fall to 0% unless players take care of these needs.  By taking care of your dog’s everyday needs, puppies will become happier. And when its happiness level reaches a certain point, the player will earn puppy points.  These puppy points can be used to buy virtual items such as new toys, clothes, and gears.  Puppy points can even be used to adopt additional puppies.

Players can also play with their puppies.  Teach your dog to do some tricks such as sit, stand, roll over.  Get your dogs to play with Frisbees, balls, and sticks to increase their abilities.  Don’t like your pup’s look?  Players can dress up their dogs with various clothes and accessories.  Your dog can even have careers. With the proper career item and ability, your dog can catch thieves, rescue victims from fire, and win beauty pageants.

Touch Pets Dogs also allows players to interact with their friends’ dogs.  Invite your friend’s dog for a playdate, and watch as they develop friendships, romances, and rivalries. Your friend doesn’t even have to be online for the playdate to occur.  In the playdate, you can care and play for the other dog the same way you can interact with your own dog.

Players advance in Touch Pets Dogs through leveling up.  Players level up as they complete daily and career tasks for experience points.  Certain items and accessories cannot be obtained unless the player reached a certain level.  Leveling up is another motivation for players to come back for their virtual puppies daily.

The most enjoyable part of Touch Pets Dogs is the interaction with the pups.  Playing fetch, petting your dogs, and engaging in various activities with them make the game really fun. The puppies look adorable, and their animation is smooth.  Most people will fall in love with their pups the moment they started to play the game.

One major concern for most players is the pay system.  Even though players start with many bowls of food.  As the food bowls dwindle down to zero, players have to either wait for the food to slowly regenerate, or buy food with real money.  The problem with waiting for new food to regenerate is that it only gets you a maximum of 1 bowl of food.  Thus if you have multiple puppies to feed, this can cause a rather short game session.   Ngmoco has recently  lengthened the time it takes for energy to deplete.  That is probably due to complaints that you cannot even finish caring for your dogs with a full bowl of food.  Even with the increase in energy depletion time, there’s an outcry to make foods payable with in-game puppy points. But game companies are out to make money, thus that will probably not occur anytime soon.  In the mean time, here’s a tip to make the game more enjoyable for those who don’t want to buy virtual pet food for real money.  First, get your dog to 100% energy.  Then wait until the food regenerates to 1.0 bowl of food.  With more time to play with your dog, this will make a play session much more enjoyable.

The game can also become repetitive.  Once you are familiar with the activities you can engage with your dog, daily tasks of cleaning, petting, feeding, and playing with them can become a chore for some people.

Overall, Touch Pets Dogs is still the best virtual pet game in the App Store with its great graphics and features.  Since it is free to play, everyone, whether they like dogs or not, should at least try this game.  The game is sure to captivate your attention for at least a few hours.  Who knows, it may even motivate you to get a real pet!

Aim, recoil, and jump onto a platform above!  Spring Fling (
iTunes Link) for the iPhone introduces a fun jump-up-the-platform game reminiscent those of the popular Papijump and Doodle Jump.  Contrary to these games, each jump upwards requires the player to recoil the spring before the jump.  Spring Fling also uses a physics based PhysX engine to recreate the action of a spring.  The result is a realistic spring jumping platform game.

In Spring Fling players take control of a two-eyed spring.  The goal for each level is to have your spring character jump to the highest level possible without falling off the iPhone screen.  There are two game modes for Spring Fling. In the static game mode, the camera won’t move, but the player will have a limited number of jumps to reach the pit stop, where the ability to jump gets replenished.  In the scrolling mode, the camera continues to scroll up.  The number of jumps is unlimited, but there is a time limit.  When the spring power reaches zero, it’s game over for you.

In Spring Fling, each jump is critical.  If the player aims or jumps too high or too low, the spring may miss its intended target and fall.  Often, a missed jump results in game over when your spring missed a platform and falls to the bottom of the screen.  This high level of jumping accuracy, along with time limits and jump limits make Spring Fling an extremely challenging game when compared with its peers.

Spring Fling, like other jump-up-the-platform games, has various items such such as rockets, balloons to help players turbocharge their way upwards.  There are also character accessories such as glasses and hats to customize your game character.  There is also an online leader board  players can sign up to compete for the top score.

There are currently 5 levels for Spring Fling, not including the tutorial level.  Two levels are static levels and 3 levels are scrolling levels.  Each level is consisted of randomly generated platforms.  Thus, your game experience varies each time you place.  The visuals for each levels are very well drawn.  They look great!   The sound is also fantastic and match the visuals well.  Together the great sound and graphics make Spring Fling an enjoyable and relaxing game to play.

