Android – Iphone – Applications

I’ll admit it now: Bakery Story is not a game for me. I don’t mean that I hate it; it’s perfectly respectable for what it is. However it’s a game that’s aimed at an entirely different market than myself – it’s for the casual and social gamer. You know the ones, the ones who adore Farmville on Facebook and Team Lava’s previous iOS titles such as Farm Story and Restaurant Story.

Your sole aim here is to build up the best bakery possible. There’s no real end game here. All you do is level up via attracting more customers and baking new goods. You start the game with a select few recipes unlocked with new ones unfolding as the game progresses. Each recipe is baked in real time making for an extended game experience. For example, brownies only take one minute to bake but a chocolate tart takes a full 24hrs to complete. To attract customers, you need a steady supply of baked goods to lure them in so it’s all a matter of balance. This is made even more important by the fact that once an item is finished, you have to put it on display for the customers to pick out. If it’s left too long on the hob, it goes off and becomes unusable. You can also decorate your store with various wallpaper and floor tiles as well as different furniture.

That’s about as complicated as Bakery Story gets, however. You’re also encouraged to visit other players and their bakeries where you’re able to leave tips and explore their store. At the time of writing, this was difficult to explore simply because the game has only just come out and not many players have jumped on board just yet. Looking at previous Story games however, there’ll no doubt be a booming community in time. The wall features in which you can leave messages and exchange tips will no doubt prove very useful. Bakery Story also allows you to connect with Facebook for other added bonuses.

How much fun you’ll have with Bakery Story entirely depends on how you felt about the previous Story games. It’s an extremely laid back game where not a huge amount happens. While it’s satisfying to watch your store get busier, the true satisfaction is through socialising with other players. In which case you’d be wise to recruit a few friends to the cause while you’re at it. It’s also worth noting that this is online only so be sure that you have a net connection available. For those after more thrills, though, you might want to try something more fast paced.

[ Bakery Story Review is a post from 148Apps ]

written by janyton \\ tags: bakery-story, device-reviewed, Game, Games, ipad games, Iphone, jumped-on-board, price, restaurant story, start-the-game, store, story, team lava

Toshiba has been happily making various electronics like HDTVs and laptop computers for quite some time. While they do not have a smartphone out that can compete with the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S or HTC EVO 4G, they have been making their mark on other industries. One such product that Toshiba has been known to make quite well are netbooks. Today, the company has announced two new netbooks dubbed the NB500 and NB520.

The Toshiba NB500 netbook features a 10.1-inch 1024 x 600 LED backlit display, an Intel Atom N455 procesoor, 2GB of DDR3 RAM, 250GB HDD and a 10-hour battery. The Toshiba NB520, on the other hand, features the same specs but gets built in Harman Kardon speakers for top notch sound quality in addition to a beefed up Intel Atom N550 processor.

Toshiba has been quite about the price and release date of the NB500 and NB520 netbooks but they assure us they will both be shipping in Q1 2011 which means it won’t be long until we can get our hands on these devices.

written by simonivan \\ tags: industries, intel, intel-atom, n455, n550, nb500, netbook, price, samsung-galaxy, speakers, toshiba, toshiba-unveils

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.

[ Backbreaker 2: Vengeance Review is a post from 148Apps ]

written by margs \\ tags: backbreaker, backbreaker 2, celebrations, gameplay, Games, keeps-it-simple, overall-rating, price, rating, replay-value

Pirates Life is quite a fun little distraction. It doesn’t feel like a game worthy of spending hours with, at least not all at once, but it is a game that sneaks up on you. One that you find yourself playing every now and then when you fancy a break from your usual regular games.

In Pirates Life you’re a captain of a pirate ship who has been thwarted by stronger pirates. It’s down to you to gradually accrue more money and strength in order to defeat the almighty pirates who have stolen your ship. Accruing money is done via capturing rival ships. This is done by choosing your foe and firing cannons at them. It’s all quite a simple interface but it’s appropriately charming. Firing cannons is done by swiping your fingers across them and waiting for them to fire. Invading ropes are flung in your direction too which must be destroyed by slicing your finger across the rope. In order to acquire more wealth, you have to send your own crew members across to the rival ship. This is also done by a swipe of your finger.

All these swiping of fingers make for an occasionally frantic but compelling experience. In a way, Pirates Life is a form of tower defense game but with more intense action.

There’s also an upgrade system whereby you can buy more cannons, faster reload times, stronger cannons, more hit points and so on. This adds a nice tactical edge to proceedings as you can choose to have a strong offense but a weak defense or the other way round.

The auto save functionality within Pirates Life makes it all the easier to dip and out of and the GameCenter support is very welcome, with a series of achievements and leaderboards on offer. For a mere 99c, Pirates Life is jolly good fun indeed.

[ Pirates Life Review is a post from 148Apps ]

written by nimajuni \\ tags: $0.99, Application, device-reviewed, dreamix-studio, Iphone, iphone apps and games, overall-rating, pirates life, price, review

You don’t necessarily need to know what a kumquat is in order to enjoy smushing it (it’s a South Asian fruit that looks like an orange but smaller). At least, that’s the premise of Kumquat Attack, which finds you mashing, exploding and otherwise torturing the fruit in several clever ways. Though the game is entertaining, the bland visuals and spotty controls may fail to hold some players’ attentions.

Kumquat Attack is a physics-based challenge, requiring players to use one or more steel balls in various Rube Goldberg contraptions that end in the destruction of the kumquats. Early stages are simple, requiring players only roll the ball down a hill into the kumquat or bouncing it off a trampoline onto the unsuspecting fruit, but later stages quickly grow more complex. Some challenges may involve building scaffolds across pits or making the ball hit scissors which will in turn snip a rope and drop a weight. The overall experience feels like a rather entertaining game of Mouse Trap.

It’s a pity then that the app is about as visually impressive as the board game, with boring level design and drab colors making the whole exercise feel ho-hum. The title lacks any real character or charm, and simply slapping a pair of eyes on a piece of fruit doesn’t make the title engaging. Most of the rest of the presentation in menu designs and stars awarded for passing stages feels ripped straight out of Chillingo titles, so it’s a shame that Attack Kumquat didn’t bother to copycat the bright, detailed visuals that make those other games pop. While you may be able to get away with more boring design on the iPhone the lack of flash really stands out on Apple’s tablet.

Also troubling is the spotty control scheme, which further hamstrings the game. Multitouch is poorly implemented, with some objects struggling to ever go where you want them or set at the proper length or angle, and wonky physics causes pieces of equipment such as ropes to spin uncontrollably, which is problematic when you’re trying to attach a weight to the end.

Attack Kumquat has a very cool set of base mechanics which are, for the most part, implemented quite well. Figuring out complex methods to destroy a harmless fruit can be tons of fun, and when the game is clicking on all cylinders it’s a treat. Unfortunately, the sub-par visuals and uncooperative controls all work against the game, and all it takes is a little bit of frustration to send players scampering for another title. Still, if you can look past those faults you’ll likely have some good fun with this one.

[ Attack Kumquat Review is a post from 148Apps ]

written by Robertm \\ tags: attack kumquat, attack-kumquat, Game, Games, Iphone, price, though-the-game