Stick Stunt Biker for the iPhone is a combination two very successful game genres: the stick-figure ragdoll physics game, and the side-scroller dirt bike stunt game. It’s a great example of both of these, so it’s no wonder Stick Stunt Biker is consistently in the best-selling games section of the App Store.
Like other ragdoll physics games that came before it, Stick Stunt Biker has a minimal appearance. The player controls a stick figure that rides atop a stick bike, up and down ramps and hills that are depicted as simple lines. The background resembles a city scape that has been doodled on graph paper. It’s like countless doodles bored students might have rendered before games like this came along to save them from their dreaded math classes.
The real charm comes not from the objects that populate the game, but from the realistic physics engine behind the scenes. The movement of the dirt bike as it leaps over hills is quite convincing. The best visuals happen when the player loses: if the bike doesn’t land correctly after a jump or wheelie, the stick figure will be thrown across the screen, tiny limbs flailing in all directions. (…) Read the rest of Stick Stunt Biker Easily Lands Among the Top Apps
Developer: NaturalMotion
Price: $2.99
Version Reviewed: 1.0
Graphics / Sound Rating: 4.75 out of 5 stars
Game Controls Rating: 4.3 out of 5 stars
Gameplay Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Re-use / Replay Value Rating: 4.1 out of 5 stars
Overall Rating: 4.29 out of 5 stars
Football games, in the minds of many, just don’t seem to work on the iPhone. Games like Madden and Gameloft’s NFL series sure do look neat, but they don’t seem to stand the test of time. The controls are too complex, the gameplay tends to be too choppy, and gamers long for something simpler. Enter the Backbreaker Football series. Instead of jumbling up the screen with players and plays, Backbreaker keeps it simple, concentrating on breaking tackles… and now tackling.
The original Backbreaker Football was a fun tackle breaking experience, but it grew old fairly quickly because of its lack of depth. After juking, spinning, running, and showboating around increasing numbers of defenders, there just really wasn’t much to do. The very reason sequels are created though is to take a great idea and make it bigger and better… and that’s just what Backbreaker 2 does.
Instead of limiting gamers to one play mode, Backbreaker 2 has two modes, a mode that pits you as the runner and one that pits you as the tackler. The same concept applies to both (although in the tackle mode you have to tackle a player after avoiding the defenders). The game fields are also much more complex, not only graphically, but in the amount of stuff going on. There are bonus score patches on the field, barriers that you have to hurdle over (yes, you can jump!), and objects that you have to duck under using the truck button (yes, you can truck defenders!). Even the celebrations are more complex, allowing for a base celebration and a super celebration that really pumps up your score.
At the end of the day though, after all of the glitzy graphics (they really are quite impressive), the great added moves, and the new obstacles to boost the game mechanics, the core of the game really is just about the same… not that that is a bad thing. If you were a fan of the first Backbreaker Football, you’ll absolutely love Backbreaker 2, and if you didn’t like the first one, I’d recommend giving the new one a chance, although the basics are pretty much the same. It’s obviously limited in scope, but the new additions to the game really do make the whole experience considerably better.
Developer: MacPhun
Price: $0.99
Version Reviewed: 2.0.0
Device Reviewed On: iPhone 4
iPhone Integration Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
User Interface Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Re-use Value Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Overall Rating: 3.83 out of 5 stars
In an app store overflowing with photography utilities, a new contender for the best app throne has to be something special. Perfect Photo is very nearly it.
Its success stems from something quite obvious – it offers exactly what you want without throwing in countless filters that, while fun, are ultimately frivolous. For those people who want to simply take photos and edit them on the move through the same app, this is ideal.
Perfect Photo offers 22 different tools and effects, each as useful as the last. Besides the ever useful cropping, aligning and rotating tools, you can also adjust the exposure of an image, the brightness, the color balance and you can reduce the noise in an image. Other features such as red eye reduction and spot healing also feature. All these tools are the ones that you use the most when trying to improve a photo in the likes of Adobe Photoshop so being able to do this at the touch of a button from your iOS device is extremely useful. Each of these tools can also be adjusted through a simple sliding mechanism so you can get things just how you want.
Once you’ve adjusted practical things such as this, you can then add one of six photo filters if you so wish. Again, the best ones have been picked out here. You can add a vintage effect, a pencil paint style, invert the colors of the photo and switch the photo to black and white. Each of them produce appropriate results which don’t feel overdone or pointless in any way.
