1st Impressions

I normally don’t post updates about application updates, but Defender Chronicles is one of the best game titles for the iPhone and this update, just approved by Apple, really adds some great content.  Since the App Store doesn’t really tell you what all has changed, I thought I’d outline it here.  Among the updates are a new hero, a ne building, two new spells, and two new secrets.  Full details are as follows:

• OS 2.0 compatible
• A new hero: Elf Priestess
• New building: Stronghold (complete Tarnwood quest)
• New spell: Armageddon (equip Orb/ Talisman)
• New spell: Healing (equip Orb/ Talisman)
• New secret: Auto refresh store
• New secret: Level 2 Elf hut
• A bunch of new items for mage hero
• New graphic for regular arrow and poison arrow
• New graphic for giant effect (the golden halfling at Tarnwood)
• Defeat is now recorded in Log Book
• New menu background
• Misc bug fixes

As if all this wasn’t enough to make a great game even better, the upcoming 1.3 release will add even more features.  They will include the following:

• A new map: Helegom (Tree of Ice)
• A new enemy: Snow Zombies
• New ultimate artifact
• New secrets at the Great Library
• A new potion
• A new spell

For $2.99, this game is a great deal.  With all this new content and even more on the way, you really owe it to yourself to check this title out.

[contributed by David Eaton]

With the increasing popularity of Twitter, many people are predicting the demise of RSS feeds at some point in the future.  I, for one, don’t buy it.  While tweets might be very convenient for folks, the size limitations alone make RSS feeds much more informative if you wish to follow someone’s blog posts.  For that reason alone, RSS Flash g is the ideal program for my iPhone.

I have a back problem which causes me a lot of pain if I spend much time sitting in front of my laptop, but there are several tech related web sites that I like to check on a regular basis.  It’s fine to sign up for the RSS feeds in Google Reader or Outlook, but you then have to sit in front of a PC or laptop to read them.

Enter RSS Flash g. This program is designed for one thing and does it very well – it allows you to access your Google Reader account (hence the “g” in the name) and read them right off the iPhone.  It allows you to sort them by feed or, just like in Google Reader, sort the feeds into folders.  Once the application has synced with your Google Reader account (you can set this up to automatically perform each time you open the application) each feed or folder will display the number of unread items and the grand total of unread items is displayed on the application’s icon.

The app offers a ton of options, including landscape support.  There is a free version as well as a paid version. The free version works well but adds advertisements to each screen.  The full version, priced at $4.99, removes the advertisements and adds the ability to share feeds with your friends via Twitter, delicious, or Instapaper.  While I do not use that particular feature, I am a firm believer in supporting software developers of programs that I use and so I purchased the full version. If I were to be honest, however, I would have to say that, in my opinion, the application is overpriced unless you really want the ability to share feeds with others.

About the only complaint I have with the application is that, despite changing the font size in the settings, the font size remains small and I have a hard time reading it with my tired old eyes.  It may just be something I am doing wrong but reading small text is a small price to pay if I don’t have to sit at my laptop any longer.  As a matter of fact, typing this review is the longest I have spent at my laptop since installing this app a week ago.  RSS Flash g is what gave me that freedom.

Quest for Knight’s Onrush is a free promotional title for the previously reviewed Knight’s Onrush.  It is much more than just a “lite” version of Knight’s Onrush though.  While it does include that lite version so you can play “defend your castle” is the unique and addictive way it is implemented in Knight’s Onrush, but Quest adds a whole new stand-alone game that is more offensive than defensive.  As I said in my iStore review, it is like seeing an old friend in a fresh new context.  Reminds me of the first time I saw a corporate friend by day in the role of a very talented musician by night.  This nice mixture of old and new really works with this game.  You have to familiar “old” characters from Knight’s Onrush doing refreshingly new and different things.

As I posted in the preview I did for the game, you really need to check out the YouTube video to see this game in action.   So go ahead and start that 2-minute loading of iTunes and watch the video while you wait for the free download.

Game play is simple.  Your left tumb-pad area controls your movement, while your right controls your jumping or sword play.  It is virtually identical to the controls in Inkvaders and works as well here as it does there.  The sound effects in this game are a real riot.  It really adds to the comical nature of the game.  When the little character exerts all that effort to jump over something/someone or gets poked with a lance, it’s just hilarious.

The object of the game is to cover as much distance as possible and deal with all the enemies you find on the way.  I guess they are “off to storm the castle” and your job is to defeat them before they get there.  So while Knight’s Onrush was a stationary battle, this is a moving one.  It totally changes the game dynamics.  Each time you play, the placement of the enemies and their objects is different.  I’ve been killed in as few as 50 feet, but also have managed to make it several times that.  So each time through is a unique experience.  This promises a lot of a game play for a price that is free as you could ever hope for.  I also love it that you can turn off the music and listen to your own iTunes library while playing the game.

