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"Ooh, the Claw!" Lives On With Part Time UFO

November 21, 2020 by RSS Feed

Part Time UFO ($3.99) by Hal Laboratory is a charming little arcade game that is sure to win you over with personality and wholesome fun. If you enjoyed other games like Orbia and Trick Shot 2, then you'll enjoy what Part Time UFO brings to the table.

While I've gone through a lot of games during my time here at AppAdvice, I think the ones that have the most charm and personality are my favorites. That's because they stand out from the rest and are rather memorable among all the competition on the App Store. While browsing the App Store for some fresh material, I stumbled on Part Time UFO being featured on the front page. I was intrigued by the visuals and concept of the game, so I had to check it out. Needless to say, I'm not disappointed.

Free

Orbia

JOX Development LLC

$2.99

Trick Shot 2

Jonathan Topf

In terms of visuals, Part Time UFO is delightful with it's Nitrome-like pixel art style. Everything is rendered in 2D but still incredibly detailed. The various character sprites, including your own little UFO alien, are cute and breathe life into the game. Part Time UFO's color palette sports a nice range of bright and vibrant hues that are appealing to the eyes. And the way the costume pieces affect your UFO are just downright adorable. Animations are smooth and fluid on my iPhone 8 Plus with no lag whatsoever. The soundtrack is also whimsical and bustling with character, and the sound effects are a nice touch on top of it all. Overall, Part Time UFO is just lovely with the visual and audio design.

Like other arcade style games out there, Part Time UFO is level-based, but you need to hold a certain number of medals in order to unlock more stages. The game starts off with a farmer transporting a load of oranges when he sees a bright and shiny unidentified object in the distance (you, the UFO alien), and ends up crashing and the cargo is everywhere. The alien shows up, and the farmer gives you a lecture about how you should earn your keep and help him get his oranges back in the truck.

You do so (this is the tutorial), and he ends up paying you, though it's clear you don't know what being paid means. But now that you got the hang of it, you're going around as an alien with a claw arm (think of the claw machine games in arcades) and looking for work through the classifieds. Each job counts as a level, and you can earn up to three medals by completing the secret objectives, which are shown before you start the job. You'll need a certain number of medals to gain access to the next page of jobs, so the objectives aren't just for show.

The controls in Part Time UFO are simple and intuitive, and there are two methods, giving players choice. The default method involves a virtual joystick in the bottom left, which you use to control the UFO's movement. The button in the bottom right allows the claw to be lowered to grab items and let whatever you have go. It's straightforward enough.

The other method lets players enjoy Part Time UFO with just one hand. The setting is in the options, and the one-handed controls are even easier. You move around by swiping your finger, and just tap anywhere on the screen to activate the claw mechanism. Personally, I felt that it's easier to move with the one-handed controls, whereas the joystick felt a tad restrictive and felt slower.

Each job involves a different task, but they all require the use of your awesome claw arms to be successful. For example, the first stage involves getting all of the orange cargo back on the truck. The second stage involves building a structure with straight pillars and a roof. And the third job has you catching a certain number of fish and loading them onto the boat.

There's opportunities to earn up to three medals on each job if you can meet all objectives. By default you earn a medal for completion, but the other two need you to pay attention to what they are and try to do them. Because of this, you may need to replay a stage a few times before you obtain all medals.

Upon completion of each job, your little alien gets paid with precious gold coin. These coins can be spent in the shop for various outfits. Some are just to look fancy, but others have some useful effects that can make jobs easier. But regardless, each new costume makes your hard-working alien cuter than ever before. And while some outfits may seem a bit pricey, you can do jobs over again for quick cash.

Play as a cute UFO with a claw that is ready to do a variety of odd jobs.

The Good

Part Time UFO is a fun and challenging little arcade game that will no doubt delight people of all ages. It's hard to resist such a lovable little alien who just wants to earn his keep on planet Earth, and hey, if you got it (that claw arm, that is), then you should work it! The sound is great, and both control methods work out well and give you choice. There's a lot of jobs to do, and the replay value here is pretty high since you need medals to unlock more jobs and there are useful outfits to obtain.

