The Pre Match Warm Up

It’s always good to get some practice in before the game, so when I am on the train traveling to the game I get a chance to play a few hands. Usually, I tend to play poker games online or use one of the many poker apps such as Party Poker, as found on the poker app guide site, however there are plenty to choose from, some use real money whereas other are just for fun.

Poker Time

As we start the game and reminisce about our previous wins, we start one of our ‘timer’ apps to keep track of the blinds, so we can all concentrate on the cards. Depending on whether we use my iPhone or Craig’s HTC our timers of choice are; Poker Timer by Birdsoft (for both iPad and iPhone) or the Ultimate Hold’em Timer for Android. Both have simple, minimal displays that allow you to get all the information you need from a simple glance.

Who Gets The Beers

Playing on a custom made poker table at Andy’s is a pretty cool experience, but playing in the Kitchen, a stones throw away from the fridge also has its advantages; namely, its close to the beer. When we are separated from our precious drinks we like to use an app to designate who will make the mammoth journey. For this we like to use Tea Round for the iPad. It might be themed around Tea but with its simple customization it is easily re-purposed.

Who’s Hungry

What better way to compliment beer and cards than with a few Pizzas. So when 10pm comes around we use the handy Dominos App to choose and order our pizzas without having to break the flow of the game.

Are You Taking Notes?

If like me you are constantly looking to up your game then you can take you poker playing to the next level by using taking notes on the other players. For this I recommend Poker Notes Live (for both IOS and Android). This free poker utility app is a useful tool that will help you remember the moves, style, patterns, and tells you notice about other players at your table. Very handy for the serious player and it can be used when playing online as well.

Win or lose we all have a fantastic time and eventually we will take our game to Las Vegas when Andy hits 40, where we hope to take part in one of many tournaments held at Caesars Palace. Can’t wait!

The post Essential Apps for the Ultimate Poker Night appeared first on AppTrawler.

The story of the game is unclear as you are plunged into a world with weapon wielding cyborg zombies, hellish minions and man eating slugs. The player must navigate their way from the start to a door at the end of the level. The game is fast paced and the restart is near instantaneous, which is very similar to League of Evil.

Enemies die is a splash of coins which can be collected to upgrade your weapons and costumes. It is here where the fun begins. Using the default player and the simple pistol the game is hard and unsatisfying but once you have traded up to an AK47 wielding Robocop it all becomes a lot more fun. There are a tonne of characters to choose from all more silly than the last; Rambo, Abe Lincoln, Neo, Clown, Cheerleader, they are all here. Each character has their own merits such as increased speed or agility but the only trait that seems to have any major difference is the damage as this dictates how many hits you can take before exploding into a cloud of pixels. Weapons range from standard pistols, shotguns and rifles to more elaborate missile launchers and futuristic pulse rifles. Whilst the shotgun feels different to the chain gun I found myself using the automatic weapons more due to their quicker fire rate.

You can play to earn coins or buy coin packs to upgrade quicker but it never feels forced or necessary to buy more.futuristic pulse rifles. Whilst the shotgun feels different to the chain gun I found myself using the automatic weapons more due to their quicker fire rate.

You can play to earn coins or buy coin packs to upgrade quicker but it never feels forced or necessary to buy more.

The controls use a simple left and right button along with a shoot and jump. The controls are responsive allowing you to navigate many levels in one sitting.

The levels take you from grimey city streets to green forests and the level design is fantastic as each simple level has multiple routes to the exit which encourages some re-playability. At the end of each level is a boss battle that is never too taxing but might take two or three times to beat. Sadly, my game was cut short on the last level as on of the lifts seem to be missing but hopefully a reboot will sort this.

Overall, random Heroes is a fun platform shooter that harks back to the olden days of gaming when CJ’s elephant antics was fun and James Pond was a AAA title. Whilst the lack of any real narrative is a shame, the customization of your player and weapon will keep you playing. The game can be beat in 3-4 hours so if you have some time and just want a throw a way game, this is a lot of fun!

The post Review: Random Heroes | Android appeared first on AppTrawler.

Playing poker efficiently has never been easier thanks to apps that users can easily whip out in times of need. Whether you’re a casual player or tournament card shark, these apps will give you the edge you need in keeping track of matches and calculating the odds of winning. Read on and see why the pros are treating these programs as essentials whenever they host matches or participate in tournaments.

Home Poker Tools – Clock

This poker tool is perfect for tournament hosts. Keeping track of time and matches can be a handful when done manually. So if you’re having a poker tournament with a lot of players, using this Home Poker Tool – Clock app made for the Android OS is a good idea. This easy-to-understand poker clock acts as an organizer that can automatically alert hosts of the tournament’s progress. It can keep track of the blinds, next blinds, number of players, number of players left, bounty, and provide suggestions on tournament payouts. The poker clock can be downloaded for free.