My suggestions are few.  On the main screen, you have an option in the bottom left to “check this game”.  It is worded awkwardly.  I realize space is tight there, but you are not really checking out “this” game by tapping there.  You are taken to the iTunes page for Knight’s Onrush.  A “Tap here for more information” or something would be a bit clearer, I think.  Also, I had a bit of a glitch in the game.  I had died and let the iPhone time out and turn off.  When I turned it back on, I had a mixture of the high scores screen asking for confirmation of my name, and the main pain “play” window asking me to select between the Knights Onrush Lite or the Quest game.  All I had to do is hit the return on the keyboard for it to go away, and I haven’t been able to duplicate it, but thought I’d mention it in case any of the developers are lurking.

At a price of FREE, you have nothing to loose by trying out this game.  Based on number of downloads and customer feedback, the developers are already promising a full-features game with different levels, different heroes, different enemies, online scores, and so forth.  I’d really love to see that happen and encourage you to leave some feedback on the iTunes store of what you would like to see in a full game.

contributed by David Eaton

I purchased this game from the iTunes store as an impulse buy when I saw it late one night earlier in the week. One of the reasons for doing this was due to the very high ratings  With the exception of a very few disgruntled players (who, based on their comments, were only looking at a single aspect of the game…) almost every reviewer gave it a resounding 5 stars.

The game has two entirely different aspects to it. First of all, you play the part of a spidar and use very intuitive controls to build webs with which to trap a vast array of insects so that you can eat them. This gives you points as well as rejuvinates your ability to produce more web.  Once you have gathered enough points them a portal opens up to teleport you to the next room.

The second (and equally as important) portion of the game involves you using your spidar perspective to creep and crawl through all the rooms of the house in search for clues as to what happened to the former (human) inhabitants. If successful you will locate and be able to explore all sorts of secret areas as well as a secret room (which I have yet to find…).

I chose to play through all the rooms first to get my feel for each room and then restart the game and focus on solving the mystery of the manor as well.

The game offers a lot of replayability by not only offering 28 different rooms to explore but, once you have gotten the hang of things, offers 4 different game modes as well.  Game play is simple.  Touch the screen in the direction you want to crawl.  Swipe the screen to jump.  Tap the spider before that jump and it produces a web between the two points.  Build an enclosed area of web “framing” and the rest is filled in for you.  Another cool aspect of the game is the tracking of your ability to build an astounding 100 different kinds of webs.

One interesting aspect of the game is that it can connect to Facebook to update your status when you play the game as well as compare scores with your friends. The very first time the game did this ,I got a reply back from a cousin asking how I liked the game, so this is an effective marketing tool for thevdeveloper as well.

All in all I would have to agree and give this $2.99 game 5 stars as well.

[Editors Note:  On David's recommendation, I purchased this game as well.  I found the movement very intuitive.  Making sure I explored the entire circumference of a room opened up several hidden areas that were full of some nice bonus bugs to catch.

My suggestions would be simple.  There doesn't seem to be any way to return to a room once you have left it.  As David mentioned, each of the 28 or so levels offers clues as to what happened to the previous human occupants.  If you've been too distracted with the puzzle/adventure aspect of the game to notice the clues, starting over seems to be the only way to go back and see what you may have missed.  I'd also love the option to adjust music volume and not just turn it on or off.  Overall though, I agree with David.  This game is a keeper]

This soon-to-be released title from Chillingo looks like a lot of fun.  A screen shot really doesn’t do it justice.  You really need to check out the YouTube preview to see what this title is going to be all about.

Using the same characters from the hit game Knight’s Onrush, the developers have promised a lot of new development in this free game if it turns out to be popular.  I’ll be posting a full review of it once it is released.

To be perfectly honest, arcade games are not a huge attraction for me.  As I’ve said before, I am more of a puzzle kind of game.  Arcade games just never hold my attention…until this one came out.

Inkvaders is a new title from Chillingo.  I predict that is is going to be a huge seller for them.  The game is pretty much perfect in every way.  Controls are easy.  The left thumb-pad controls the direction you head.  The right thumb controls your jetpack and your firing of your selected gun. An icon in the top corner shows you level of ammunition for your gun.  Tapping that icon lets you choose a different weapon.  Up to 15 different weapons are available in the “vending machine”.

Game play is very smooth.  Your goal is to kill all the zombie-like aliens that are beaming down to the planet/moon depicted by your current level.  Three different locations are available for play.  As you collect points from marked boxes or by killing aliens, you are offered upgrades and additional weapons in the vending machine.  You also collect points by using your jetpack to “catch” stars and asteroids that are above you.  Ammunition and jetpack power run out though, so you have to be careful about when/how you use them.  Run out of ammo and/or jetpack power, and your ability to avoid the aliens gets severely limited.  If they get too close, they “zap” you and your health decreases until you die.  Loose all your lives and the game is over.

