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Carota! Review


Carota! Review


By on April 30th, 2012
Our Rating: ★★★★☆ :: RETRO FUN
Universal App – Designed for iPhone and iPad

Carota! is a puzzler with retro grahpics.

 

Developer: Matthew Herz
Price: $ 1.99
Version Reviewed: 1.0.1
Device Reviewed On: iPad (third generation)

Graphics / Sound Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Game Controls Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Gameplay Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Replay Value Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Puzzles are among my favorite games for iOS and retro, 8-bit style graphics are also interesting to me (Minecraft is one of my favorite games). So when I stumbled on Carota!, an iOS puzzler with SNES-style graphics, I immediately had to try it.

Gameplay is simple but the puzzles can be challenging. The rabbit will walk regardless of what the player does, so the puzzles are time-based in a way. Players move the tiles and rotate them by double-tapping with the goal of getting the rabbit to the exit. There are five sets of five levels, each with a different monster.

The game introduces new elements with each monster by adding new tiles. For example, in the second set of puzzles, a new color tile is introduced (green). Sometimes the rabbit has to step on a certain number of the colored tile before it’s allowed to finish the level. Also, when the rabbit switches between default grey tiles and green tiles or vice versa, the tiles behind it will disappear and make room for new tiles to be placed.

The game’s retro, SNES-style graphics are great. Even the OpenFeint and Game Center buttons have been pixelized to look like they’re on a low-bit system. I love when developers put that much attention into those tiny details.

The music is perfect. It reminds me a bit of both older Zelda games and the earlier Final Fantasy titles. It has the epic adventure element to it. The way the rabbit walks also helps give it the Final Fantasy feel. Like the earlier Final Fantasy’s the rabbit’s walk animator only really includes two different frames with the legs in different positions. Add that to the fact that the legs don’t move at all at the speed the rabbit is moving and we have a Final Fantasy-style rabbit. Now if only we could equip him with Excalibur or Ragnarok…

The only real problem I had was that the tiles were tough to move and rotate sometimes. The controls just weren’t as responsive as they could have been. I’d say 10% of the time the tile wouldn’t move when I wanted it to. Otherwise, the controls worked great.

Generally, this kind of simple game would sell for $ 0.99. Now, personally, I have no problem paying $ 1.99 for a game of this caliber. I honestly believe most good $ 0.99 games should cost more. Since it’s a universal app, I definitely believe the $ 1.99 price point is fair. But some will pass over this game because of the price. In my opinion, most will get exactly their $ 1.99 worth of Carota!.



Carota!


Universal App – Designed for iPhone and iPad
Buy Now: $ 1.99

Our Rating: ★★★★☆ :: RETRO FUN
Read Our Full Review >>

Released: 2012-03-20 :: Category: Games


Apps mentioned in this post: Carota!


About: Carota! Review is a post from 148Apps

148Apps – iPhone App Reviews, iPhone Game Reviews, and iPhone News

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Ions Review


Ions Review


By on April 30th, 2012
Our Rating: ★★★★☆ :: PSYCHEDELIC
iPad Only App – Designed for the iPad

Ions puts users in full control of 20,000 light particles to create amazing patterns in real time.

 

Developer: Douglas Applewhite
Price: $ 0.99
Version: 1.1.1
App Reviewed on: iPad 2

iPad Integration Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
User Interface Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Re-use / Replay Value Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars

Overall Rating: 3.92 out of 5 stars

Particle Visualizers have been popular ever sine the App Store launched and the first iPad was introduced. The reason behind this is that the ability to create stunning patterns, shapes and auroras with particles of moving light via multi-touch input is both entertaining and mind blowing.

Now that iOS users have access to true retina graphics on the third generation iPad, particle visualizers look even more stunning. One of the most impressive visualizers to hit the App Store recently is Ions.

Ions may look like just another particle visualizer, but it is actually one of the most advanced and powerful apps available. The iTune’s description claims that Ions runs at 60fps (frames per second)—taking advantage of the New iPad’s power.

