Sunday, 30 December 2012
Brain Squares : Give Your Brain a Work Out
How to Play: (the in game tutorial does a good job at explaining too so reading this section may not be necessary)
Choose a level and a difficulty.
The purpose of the game is to alter the play area to match the bottom pattern on the screen.
Tap a square(rectangle) to change it's color.
Tap an adjacent square, or a square that is on the same row, or a square that is in a row diagonal to it. If the second valid square you tapped is not directly next to the first one, then all squares in between will change colors, regardless if they had already changed colors.
You may undo a move, or restart that stage with two buttons on the bottom of the screen.
Once you have made your second move, the game continues on from that second tile in play.
I admit that I was stumped a few times even in early levels set on easy. Brain Squares gameplay and music reminds me of the Lavender Town Gym of the Pokemon series. Platforms also play a role in that gym. Back to the smartphone application.While playing this game I was also reminded of the Chinese board game "Go", which I learned not too long ago from some Chinese elders. Luckily the early levels of Brain Squares are not as experienced as elders and let you slide with some easier tasks.
Although the music isn't bad, having an updated sound might help the app a little. Also, it would be nice to be able to play the game in landscape mode(not necessary, but it would be nice). I haven't reached later levels so I cannot say how forgiving they will be.
With between 10,000 and 50,000 downloads and over 100 reviews, the smartphone app has an average rating of 4.7 on Google Play. That is quite a good rating. The developers at BrainIcon did a good job on this one. It's creativity and simplicity sometimes surprises you, or at least me. Check out this brainteaser, just don't hurt yourself.
Saturday, 29 December 2012
Apps like a Swiss Watch
Instead of throwaway apps we could have beautifully graphicced Ico like apps on every mobile device. So why not start with alarm clock apps then?
Monday, 24 December 2012
Escape the car cheats
Escape the Car items
- The flashlight can be found in the console in the middle of the two front seats.
Screwdriver-On the left of the back seat.
Utility Knife-Underneath the driver's seat beneath the mat. Use this to find and remove the Escape the Car Wiring Guide on the car's ceiling in the rear.
Key: In the back seat compartment you'll locate the cigarette lighter, take off the cap to find it.This key unlocks the glove box, where you'll find electrical tape and batteries that power the torch.
How to power the Car
- The wiring guide shows you how to hotwire the car. The screws beneath the steering wheel must be removed with a screwdriver, then connect the red, blue, gray and green wires by clicking on them. The connections must be secured with electrical tape. The pink, white and yellow wires should not be connected.
Finishing Your Escape
- Examine the dashboard on the car. The "E" on the fuel gauge is circled, and the speedometer is frozen at 40 mph. These are the clues that you'll need to get into the boot of the car. Enter them into the hidden keypad: Cut the straps on the small center seat console using the utility knife, then remove the seat to reveal a keypad. Type in "E40" and press the "Enter" key to access the trunk. The torch will light it up, use it to light up , but also to break the cracked light on your left, earning a car key. Placed the key in the ignition, and the car powers on; operate the trunk release beneath the steering wheel. Climb out through the trunk and escape from the car.
Friday, 14 December 2012
GarageBand still riding high in the charts
As a way to express yourself musically Guitar Hero and other games like it are arguably still just a fond memory for many , most serious musicians returning to their roots with traditional music equipment like Numark at Musician's Friend and yet the music app to rule them all still continues a very strong showing in the app charts. So why is GarageBand still so popular?
Admittedly the amount of proper musos hanging up their axes to make music ojn GarageBand is probably few and far between. But then again you've got to consider the sheer amount of audio post processing that goes into most modern music. A quick listen to Radio One's Live Lounge will show you how unrecognisable most songs are without the benefit of PC enhancement. But GarageBand doesn't even give you that enhancement, it is quite simply a curio piece that brings not only hobbyist musicians but every type of person to its download screen eventually.
Look at the popularity of Xfactor as a means for complete amateurs with Binge Drunk Karaoke voices still trying to make the big time. The fact is that even a totally tone deaf person is still moved by music, and GarageBand as a gateway to music of some sort resonates with most people's aesthetic principles for that reason-that's why it still rides high in the appcharts and will do for some time to come.