Poker Cruncher

Calculating the odds is a problem that many poker players face. Even professional card sharks sometimes find it hard to make accurate calculations especially during intense matches. Thankfully, there’s now an app that does this work for players, allowing them to fully concentrate on tournaments.

Poker Cruncher is a handy poker odds calculator. Users who are familiar with the Texas Calculate ‘Em program for the PC, which was made as a professional calculating tool for the partypoker.com software, will find the app’s functions quite similar. To date, Poker Cruncher is quite possibly the most powerful odds calculator available for smartgadgets. This is because it allows calculations for random hands and multiple player card input – features that aren’t readily available in other poker calculator apps. Like the Home Poker Tools – Clock app, Poker Cruncher can be downloaded for free.

There are also tools that can help poker players keep track of their opponent’s playing style and match history. Poker Tracker and Poker-Edge are examples of these tools. Unfortunately, such programs are currently only available for the PC and Mac. If you can find an app that has the aforementioned features, make sure to download it as well since it can help poker players improve their game.

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The post Two helpful poker tools made for smartgadgets appeared first on AppTrawler.

It’s back with a vengeance

Hairbrained Schemes wanted to stay loyal to the original and the screenshots in the Kickstarter campaign really sold it. The project raised nearly 2 million in funding after only asking for $400k and the IP returned to the original creator.

but what about the game

The first thing that will put you off is the price. £7 / $10 is a lot to pay for a mobile game in this day in age, especially one by a small development company. As the game was originally built for PC you can expect more depth than the average mobile title.

The graphic mix detailed 2D backdrops with 3D character models and whilst both are good in their own right, the merging of the two is a little jarred. Personally I would have preferred one or the other. The team have tried the best to merge the two using subtle animations and the ability to walk behind the 2D backgrounds but its not without fault. I think the optimization done on the graphics in order to bring the file size down has give some of the visuals a slight grainy texture that might not be present on the PC version.

Sounds and music are limited but solid and the music fits the grungy and tired future it portrays. Weapon Sounds are spot on and whilst I understand why there is no voice acting I think the odd street vector call or ‘hello’ here and there would not have gone a miss.

The story and dialogue is where it really shines. There is a lot of text, a lot of story and decision trees aplenty. This is why voice acting was never on the cards as the audio files alone would have filled up a standard iPad’s memory. The film Noir style story mixes seamlessly with the crime thriller narrative and you feel like a futuristic Humphrey Bogarde after the next lead in your hot case.

The game-play is mainly point and click with turn based fighting. These work well and stay true to the original game.

Many on the App Store complained of problems and sections not loading. I did suffer some issues after downloading but once I had rebooted my tablet I did not have any further issues.

Overall, this is a big game so you get your money’s worth and if you liked the original then this trip down memory lane will be a lot of fun. If you are new to Shadowrun you might find it different to more recent titles, as it requires a lot of reading and remembering, as there is little hand holding so you will have to concentrate. This is not a game you can dip in and out of in 10 minute intervals as there is a lot to take in so i would recommend tackling it is large 2-3 hour sittings. The game plays well but the mix of graphics is slightly off putting at times but if you are a fan of the cyber punk genre then you will find a lot here to keep you busy.

The post Review: Shadowrun Returns | Android Tablet appeared first on AppTrawler.

The story revolves around Ittle Dew, an adventurous young girl who washes up on an island and has to complete a number of quests before the mad shop keeper will give her a boat to sail off on.  Ittle Dew sets off with her trusty drunken flying fox companion and tackles castles, dungeons, caves and a slew of weird  and wonderful enemies.

Swedish indie studio Ludosity has done a great job of bringing back the look and feel of the classic Zelda whilst offering a fresh and funny spin on it.

I have added the trailer below to give you a taste of the game before I hit you with the negatives…

OK, now the downside…

I really enjoyed playing this game in the beginning  and I was happy to over look the slow load times and periodic stutter but I had to stop playing when I had to hit four diamonds to open a door. This is a relatively simple puzzle about 30 minutes into the game and has four diamonds that are timed to turn off after a certain time. Using the on screen joypad I found it very difficult to move my character fast enough and after 20 attempts I was still struggling. Frustrated I downloaded the Steam version of the game and found that the same puzzle was infinitely easier on a joypad and keyboard.

So whilst I would recommend the game ‘as a game’ I would probably avoid the iPhone version and try the PC, Tablet or even OUYA version in order to avoid the troubles of an onscreen joypad.

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The post Review: Ittle Dew | iPhone appeared first on AppTrawler.