When user’s open Ions, they are presented with a detailed introduction screen to help them interact properly with the app. The basic concept behind Ions is to place Emitters on the screen to create ions and add positive or negative fields to attract or repel ions. Users then have full control of how strong the field is, the ion speed, how many ions are created, the range of speed the ions have and a wide range of other fantastic options.

The menu bar located on the bottom of the screen helps users navigate the app. From this menu users are able to pull up the help screen, save a layout or snapshot, add emitters and fields, change how their fingers interact with ions, activate and change the gravity, alter how the ions look, freeze the ions and clear the screen. As you can see, the possibilities with this app are virtually endless.

Ions‘ main selling point is the stunning graphics. The five different color schemes make this app look amazing and enhance the interface. While I didn’t get the chance to check out the app on the New iPad, I can only presume that it looks even better on the high definition display.

While Ions is aesthetically pleasing, I noticed a couple of minor improvements that would benefit the app. Adding pinch and zoom interaction to the gestures would help improve the controls. Also, the option to duplicate fields and emitters would make it easier for users to replicate their creations.

Ions provides users with a wide range of creative possibilities. This jaw-dropping app is definitely one that users will want to show off to all their friends. Considering it’s low $ 0.99 price tag, I wouldn’t pass up on the opportunity to check this app out today.



Ions


iPad Only App – Designed for the iPad
Buy Now: $ 0.99

Our Rating: ★★★★☆ :: PSYCHEDELIC
Read Our Full Review >>

Released: 2011-01-18 :: Category: Entertainment


Apps mentioned in this post: Ions


About: Ions Review is a post from 148Apps

148Apps – iPhone App Reviews, iPhone Game Reviews, and iPhone News

Popularity: unranked [?]

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Line2 Adds MMS Support

Line2, the second line app for the iPhone, has released an update to give that second line even more power. The update added the ability for users to send MMS messages.

The new MMS ability allows users to send pictures and locations with not only other Line2 users but to numbers outside of the app as well. The functionality to send MMS via Line2 has been available since late last year, but, with restrictions from cell carriers, Toktumi was unable to implement the feature. Now, Line2 uses a workaround to send photos to other cellphones by providing a link that the receiver can access without using a special code. Unfortunately, MMS messages can’t be sent back to Line2 users. Line2 users can send MMS messages to each other and can only send out to other numbers.

Line2 allows users to make calls and send texts to other Line2 users with a real phone number for free. Paid users receive unlimited US/Canada calling and texting, call forwarding, call waiting, caller ID, conference calls, and more.



Line2 – A new phone line with calling, texting and business features.


Universal App – Designed for iPhone and iPad
Buy Now: FREE
Released: 2009-08-31 :: Category: Productivity


Apps mentioned in this post: Line2 – A new phone line with calling, texting and business features.


About: Line2 Adds MMS Support is a post from 148Apps

148Apps – iPhone App Reviews, iPhone Game Reviews, and iPhone News

Popularity: 1% [?]

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Grid of War, An Expanded Tic-tac-toe Game

We’re always interested in looking at new spins of classic games. Just last week we took a look at Roc-a-Tac, a mashup between popular classics tic-tac-toe and rock-paper-scissors. Sticking with the tic-tac-toe theme, Kenneth Boreham’s Grid of War is tic-tac-toe with some new twists.

The game starts with the classic tic-tac-toe board but expands to a 5×5 board once one of the players makes three in a row. The goal is to get five in a row. Users can use two different special abilities that make the gameplay even more action-packed. Bombs are used to blow up both an ‘X’ or ‘O’ and the tile itself. No Xs or Os can be placed on a tile that’s been bombed for one turn. The other special ability is the Switch, which can be used to change an X to an O or vice versa. Additionally, switched pieces become indestructible for a turn.

This new twist on classic tic-tac-toe is available for only $ 0.99 and is a universal app.