Simple Remote Choppers for great stunting
A remote controlled helicopter with 4 engines to enable it to move independently on a variety of axis.
Are Quadrocopters hard to fly?
The Quadcopter we tried from Paramount Zone was so simple. Fifteen minutes of low level flying on a lesser power setting soon had us getting a bit braver and experimenting with high level stuff. We're still not confident or competent enough to try out the more complicated stunts, but they're certainly possible with this little beauty.
But can I crash it?
With the spate of bad weather that we've been having we were reluctant to venture outside so our first trial flights were in a rather cramped bedroom! At first we were terrified that the outer cover or motors might smash, but even after a few inadvertant wall smashes the little Quadrocopter that could was still unscathed.
Show me the stunts!
You'll probably need someone with a little more flying hours under their belt to see the full range of flips, spins, 180's, barrel rolls and any other aerial acrobatics that you can imagine, as i'm still very much learning. The great thing about the quadrocopter from Paramount Zone is that it really has a lot of possibilities , while I'm not yet an Evil Knievel or a Red Baron of the remote flying world this remote controlled wonder really makes all the funky stuff quite possible.
Some Stats
Expect to fly up to about a hundred metres away with the four channel controller easily able to keep the beast under control. Even a little bit of night flying is possible with the led lights along the wing struts probably scaring the neighbours into thinking that the little green men were inbound.
Who wants one for Christmas then?
What really impressed us about the quadrocopter was it's sheer elegant simplicity. Admittedly letting my four year old son have a go (Be gentle with that "stick" apparently means ram it to full throttle straight away in his book!) was a bit ambitious. but realistically I would say about a 6 year old and upwards would be able to handle the flying . Of course intricacy of flight can only improve with practice and that's where the ability to govern the power output comes in. 20% for novice flying making way for 100% seat of your pants loop the loops and more.
Avoid Santa's Sleigh in high level flight and you should have years of progressive aerial craziness with the quadrocopter.
iPhone 5's low light level problems
The reason for this is that even though the signal processor used by the magnificent A6 chip should bring improvement, it will mostly only do so for the iPhone 5's native camera app. Most third party camera apps remain unsupported. If you regularly use Camera+ v3.5.1, Pro Camera v3.81 or ScoutCamera you're in luck as they too benefit from the improved low light level function. Apple doesn't necessarily limit apps like Instagram from using the low light function but a substantial app rehaul is needed to take advantage. Whether you're taking photos from underneath your great personalized umbrellas or on a moonlit night,low light photos are a great feature of the new Apple phone, now it's about time that every app had access.
Thursday, 13 December 2012
Smart Volume Control : The way it should be
I'm sure you've navigated through your phone looking for sound settings and wondering, how come the sound settings aren't all here, or why is it separated from the other sounds? Up next for discussion is the Smart Volume Control app developed by Direct-Services s.r.o. It's amazingly large number of features and adjustments are all greatly organized to make your sound settings incredibly more convenient. The smartphone app is very appropriately named. With all it's functions it's clear that someone or a group of people put a lot of thought into the design of the app. The great detail put into the user interface such as menu's and buttons also reflect the amount of work that was put into SVC. While trying out or using this app you'll think to yourself, this is the way the volume settings should be. Easy, smooth, natural, practical. You can check out the video below instead of read the whole short review.
Choose from many widgets for the specific use(s) that you would want. |
It doesn't make sense for most apps to be running in my notification bar while I'm not using my phone. With Smart Volume Control, that's not the case. It's good to be able to quickly get to adjust the smart volume controls. With a pull down of the notification bar, a tap on the app, and a slide you get all these main controls. It is just loaded with features. Not only does it have options that you want, there are probably some useful features that you haven't even thought of. The keyword here is "useful". This brief review will not cover all the features in details.
Even the setting up the alarm is more convenient then my default alarm. |
-Different Profiles
-Automatic settings by Location (work, home,church)
-Letting events change your settings for non recurring event(s)
-Have the volume change as your speed changes
-Have the volume turn off if your headphones are taken out on accident (or on purpose by babies).