The Bad

Honestly, there's not really anything bad about this game. It's unique, has an interesting concept and execution, and works out incredibly well. In fact, I wish there were more games like this.

The verdict

I only found Part Time UFO by chance, but I'm so glad I did. The graphics are sweet and enchanting, the sound design is amazing, and the controls are responsive. It does take some practice to master the physics sometimes, but it's still enjoyable. Plus, playing dress up is fun and gives you some useful abilities.

Part Time UFO is available on the App Store as a universal download for your iPhone and iPad for just $3.99. There are no in-app purchases.

9.3

OVERALL

Graphics 10

Replayability 9

Game Controls 9.5

Sound/Music 9

Gameplay 9

$3.99

Part Time UFO

HAL Laboratory, Inc.

Source link: http://appadvice.com/reviews

credit : appadvice

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Use Everyday Objects to Get Rid of Bombs in Bombarika

November 21, 2020 by RSS Feed

Bombarika ($0.99) by Street Lamp Games is a puzzle game that you can actually win. Forget those games where you just play forever and ever — Bombarika gives you puzzles that you can solve and get an actual ending to. If you enjoyed recent games like Umiro and Vandals, then you'll like Bombarika.

When I need some relaxation time, I often turn to puzzles to calm my mind down. There's just something about the fact that they're relaxing yet stimulating that keeps me hooked. Though I feel like I've gone through and tried pretty much every type of puzzle there is on the App Store, I'm always looking out for new ones. Bombarika is just one that happens to strike my fancy this week.

$2.99

Umiro

GHI Media, LLC

$3.99

Vandals

ARTE France Apps

$4.99

Monument Valley 2

ustwo Games Ltd

Visually, Bombarika is gorgeous. The game features an isometric 3D aesthetic that's strongly reminiscent of Monument Valley, except rather than Escheresque-style dreamscapes, you're dealing with typical rooms that you'd find in a house or even a business. It's more realistic, but the art style is downright beautiful to look at and behold. I also find it to be serene and minimalistic, so it's definitely nice eye candy. Animations are smooth and fluid, so there's no lag on my iPhone 8 Plus. The music is upbeat and quirky, proving to be rather delightful to my ears. Sound effects in Bombarika are realistic as well, and pretty hilarious when the bombs go off.

Like most puzzle games, Bombarika is level-based. At the moment, the game only has 14 levels, but the developers are promising more in the future. Again, as mentioned already, Bombarika is a puzzle game with an ending. And you can actually reach the ending within 30 minutes if you're good enough, but the game can be fairly challenging. The goal in each stage is to use household objects to push the bomb out. No diffusing the bombs, just discard them somehow by getting them out of the house before they blow up. Sounds easy, right? Wrong!

In each stage, you're responsible for noticing when the bombs get dropped into place and using whatever's in the room to get the bomb out. To interact with these household objects, just tap on them, and they'll do something. You can have drawers spring out to push the bomb away, or slide a table to nudge it, rotate a table so the bomb can pass through, or activate fans and vents so the bomb gets where it needs to go. Beds and couches can be lifted up to reveal hidden doors, and standard doors can be opened with a tap. You must think fast though, because you only have a certain amount of time before they go off.

Levels here will usually need a few playthroughs before you figure out the correct order of events needed to get the bomb out, and the hints provide you with a blueprint of what needs to be done. You can also collect the blue pyramids on each stage, which act as currency in the game. You can spend these "Rikas" on new bomb types, which have unique abilities. For example, the Sapphiro gives you three more seconds, Flush Out reveals all exit points, and the Puchakaya removes the time limit. If you want a bomb but are low on Rikas, you can buy more via in-app purchase.

Don't let it blow up.

The Good

Bombarika is a fantastic little puzzle game if you're looking for something that can be completed and is also challenging. The graphics are stunning, the music is delightful, and the controls are simple enough for everyone. Even though it's a short game, you'll still need time to master all of the stages and complete it, and the different bombs add a new layer of depth to everything.