So when my friend Dave won a couple of thousand playing online poker my ears pricked up and I thought I would delve into the world of online gambling. There are so many to choose from that offer so many different features; some have 3D rendered avatars, others are full of glitz and glamor and other are straightforward and simple. With my eyes on the prize I decided to go for the latter as the less distraction on the app the more likely I am to concentrate.

I decided to try the android app from 888poker.com as the name and brand was reputable and the interface looked pretty clean. The three step sign up process was easy and having a £12 welcome bonus is always nice. The color scheme is dark but clean and the interface is uncluttered. Each player has a circle around their name that acts as a timer for their turn. This keeps the game fast but engaging and keeps the sound effects to a minimum giving the whole experience a serious touch. There are various buttons that allow automatic betting such as ‘post blinds’, ‘call/check’ and ‘fold’ so you can just watch the action unfold with little or no effort. I lost my first $20 within a hour but was able to win back my stake and more before the night was through giving me the impression that the other players are of mixed skill level giving this an advantage over the more ‘well known’ apps. Being on both Android and iPhone I was able to play on a table at home or stuck on the commute.

There are three different game types that include ‘Cash Games’, ‘Sit and Go Tournaments’ and if you eager to win the big bucks then there are ‘Scheduled Tournaments’ The Tournaments range sizes, buy-in cost and and prize money (that ranges from $2000 to $500,000).

The game is as addictive as you would expect a Texas Hold Em to be but reviewing a poker app is not really about the game but more the presentation and the overall package and 888 Poker is clean, simple and easy to use, whilst being serious at the same time. 888 Poker is definitely a poker players app and not a gamers app, as it’s less about the razzle dazzle of the big league tables and its celebrities and more about the pure essence of poker. Its easy to play on its own or whilst doing other things so if you are looking for either a great starter app or something for the discerning poker player then head over to 888 Poker.

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The post Review: 888 Poker | Android | iPhone appeared first on AppTrawler.

This 70 level action platformer seems to have distilled down its console based parent into three simple actions, tap one side to jump, the other to hit and hold to fly. The four areas (with ten stages in each) are broken into actions so you learn how to jump in the first ten, fly in the second, wall run in the third and finally hit in the forth. Once you have nailed these skills then the final 30 levels see you running for your life away from what looks like angry old men and spikey plan life.

On each level you will be driven to collect navi-like ‘oms’ which are similar to glowing fairies. The amount you collect, coupled by the speed at which you complete the level is all totted up to give you a score at the end. It will ultimately be this score that will drive you to redo levels in order to improve on your last run and gain unlockables. Each of the wonderfully designed levels feel alive as platforms fall, plants weave and helping hands swing you across chasms. As you run around like a headless chicken you will notice little alleys, or alternative routes that, should you be inclined you can memorize for next time.

The graphics are lush with smooth and amusing animations coupled with an array of ditties and tunes that will make you smile. All of which culminate to create a heart pounding action platformer that will make you smile every time you play it. At first I was a little hesitate to pay the $2.99 price tag but I am happy that I did as I have well and truly got my moneys worth. This is a great game that is easy to pick and play in small bouts, but do not be surprised if you find yourself tackling some if the more difficult levels for longer than you planned.

The polish and amusement of this game has definitely spurred me on to try out its console counterparts.

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The post Review: Rayman: Jungle Run | Android appeared first on AppTrawler.

This is especially true for girls aged between 7 and 15. Girls in this age bracket are more likely to own a Smartphone than boys and 45 per cent of girls say they use a smart phone every day, compared with 35 per cent of boys. Girls mostly buy smart phones for the reason that they want to stay updated on their friends and family through social networking websites, which suggests that they are more inclined towards communicating and collaboration whereas boys mostly prefer Smartphones for entertainment such as games and videos.

This said, we have seen a lot of girls having a huge interest in the latest Smartphone games therefore we have prepared a list which consists of the Top 10 games for girls with a smart phone. The list is as follows:

1. Angry birds
2. Fruit Ninja
3. Words with friends
4. Bejeweled
5. Cut the rope
6. Candy crush
7. Subway Surfer
8. Scoops
9. Tetris
10. Impossible Quiz

Angry Birds:

One of the most played games among youngsters and especially girls is “Angry Birds”. It is claimed to be by far the favorite game played and it’s pretty understandable why. What you have to do in the game is to use your collection of angry birds to demolish down the bricked fortresses of the pigs who have stolen their eggs. It consists of 270 levels, and they get trickier as you move forward and keep on crossing every level. It is quite simple but also a very addictive game. Check out various Angry Birds seasons as you are done clearing them for unlimited fun.

