Android – Iphone – Applications

Sega’s back with another Genesis classic on iOS. Next up is Shinobi III: Revenge of the Ninja Master, the action-platformer that has you controlling Joe Musashi, ninja extraordinaire, who is out to destroy the Neo Zeed crime syndicate, yet again. His main weapon is the use of throwing shurikens, though you also have a close-range slash attack, and a midair dive kick. Of course, your most powerful weapon is a supply of limited-use ninjitsu, that include a screen-clearing blast, enhanced jumping ability, a lightning shield, and a suicide blast that does extreme damage to on-screen enemies, but costs you your life. You might be wondering what the use of this attack is, but it also respawns you in the same spot with full health and an additional ninjitsu, which is a huge help against tricky bosses; this includes most of the bosses in the game, however, and as this is an old-school Genesis game, you have a limited selection of continues to get through the game’s 7 levels.

While Revenge of Shinobi may be the more notable game in the Shinobi series, Shinobi III might just be better, being much looser, faster, and more acrobatic than Revenge of Shinobi was. I always had a problem with Revenge of Shinobi’s pace, as I never quite felt like a ninja; in this game, you definitely get to feel like the kind of acrobatic killing machine that a ninja should be. Shinobi III is especially notable for its music, composed by Yuzo Koshiro, who is most known for his work with Sega, especially the Streets of Rage and Shinobi series. The upbeat electronic work he provided for the game is well worth wearing headphones for. Sega’s iOS emulator is still a fantastic piece of work, with the game never lagging or slowing down on newer devices.

The controls will be hit or miss for many. If you despise virtual d-pads, or didn’t like the controls in Sega’s other iOS Genesis games, then you’ll likely not start loving them here. While the button controls work well enough as there’s no use of buttons simultaneously (which is what sunk the iOS version of Gunstar Heroes), the experience is overall not as accurate as physical controls, and when moments that require quick reflexes come into play, you may become frustrated with the game. If you can, play this on the iPad (though it is not a native game); the controls are slightly too large there, but are at least more accurate than on the smaller screen.

Shinobi III is a very fun action game that holds up well to this day, and while the controls are an occasional nuisance, they do not detract enough to take away from the game’s action fun. Even if you’ve never played it, this one is worth picking up to relive the Genesis era in some little way.

[ Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master Review is a post from 148Apps ]

written by iieevvn1 \\ tags: $2.99, Application, controls, device-reviewed, Game, genesis, gunstar heroes, life, ninja, overall-rating, revenge, sega, shinobi, shinobi 3, work

Immediately Cardboard Castle catches your eye. Its visuals are truly luscious with a delightful, child like hand drawn style that reminds you of a picture book rather than a game. Indeed, the entire game feels like a title that you could play alongside your children working your way through each short but sweet level. That’s not to say that it doesn’t hold value for adult gamers too.

The idea behind the adorable graphics is simple – players must help the brave Knight across the screen by overcoming various obstacles. These range from the obviously solved such as cutting things down with axes to more intriguing puzzles that require you to guide bulls towards gates and switching day to night at numerous junctures. The imagination behind each puzzle is quite clever at times with the ‘paper’ needing wetting as well as being put on fire at times.

Controlling the game is fairly simple. You simply tap on one object then tap it on the object you wish to interact with. For example, one of the earliest things you’ll want to do is cut open a few shapes in order to take them off the background of the screen. The puzzles start out fairly simple but as time goes by, they become more thought provoking and the learning curve gradually steepens. It’s never hugely difficult though and it only takes a couple of hours at most to complete the game. For the price though, that’s not bad value at all.

If you do find yourself stuck on a puzzle, you can use coins, that are collectable throughout each level, to unlock clues to advise you on your next move.

Cardboard Castle is pretty good fun, even despite its relatively brief length, but it does suffer from two annoyances. The camera doesn’t scroll with your finger as well as you’d like, stuttering a tad along the way. More annoyingly, there’s no Undo button so if you mess up solving a puzzle, you have to start back at the beginning again which makes levels feel a bit like trial and error. There’s also no real reason to replay it as there aren’t any global leaderboards to compare your best scores for completing levels in the fastest time.

Despite this though, Cardboard Castle is charming fun. The puzzles are entertaining to solve and throughout, you feel relaxed playing it. It’s soothing which is sometimes just what you need from a puzzle game.

[ Cardboard Castle Review is a post from 148Apps ]

written by elinepos \\ tags: Application, Iphone, learning, overall-rating

Whenever I bought my iPad in August, I couldn’t wait to try it out for note-taking in lectures and tutorials at university, which started the following month. I learnt to type before I could write, and have always been more productive with a keyboard rather than a pen. But the iPad’s Notes application didn’t suffice. I needed to draw up quick balance sheets, create simple charts and draw mathematical symbols – none of which Notes could do. So when Notes Plus by Viet Tran came into our review queue, I was eager to check it out.

Notes Plus includes a number of features not included in Apple’s default Notes application. The first is handwriting. Taking advantage of pinch-to-zoom, the application allows you to manually write when you need to, for how long you need to. By zooming in, you can write big and clear, and then zoom out again to have your text small but clear on the overall page. An in-built, size-adjustable palm rest exists, allowing to rest your palm on the screen without accidentally drawing. I don’t quite understand why you’d want to handwrite rather than type, but the tool is particularly useful when it comes to symbols and diagrams. It’s all customizable within the ‘Pen Options’ tab under Settings, where thickness, stroke opacity and stroke colour can all be changed. A sample is automatically generated, meaning you don’t have to manually try it out to make sure it suits. A Of course, typing is available also – with a two-finger tap – and also features a number of customizable settings: type, size and colour.

