1st Impressions

I couldn’t do a review of Castle Smasher without following it up with it’s opposite.  In case you have not seen StickWars, it is a $0.99 hit at the iTunes store.  A light version is available for free.  

In the app, you play the defender of the castle.  You can capture guys and turn them into archers, repairmen, and “wizards”.  They can help you repel the attacks.  While Castle Smasher requires some thought, this game is primarily about reaction.  No thought necessary. 

The game has options for sound, music, level of blood (screen shot has it on high), and so forth.  To defend your castle, you can “flick” the little stick guys up in the air high enough so that the fall kills them.  Of course the archers do a good job of eliminating as well.  And, if you have wizards, they can launch meteors down on them.  If you have enough prisoners caught, you can even send them out with bombs on a kamikaze mission.  

Overall, the game play is very similar to the game that is supposed to have started this genre, Defend Your Castle.  While it is at the same price point, and I have purchased and tried both, I find StickWars to be much more intuitive and configurable of the two.  If you are only going to get one, make this one your pick.  Because of the price point and the unlimited nature of game play, this one gets added to my Must Have list.

Castle is a new game that is only $0.99 for a limited time.  The premise is simple.  Use your catapult to knock down the castle(s).  It is a simple game to figure out, so unlike my last review of “G”, is perfect for kids.  The only controls are angle and power of the “launch”.  It is the perfect kind of game to play for a couple of minutes while in the check-out line.  I wish there was more I could say about it, but it really is that simple.

G is a rather nice game from a new group of Christian developers. Just because they are new though (or Christian for that matter) does not mean that the game lacks in quality though. It’s graphics and game play rival anything you would see from the deep-pocket guys. In the hope that a quality product should be rewarded, I hope this and future apps in the works give these developers deep pockets as well.

“G” stands for gravity in this game. It is almost as if Gravity is a somewhat predictable opponant in that sometimes you seem to fight it. But it helps you too. Game play reminds me of one of those artillary games taken to a whole new level. As in those games, you control angle, burn length, and propulsion of the rocket. What takes this to a whole new level seems to be inspired by Apollo 11 and their use of the moon’s gravity to change trajectory. In the game, you use the gravity of some objects in order to change your rocket’s path so that you get close enough to “ping” all the targets on the screen in as few attempts as possible.

This is not as easy as it sounds. In fact, these puzzles can become quite a challenge. While it doesn’t require a rocket scientist, it is probably going to be more than a child can handle. That is OK though, there are plenty of bodily noises apps in the store for them. If you want something more mature though, check out this game.

I am not normally a crossword fan. I do, however, like puzzles in particular, so I thought I would try one. So, while this is the only one I tried on the iPhone, it was chosen based on it’s full feature list and the iTunes Store comments on competitimg products.

In short, this app is a dream come true for crossword fans. It gives you virtually unlimited puzzles downloaded daily from the wide selection of newspapers. Game play is very intuitive. Tap a square and the clue is displayed right by the keyboard. If both an across and down clue applies, tap the clue to switch from one to the other. There is even a separate screen that just shows all the tips and squares.

If you get stuck, like me, you can go with pencil mode over pen mode. You can also have it flag bad entries on the fly so you can immediately address a problem instead of building on it. Hints are also available.  The program can display a letter, a whole word, or the whole puzzle. It even can look up the clue and your partially filled response in a source to suggest possible options. You can basically tap the proposed solution and have it brought back into the puzzle for you.

In short, while this app does not make my own Must-Have list, if you are a crossword lover, I would not me surprised to see it in yours.

Aroma Coffee is one of those time and resource management games. Think Diner Dash or Hospital Havoc if you don’t know what I mean. The concept is pretty simple. Take orders, properly mix the coffee orders, deliver them to the proper customer, take their money, and throw away their trash. The online help illustrates most of this very well. What I could not figure out though was the recipe for the different orders. Wish the help was a bit more clear on that.

Game progress allows you to not only spend profits on new items for the menu, but also branch out into new locations. While I like these kinds of games, ultimately I feel unfulfilled when there is no real obtainable goal or level/campaign that I can complete. If you are a fan of this genre of game though, the graphics on this version are very good, game play is smooth, and it is worth checking out.