Fruit Ninja

An amazingly fun game we must say, and we bet, making fruit salad was never this much fun before. All you have to do is just to slice and dice the fruits as they keep flying through the air. The more you will slice, the more you will score. What you have to be careful about while swiping the screen and slicing is that, don’t dice the stuff which are not fruits, otherwise you start losing points. The game’s new Arcade mode has Freeze, Frenzy, and Double Score features which will make you fall in love with it even more. An interesting feature of the game is, it will give you cool fruit facts after the end of every level.

 Words with friends

Games are always fun when played with friends, “words with friends” is one of those games. It is not only a word game but actually a party game where you are competing against your friends by spelling the highest scoring words. It also features in-game. We are sure this game has reminded of you of the old “Scrabble” game. Consider this one a trendierand more convenient version of Scrabble!

Bejeweled 2

One of the most popular games considered among girls, since it has the diamonds, and diamonds are every girls’ best friend in the sequel “Bejeweled 2”.  Scoring isn’t tough, as you just have to match three sparkling gems in a row to get rid of them and win points. The timer is on, and the puzzles get more and more complicated. Highly addictive and we are sure , you are ready to spend hours and hours on it.

Cut the rope

It features a little character called OM NOM!, which depends on you for each candy mouth-catch . You have to cut a thin rope to send candy in its mouth. Many obstacles will try to dodge you which include spiders as you collect stars and break down the bubbles along. It gets tougher by every passing level, so you need to play tactfully. It is just adorable to watch how this little creature eats up the candy!

Candy Crush

Candy Crush Saga is considered to be one of the most addictive games among casual players. As it is clearly explained through its name, it consists of sweet stuff for its central game pieces. If you match 3 candies in a row, you’ll score  points and it will clear the gems from the board, Likewise 4 and 5 in a row will offer various surprises too. Mixing those special candies together causes other surprising things to happen.

Subway Surfer

Another most played game is the Subway Surfer which is an endless runner game for mobile devices. All you do is tag and collect coins, but the police are not happy with your hobbies and they keep chasing you. You will need to cross subway tracks to escape from the police and collect as many coins as possible.

Scoops

A deliciously fun game, Scoops! Keep on making sky-high stacks by collecting foods like ice cream and cup cakes. As the stack gets higher, the game becomes harder and harder . Remember to collect only the sweet stuff and not the vegetables. It’s simple yet addictive.

Tetris

That surely reminds us of our old times, we all know that this game has been around for decades, yet it’s still totally entertaining! What makes it more fun and easier, are the touch screens as you slide and drop the blocks into place. A true classic game we must say!

The Impossible Quiz

For the number ten we have, “the Impossible Quiz”. This quiz is going to test you on what you never learned  at school. The purpose of the game is to finish the quiz by answering entire collections of questions correctly.  At the start, the questions may seem easy, but don’t rush to answer. This is definitely one of the most challenging Smartphone brain games. Certainly it will educate you a lot!

Jason Falls is a gambler. He loves to share ideas for gambling on various blogs. He writes this post for Butlers Bingo.

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The post Ten Great Smartphones Games for Girls appeared first on AppTrawler.

More to the point, most of these games require a lot of time to enjoy and are the sorts of games you would only really play while relaxing at home. With that in mind, it makes far more sense to just play them on a PC or games console as they were intended. I soon realised that the sort of games that become fun and addictive to play on a phone are fairly simple in nature, use lots of quick levels, and have some sort of points system that are used to unlock later levels. They don’t necessarily have flashy graphics, but what they lack in visuals they more than make up for in playability.

I have found these to be the elements that make a smartphone game enjoyable and all of these elements are present in one of my favourite smartphone games available for Android and iOS: Blast Monkeys.

The concept is quite simple, even if it doesn’t really make much sense. You have a cannon which you use to fire a monkey called Moki up in the air. Once fired from the cannon you have no control over the monkey and have to rely on bouncing him off walls or platforms. Your objective is to capture three bananas on each level and then make your way to the finish point. Getting one or two bananas and reaching the end of the level is often fairly straightforward, while collecting all three bananas and making it to the finish point can very often be quite a challenge. Bananas are then used to unlock later levels, so if you don’t collect all of the bananas on each level you cannot fully complete that world.

The game is split into various worlds, each containing 25 levels and 5 “expert” levels which are more difficult. The worlds offer different themes, different graphics, and different challenges. For example, the snow world features levels that contain icicles which fall from above onto Moki and kill him, while the space world has strange vortexes that can transport you around the level in unpredictable ways.

Because of the short and quick nature of the levels and the fact that is can be so easy to almost complete a level perfectly and then cock the whole thing up, I have found this game to be extremely addictive and sometimes quite frustrating at the same time.

The short nature of the levels means this is the sort of game you can whip out and enjoy at any time. You could just have a minute or two spare while you are waiting for a bus, or for your drink at a coffee shop, but it is equally well suited to long stints while relaxing at home.