Deep Space Lander : Outer Space Chronicles
This here app we got for review today is Deep Space Lander . It's a new app on Google Play. Fly and navigate a spaceship to collect the purple orbs needed to unlock the landing pad. You have limited fuel and using your shield uses up some fuel. The shield is used to protect you from meteors/asteroids and is temporary. You will have to wait 20 seconds before using the shield again. A warning will come up when an asteroid is close (sometimes the warning comes too late or I'm just too slow to react and press the shield). Once in a while there is no hope as the commit hits your ship right after the warning signal. This occurs more often when you are towards the top of the screen and don't have a great view above you to see that a rock is coming. I guess that's how to play and an introduction up in one besides the thruster button. The graphics and user interface/menu are really well done. Details are pixel smooth, no pixels apparent.
Unlike older retro styled games, the thruster mechanics here work a little differently. The thrusters are a little weaker and it's harder to change your momentum. This makes it very challenging (even on stage one). The ship is very delicate, but parts of your landing legs may touch the earth/ground. I doubt the shield my aid you in coming in contact with the land. I don't know who opens the landing areas, or why you need to collect the glowing purple things. Perhaps they can be explained in future updates. Although they aren't important for the suspense of dodging terrain.
Wednesday, 12 December 2012
Gambling on Facebook?
Zynga Elite Slots |
In fact Zynga seems to be trying to redesign the way that ambling works and create a whole new app genre at the same time. Following on their roots with a lot of other collaborative multi-player stuff in the past they're now bringing us collaborative multi-player gambling.
This social gambling is no modern day bingo for Facebook. No , Zynga Elite Slots is a full blown all bells and whistles, manga,e ,boss fight containing multiplayer extravaganza. Different slot machines will include House of Fangs, Enchanted Forest and more. Adding a bit of polish to gaming is the choice of an avatar with different abilities.
The multiplayer side of things comes into play with all players contributing to a shared points pool that will eventually trigger a boss fight. Stats are weighted in your favour if you've added more points to the pool and you'll stand a greater chance of beating the boss. Minigames aplenty, in game chat and present giving make this a slot machine out of the ordinary. It's doubtful whether Zynga will contribute any of their millions to real world Zynga Elite Slots winnings, so don't expect to be splashing out on luxury at the Cohiba Cigars Sale!
Monday, 10 December 2012
AquaDude: Submerges for iOS and Android OS
Are you a fan of Aquaman or Aqualad? Ever played those older games where you fly an aircraft up and down while traveling to the right? Well, the smartphone app, AquaDude , is like a combination of the two. Your character can breath underwater(or hold his breath forever) and is constantly moving to the right of your screen. Your job is to tap or hold the screen to make him go up. Let go of the screen and he starts to come down. Maneuver around obstacles such as a "4-eyed megalodon sharks, supercharged electric eels, flaming torpedo piranhas, deadly blowfish and floating explosive mines". (I couldn't have said that better myself so I quoted it from the Google Play description.) It's also FREE.
Actually the official description does a great job at explaining the game I'm not sure reading anything here will help you as much or be as enticing. The screen is your button. That's simple, but not easy. AquaDude is really difficult for me to play. It's a one level game with many achievements depending on how far you get. Collect the purple power ups to get one of four boosts:an underwater scooter, a purple fire breathing seahorse, a little submarine, and a fast swimming dolphin. These four boosts give you an extra life/or shield to protect you so that you may hit and object going at that speed and survive. You may also purchase some items using shells you've gathered. Other power ups include a seashell magnet, a multiplier, and extra meters to start with.
Vortex Gaming is the name of the developer. This is a fresh new smartphone application. AquaDude is FREE and available on Google Play for Androids and on iTunes for Apple products. It even has a 3D trailer that can act as the (non ingame) intro to the game.
Pop up fishes are usually bad for you in underwater games and here it is no different. |
Roborunner : Retro Styled Gaming
Maybe someday the Android logo or Android Mascot could take on an adventure like this someday. Until then, download this Android app from the developers at Linear Smile. The smiling probably won't come until you beat a stage. There are 30 stages to beat. Also, you can't shoot the enemy robots. Your weapon fires left and right to hit cages or the fence-like blocks. After a few hits the block will disappear. After a while, the block will come back.
A few Tips on how to play.
-Chain platforms cannot be landed upon. You can walk across them, but not land on them from a fall or ladder.