Is there anything wrong with this game?  This game reminds me of other plaformers  such as Super Mario Brothers and Super Donkey Kong that have levels that scroll upwards.  Perhaps adding enemies, road blocks, and even bosses would make this game even better.

Spring Fling is a great game to add to your app library.  Play it occasionally and see if you can be the top jumper in the world of springs.

Check out the great gameplay footage below!

Review Score: 4.5
Available at the App Store “>(iTunes Link)

Click here if you are looking for the GEOdefense: Swarm strategy guide or walkthrough.

The original GeoDefense is ranked up there as one of the best Tower Defense games on the iPhone.  With GeoDefense Swarm (iTunes Link), the thinking man’s tower defense game gets even better.  Unlike other tower defense games, GeoDefense Swarm offers lots of maps and levels for the avid tower defense player.  GeoDefense Swarm offers a total of 30 levels, each with its own map.  The 30 levels are divided in into three difficulties:  easy, medium, and hard, with each difficulty getting 10 unique maps.  Players must think very carefully before placing their towers, as the game is extremely hard to beat when playing  on the default hard difficulty. Users must evaluate each level’s map and choose a build strategy based on the level’s layout.

Like most tower defense games, players build towers to destroy enemy creeps and prevent them from reaching the exit.  In open field tower defense games like GeoDefense Swarm, players also try to build mazes by building towers for the creeps to travel along.  Players gain money to build more towers by destroying the creeps.  The creeps usually travel in waves, with each wave the creeps gets stronger and tougher.

Like its predecessor, GeoDefense Swarm uses vector based graphics.  The result is impressive.  Fireworks explode all over the screen as creeps get destroyed.  It can get so dazzling  that it obstruct the user’s focus to prevent creeps from escaping to the exit.  Unlike its predecessor, however, GeoDefense Swarm now offers obstacle-laden open maps instead of a predefined path.  This makes a lot of room for strategic and creative thinking.  In most levels, placing towers on maps is almost puzzle-like as placing them in certain grids or in specific patterns may be the only way to win. The endless mode feature lacking in the original GeoDefense now appears in Swarm.  The last level of each difficulty is the endless mode, making it three endless tower defense levels in all.

GeoDenfense’s diversity of levels make the game extremely challenging and fun.  As the player progress through the game, he will encounter new special zones that can heal or speed up creeps.  There are also a total of 6 towers for blasting those enemy creeps. In Swarm, the new tower Thumper damages enemies around it by shock wave.  The conventional blaster, laser, missile, and enemy decelerator are also available. There are even towers that can only be used once as a savior tower to destroy all the creeps around it all at once.

Lots of levels and maps is good.  However, it is the gameplay that make GeoDense an extremely fun game.  Conventional players are expected to play most levels countless times in order to beat it. In Geodefense Swarm, the action is almost non-stop.  Players need to continue to build or upgrade towers with each enemy waves.  Otherwise the enemies can get so strong that they just breeze to the exit.  When players lose a level, they need to reevaluate their mistakes and come up with a new strategy to destroy all the creeps.

Most players should be able to beat all the easy levels.  That said, some levels are still challenging enough that it may take some people 5 to 10 times to beat it.  At the medium level, the difficulty really ramps up and some folks may never beat another level unless they get some tips from the experts.  If players can pass all the levels, they can aim for the higher scores by letting the fewer creeps escape to the exit or by destroying the creeps near the exit.  Open Feint integration allows players to compete globally for the highest scores.  Get the recognition of being the best player in the world for one of the most difficult tower defense game in the App Store.

The tough challenge may upset some players.  GeoDefense Swarm may be the toughest tower defense game in the App Store.  Players who buy this game for some fun tower defense action may get turned off after losing a level after 10+ tries.  The visuals also may not please everyone.  Some of us prefers cute animals or ferociously animated zombies instead of geometrical shaped creeps throwing themselves at you.  GeoDefense Swarm also lacks game music.  Hearing the blaster firing and creep explosion for hours can give some players a headache.

Despite its minor flaws, GeoDefense Swarm is a great tower defense game.  It is ranked up there as one of the best iPhone tower defense games.  With 30 challenging levels, players can easily spend days to “attempt” to complete the game.  Currently for just 99 cents in the App Store (iTunes Link), it is a must-own game for iPhone tower defense fan.

Click here if you are looking for the GEOdefense: Swarm strategy guide or walkthrough.

There is a free, FULL version game dominating the Top Free App List in the App Store.  It is called Boxed In, and it offers gamers 50 levels of box pushing fun.

The objective of each level is simple.  Players control a robot that pushes boxes to designated spots to deactivate force fields that obstruct its path.  Players also need to collect gears that activate exiting wormholes.  Each level is completed only when players successfully reach and exit through an activated wormhole.

