Developer: The Iconfactory
Price: $1.99
Version Reviewed: 1.0
Graphics / Sound Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Game Controls Rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars
Gameplay Rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars
Re-use / Replay Value Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Ramp Champ, a reimagined skee ball game from DS Media Labs and Iconfactory finally showed up in the App Store today. Rarely have we seen such anticipation for a game from indie developers. But then again, building anticipation for an app is something that DS Media Labs and Iconfactory have done so well in the past, why not do it again? Unfortunatly to me, the build up doesn’t match the pay-off.
The Iconfacotry have created such fantastic iPhone title as Twitterrific, and Frenzic. In addition they have designed some amazing iPhone apps for other companies. DS Media Labs have brought us such games as Light Riders and the uh, how to put it, not so well received Eminem’s Relapse. They are mainly a third party app development house producing iPhone apps for other companies. These two companies have teamed up and developed Ramp Champ.
Ramp Champ is a recreation of the boardwalk classic Skee Ball. The game where you roll balls up a long ramp onto a slanted board with holes in it, each with point values. In most skee ball games, and Ramp Champ included, you get tickets. The more points you score, the more tickets you get. This game re-creates the classic by giving some new and imaginative targets to the end of the ramp. These include clowns, a very nice re-creation of Space Invaders, sea creatures, and even icons. In addition, there are currently two add on packs that you can buy, each including 2 new games, for $0.99 each via in-app purchasing.
The game builds on the basic game play by having not only points and tickets, but also trophies and goals for each different game. The goals include targets for the number of points or knocking down a certain number of a kind of target on the game.
With this game you can also redeem the tickets you earn for in game trinkets, just like you can on the boardwalk. This is surely to be a hit with those gamers that like to gather prizes.
I do have some reservations though. For one, I’m not really convinced that a game like this translates well to the iPhone. The control area is so small that it takes quite a while to get used to rolling a ball accurately. Even after many plays it’s still a little iffy. That said, the controls, as implemented, are good, just a bit cramped for the screen size.
Second while there is no doubt that this game is beautifully created, once I fully explored the game and it’s design, I wasn’t too interested in continuing. While I don’t think it’s boring, there’s just not that much to explore or look forward to unless you are interested in gathering the virtual prizes or trophies.
Finally, I wonder if some sort of social aspect would have made the game more compelling to me. While trophies don’t interest me, competition might.
Overall the game is wonderfully imaginative, beautifully designed, plays well, but unless you are really into the collection aspect, the game will likely grow a little repetitive after a few plays.
Ok… first of all, “LOL” at Song Info’s icon! I know it has zero impact on the app’s functionality, but based on the clip art icon and the screenshots you’ll see at the end of this review, it’s abundantly clear that design and aesthetics weren’t part of First Option Solutions Ltd.’s gameplan when they produced this app.
At least the icon tells you what the app is for… song info! Oh yeah, the name does that, too. If you’re obsessed with a certain song or artist or album, Song Info will help you find stuff out. Lyrics, Wikipedia entries, YouTube videos, album reviews, artist bios and photos, you name it and it’s in here. Kind of.
I say “kind of” because nothing’s actually “in” Song Info; the whole app is more like a music trivia gateway that takes a song name, album title, or artist and plugs it into a whole bunch of different websites that may or may not contain info on what you’re looking for.
The only two functions built into Song Info are “Get Current Song” and “Manual Input”. I love the Get Current Song button (press it to get info on whatever your iPod is currently playing) and I think every single music lyrics app should have one, so kudos to First Option for including this feature.
Manual Input might sound less dry if it had a crazy name like, I dunno, “Search” or something but it serves its purpose when Get Current Song isn’t what you’re looking for.
Outside of these two buttons everything else is done through third party websites that are presented via an in-app browser. Depending on what you’re looking for, Song Info may be serving up pages that range from smallish lyrics sites like Lyrics Mode and Absolute Lyrics to bigger commercial sites like Artist Direct, RollingStone, BBC Music, and even MySpace.
Having so many sites living in one app isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it’s not what I’d call great either because it means a lot of waiting. Some of the sites have a mobile-friendly version that you’re presented with, but in a lot of cases you’re getting full web pages with all the ads and other crap that surrounds the content you’re digging for, plus the quality of info from source to source can get pretty spotty. This definitely has an effect on what kind of experience you’ll have with this app, and when you have to constantly pinch and scroll to get what you seek the whole things loses some luster.
According to the iTunes description, Song Info lets you plug your query into 21 different websites. Does this excite you? It doesn’t really excite me because the app makes no attempt to present the info in a digestible form, but I suppose it’ll do the trick if you’re simply too lazy to google whatever music is on your mind.
This app uses binaural tones to influence the brainwaves to produce different types of benefits such as relaxation, awakeness, pain relief, arousal, drowsiness, or concentration. Please read carefully before using this app.
FEATURES
- One 15-min session for pain relief
- Option to play sounds with screen turned off
RULES & TIPS
1. Listen to the complete session with a good pair of stereo headphones in a quiet & comfortable place with slightly dim lighting.
2. Avoid any possible distractions or interruptions such as phone calls. Always listen from the beginning to the end.
3. Wait a few hours before you start a new session of listening to binaural tones, regardless of the previous session being either completed or interrupted.
4. Do not operate heavy machinery or any type of vehicle under influence of this app.
IS THIS APP SAFE TO USE?
Of course! Binaural tones are carefully designed by experts, and the effectiveness has been repeatedly reported by many neurophysiologists around the world since its first reported discovery in 1839 by Heinrich Wilhelm Dove. You may refer to wikipedia for the scientific background of "Binaural Beats".