Levels often require you to act in stages. After firing Moki from the initial cannon to get the first banana you can often end up in a new cannon, a floating bubble (which you are able to pop at a desired altitude), or a block of ice that will move you to a new part of the level. It is this splitting of the levels into a few separate stages that makes the game addictive. The first stage may be quite difficult and require many attempts, but once you have managed to get the hang of it you are still not able to complete the level because the second or third stage results in your monkey dying. Not since playing Goldeneye on the N64 have I so much wanted to throw a game controller (in this case my phone) at a wall and sit in a corner rocking and back and forth.

This game is a couple of years old now and has already been enjoyed by over 12 million people on Android and iOS. Based on this success the developer behind Blast Monkeys, Yobonja, has released a sequel called Blast Monkeys Forever which comes with even more features and a new game concept called “infinite runner”.

Simon writes for UK money saving community Suppose.com

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The post Blast Monkeys for iPhone and Android | Guest Review appeared first on AppTrawler.

Grav is a gravity based puzzle game by 2DM based on the Unity engine. You take control of a small ship whose task it is to collect spheres from around four galaxies imaginatively named Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta. Each galaxy has ten levels to complete and whilst short for a puzzle game it ramps up the difficulty quickly to ensure that the completion of each level is truly satisfying.

So what do you do?

The gameplay is based around using the gravity of various planetoids to circle your ship towards the sphere. Once collected you are rewarded with one to three stars. There is however, various obstacles which get in the way in the form of black floating barriers (who put them there we will never know). Black obstacles on top of the blackness of space does make it hard to see when in bright light but I can understand why they did it as they didn’t want these floating walls to detract from the ‘space-ness’ of the game. By pressing the screen you activate your thrust which can change the nature of your orbit putting you in a better position to thrust to your next target. when you have the right position you effectively ‘swing’ your way to your objective.

Is it any good?

The games simplicity makes it instantly playable and highly enjoyable and you can fly through the first few levels with some ease. Once familiar the levels get decided hard and they add a reversal block which effectively changes the direction of your orbit. You need to use these wisely in order to navigate to tricky ‘blocked off’ areas in order to retrieve the sphere. As an added pressure point, there are many levels which instantly put you in harms way and you have little time to strategize before you are smashed with a meteorite or oncoming planet. And did I mention the meteors chase you… well they do!

The graphics are a pretty standard affair of generic space background, simply rendered ships and obstacles and a futuristic GUI (graphical user interface) giving the game a simple polish. The music is fitting with the theme, if a little to too relaxing considering you are being chased by two flaming meteors intent of your destruction.

Any extra stuff?

Aside from the ‘Campaign’ mode there is a ‘Free Play’ mode where you play a side scrolling distance game. This mode sees you swing from planet to planet collecting multipliers and avoiding barriers. The idea is to get as far as you can and collect as many multipliers as you can in order to get the highest score. Along the way to have to avoid the meteorites and make sure you are not left behind by the scrolling screen. This is fun addition to the game and although it lacks in Game Centre integration (it would be nice to see how you compare with the rest of the world) it is still satisfying to know that you are improving.

Final word

At the time of writing I was in the penultimate level about to face the big ‘forth’ galaxy and I had tackled some pretty difficult levels. In many ways the game is short but I spent A LOT of time tackling single levels of the game being frustrated but not put off which is indication of great game making. This is a great game that you can complete with a bit of effort and its fun whilst it lasts. I’m not sure if I will return to it once complete but I know that when I played it I had fun. If you are after a fun, throwaway puzzle game that’s simple, solid and satisying then I would recommend Grav. Just make sure you get the right game though as there are two games of the same name… This is the one you have to pay for

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The post Review: Grav | iPhone | iOS appeared first on AppTrawler.

This game is one of the best android games I have played in a long time. It’s as simple as anyone could ask for and it’s addictive like you would never believe. I mean what’s not to love about a baseball throwing granny… Oh did I mention she is wearing roller skates.

Okay then let’s get into what this game is about. You play Granny Smith an OAP on roller skates and the objective is to get to the end of each level collecting as many coins as possible and all the apples before this little kid with a dodgy Lone Ranger mask. To do this you have two button control, The left thumb is to whip your cane so as to move quicker and grab onto any over head zip lines (When on zip line hold button down or you will fall), The right thumb is to jump cracks, cars, boxes and do 720 mid air spins while breaking through some glass windows and trying to land back on your skates…. Because if you don’t you lose your footing, fall over and the little kid catches up. Sounds simple enough right. After progressing through some of the levels you unlock up to three worlds, in the second of which you can start to collect baseballs that you can throw ahead of you to break glass making things slightly easier for yourself.
Upon collecting the apples and coins you finish the level and rewarded with gold coins and a shiny gold medal then you are brought back to a Super Mario Bros 1 type world map. Actually this little game is basically a Mario game but instead of a plumber you are a granny, it’s your simple 2d side scroller where completing the last level unlocks the next and as you unlock the worlds you can earn coins to unlock new playable characters like Scruffy the dog and Stanley the old man but the same rules apply.