Three different difficulty modes are available.  The game also comes with an “endurance” mode so that you can play as long as you wish.  The ability to leave the game and resume it is a real plus.  At the $0.99 intr0ductory sale price, this game makes my must-have list.  It is a ton of fun for a buck.  Although I didn’t need it, my only suggestion would be for there to be an option to reverse the controls for those that are left handed.

While I hate to give away my age, I have to admit that I have been a fan of talk radio for over 30 years. Not only is it an excellent way to stay informed to what is going on in the world around you but, unlike music which stimulates your heart or soul, talk radio stimulates your mind.

In the past (although not for the past 10 years or so) I was fortunate enough to have had jobs that gave me the ability to listen to talk radio for much of the day. Now that I am handicapped and spend most of my time at home, I am once again in the position to listen to  the radio – but unfortunately live in an area where I cannot pick up either AM or FM transmissions very easily.

That is what excited me about this program, Talk Shows on Internet Radio. With it I can easily locate and listen to my favorite talk shows at any time that they are being broadcast online. Local talk show hosts, for example, broadcast live during the morning hours but may be broadcast through syndication on other radio stations at other hours of the day.  The main screen of this program shows a list of talk radio shows with 5 30-minute time slots showing if the program you are looking for is currently playing or will be in the next couple of hours.

By selecting the talk show of your choice, you are taken to a screen in which the program is described as well as the opportunity to choose which station you which to listen to.  The reason this option is important to me is because, as anyone that listens to talk radio can tell you, this type of radio programming is very popular and therefore contains a lot of commercial breaks.  Since it is also often played during “drive time” hours, it contains lots of news, weather, and traffic updates.  By listening to a station that is in your area you increase the odds that the news and weather reports are pertinent to your area and not someplace that is 1500 miles away.

One of the nicest things about the program is that you can then listen to the streaming audio while you email, browse the web, or even play games.  It is basically a “background” app.  (To turn it off, just launch Safari and tap the “done” button.)  Another thing that impressed me greatly is the swift and supportive response I had to questions or suggestions for talk shows to add to the program. For example, I used the link within the program to email a request for a local talk show to be added to the program and the developer did so within the hour.

While I love this program, there are several features that I would like to see added to it. (while there is a free “lite” version available, future improvements will be made to the $4.99 paid version.) Some of these features include the ability to sort and edit the shows that are displayed, the ability to view a particular streaming station’s schedule, and the ability to prioritize the stations that are used to play streaming audio based on their proximity to your location.  Since the program is dependent on the radio station database maintained by RadioShowLinks.com, the ability to log into your account there and access programs directly from their site as well.  According to the developer, how best to more tightly interface with the site (including favorites) is in the works.

All in all, I would already give this application 4 stars out of 5 and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys using talk radio to keep their finger on the pulse of America.  While some detractors might criticize the $4.99 price of this app in light of the fact that the broadcast of these talk shows are free, those same people would not hesitate spending $5.00 on a radio that contained a display showing when and where they could pick up their favorite talk show.

This review written by David Eaton

I will have a full review of this AWESOME Chillingo arcade title once it hit the store, but I just can’t say enough good things about it.  Killing aliens and using a jet-pack has never been so much fun.  Had to give you guys a little teaser.  It’s like knowing a really cool secret or having some tremendous news.  You just got to share or you’ll pop!  If you want to know more, check out the preview and promo videos at Geek.com.

This free app immediately made my Must Have list.  It is the best app I have seen for finding those great bargains in the app store.  What really sets it apart is not only the push notifications, but the ability to filter each category by all sales, bargains of 50% off or more, and price drops to free.  Viewing popular apps with price drops is also cool.  The only issue I had with the app is that it doesn’t seem to have a full database.  I wanted to add the new Civilization Revolution game, for example, and it could not find it.  And when I searched for Myst, it apparently used it as a wildcats ( like *myst*) and the title was buried deep in the long list of mystery and mysterious stuff.  I’d also like to see some way to limit searches and displayed apps to only selected categories.   I am not complaining though. For a free app, it’s a bargain and very useful. Check it out.

Cleopatra is a $2 slot machine game.  It has five reels and utilizes twenty lines.  For gamblers, it probably scratched that itch.  I just didn’t have that itch though, so it didn’t do anything for me.  The graphics and sound are really nice though.  The game also offers two modes.  In one, you start with a particular balance and play until you run out of points.  In the other, you can actually submit your scores to a leader board.  As you play, if you get three or more sphynx symbols on the screen, the game gives you 15 free turns.  If you are into casinos and such, you might want to check this title out.  If not, I’d take a pass.  It isn’t going to hold the attention of non-gamblers for very long.