The Bad

While there's a lot I like about Bombarika, it's not perfect. I was definitely expecting more levels, because 14 isn't enough. I also noticed that sometimes it was hard to see things like slopes and depth perception in certain rooms, so I wasn't sure if an object was going to reach the bomb as I planned. And since the game is premium, I wasn't thrilled that there are still in-app purchases.

The verdict

As a sucker for puzzle games, I'm really enjoying Bombarika so far. I'm not done with the game yet, since it's taking me a few tries on some stages. However, I love the graphic style, the music is charming, and the controls are simple. I just wish that there was a bit more detail when it comes to depth perception here, and not too happy about a premium title still having in-app purchases. Still, it's a fun and challenging game that is sure to delight many puzzle fans.

Bombarika is available as a universal download on the App Store for your iPhone and iPad for just $0.99. There are in-app purchases.

8.5

OVERALL

Sound/Music 9

Gameplay 9

Game Controls 8.5

Graphics 8.5

Replayability 7.5

$1.99

BOMBARIKA

Cheetah Technology Corporation Limited

Source link: http://appadvice.com/reviews

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Pop All of the Tiny Bubbles in this Delightful Puzzler

November 21, 2020 by RSS Feed

Tiny Bubbles ($2.99) by Pine Street Codeworks is a relaxing physics-based puzzle game that lets you play at your own pace. If you enjoyed games like Level 24 and Ruya, then you'll get a kick out of Tiny Bubbles.

While I consider myself a gamer, one of my favorite genres to play are puzzles. There's nothing quite like being able to relax and keep my mind busy at the same time, you know? Though I've gone through most of the puzzle games on the App Store by now, I can't help but keep my eyes peeled for new ones that hit the market. And Tiny Bubbles is definitely one of my new favorites.

$0.99

Level 24

FLG DEVELOPMENT, OOO

$0.99

Ruya

MIRACLE TEA STUDIOS LTD

Visually, Tiny Bubbles is impressive with it's offering of a cute and whimsical cartoon style art and bright colors. And if you're colorblind? Don't worry, Tiny Bubbles has a mode for color blind players, and there's also a Dark Mode for more contrasting hues too. Everything's rendered in 2D with smooth, fluid animations that don't lag on my iPhone 8 Plus. The ambient music is atmospheric and immersive, and the sound effects of popping bubbles is zen-like.

Like most puzzle games, Tiny Bubbles is level-based. There are different chapters full of puzzles to solve, but there's an infinite mode as well. Each stage in Tiny Bubbles has a different objective that you must complete before it's considered cleared. These goals range from just popping all of the bubbles to having just enough bubbles to fill a target area, and much more. And to make things more challenging, you'll only have a certain number of moves to do it all in. However, there is no time limit or stars to earn, so you play at your own pace.

The controls in Tiny Bubbles are simple. At the top of the screen are the moves available to you, which includes colors that you fill bubbles in with, or abilities like scissors to cut the bubble outlines. To fill in a bubble with that color, just tap it. To use the scissors for cutting, just tap on the line you want to cut. Bubble physics takes care of the rest.

Eventually, you get to the point in Tiny Bubbles where you'll need to combine colors to get another color. Just tap on a colored bubble to mix the colors together and create a new shade. When you forget what colors create what, just long-press a bubble to see what colors it's made with. And when you cut the outline of a bubble, it can blend with another bubble, or pop entirely if you cut the external line.

Also, you'll encounter a fish named Bloopers. It blows bubbles that get added to the existing bubbles, thus adding another layer of challenge to the overall game. It can either add one bubble after you make your move, or blow continuous bubbles, so you need to think fast.

To clear out bubbles in Tiny Bubbles, you must make matches of like-colored bubbles in groups of four or more. Once bubbles pop, more cool bubble physics happen and everything shifts around and melds together. And with the 60 frames-per-second framerate, these bubble physics are just super fun to watch.

The game always tells you the objective before you begin, and there are hints if you get stuck. And even though it's level-based, you can choose to play stages as they open up (multiple paths get unlocked sometimes), so it's not too linear. New elements get introduced along the way, but the game does a good job of explaining each one as you go.