Grid of War


Universal App – Designed for iPhone and iPad
Buy Now: $ 0.99
Released: 2012-04-16 :: Category: Games


Apps mentioned in this post: Grid of War


About: Grid of War, An Expanded Tic-tac-toe Game is a post from 148Apps

148Apps – iPhone App Reviews, iPhone Game Reviews, and iPhone News

Popularity: unranked [?]

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N.O.V.A. 3 Hands-on Preview

The first, and the most important thing to get out of the way is that N.O.V.A. 3 is NOT a freemium title. Gameloft have played the freemium waters, successfully at times, spectacular failures at other times. But let me repeat, N.O.V.A. 3 will not be a freemium title. There will be in-app purchases available for certain things, but they are not required to play or progress through the game. Whew. I know that takes a load off many core gamers minds.

N.O.V.A. 3 starts out with our hero, Kal Wardin, crash landing on Old Earth (in San Francisco no less), to find that the enemy Voltarites have invaded. In this first of 10 levels, you progress quickly, but as you’d expect building the game difficulty as you go. Starting out with just a pistol and gathering other weapons and equipment as you kill enemies and move through the level.

The story of what has happened builds as you move through the first level with very well done, fully voiced storyline played out in cutscenes. One difference noticed between this one and previous ones is that it just feels more natural. Even N.O.V.A. 2, as good as it was, felt way more contrived and scripted. N.O.V.A. 3 flows more naturally and just feels more professional. This installment is also has full retina support, even on the new iPad. That means it’s one gorgeous game.

To sum it up what you can expect in N.O.V.A. 3, it’s the great N.O.V.A. experience we expect, turned up to eleven. Better gameplay, better graphics, better script, and more of everything we have loved in the previous installments. Take a look at this teaser for a peak at what you can expect.

N.O.V.A. 3 also includes a 12 player multiplayer mode. The multiplayer is sure to be great with six different game modes. All of the weapons and vehicles are available in multiplayer.

While we weren’t able to test multiplayer in our preview time, it is a feature that I’m looking forward to as Gameloft has, in the past, done a good job with the multiplayer modes in their games.

N.O.V.A. 3 will be available in May. Check back and we’ll let you know as soon as it’s available.

Take a look at the following video for the first gameplay footage.

Hit the jump for a few more details on N.O.V.A. 3!

N.O.V.A. 3 from Gameloft

Multiplayer details: 12 players, 6 modes, 3 vehicles, customizable player classes with 15 different perks.

Enemies Include:
Volterite infected Marines
Infected Red Fury troopers (Flying)
Alien Commanders (mid-level boss)
Skullcrushers (mid-level boss)
Boreas Thugs

Weapons Include:
Pistol
Assault Rifle
Shotgun
Sniper Rifle
Rocket Launcher
Grenade Launcher
Flamethrower
Lightning Gun
Plasma Gun
Rail Gun

Items:
Explosive Grenades
Remote-Controlled Mines

Special Powers:
Repel
Paralyze
Time Shift

Vehicles (in both single player and multiplayer):
Mech
Jeep
Jet Pack



About: N.O.V.A. 3 Hands-on Preview is a post from 148Apps

148Apps – iPhone App Reviews, iPhone Game Reviews, and iPhone News

Popularity: 1% [?]

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Glitch Beats with GlitchBreaks

For musicians who like to glitch breaks, Alex Matheu has just released GlitchBreaks, an iOS manipulation tool for “glitching” breakbeats.

Users can work with the 90 high quality loops that come with the app from various artists including Alex Matheu himself and others like Daniel Myer (Haujoob, Architect, and Destroid) and Juan Espinosa (Cellmod). If those high quality beats aren’t enough for the more advanced users, performances can be brought in through iTunes or copied and pasted from another iOS app.

Features include a four channel mixer with four continuously looping channels, auto-BPM detection, XY-Pad loop modulation, a cut editor/sequencer with four save slots, and much more.