This may sound simple, but completing the task requires some puzzle solving skills.  The robot cannot pull any boxes.  It can only push boxes.  Thus, players need to plan ahead of time to decide where each box should be pushed.  If a box is pushed too far or too close, or if boxes are pushed in the wrong order, it will be impossible to complete the level, and a level reset is needed.  Some levels need some serious planning.  Boxes need to be rearranged in a complex fashion so all the force fields can be turned off and gears collected.  And it is this high level of thinking and planning that makes Boxed In so fun.  Players will certainly have to try many levels over and over again until they figure out the order and placement of each boxes.  When they do, completing the level will feel like a great accomplishment.

This is a great game to spend that extra 5 to 10 minutes you have.  It will flex your brain’s logic compartment, giving it a nice workout.  Most people will play for 5 to 10 levels before resting up a bit.   But, you will inevitably come back for more as its addicting game play just begs for more of your time.

Some people may complain that Boxed In has no sound and its controls can be annoying when trying to move quickly to another grid.  Boxed In moves one grid at a time with the flick of a finger.  Thus when moving through 10 grids to get to the other side, flicking the finger 10 times can get a little annoying.  However since every grid in the game may be the deciding factor in completing the level, allowing one grid movement at a time is actually a smart control scheme as it enables the player to think about his every movement.  As for the lack of sound, the developer may believe it can distract the player from thinking and planning constructively.

Currently the game offers only fifty levels of puzzle solving action.  It is possible more levels will be added in future updates, perhaps as a paid app.  But for now, Boxed In is free for all that downloads it.  However, The developers say Boxed In may be free only for a limited time.  So download it now and give your brain a nice workout.

By the way, if by any chance you got stuck on a level, we got a section on Boxed In hints and tips too.

Civilization series have been around for over twenty years on the PC.  But now Sid  Meier lets you build empires right on your iPhone.  iPhone gamers will be able to take 1 of the 16 civilizations from ancient times to the modern era, building armies, expanding territories, and researching new technologies.

Fans of the series should be happy to know that Civilization Revolution for the iPhone retains much of the game play from the PC version.  Players will have to manage cities for production, research, and wealth developments.  Building structures to enhance these outputs is vital to the success of your empire.  Culture is also an important factor in the game.  Building temples, cathedrals, wonders, and great people will increase the influence that city has on its surroundings.  If a city has very high culture, it can cause an enemy city to defect to your side.   Like its predecessors, Civilization Revolution for the iPhone also allows the player to change governments.  Each government has its distinct advantages and disadvantages.  For example democracy maximizes production and research, but cripples player’s ability to wage wars.

The iPhone version also allows for four ways to win the game.  Players can aim for economic victory, culture victory, technological victory, or domination victory.  In an economic victory, players will accumulate as much money as possible.  Building the World Bank wonder will end the game.  To win with culture victory, simply build enough Great People and Wonders to unlock the Wonder United Nations.  In technological victory, colonizing Alpha Centari is again an objective.  In domination victory, capturing sufficient enemy palaces will make all other civilizations kneel to your rule.

Although the technology tree is not as comprehensive as its latest PC iterations, it does include sufficient technological advances and new units to allow for strategic warfare between empires.  But those technology fanatics will miss some of their beloved advanced units and enhancements for their cities.  Those pursuing a technology victory may also find their journey for the ultimate knowledge shorter than they’d expected.

The controls for Civilization Revolution may need a little more work.  Players move units by dragging it toward its destination grid.  Player can also zoom in and out on the main map.  However at a certain zoom point the units disappear from view, making transporting a unit over long distances difficult.  The developers could have incorporated gestures to allow optimal viewing points for the game map.  There are also too much clutter at the main game map.   City names and development status constantly block unit views.  It would be nice if they can be turned off so it would not obstruct unit movements.

The graphics could have been better on the iPhone.  The units really should have a higher pixel count.  The current units look downright ugly when zoomed close.  Some of the resources on the map look awful as well.  Hopefully in future updates, sharper looking units will make players feel better about their armies.  A bright spot is the battle sequence.  The short animated battle sequence is exciting and fun.  The right viewing distance make these fighting units look acceptable.

Strangely, multiplayer option is missing from the iPhone version.  The Nintendo DS version of Civilization Revolution featured online support via Wi-Fi.  Hopefully they will be added to future updates.

Overall, Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution for the iPhone is a great strategy game.  It is a rich strategy game that will easily take 4-8 hours to complete.  Aside from a few interface and graphical problems, players should enjoy the classic empire building game with most of its renowned features intact.