As far as the endless mode, you unlock it after a certain point in the game, but it's pretty early on so not too hard to obtain. After that, you earn "tickets" to play it after a certain amount of time, and once you're out of moves, you'll need to wait for more tickets. It's not the best implementation of an endless mode, but it's decent since you can spend the downtime playing the regular stages.

Even for the most casual gamer, it’s hard to go wrong with Tiny Bubbles. The gameplay is simple and accessible, and the music and visuals are stunning.

The Good

Tiny Bubbles is an excellent puzzle game for any fans of the genre. The graphics are stunning, especially Dark mode, and the frame rate is as smooth as butter. The music is soothing and delightful to listen to as well. I also love the sound effects, as they're whimsical yet still fairly realistic. The gameplay is simple enough for anyone to pick up and enjoy, but it's still quite challenging. The variety of objectives keep things fresh and interesting, and the endless mode is something to look forward to while you play.

The Bad

While Tiny Bubbles itself is a fantastic game, I'm not sure I like the way endless mode is set up. I believe it should be a standalone mode that lets you do just that — play infinitely, as long as you want. I was a bit annoyed to discover that I'd need to wait for tickets to play it, because that's just not endless, in my opinion. Still, I suppose it's not too bad, since the regular puzzles are fun to play as you wait for tokens.

The verdict

Tiny Bubbles is a welcome addition to my ever-growing collection of iPhone puzzle games. I'm in love with the unique visual style and sound design. The gameplay is interesting since it combines Tetris-like mechanics with physics puzzles, and knowing your color combinations is a true test. I just wish endless mode was truly endless, but the rest of the game is top notch.

You can find Tiny Bubbles on the App Store as a universal download on your iPhone and iPad for $2.99. There are no in-app purchases.

9.5

OVERALL

Graphics 10

Sound/Music 10

Replayability 9.5

Game Controls 9

Gameplay 9

$3.99

Tiny Bubbles

Pine Street Codeworks LLC

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TouchPal Keyboard is a Perfect Choice for an All-Around Keyboard App

November 21, 2020 by RSS Feed

Ever since Apple allowed third-party keyboards starting with iOS 8, users have been able to select from a wide variety of different options that bring additional features​ compared to the stock version.

Getting Started

TouchPal Emoji Keyboard

Now almost four years later, there are so many keyboard options available, it’s hard to know where to start.

But if you’re looking for an all-around choice with a number of great features, take a look at TouchPal Keyboard.

After downloading the app, you’ll need to activate it for use. Head to Settings > General > Keyboard and then choose TouchPal Keyboard.

Then select Allow Full Access.

That will allow users to access all of the different features include language switching and themes.

Tons of Great Features

TouchPal Emoji Keyboard

The most important part of any keyboard, typing, is easy with the app. With special technology, you can simply slide your finger from one letter to another to form a word. Your​ finger will never lift from the screen. You can also type normally or even select from a T9 or T+ keyboard layout.

To make sure your typing is error free, smart prediction technology learns your writing style and then predicts more accurately what is coming up next. At least for me, the predictions were even more accurate than on Apple’s own keyboard.

There are more than a few ways to customize the keyboard. Various themes you can select include a Super Mario-esque Super Game and others. If none of those suit your fancy, or you can even select a picture from your own gallery for the keyboard background.

Any emoji fans should also be very happy using the keyboard as there are more than 1,500 to select from. And there’s no need to switch keyboards. Just hold the Enter key to bring up the different options.

Coming Soon: Talia

TouchPal Emoji Keyboard

And coming soon, the keyboard will add even more smarts with a personal assistant named Talia.

With that feature, users will be able to​ quickly access their keyboard to paste in information.

It will also predict a relevant emoji based on the text. You’ll also be able to search and send anything directly from the keyboard.

TouchPal Keyboard is designed for the iPhone and all iPad models.

It can be downloaded now on the App Store for free.