The app description promises that it’s easy enough to operate for a beginner user with enough features for the glitch-breaking pro to love. The app is universal and has retina display graphics for new iPad users. The app currently costs $ 4.99.



GlitchBreaks


Universal App – Designed for iPhone and iPad
Buy Now: $ 4.99
Released: 2012-04-25 :: Category: Music


Apps mentioned in this post: GlitchBreaks


About: Glitch Beats with GlitchBreaks is a post from 148Apps

148Apps – iPhone App Reviews, iPhone Game Reviews, and iPhone News

Popularity: unranked [?]

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Nickelodeon has released an update to popular bow-shooting adventure, Monkey Quest: Thunderbow. The update includes new levels, modes, items and more.

The update added 30 news levels with new puzzle types, bouncy bomb levels, and armadillo levels. In addition to these free new levels, three more modes of gameplay were added. The game now includes survival mode, dig mode, and mayhem mode. And now the monkey has four more MMO items to unlock including the heavy metal bow, heavy metal hair helmet, heavy metal quiver, and the Anubis staff.

Monkey Quest: Thunderbow is a physics-based bow shooting game that has elements of both popular Angry Birds and Worms. The monkey shoots a magical bow and arrow in various levels that has the thunderous power to destroy the environment of the levels themselves. Monkey Quest: Thunderbow comes in both free and paid versions for the iPhone as well as free and paid HD versions for the iPad. Check out the video below with gameplay features of the new update.



Monkey Quest: Thunderbow Extreme


iPhone App – Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Buy Now: $ 0.99

Our Rating: ★★★★☆ :: BANANAS
Read Our Full Review >>

Released: 2011-12-14 :: Category: Games


Apps mentioned in this post: Monkey Quest: Thunderbow Extreme, Monkey Quest: Thunderbow Extreme HD, Monkey Quest: Thunderbow Free


About: New Levels and Modes for Monkey Quest: Thunderbow is a post from 148Apps

148Apps – iPhone App Reviews, iPhone Game Reviews, and iPhone News

Popularity: unranked [?]

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The iPad has done wonders for revolutionizing storytelling, especially for young readers.

Newly released storybook Mimi Good & Bibi Bad has taken that idea one step further, by encouraging a new form of interactivity. The story tells the tale of two children at school: Mimi and Bibi, two English kids who find themselves at a school in the US. It’s a fun fish out of water tale, starting with a talent contest and introducing other characters such as Mimi’s best friend Melani and teacher Mrs Quackenbush.

The cool twist comes in the form of being able to rotate the iPad in order to switch from kind Mimi to naughty Bibi. It’s a very neat move that should keep kids particularly engrossed in the storyline.

Even better for young children, Peppa Pig’s Mummy Pig is the narrator for the app, otherwise known as Morwenna Banks.

Mimi Good & Bibi Bad is out now priced at $ 1.99.



Mimi Good & Bibi Bad


iPad Only App – Designed for the iPad
Buy Now: $ 1.99
Released: 2012-04-12 :: Category: Entertainment


Apps mentioned in this post: Mimi Good & Bibi Bad


About: Twists And Turns Literally In Kids’ Storytale Mimi Good Bibi Bad is a post from 148Apps

148Apps – iPhone App Reviews, iPhone Game Reviews, and iPhone News

Popularity: 1% [?]

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This Week at 148Apps: April 23-27

This week at 148Apps.com iPad cases were on our collective minds. First, site editor Rob LeFebvre reviewed the new Hammerhead Capo Case, stating, “The Hammerhead Capo case is a solid, good looking basic case for $ 40. It comes in black, blue, white, red or orange leather-grained polyurethane. It covers the whole iPad, with molded open areas for the dock port, headphone jack, rear camera, and volume buttons.”

Read Rob’s full review of the Hammerhead Capo Case on 148Apps.

