StoryCut - Review
November 21, 2020 by RSS Feed
With the popularity of video clips, video editing tools on mobile are not in short supply. Such apps are often swamped with new features, including rich filters, special effects, cute stickers, variable speeds, rough cuts, and even adding recordings. It can often all be a bit much.
In that case, is there a video editing app that is powerful and comprehensive enough to cover all the features provided by existing video editing apps? The answer is – yes, StoryCut is the only video editing app you need on your phone. So if you’re a big fan of clip creation, try StoryCut, which allows you to quickly finish what you want and share it on your desired social media platform.
If you are an amateur, StoryCut also customizes the clip sizes suitable for various social platforms, such as Tik Tok, Instagram, and YouTube - so that you can share the clip with one click after making it. StoryCut has standard editing functions, such as video cut and filters. It’s worth looking at the features in StoryCut that are absent from most editing apps.
PIP
PIP (picture in picture) allows you to merge images with a video. When we tried to overlay an image of a starry sky with my portrait, we saw an incredible double exposure. Using the green screen matting feature, we placed a video in a Jurassic Park scene, and created a Hollywood-style effect.
Keyframe
Keyframe is a dominant feature of StoryCut, a feature previously only available in professional clipping tools on the PC. In this feature, you only need to set a few keyframes to make any material move according to the trajectory you set. For example, if you want the object to move in sync with a moving car, you just need to add two keyframes. This feature can even achieve special effects like those seen in science fiction movies.
Effects
StoryCut offers a vast number of popular effects for short video platforms. Add an old TV frame to the video, or a gold dust effect can give you a dreamlike image. There are also some split-screen effects you can utilise.
Speed
You might think that video speed adjustment is a regular feature - but StoryCut can increase the speed by eight times, with many similar apps only offering half that. We imported a video of some skateboarding and got amazing results after adjusting the speed and combining it with the reverse play function.
Adjust
StoryCut contains 18 fine adjustment parameters, which can make up for the shortage of filters, saving the poorest videos that even filters cannot do anything about. I imported a video taken on a cloudy day with poor lighting, for example, but found that even with a filter, I could not get a nice color. Then I turned on the image quality adjustment. After a series of parameter adjustments, including brightness, sharpness, contrast, saturation enhancement, and color temperature reduction, the video looked brand-new, just like the image quality of a movie, and the clarity was significantly improved.
Very satisfactory results were obtained.
The Good
As detailed above, StoryCut has everything. You can perform every edit imaginable, and the interface is intuitive
enough to allow you to do it in no time at all. It’s entirely conceivable that you could have a video or slideshow with sound effects, cuts, transition, custom audio, double-exposure effects, and picture-in-picture ready in under five minutes.
For the most part, the effects and filters are tasteful and stylish, too, so StoryCut will let you turn out productive, high-quality content at speed. Curious prospective video editors could easily spend hours experimenting with all the tools and functions on offer, some of which are surprisingly advanced.
While tools like Instagram and your phone’s camera software will enable you to apply basic filters and stickers and so on, none of them contains anything like the depth of functionality available in StoryCut. In that sense, the app emphatically earns its place as an advanced, bespoke video tool.
The Bad
StoryCut can recognize voices to generate subtitles. With one tap, you will see subtitles auto-generated from the voices in your clips. For now, this feature is only supported on Android, but we hope the dev team will implement this feature on iOS sooner so users can also enjoy the ease of subtitling that the app provides.
Check out StoryCut via the App Store (and Google Play) and also its official site, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube channels.
Overall
StoryCut is a comprehensive and intuitive video and picture editing app. VIP users will get the most out of it, as long as they don’t mind being subscribers rather than owners, but anyone looking for a richer alternative to Instagram should check it out.
8.3
OVERALL
iPhone Integration 9
Lasting appeal 8.1
User Interface 8
Is engaging 8.2
Does it well 8.3
StoryCut - Video Editor &Maker
Wenzhou XunChi Digital Technology Co., Ltd.
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MovieMusic Review
November 21, 2020 by RSS Feed
Music is a more powerful storytelling tool than most people realize. It’s the vital seasoning that makes every movie, TV show, advertisement, and internet video meme work how it should, manipulating your emotions in exactly the right way.
The problem is, using an existing piece of music involves paying exorbitant fees or drawing on classical pieces that everybody has already heard a trillion times.
MovieMusic aims to solve that problem for you by providing a library of compositions that you can dip into for every conceivable dramatic context.
These tracks, which have been written by a company of jobbing professional composers and performed by a live orchestra, tend to be around a minute long. They fall into 70+ albums, with titles like “Attractive”, “Badness”, “Excitement”, “Light”, “Christmas”, and so on.
The tracks themselves have titles too. In the “Love” album, for instance, you’ll find “Bond”, “Bliss”, “Longing”, “Intimacy”, and more. Each album contains 30 tracks, meaning there are over 2000 in all.