Perfect Photo’s only real flaw is that it can occasionally be a little slow to preview changes. This is most noticeable once you change the preview image quality to high, although the app does warn you of this beforehand. Other than that though, it’s a really well rounded app. The ability to share via Facebook, Twitter and Flickr from within the app is convenient and all the tools are just as useful as each other. There’s no weak filler ones which are often the case with other photography apps.
In the least clever pun we could think of Zynga has got themselves a new toy by announcing today that they have acquired Newtoy Studios. Newtoy is most famous for producing Words with Friends, Chess with Friends, and We Rule for ngmoco:). While Zynga is of course the company which brought us Farmville. Newtoy has been rebranded Zynga with Friends and will continue working out of their Texas-based headquarters.
The new entity will also retain the same management, with Newtoy CEO and co-founder Paul Bettner assuming the role of VP and GM of the Zynga With Friends studio. “We’re reinventing the way people are social on their mobile devices,” Bettner. “The Zynga With Friends studio will build on the Newtoy legacy of creating approachable, highly social games that are accessible to anyone from anywhere.” His brother and co-founder, David will be working as studio director, and Michael Chow will continue his role as director of operations. So it would seem that the day-to-day work around the office will remain pretty much in place and all the familiar faces will stay in place, all that’s changing is the sign on the door. That’s all probably for the best, as there’s no reason to mess up a good thing.
So what is Zynga planning to do with the new Zynga with Friends studio? No specific plans were set but Mark Pincus, founder and CEO said, “The Games With Friends franchise is the best social game experience available on mobile today and we are excited to welcome the Newtoy team to the Zynga family. The Zynga With Friends Studio will continue to invent great mobile social game experiences for Zynga users everywhere.”
Of course we’ll keep you posted of any news coming out of the Zynga with Friends studio, but for now we’ll just say congrats to both companies and best of luck.
Developer: Murdoch Books
Price: $1.99
Version Reviewed: 1.0.0
Device Reviewed On: iPhone 4
iPhone Integration Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars
User Interface Rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars
Re-use Value Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
It’s not often that you can say a recipe app is gorgeous to look at. It’s certainly the case with Around the World in 80 Recipes though.
As the name suggests, Around the World in 80 Recipes offers 80 different recipes from across the globe. It’s the presentation that truly makes it stand out from the crowd though. Upon loading the app, you’re whisked around the world via a hot air balloon. As you traverse the globe, you can click on any of the highlighted countries and be transferred to a gloriously pretty screen which depicts a stamp of the country as well as a scene to represent the country. As you’d hope from a recipe app, it also lists themed recipes dependent on the country, such as curry in India, lamb in Greece and so forth.
It’s extremely simple to navigate Around the World in 80 Recipes and you can still navigate via conventional menus if you don’t fancy roaming around the globe on the opening screen. You can also search via recipe rather than country if you prefer.
As is becoming increasingly typical for recipe apps, you can add items to your shopping list which can then be emailed elsewhere, and you can share recipes via email, Facebook or Twitter.
The recipes themselves are simple and informative yet also sound absolutely delicious. The ones I tried were certainly tasty. The pictures that accompany them look professional and enticing – exactly what you want from such a collection.
When cooking, you want to eat something that’s visually appealing and in turn, you want a recipe app that’s nice to look at as well as useful for inspiration. Around the World in 80 Recipes is just a simply lovely recipe app that’s well worth a look if you’re a keen chef.
Stick Stunt Biker for the iPhone is a combination two very successful game genres: the stick-figure ragdoll physics game, and the side-scroller dirt bike stunt game. It’s a great example of both of these, so it’s no wonder Stick Stunt Biker is consistently in the best-selling games section of the App Store.
The original Backbreaker Football was a fun tackle breaking experience, but it grew old fairly quickly because of its lack of depth. After juking, spinning, running, and showboating around increasing numbers of defenders, there just really wasn’t much to do. The very reason sequels are created though is to take a great idea and make it bigger and better… and that’s just what Backbreaker 2 does.
Its success stems from something quite obvious – it offers exactly what you want without throwing in countless filters that, while fun, are ultimately frivolous. For those people who want to simply take photos and edit them on the move through the same app, this is ideal.
As the name suggests, Around the World in 80 Recipes offers 80 different recipes from across the globe. It’s the presentation that truly makes it stand out from the crowd though. Upon loading the app, you’re whisked around the world via a hot air balloon. As you traverse the globe, you can click on any of the highlighted countries and be transferred to a gloriously pretty screen which depicts a stamp of the country as well as a scene to represent the country. As you’d hope from a recipe app, it also lists themed recipes dependent on the country, such as curry in India, lamb in Greece and so forth. 
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