Notes Plus also includes a shape detection algorithm, which means that your rough drawings of squares, circles and just about any other shape are transformed into neat, perfectly proportioned shapes. Once drawn, you can move it about and re-proportion it at will. It doesn’t work for shapes below a certain size (to prevent handwriting from becoming shapes), but this can be circumvented by drawing a larger shape and then resizing it.

You’ll need to learn a number of relatively simple gestures to make the most of Notes Plus. For example, circling an object like text or a drawing will select it. Now I know you’re probably thinking: but he just said you can create a circle by drawing one. That’s true. And so is the gesture. The developers have recognized this dual aspect, offering you the choice of what you want to do. Another gesture, swipe back and forth to delete, is useful in theory but in practice needs a bit of work. More times than I wanted to, I ended up drawing lines all over my drawings rather than deleting them.

Overall, my emotions towards Notes Plus are mixed. On the one hand, it does do more than what Apple’s Notes application offers, and when it comes to productivity, the more features the better. Notes Plus includes unlimited folders and unlimited pages within notes, as well as password protection, Google Docs integration and Voice Recordings, which far surpasses the seemingly bare Notes application. But I still find myself reverting back to pen and paper in classes. The iPad is a complement, rather than a substitute, for the pen.

[ Notes Plus Review is a post from 148Apps ]

written by clamshell \\ tags: gesture, handwriting, ipad, ipad productivity, notes-plus, overall-rating, productivity, tool, viet tran

New Bust-A-Move builds upon the success of the original Bust-a-Move game, hoping to entice you into spending another $5 on the simplistic yet addictive concept. Within 30 minutes of playing it, it’s easy to realise that this is a worthy purchase for fans of the genre.

The same old gameplay is there. Players have to match up coloured bubbles with each other by firing bubbles from the bottom of the screen. Speed and accuracy are vital for quick success. There are however some twists to the tried and tested formula. Exploding bomb bubbles appear which can clear large areas of the playing area as well as the usual power ups that Bust a Move veterans will recognise such as the flame bubble and a bubble that wipes out all bubbles of the same color. There’s also now a Hold Box that means you can save bubbles for use later in the game which can be rather useful during some stages.

While the classic levels are still here, there’s a bit more variety too. Some levels turn into a form of vertical shooter with the need to fling bubbles upwards as quickly as possible in order to wipe out the foes coming at you at speed. Boss battles also feature that require a bit more thought than the average level and break up the structure a bit. Jump shots have also been added to New Bust-A-Move enabling you to fling bubbles over obstacles with a deft touch of the screen. It takes a little getting used to and it might not seem immediately useful but it will indeed come in handy in further stages of the game.

Two control systems are available whereby players can either tap where they want the bubble to go or drag and let go. A huge arrow makes it easy to see where you’re throwing but this does feel a little too easy. Previous conversions suggest where the bubble will go rather than make it so obvious and it does add to the challenge that the game can offer.

Despite this slight blip however, New Bust-A-Move is great fun. Besides the campaign mode, there’s an Endless mode to keep you hooked. Game Center support provides you with global leaderboards as well as an impressive 55 achievements to attain.

All in all, New Bust-A-Move is a sound game indeed. While it is a little easy for Bust-A-Move veterans thanks to the huge arrow directing your aim, it still provides you with just what you want and the addition of boss battles and the Jump Shot ability is bound to enthral fans.

[ New Bust-a-Move Review is a post from 148Apps ]

written by najinya \\ tags: bust-a-move, from-the-bottom, Iphone, iphone apps and games, overall-rating, rating, screen

New Bust-A-Move builds upon the success of the original Bust-a-Move game, hoping to entice you into spending another $5 on the simplistic yet addictive concept. Within 30 minutes of playing it, it’s easy to realise that this is a worthy purchase for fans of the genre.

The same old gameplay is there. Players have to match up coloured bubbles with each other by firing bubbles from the bottom of the screen. Speed and accuracy are vital for quick success. There are however some twists to the tried and tested formula. Exploding bomb bubbles appear which can clear large areas of the playing area as well as the usual power ups that Bust a Move veterans will recognise such as the flame bubble and a bubble that wipes out all bubbles of the same color. There’s also now a Hold Box that means you can save bubbles for use later in the game which can be rather useful during some stages.

While the classic levels are still here, there’s a bit more variety too. Some levels turn into a form of vertical shooter with the need to fling bubbles upwards as quickly as possible in order to wipe out the foes coming at you at speed. Boss battles also feature that require a bit more thought than the average level and break up the structure a bit. Jump shots have also been added to New Bust-A-Move enabling you to fling bubbles over obstacles with a deft touch of the screen. It takes a little getting used to and it might not seem immediately useful but it will indeed come in handy in further stages of the game.

Two control systems are available whereby players can either tap where they want the bubble to go or drag and let go. A huge arrow makes it easy to see where you’re throwing but this does feel a little too easy. Previous conversions suggest where the bubble will go rather than make it so obvious and it does add to the challenge that the game can offer.

Despite this slight blip however, New Bust-A-Move is great fun. Besides the campaign mode, there’s an Endless mode to keep you hooked. Game Center support provides you with global leaderboards as well as an impressive 55 achievements to attain.

All in all, New Bust-A-Move is a sound game indeed. While it is a little easy for Bust-A-Move veterans thanks to the huge arrow directing your aim, it still provides you with just what you want and the addition of boss battles and the Jump Shot ability is bound to enthral fans.

[ New Bust-a-Move Review is a post from 148Apps ]

written by ankitkhetarpal \\ tags: $4.99, Application, bubble, new bust-a-move, overall-rating, rating, replay-value, screen, simplistic