There are a couple of chapters of Orchestral Tools as well - subtle accents to create mood rather than full-blown musical compositions.
The first two tracks in each chapter are free, while the remaining 28 cost 99c a pop. The reason MovieMusic is able to sell its music so cheaply is that the files are restricted to a bitrate of 128kbs, and the tracks are licensed for personal, non-commercial use. So if you’re looking for a cheap way to score your next Hollywood project, you’ll have to look elsewhere.
The Good
MovieMusic is simple to use and it works surprisingly well. The Christmas music sounds Christmassy, the Comedy music sounds suitably quirky and upbeat (think Curb Your Enthusiasm), and the Disgusting music, somehow, sounds disgusting.
A bit of imagination is required when it comes to the individual track names, such as “Baking” (“Bright pizzicato helps show off the intricacies of the expert in full flow”), but on the whole MovieMusic provides snippets of music that intuitively belong in their categories and do what they’re supposed to do.
Every single one of the app’s 2000+ tracks is in the same key and tempo, too, so you can in principle blend them into a seamless orchestral score. It’s very clever.
This really helps when navigating the 2000+ tracks, as does the simple preview - or “audition” - facility that lets you listen to each track in full before deciding whether to spend money on it.
It’s also worth mentioning that each track in MovieMusic has three versions: Cinematic (the default), Intimate, and Modern. While the quality levels of the different versions naturally vary according to the track, in general we find that Cinematic is the one to go for.
MovieMusic has a seamlessly simple interface. You just choose a chapter, pick a song, and tap the play icon to listen. Once you buy and download a song you’re given the option of sharing it via iMessage, WhatsApp, Mail, or even opening it in iMovie or another video-editing program. It couldn’t be easier.
The Bad
While MovieMusic’s interface is intuitive and easy to use, its presentation is functional rather than enjoyable.
You could argue that the same applies to the music itself. This isn’t a criticism of the compositions, all of which sound polished and professional. But the wall-to-wall orchestral arrangements don’t reflect the breadth and variety of music right now.
There’s a bit of digital percussion overlaid on the tracks in Modern mode, but few other nods to contemporary musical styles. If you’re looking for a traditional sound, it’s perfect. Otherwise, you may struggle to find what you’re looking for - even in the Technology chapter.
Overall
MovieMusic is a slightly odd proposition. While asset libraries are usually for commercial use, this one is just for fun.
But it’s a fun tool that will add a pleasing sheen to your personal and non-commercial YouTube videos. It’s incredibly easy to use, too, and it contains a generous supply of musical morsels.
8.4
OVERALL
User Interface 9
Lasting appeal 8.4
iPhone Integration 8.5
Is engaging 8.1
Does it well 8
MovieMusic | Music For Videos
Gothic Projects
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Athenion: Tactical CCG Review
November 21, 2020 by RSS Feed
Athenion might not have the pedigree of some other deck-building card games available for mobile, but that shouldn't put you off. This is a game that's packed full of bright ideas, fresh new gameplay modes and enough content that you can lose hours of your life to.
Battles take place on a 4x4 grid, and see you taking it in turns with your opponent to lay down cards. You draw up to five cards from your deck of forty at the start of every turn.
These are the units you're playing in the fight, and they range from hulking monsters to flighty fairies, from magical trees to fearsome undead dragons.
Your cards have arrows on them that you show you which direction they can attack. You'll also notice a bunch of other numbers on the cards. These let you know the hit points a card has, how powerful its attack is and how many soul points it grants you.
Those soul points let you attack your opponent and they're the key to victory. The first player to lose all of their own hit points is the loser.
There's a lot more going on than that though. For one thing you need to pick from one of six different factions before you even get to the fights.
These factions have different strengths and weaknesses and figuring out which of them best suits the way you want to play is the first step of a pretty long journey.
Different factions have different special moves as well. Some let you link together cards to make them more powerful, others are all about sacrificing weaker units to create pockets of dark magical energy. One lets you build giant rock walls that you can use to protect some of your units or power up others.
There are single-player challenges, regular events and much, much more as well. You're never short of something to do in Athenion, and the pace of the matches lets you get a lot of them in in a single setting.
The Good
There's a staggering amount of depth to Athenion. It's going to take you a good while to get to grips with the basics and once you've done that there are layers and layers to peel back. Every time you win you'll figure out a new strategy and every time you lose you'll be trying to find a way to right that wrong.
The game looks amazing too. The cards all sport a brilliant anime art-style and you'll want to collect all of them just so you can check them out. The speed of the fights is a massive plus too - they deliver huge chunks of tactical action in the sort of short-blast sessions that are perfect for mobile play.