DISCLAIMER
- Do not use this app to replace doctor's prescription or if you have any medical conditions.
- The developer makes no psychological, medical, or otherwise, guarantees that listeners will benefit from the binaural tones and/or experience the effectiveness. Personal entertainment purposes only.
Airigo is a cute, fun game in which you must tap, hold and tilt to navigate your hot-air balloon to the finish line. All the while, through skies and space, you must avoid the many unique obstructions the levels hold for you.
Video of gameplay available on YouTube at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaK16y_e9Wo
Features:
* Simple and easy to use player controls
* 30 levels to play on
* 3 additional unlockable modes, each adding hours of extra gameplay
* 5 different players to choose from
* Addictive gameplay that'll have you wanting for "just one more go…"
* Local high-score system that gives you an "I can do better" feeling, providing much additional replayability
* Original sound track
Upcoming in version 2.0:
Added: Online global highscore system
Added: Tilt sensitivity option
Added: Extra detail to background texture
Updated: Players and the finish line are now appropriately flipped in mirror mode
Updated: Finish line texture
Updated: Tutorials to have sky background
Updated: Red player's texture
Updated: Score font is now yellow when a new highscore is achieved
Updated: Texture of "popped" back button
Fixed: Blue "launch" balloon's collision hull is now a better fit
Fixed: 0% progress is no longer displayed as "00%"
Fixed: Rotating balloons in mirror mode are now correctly positioned
Fixed: Minor HUD issues, such as jittering
Fixed: White lines on "Retry" and "Back" buttons
Fixed: Sharp edges on some font characters
Fixed: Score positions in level complete/failed screens
Fixed: Credit balloon had wrongly styled text
What’s New
Added: Online global highscore system
Added: Tilt sensitivity option
Added: Extra detail to background texture
Updated: Players and the finish line are now appropriately flipped in mirror mode
Updated: Finish line texture
Updated: Tutorials to have sky background
Updated: Red player's texture
Updated: Score font is now yellow when a new highscore is achieved
Updated: Texture of "popped" back button
Fixed: Blue "launch" balloon's collision hull is now a better fit
Fixed: 0% progress is no longer displayed as "00%"
Fixed: Rotating balloons in mirror mode are now correctly positioned
Fixed: Minor HUD issues, such as jittering
Fixed: White lines on "Retry" and "Back" buttons
Fixed: Sharp edges on some font characters
Fixed: Score positions in level complete/failed screens
Fixed: Credit balloon had wrongly styled text Airigo
Airigo Lite is a cute, fun game in which you must tap, hold and tilt to navigate your hot-air balloon to the finish line. All the while, through skies and space, you must avoid the many unique obstructions the levels hold for you.
Video of gameplay available on YouTube at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaK16y_e9Wo
Features:
* Simple and easy to use player controls
* 3 levels to play on
* Addictive gameplay that'll have you wanting for "just one more go…"
* Local high-score system that gives you an "I can do better" feeling, providing much additional replayability
* Original sound track
Upcoming in version 2.0:
Changed: Existing 3 levels to be unique to the Lite version
Changed: Available player from red to blue
Added: Two new extra levels, unique to Lite version
Added: 3 extra unlockable modes, each adding loads more gameplay
Added: In-game button linking to Airigo on the App Store
Added: Tilt sensitivity option
Added: Extra detail to background texture
Updated: Players and the finish line are now appropriately flipped in mirror mode
Updated: Finish line texture
Updated: Tutorials to have sky background
Updated: Red player's texture
Updated: Score font is now yellow when a new highscore is achieved
Updated: Texture of "popped" back button
Fixed: Blue "launch" balloon's collision hull is now a better fit
Fixed: 0% progress is no longer displayed as "00%"
Fixed: Rotating balloons in mirror mode are now correctly positioned
Fixed: Minor HUD issues, such as jittering
Fixed: White lines on "Retry" and "Back" buttons
Fixed: Sharp edges on some font characters
Fixed: Score positions in level complete/failed screens
Fixed: Credit balloon had wrongly styled text
What’s New
Changed: Existing 3 levels to be unique to the Lite version
Changed: Available player from red to blue
Added: Two new extra levels, unique to Lite version
Added: 3 extra unlockable modes, each adding loads more gameplay
Added: In-game button linking to Airigo on the App Store
Added: Tilt sensitivity option
Added: Extra detail to background texture
Updated: Players and the finish line are now appropriately flipped in mirror mode
Updated: Finish line texture
Updated: Tutorials to have sky background
Updated: Red player's texture
Updated: Score font is now yellow when a new highscore is achieved
Updated: Texture of "popped" back button
Fixed: Blue "launch" balloon's collision hull is now a better fit
Fixed: 0% progress is no longer displayed as "00%"
Fixed: Rotating balloons in mirror mode are now correctly positioned
Fixed: Minor HUD issues, such as jittering
Fixed: White lines on "Retry" and "Back" buttons
Fixed: Sharp edges on some font characters
Fixed: Score positions in level complete/failed screens
Fixed: Credit balloon had wrongly styled text Airigo Lite
Ramp Champ, a reimagined skee ball game from DS Media Labs and Iconfactory finally showed up in the App Store today. Rarely have we seen such anticipation for a game from indie developers. But then again, building anticipation for an app is something that DS Media Labs and Iconfactory have done so well in the past, why not do it again? Unfortunatly to me, the build up doesn’t match the pay-off.
With this game you can also redeem the tickets you earn for in game trinkets, just like you can on the boardwalk. This is surely to be a hit with those gamers that like to gather prizes. 
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