Meanwhile, Lisa Caplan also took a closer look at Brydge, a new Kickstarter project. Lisa writes, “There is a new Kickstarter project, Brydge, by Brad Leong that will come close to converting an iPad into a notebook with a hinged aluminum case and Bluetooth keyboard that looks a lot like a Macbook.”

Read Lisa’s full commentary on 148Apps.

We also had many, many new kid-friendly app reviews on GiggleApps, including Amy Solomon’s review of the latest Toca game, Toca Kitchen Monsters. Solomon says, “I have a real treat for readers today as I would like to announce that recently, Toca Boca released a free version of their popular digital toy app, Toca Kitchen. Titled Toca Kitchen Monsters, this new app includes two monster characters whom players can cook for and feed, complete with monster-like table manners and house-keeping skills.”

Read the full review on GiggleApps.



Toca Kitchen Monsters


Universal App – Designed for iPhone and iPad
Buy Now: FREE
Released: 2012-04-05 :: Category: Education


Children’s apps were the focus on 148Apps.biz as well, as Kevin Stout reported on a new study released by Ruckus Media Group. Stout writes, “Parents are tough customers to please. While it’s obvious that children’s apps and games need to be appealing to kids, it’s the parents that those apps are really targeting. Ruckus Media Group just announced the results of its national study about children’s educational apps and parental preferences. The research, done with research group, PlayScience, looked to investigate what app experiences parents provide for their children, what parents prioritize in children’s apps, parents’ involvement in their childrens’ reading, and parental guilt with digital devices. We spoke to CEO of Ruckus Media Group, Rick Richter, and obtained some additional information about the study.”

Read more about the new study from Ruckus Media Group on 148Apps.biz.

Thew news, reviews and contests keep on coming across all of the 148Apps network of sites. Keep up to date with the latest by following us on Twitter and Liking us on Facebook. You won’t regret it. Until next week…bye ya’ll!

Apps mentioned in this post: Toca Kitchen Monsters


About: This Week at 148Apps: April 23-27 is a post from 148Apps

148Apps – iPhone App Reviews, iPhone Game Reviews, and iPhone News

Popularity: 1% [?]

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Fourth Inotia Game Released, Assassin of Berkel

Com2uS has just released the next game in the Inotia series, Inotia 4: Assassin of Berkel.

The fourth game in this popular series includes six classes to choose from with 15 different skills each. The games classes are Black Knight, Assassin, Warrior, Warlock, Priest, and Ranger. The party system now includes mercenaries. The mercenaries can be recruited to the party at any time and include over twenty “mercenary skills.”

Inotia 4: Assassin of Berkel features something called the Infinite Dungeon. In order to add some replay value to this RPG adventure, when the game has been completed, players can fight in a dungeon recreated from past events but a bit different. The villains can be even harder than during the main story.

After the first Inotia game, Chronicles of Inotia: Legend of Feanor, the series started using a freemium model, and that’s no different for the current title. Inotia 4: Assassin of Berkel is a free game with in-game currency that can be purchased. Additionally, Inotia 4 PLUS: Assassin of Berkel gets rid of the game’s advertisements and give users a 100 Gem bonus (which would cost about $ 4.99) for $ 2.99.



Inotia 4: Assassin of Berkel


Universal App – Designed for iPhone and iPad
Buy Now: FREE
Released: 2012-04-25 :: Category: Games





Inotia 4 PLUS: Assassin of Berkel


Universal App – Designed for iPhone and iPad
Buy Now: $ 2.99
Released: 2012-04-25 :: Category: Games


Apps mentioned in this post: Chronicles of Inotia: Legend of Feanor, Inotia 4 PLUS: Assassin of Berkel, Inotia 4: Assassin of Berkel


About: Fourth Inotia Game Released, Assassin of Berkel is a post from 148Apps

148Apps – iPhone App Reviews, iPhone Game Reviews, and iPhone News

Popularity: 1% [?]

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