If the iPhone is not your first trip around the PDA block, you need no intruduction to QuickOffice. And the version for the iPhone does not disappoint. It lives up to every expectation. The ability to have Word documents and Excel spreadsheets on the iPhone is great. I uploaded a 60-page document and a 1MB spreadsheet with thousands of formulas in it, and it handled it with no problem.

While it doesn’t natively sync to your documents folder, there is a really slick web browser interface for uploading and downloading files over Wi-Fi. You can also email local or remote files, drag and drop files to your iPhone as a mounted drive, and access what you have on MobileMe.

I’ve only scratched the surface of what this app will do. It is a $20 app and I recommend a visit to the QuickOffice.com web site for all the details.

Pro Camera has been a review that was a long time in coming.  But, as they say, good things come to those that wait.  In short, this app is a Must-Have if you use your iPhone camera much.  Like other of my Must Have apps, this is how Apple SHOULD have done it.

Pro Camera has some awesome features.  First, it cleans up your memory to speed up performance if you are running low on memory.  Once the application starts, the first thing you notice is the “level” indicator in the middle of the screen that uses the tilt sensor of the iPhone to show you when your shot is lined up level.  Can’t tell you how many recent vacation photos had to be edited because my other digital camera (definitely not the photographer!) took crooked photos.  Pro Camera fixes that problem.

You can quickly take a photo by tapping anywhere on the screen.  Once taken, a preview is shown and you can choose to save it or discard it.  If you choose to save it, it becomes a background process and you can continue to take another photo.   If that were not all, it also has an image stabilazation feature.  Touch that icon and as soon as your iPhone’s accelerometer shows no movement, it snaps the photo.  The included self-portrait mode lets you get into the photo as well.

All in all, it is a wonderful app.  Definitely worth the $2.99 price tag considering all it does.

Actions is more than a To-Do list. It is a task manager. And it is EXCELLENT! Not only can tasks (or “actions”) be assigned to project lists, but you can also them to a “context”. The context can be a location or something else. And, as you would expect in a quality app of this type, start dates and due dates for each action can me set. Basically you get a lot of the power of a project management system without the confusing complexity.

Actions also adds a goal of creating a “chain” by linking each day in which you complete a task. This graphical reminder, along with the numerical icon indicator of due tasks, really helps with the procrastination issue. Not only does this $9.99 app make it to my Must Have category, but it also gets moved to my main screen.

My recommendations are few. I’d love the ability to trigger an action context based on GPS location or wi-fi connection. Ability to prioritize actions and link an action to a contact would be nice additions as well. Finally, it would be nice to be able to sync the actions to a desktop and/or online version. But don’t let the “could be better” suggestions distract from the fact that it is a wonderful and fully functional app right now. I’m just excited about where this app may head in future versions.

I must confess…I would have gotten around to reviewing this game a lot sooner if I had not spent so much time playing it! . I love the Tri-Peaks genre of solitaire games. Going back to when I played it on Windows 3.1 and my first PDA’s, I have always found it one of the easier and less stressful games. This version of that old classic is, in my opinion, the best rendition of the game for the iPhone. Not only are there six different game modes, each tracking high scores, but power-ups for Reveal and Shuffle really add to the game. The tropical-theme graphics are nice, and if you mute the sounds, you can listen to your own music or books while you play. If I had one suggestion, it would be the ability for the home button to pop up the iPod controls while in the game. Perhaps when the next iPhone firmware comes hot, we will see more accessing the iPhone music library directly. Tri-Peaks in Paradise comes in a free lite version with only 2 modes and 2 rounds of play (instead of endless) if you do not want to spring for the full $0.99 version.

StormBasic, the creators of Ankagua3D, one of my favorite puzzle games, has a new arcade shooter out. The graphics are incredible. Basically, you use one circular area under your left thumb to control direction of travel and the one under your right to control direction of shooting…kinda like joysticks. If you want to see this concept in action, there is a video link at StormBasic.com.

The premise is not subtle – it’s a zombie slatghter-fest of the first degree. Think if it as a 3D version of those other zombie games. You can choose between a top-down view and a “back” view in a free-for-all mode or a more campaign based mode. The 7 days referred to in the title reference this “history” or story mode. The current version also offers 3 different weapons for the chesty heroine to use as she saves the world.

The program is currently $1.99 in the iTunes store. I’m generally not an arcade game fan, but it is a great game to show what the iPhone is capable of. Besides, my zombie/vampire/warewolf loving son is having a field day with it.