For more information about the keyboard, you can also visit the official TouchPal Keyboard site.

The Verdict

If you've grown bored with Apple's stock keyboard for an iPhone or iPad, TouchPal Keyboard is a nice option to definitely consider.

The swipe typing feature is accurate and smart prediction helps make sure that you stay error-free. Additional features like the different themes, emojis, multiple language support, and more, are a fun bonus and make the app even better.

8.0

OVERALL

iPhone Integration 9

Is engaging 8

Does it well 8.5

Lasting appeal 7.5

User Interface 7

FREE

TouchPal Emoji Keyboard

TouchPal HK Co., Ltd.

Source link: http://appadvice.com/reviews

credit : appadvice

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Super Chuckie Egg Review

November 21, 2020 by RSS Feed

For a generation of British school kids, Chuckie Egg has some incredibly positive associations. You see, its home was the BBC Micro, and the BBC Micro’s home was at school.

Super Chuckie Egg

That meant most of us only ever played Chuckie Egg on that most glorious of occasions: the last day of term. For the rest of the year, the game sat silent and tantalizingly out of reach in its metal prison.

But rose-tinted spectacles are a dangerous thing. They are associated with numerous cases of crushing disappointment every single day as aging gamers dust off their fondly remembered vintage games only to discover that they are, and were always complete and utter garbage.

Can Chuckie Egg escape this fate?

Developed in the early 80s by a teenager called Nigel Alderton, Chuckie Egg sees you climbing ladders, navigating platforms, and avoiding enemies as you attempt to collect all of the eggs in each stage.

Super Chuckie Egg naturally embellishes on the original. It embellishes on last year’s Chuckie Egg 2017 as well, replacing the slow, deliberate, tricky gameplay of that remake with faster, easier, and more modern gameplay in which you race along collecting a string of eggs, the camera zooming in and out dynamically like in a Bourne film.

It contains 36 stages across the four seasons of the year, and five difficulty levels. Unusually, you can play any stage you like from the outset, and once you’ve completed the game you’ll get a chance to play the Title levels for additional kudos.

The Good

Super Chuckie Egg

Super Chuckie Egg is a genuine update, and it feels much fresher than last year’s Chuckie Egg outing, with significantly improved graphics and gameplay.

As you work your way outwards from the center of the season clock the stages get more difficult, but even at ‘challenging’, they’re no harder than the early levels in Chuckie Egg 2017. This is a game that wants you to kick back and have a good time.

The tighter controls help, as do the zoomed-in graphics, which together give you a greater sense of control over little Harry, encouraging you to attempt more exciting and dynamic jumps.

Also, it’s just a lot more satisfying to collect long strings of eggs rather than individual eggs dotted around. The addition of silver eggs gives the game a bit of extra texture too since you can decide whether or not to clear up or just collect the golden eggs you need to complete the stage.

The Bad

Super Chuckie Egg

While we enjoy the novel way the game lets you play pretty much every stage from the outset, 36 is a small number of levels in a modern platformer. Yes, you can play them all at five different difficulties, which materially affects how they play, but we would have liked to see more unique stages.

Likewise, while there’s no question that Super Chuckie Egg is a massive improvement on its far less ambitious predecessor, we feel more could have added to the franchise to bring it up to date.

For instance, there’s only one gameplay mode. Developer Downsideup Games has some experience experimenting with mini-game variations on Chuckie Egg with this year’s Chuckie Egg Pop!, so it’s a shame not to see more of that creativity here.

The verdict

Super Chuckie Egg is a major leap forward for the venerable franchise, taking a character from the prehistoric age of videogames and giving it a chance to shine in a polished, playable, fun platformer.

We’re only hoping that Downsideup Games can pull out even more stops for the next Chuckie Egg spin-off. With a few more modes and a little bit more ambition, little Harry might even find himself in the Premier League of platformers again.

8.0

OVERALL

Replayability 8

Game Controls 8

Graphics 8

Sound/Music 8

Gameplay 8

$2.99

Super Chuckie Egg

Downsideup Games

Source link: http://appadvice.com/reviews

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