-The bottom part of ladders don't seem to have a platform for your character to walk across, but it does.
-Don't land on spikes, you'll die.
It's a fairly new smartphone application so it still has it's bugs on the devices I've tried it out on. For the Xperia Play the app force closes by selecting the first available level(after it tells me I cannot access the level yet, but it's clearly available). I continued testing on a Samsung Galaxy S II and got further than that but still ran into problems. Pressing the "settings" android button automatically causes the game to close. If I don't press that button (located really close to the lower right on-screen controls), then the game crashes when I die.
According to the Google Play listing, there is a Premium Version for $0.99 that "has no ads and allows you to adjust the difficulty level and the gameplay speed." The description also states that "Both versions contain HD resources for tablets." I'm sure they will appreciate your feedback for developmental purposes. So go and download your copy from Google Play and play. With 3 worlds to conquer, how far can you get?
Thursday, 6 December 2012
How the FT app migrated to multiple platforms
- Why migrate to other app platforms
- The difficulties of HTML 5
- Is Windows 8 valid for earning money rather than the traditional app route?
- The inherent difficulties of programming for many platforms
FT app aims
• Single page experience and responsive
layout/interactions.
• Single code base across platforms.
• Download data only, render client-side.
• Offline functionality.
• Regular app releases straight to the user.
History
• iOS app - May 2010.
• Web app – May 2011.
app.ft.com
• Over 3 million downloads.
Platforms
• iOS first because of readership.
• Android next, performance necessitated
wrapper.
• Windows 8.
• Chrome for Android.
Benefits of web for the FT
• No need to be subject to rule changes in
an app store.
• Users see new features/fixes immediately,
update is automatic.
• One code base, multiple target platforms.
The Windows App Architecture
• HTML/CSS/JavaScript wrapper app.
• Written with Visual Studio (Windows Store
integration).
• Contains iframe pointing at the web app.
• Wrapper communicates with web app via
postmessage.
• OS integration via Windows Library for JS.
How we got there
• First targeted IE10 to test/adapt the web
app.
• Changes to the web app were front-end
only.
• Created an installable wrapper with OS
integration.
Changes to the web app
• Update Prefixed CSS.
• Implement IndexedDB support
(see Matt Andrews’ labs.ft.com tutorials).
• Abstract and improve touch handling
and scrolling (ftscroller library).
• Many small improvements to codebase.
Where Windows was hard
• Documentation of Windows App APIs and
processes was poor to start with but has
since improved massively.
• Support for multiple builds of a single app
targeting different equipment
manufacturers is tricky.
Lessons learned
• Simple test cases to pin down weird
behaviour in a simple environment save
time., especially when documentation is
scarce.
• The better abstracted your code is the less
time it will take to reach a new platform.
• It takes time to learn new IDEs.
Tuesday, 4 December 2012
Pudding Monsters- new game from Cut the Rope Studio
Zeptolab announces Pudding Monsters.
The studio behind Cut the Rope, that has been downloaded more than 250 million times - and is due a new version on Android soon- is about to release a new casual puzzle game.
When is Pudding Monsters Released?
It will hit the market on December 20.
Expected to be massively popular with associated plush toys and other gaming related merchandise PM should be as popular as Cut the Rope, at least according to Zeptolabs prediction.
What do you do in the new Zeptolabs game?
The goal of the game is to get pieces of pudding to stick together and if it follows the usual quirky, graphical brilliance of their previous games it should be great. Players move the pieces of pudding around with the goal of having the pieces stick to another object or else they fall of the board and end the game.
Maximising the sound on your iPhone
Are you getting the most out of expensive headphones on an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch?
You're probably never going to get a recording studio perfect sound from your iOS device, but there are little tricks and tweaks that you can perform to maximise your iPhone bass and more (also applying to iPad and iPod etc.)
If even expensive headphones are sounding"tinny" on your iPhone there are methods to correct this there are a couple of dozen easy-to-select choices for sound equalization. iOS devices have a choice of 24 available pre-selected settings. Follow our brief tutorial below to learn how to improve the sound on your iPhone and other iDevices.
How to Find the iPhone EQ Settings
iPhone EQ Settings
Music
EQ = Equalization
EQ Window
Less Bass!