On top of that there's a brilliant community to the game, and you never have to wait long to find an online battle. There are a number of different modes that let you practice with different decks, take part in intriguing events and fight it out in ranked and casual multiplayer matches.
The Bad
There's a pretty steep learning curve here, so if you're not in for the long haul then you might be better finding your card-based fun somewhere else. Even when you've got the basics down you've still got a lot to learn and it can be punishing to come up against an opponent who knows more than you do.
There are also a lot of currencies, crafting materials and other rewards to figure out. The game does tell you what they do, but the tutorials are pretty brief and you're left on your own for a lot of the time to try and get to the bottom of things.
Overall
Athenion might not be the easiest game to understand, but once things start clicking it becomes something really rather special. There are some brilliant ideas here and they're woven into a bright tapestry of gorgeous visuals and wonderfully paced mobile play.
It won't be to everyone's taste, and it's fair to say that some players are going to put it down before they've even got to the good bits, but this is one CCG that it's well worth sticking with.
8.2
OVERALL
Replayability 8.1
Game Controls 8.2
Graphics 8.7
Sound/Music 8.2
Gameplay 7.8
Athenion: Tactical CCG
ZERO-bit Company Limited
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Help Polo Rescue His Kidnapped Pet in Bring You Home
November 21, 2020 by RSS Feed
Bring You Home ($2.99) by Alike Studio is a unique puzzle game where you don't control the characters, but rather the levels themselves. If you enjoyed games like Splitter Critters and Stagehand, then you're bound to like what Bring You Home has to offer.
I've been feeling a bit under the weather lately, so naturally, I've been playing a ton of games on my consoles and iPhone to pass the time. Now, if you've followed my work here at AppAdvice for the past few years, then you'll know that I'm a sucker for puzzle games. They're relaxing yet stimulating, and that's just the kind of thing I want to keep my mind busy and sharp. The only bad thing is usually puzzle games are the same thing over and over. But Bring You Home is different, and it brings in a special puzzle experience that's sure to delight. Plus, it's from the same guys who made Love You To Bits, so I knew it was going to be good.
Splitter Critters
RAC7 Games
Stagehand
Patrick Angle
Love You To Bits
Alike Studio S.L.
Visually, Bring You Home is beautiful and charming. Everything is rendered in 2D with a cartoonish art style that makes me think of Cartoon Network shows. But thanks to the lighting and shadows, there's a nice bit of depth to the backdrops and environments in the foreground. Character models are also cute and bursting with their own personalities, giving the game life. The colors are appealing to the eyes thanks to the bold and vibrant hues that truly pop on Retina screens. Animations are smooth and fluid, and I had no issues with lag or choppy frame rates on my iPhone 8 Plus. The atmospheric piano soundtrack is whimsical, emotional, and soothing. The sound effects are a nice touch as well, as it brings some comic relief to the game.
In Bring You Home, players will learn about the story of Polo the alien and his pet, who's been kidnapped by mysterious characters. Naturally, Polo sets out to rescue his missing companion by following a series of portals that the kidnappers left behind. A new world can be found through each portal, and Polo must safely make his way to the next one until he recovers his friend.
The twist in Bring You Home is the fact that you don't control Polo — he moves forward automatically. Instead, you control the level itself. How is this done? It's pretty simple and intuitive. Each level features multiple panels that have a few different options in them. You must scroll through the panels to figure out the correct sequence of events that should occur in order for Polo to have a safe path to the next area. When you think you have it, tap on the "Play" button in the bottom right corner.
If you fail, don't worry — time just rewinds itself and you can try again. The real fun in this game is the fact that these "deaths" can be pretty funny, considering the options you're given to work with. It's all about trial-and-error here.
Bring You Home doesn't have any time limits or restrictions on the amount of times you attempt to solve a puzzle. So you can play at your own pace, which is relaxing. On top of everything, there are hidden collectible photos that you can acquire as well, which are full of sweet memories of Polo and his pet.
The makers of Love You To Bits have a new puzzle adventure for you.
The Good
Bring You Home is an excellent puzzle game for people of all ages. It's a deviation from Love You To Bits, and that's not a bad thing. The visuals are cute and endearing, while the music proves to be quite emotional if you listen to it. The gameplay is fresh and interesting, with simple controls. And for those who like to get everything in a game, the collectible photos provide motivation to go back and revisit stages.
The Bad
There's a lot to love about Bring You Home, and honestly I can't think of any negatives regarding the game. It's just a delightful puzzler that the everyone can enjoy.
The verdict
Alike Studio had a hit on their hands with Love You To Bits, and they definitely have created another gem with Bring You Home. The game's cute cartoon-style graphics are sweet and lovable, while the soundtrack tugs at your emotional heartstrings. Controls are intuitive, and it's just fun to watch the outcome of each possible path that you create. This is a true gem for puzzle fans.