I honestly think the good people at Mediocre have made a superb well rounded addictive frustrating game. I especially like how when you complete the level the replay is played back in an old vintage styleee for your enjoyment and the jazz music on the main menu is just a touch of genius. My eldest daughter loved this game and I couldn’t put it down. At 79p on Android I would seriously recommend this game to anyone.

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The post Review: Granny Smith For Android appeared first on AppTrawler.

There are 3 tables you can choose from, all based on 3 different war movies; Platoon, Missing In Action (with a Chuck Norris model and everything) and Navy Seals. Each board has its own style, some with multiple flippers, some with just the classic two. They all have their own goals and special bonus points and each takes some time to master. They feature music and sound effects from the movies themselves, which if you’ve seen any of them, adds to the fun.

The game plays smoothly and the more you play, the more you’ll get a feel for each board. The Platoon board seems to be the most difficult; Navy Seals is easy to get a high score on and Missing in Action is somewhere in between.

The only downfall is that there does seem to be a split second lag when tapping the screen to flip your flippers; it doesn’t change no matter how well my phone was running, which meant I had to compensate for it to hit the ball exactly where I wanted. Also, it is a bit gimmicky, linking you to the Amazon.com pages of the movies so you can buy the DVDs. Easily avoidable, but still kind of off putting.

Still, overall, it’s the most fun pinball game I’ve experienced on a smart phone and I find myself going back to it on commutes and even just sitting at home. for $1.99, it’s totally worth the purchase.

The post War Pinball HD appeared first on AppTrawler.

Little Viking follows the trials and tribulations of one little Viking as he roams from room to room collecting gold and keys before being allowed to move on, simple right? Traversing the dungeon is done by rotating the entire room. As gravity takes hold you are able to access different parts of the level in order to complete your tasks. Along the way you will encounter enemies and obstacles such as monsters, spikes, and gas all out to stop you. Boulders and rolling rocks are used as both obstacles and tools to solve the puzzles of which there are approximately 100 to trawl through. The learning curve is gradual but you will find yourself stuck on the odd level for decidedly longer than the average level.

The graphics are simple and cute with minor animation in the flaming torches, and although these are great it wouldn’t hurt to have some animation on the main character when he walks. The death animation is reminiscent of the classic retro game Rick Dangerous which always brings a smile to my face. The silhouette style level design means there are little or no loading times but with 100 levels I was hoping for more than different hues of wall colour delineate the 10 different zones.

Music and sound effects are solid and the Viking battle scream as the hero enters the vortex is both sweet and amusing.

Gameplay is straightforward and uses four buttons, left, right, rotate left and rotate right and although they are responsive and easy to use they could benefit from being a little bigger. I sometimes found myself falling down a chasm hoping to pull right only to be impaled on spikes and my thumb just to the side of the button. The games instructions need to be discovered through trial and error as there is little in the way of ‘how to’ screens or help bubbles but to be honest it is quite refreshing to be rid of all the chaff and unnecessary options that can bump up the file size of most mobile games.

Overall, this is a great game that is easy to play and highly addictive. What it lacks in optional extras and background diversity, it makes up for with a horde of great levels and simple pick up and play gameplay. If you are after a fun little puzzler that doesn’t take itself too seriously then your will get a good few hours of Little Viking.

The post Review: Little Viking – Dungeons of Doom | iPhone appeared first on AppTrawler.

Breakout your glow sticks

Orbital is the Geometry Wars of breakout games, with vivid glowing neon colors, simple lined graphics and particle effects galore. This game appears on the surface, to be really simple to play, the player uses a trajectory cannon to fire balls onto the play area. Once settled in their final resting place they expand until they touch a surface, be it either the sides of the game area or another orb. These orbs of varying sizes each start with a number on and count down with each ‘bounce’ from other orb, until finally exploding into a pixelated flurry when reaching zero. Once the orb falls below the firing line, or you find yourself penned in the game is over. There are three fantastic game modes to choose from; the standard is the Supernova mode mentioned above, Gravity mode; which adds a moving cannon as well as giving the orbs their own gravitational field and finally, there is the pure mode that is essentially Gravity mode but without the gravity (a slight disappointment but still fun).

The game’s simplicity is its greatest feature as it is easy to boot up and kill a few minutes and I found it is now one of my top toilet games as it’s quick, easy to control with one hand and is different every time.