Late Night? All Right
Monday, 3 December 2012
Claymation comes to IPad
ClayJam on iPad |
We're sure that there have been quite a few stop motion games even on the iPad. But developer Fat Pebble has broken quite a few mobile gaming rules in creating this rather fun game.
Echoes of Katamari Damacy (on iOS?) are the first impressions with your clay ball having to roll downhill collecting smaller creatures until it is finally after many levels and upgrades ready to roll out as a massive marble of clay and take on the end of level large clay behemoth that is threatening the world of ClayJam.
There's continual progression with unlock after unlock following the acquisition of more clay. The world get's bigger the more you roll and this in turn allows you to purchase new Clay Creatures to roll up. Later unlocks being worth a great deal more clay when they succumb to your clay ball's stickiness.
The clay creatures are beautifully animated and definitely have a sense of personality behind them. The fact that they have been rendered and animated in Clay over a year long process is certainly a rule breaker from Fat Pebble but it really pay's off with a universal appeal.
As you gouge away clay to guide your ball down, aside from the lack of tactility you would honestly feel a childhood twinge at the fun to be had with playdough. Hopefully in future updates we'll see a sandbox mode and a way to build your own clay creatures on iOS.
Winter Clothes for Gamers
Perfect Gamer's Clothing? Onesies from Funzee |
Well when I say perfect I mean for indoor use only as I don't think that she'd want to be wandering around outside in her Onesie no matter how stylish it is!
The retro onesie from Funzee is a comfortable form fitting item of clothing that makes it really easy to mooch around the house. And as for fitting in with a mobile lover's lifestyle it's got all the pockets you could possibly want for any manner of mobile phones. The material it is made from is very comfortable and stretchy and having a bunch of kids clambering around trying to grab the family IPad or "borrow" her mobile phone for a bit of YouTube action; you'd expect those muddy hands and generally kiddy mess to really make the Onesie a state. It's testament to its robustness that no dirt has shown up at all.
Have a great gaming winter and if you're fearing those icy blasts you certainly know where to get your lounge-around at-home clothing from.
Clash of Clans Christmas Tree
I've tried to remember the name of the player whose camp the tree was in but can't at the moment. If you're one of those players that are lucky enough to have this seasonal tree in your village then we'd all love to know what it does.
I've taken a still on the IPad to provide proof that the Clash of Clans Christmas tree actually exists, now to just find out what rewards can actually be obtained from it!
Clash of Clans Christmas Tree |
Saturday, 1 December 2012
Paintrala - Drawing app
Do you like drawing on your phone? Want to share it with others and maybe look at what other have done? With Paintrala - SNS for painting you can do just that. It's a bit similar to painting on your desktop computer. With the app you can see what drawings are currently trending, or the pic of the day, or browse through other popular drawings. You may even upload a photo from your gallery, or take a photo using your smartphone's camera, then edit it. Photo effects may be applied. There's different drawing tools such as a brush and pen and more. Pinch and zoom are important and works really smooth. Use layers to draw over your pictures. I believe the app is still fairly new, but it's population of users have been growing. Some of the work really amaze me.
There's two ways to undo the last drawing motion. Either tap the undo button or draw on a second part of the screen while the first drawing is still in motion. I just used my fingers for testing, but I suggest you use a stylus. Not all stylus' will work on a Samsung device. I tried using my Nintendo DS stylus with no results. This is probably due to the screen using electric signals from your fingers so only special stylus's will work. The only small suggestion I have for the smartphone app is to have the default pictures be available for use (because I deleted one of mine because my work wasn't satisfying). In other words, make it so they cannot be permanently deleted.
Paintrala is currently is only available for Samsung devices. Other devices can download the app, but there's a good chance it won't work perfectly. I've tried it on my Sony Xperia Play and was unable to draw. However, I was able to successfully run the application on a borrowed Samsung Galaxy S 2. Share your work with others or let other share with you. Experience and see what other works of art are being created by artists around the world. There is even a contest that you can participate in. I am not an artist, but maybe you are. If so, then the developers at AltamiraSoft made this for individuals like you. Even if you are not an artist, you may be able to enjoy it or learn that you are not that bad at it. Give it a try and let your artistic skills run wild and free. Who knows how many likes you may get.