9.2
OVERALL
Sound/Music 10
Game Controls 9
Graphics 9.5
Gameplay 9.5
Replayability 8
Bring You Home
Alike Studio
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Put the Pedal to the Metal and Make Your Getaway in PAKO 2
November 21, 2020 by RSS Feed
PAKO 2 ($1.99) by Tree Men Games is the sequel to the original PAKO that came out four years ago. If you were a fan of the first game, or like games such as Grand Theft Auto, then PAKO 2 is a must.
When I checked out PAKO when it first came out, I was intrigued. What drew me in was the low-poly art style, and what appeared to be a simple game mechanic that tests how long you can survive. It was a quick little arcade game that killed time, was insanely fun, and hard to put down once you got the hang of things. It became one of my favorite iOS games for a while, so I was incredibly excited to learn that there was a sequel. As a huge fan of the first game, I can say that PAKO 2 improves and builds upon the original title for a more immersive and engaging experience.
Pako - Car Chase Simulator
Tree Men Games OY
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Rockstar Games, Inc.
Visually, PAKO 2 is a unique blend of handcrafted, highly detailed environments with low-poly vehicles and explosions. The game is rendered in 3D and has an angled, top-down perspective so you can see everything happening on screen in a single glance. PAKO 2 has five huge areas to drive in, and they're all quite different from each other (the desert, downtown, snowy mountains, and more) but pack in a ton of fine details, such as lighting, shadows, and textures. The colors are a nice mix of muted earthy tones to bright, vibrant shades, so everything is visually appealing to the eye. Animations are super smooth and fluid, so there's no lag on my iPhone 8 Plus. The electro soundtrack is a delight to the ears, and the sound effects are fairly realistic, particularly those police sirens.
Like the original, PAKO 2 has only one game mode, but the gameplay is much more involved now. Previously, you'd just have the car and just outrun the cops as long as you can. The police would get more aggressive the longer you outrun them, making it harder to last.
But in PAKO 2, you must now drive to certain destinations on the huge map and pick up your crew members in the getaway car. They'll shoot down the cops chasing you while you head to the next destination, as indicated by the arrow, to drop them off. Once you drop them off, your car is basically refueled in terms of health, and you get money for your trouble.
Controls in PAKO 2 are the same as the first game. Since the car is always in motion, you're responsible for steering. Just tap on the left side of the screen to steer left, and the right half for turning right. In order to brake, just press both halves at the same time.
If you want to evade the cops and earn some dough, then you're going to have to do some sick moves with these simple controls to outwit them. Their numbers increase and they get more aggressive as time goes on, so make sure you outmaneuver them as well as have your crew take care of them with firepower. Oh, and watch out for their police choppers too.
The more crew members you escort to safety, the more money you earn. Eventually, you will get busted, or just fall down a pit and crash or something along those lines, since each car holds only a certain amount of hit points). The longer you manage to hold out, the better. You'll earn cash depending on your overall performance.
The dough you earn can be spent to purchase new getaway cars or maps. There's a huge plethora of vehicles to choose from, whether you want a sporty muscle car or a rugged pickup truck, to a fancy limo or even the classic Bonnie & Clyde car. No matter what you're looking for, you'll find it for sale in PAKO 2.
If you don't feel like buying a new vehicle just yet, you can spend that cash on new maps as well. These start off reasonably priced, but do get more expensive as you go. I suppose it's a way to prevent players from getting all areas too soon, but still. You'll have to work for the new maps, which are all pretty vast, so there's plenty to discover.
The car chase simulator returns with more action and more expansive locations.
The Good
PAKO 2 is an excellent sequel that fleshes out the simple gameplay mechanic into something much deeper. The graphics are a big step up from the previous game as well, though it still retains some low-poly elements in the proper places. The game also makes it easy to see where your destination is, but it's getting there that's a challenge. The variety of cars and areas to purchase mean the game has high replay value, and honestly, this game is just too fun to put down.
The Bad
While I love almost everything about PAKO 2, I wish that the areas weren't so expensive to unlock. I also noticed that sometimes it's hard to tell when your car flips over or gets reversed, and then you're moving in the opposite direction of where you want to go. It's a little annoying and just hard to see when that happens, so maybe that can be improved somehow.
The verdict
Overall, PAKO 2 is an incredible followup to an already great game. PAKO 2 also has even more polished graphics that are hard to not love, great music and sound, and simple yet effective controls. The new areas are packed with detail and are huge, so there's plenty of room, and the amount of cars you can get are crazy. This is definitely one that you'll be replaying over and over until you have them all.
PAKO 2 is available on the App Store as a universal download for your iPhone and iPad for just $1.99. There are no in-app purchases.
9.6
OVERALL
Replayability 10
Sound/Music 10
Game Controls 9.5
Graphics 9
Gameplay 9.5
PAKO 2
Tree Men Games
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