Sound wise, the game has some retro robot voices and a slew of upbeat techno tunes that all add to ambiance and style of a really solid puzzle game. This game is better than the screenshots convey and will be a worthy addition o any puzzle fans collection. For those that love games such as puzzle bobble and Geometry Wars you may have just found your next download…

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The post Windows Phone Review: Orbital Puzzle Game appeared first on AppTrawler.

The gameplay uses tap and swipe gestures to fight your foes and is very repetitive. Tap, tap, tap, swipe when prompted, tap tap, tap, swipe when prompted, repeat that for around 4 minutes and your very likely to win the match in the early stages of the game. Taps will provide combos and the swipes will generate heavy hits  and by increasing your combos you can unleash special moves. Whilst the graphics are great the gameplay process gets dull very quickly.

One great thing you can do in Injustice is unlock content in the Console version of the game by signing up-to a Warner Bros account and logging into it on your console and your iPhone, this provides additional skins and abilities to unlock meaning you can progress your console game whilst on the go, it works both ways too with content being unlocked on your phone by playing the console version.

Upgrades in the game (including characters and special abilities) can be purchased either by spending  gameplay earned xp or buy purchasing xp through in game micro transactions. The best characters will have you spending a fortune to unlock or a major amount of time to gain the xp which is frustration the more you play as the difficulty ramps up fast requiring you to grind or spend.

If you don’t mind the grind, Injustice: Gods Among us is a very nice game to look at, however the lack of any story line coupled with the grind-fest needed to unlock the best characters means that the game leaves a lot to be desired.  Its certainly worth a try for free and a good companion of you are a fan of the full console version.

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The post iPhone Review: Injustice: Gods among Us appeared first on AppTrawler.

– Tell us a bit about AppChogie and how/when you started the company?

I am a Soldier in the British Army but I used to be a programmer as a young boy writing code for the Psion Series 3, 4 and 5 in the OPL language.  I soon landed a job as a programmer for Unisys in Amsterdam untill I joined the Army. I started AppChogie officially two years ago but I have not really stopped developing, AppChogie has enabled me to distribute my apps under a unified name.

– What attracted you to get into app development for the iphone?

I have always continued to keep my hand in programming on and off and when the iPhone SDK was announced I decided to have a go. I started writing some utility apps in xcode and that’s when I found an advert for GameSalad on the internet. I have been developing games for about a year with GS and it is fantastic software with a thriving community. The iPhone and in fact all the iDevices run on the same software so it is very easy for me to port my applications to each device with only minor adjustments and for a developer that it outstanding. Apple has created such range of fantastic devices that everyone wants or owns one at least and through the AppStore it enables me to distribute and get feedback from my customers directly.

– What software do you use when creating apps?

I use GameSalad for creating my games and a mixture of Pixelmator and Adobe Photoshop CS5 for graphics. Once the game is created I use xcode in conjunction with GameSalad to make a game file that I can upload to iTunes connect.

 

– What was the inspiration behind the Doodle Bomb HD?

I have always had an idea for a game that my wife could play. It had to have simple controls and be addictive enough that she would not loose interest, once I understood the requirements I decided to make it a bomb defusing game that would be never ending providing that the player could keep up. The game starts off at an easy comfortable speed but soon progresses to be quite demanding on your fingers and concentration. I liked the look of some of the current doodle games and decided to break out my sons coloring pencils and have a go.

– What games are you currently playing and is there any you are looking forward to?

I am a true gamer and I am in between a few games at the moment. I am currently playing Alan Wake on the XBOX 360 but as for iPhone/iPad I am playing Monkey Island 2 HD, N.O.V.A, Archetype and Outer Empires.

 

– What have you found really helpful during development?

The GameSalad community that are always on hand to answer my silly questions. The community is such a fun and interesting place to hang out online and many of the members are so talented and I am always amazed when I see the games that they produce as it inspires me to try harder and learn. I owe a thank you to Tshirtbooth who’s YouTube videos have saved me hours and to my friends Debug Design, Quantum Sheep, and Stormystudio for there continued support and friendship. I have also found friends and family helpful as they help me test my games and find bugs to fix.

– What problems did you encounter creating it?

Doodle Bomb was quite easy to develop however the drawings took me ages. I had to draw different artwork for the iPhone version (Doodle Bomb) and the iPad version (Doodle Bomb HD).

 

– What has been the biggest challenges you have had to over come?

The biggest challenge was to make it easy for people to play but not too easy and that is a hard balance to strike because if you get it wrong then people will stop playing it for being easy or likewise too hard.

– How did you go about marketing your app and what do you expect to have the best return?

I have done my normal marketing package, I have tweeted on my twitter page, facbook advertisement and sent various emails and download codes to review websites such as AppTrawler.

– What hints or tips would you give to budding developers?

I would say to new developers have fun developing your apps or games, try not to take the process too seriously because you will make better products. Listen to your customer in whatever for that takes like the feedback on the AppStore or via your website, twitter and try to implement changes that best suits your user and the game. Lastly design and create games that you yourself would play! now that’s a big deal because if you don’t want to play the game you will not want to continue to create it, and you will not be enthusiastic about promoting it.

– You have a varied selection of Apps at the moment, are you going to focus on a particular type or continue casting you net wde?

For now I am focusing on games as a whole and developing my knowledge of GameSalad to bring even better games to my customers. I like to think that I create games in all genres with different art styles as it allows me to explore my creativity as a developer.

 

– What can we expect in the future from AppChogie?

I have many games in development such as Farmyard Abduction for the iPad due soon and Undead Fred for iPhone and iPad which in fact has been in development for nearly a year. I am also working on some apps with other developers and a government scheme for troubled young people through Youth at Risk to bring them an app to the iPhone/iPad. I have a continued commitment to updating my games with new features and content. I have enployed artists in Italy, Suffolk and Japan to help bring the production value of my future games to the highest it has ever been.

Visit the AppChogie website at http://www.appchogie.co.uk

The post Developer Interview: AppChogie appeared first on AppTrawler.

Now you can put your fingers to the test and drum your iPhone screen to the beat, Bongo Blitz style. The rhythm game features indie and pop songs, with the ability to download weekly releases for free.

Notes scrolls across the top of the screen, and the task is to hit the left and right bongos in time, with a shake of the iPhone like a maraca every now and again. If you’ve played Nintendo’s Donkey Konga, you’ll feel well at home here.

Along with free song downloads each week, the game also comes with NoteTracks, allowing you to play along to songs from your own music library which are compatible with the game.

If Bongo Blitz sounds like your kind of thing, you’d do well to grab it soon – there’s an introductory price of $0.99, 59p for the first month.

The post Turn your iPhone into drums with Bongo Blitz appeared first on AppTrawler.

Bit Pilot is a retro-inspired dodging game that comes from Zach Gage, who also brought us the multi-touch puzzler Unify. Bit Pilot’s biggest flaw seems to be that it was released only a week after Tilt to Live and likely drowned out by the cheers for that game.

Bit Pilot, though, does stand on its own with fast paced gameplay, well implemented touch controls and a great 8-bit soundtrack. The game allows you to control a small ship in an asteroid field using single or dual swipes. Use one thumb for smaller movements, or both for more rapid movements. All the while, your job is to dodge the asteroids and lasers while picking up bonuses.

It’s one of those simple games in which death can happen very quickly, so you gotta try just one more time. The swipe/touch controls are very nicely done and responsive. A hands on video is also available.

App Store Link: Bit Pilot, $0.99

iJumpman

Part platformer, part tilt/rotation game, iJumpman actually started life as a PC/Mac game and remains available as a free download for those platforms. The iPhone version is said to have all the content of the PC/Mac version and even includes a level editor.

The game uses swipe controls on the iPhone for basic running/jumping movement and seems to work well. Levels tend to be small and quick, and often requires multiple attempts. If you die, you respawn immediately to try again. The rapid-fire trial/error nature of the game reminds me a bit of Gravball.

I’d recommend trying the nearly identical PC/Mac version before diving in.

App Store Link: iJumpman, $2.99

The post Retro Preview: Bit Pilot & iJumpman appeared first on AppTrawler.

In the future convicts fight for their freedom in a frantic game show called ‘The Danger Room’. On this show the contestant must battle through 9 rooms for their freedom but each room is different and you face aliens, soldiers, zombies, robots, demons and more, before the final battle with ‘The Host’. You play Warren Connor, an ex-policeman convited for a crime he didn’t commit, now his family is in danger he HAS to play the show.

In each room (of which there are 12) there are weapon power ups such as shotguns, flame throwers, rocket launchers, and lazers. There are also lots of cash prizes to collect for you to spend if you can survive ‘The Danger Room’.

The Danger Room is a top down shooter from Debug Design. You play via two on screen joysticks to enable you to move and shoot in all directions. The initial build has 9 levels which can be fought through sequentially or be chosen via the level select screen.

[itunes link=”http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/the-danger-room/id354164732?mt=8&uo=4″ title=”Download it at itunes here >> USA” text=”ITUNES LINKS”]

[itunes link=”http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/the-danger-room/id354164732?mt=8&uo=4″ title=”UK itunes Link”]

The post The Danger Room – Out Now appeared first on AppTrawler.

[continue reading…]

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