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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Cinco Paus is an Interesting and Experimental Roguelike
November 21, 2020 by RSS Feed
Cinco Paus ($4.99) by Michael Brough is a compact roguelike that's captivating and challenging. If you were a fan of Brough's other titles, such as 868-HACK, then you'll truly appreciate what Cinco Paus has to offer.
I've been playing and reviewing iOS games for years now, and one thing I love about it is discovering all of the quirky and eccentric titles that indies come up with. I mean sure, we all love a good triple-A game from a big name studio, but sometimes the real gems are from indie developers. And Brough is one of those devs. I remember checking out 868-HACK several years ago and falling in love with the unique gameplay. Needless to say, I became a fan of Brough after that, and am eager to check out anything new that he creates. Cinco Paus is another fine addition to my game collection.
First, some background regarding "cinco paus." The game's name, as well as all in-game text and even the App Store description, is in Portuguese. This is not a glitch or bug, so don't try to change it to your native language (I can't even figure that out, honestly). The phrase "cinco paus" literally translates to "five bucks," which is accurate in U.S. dollars. It also means "five sticks," which is what the game involves, though technically they're wands.
I'm not sure why everything must be in Portuguese, but I'm guessing that it's an experiment by the developer. That is, to demonstrate how most games appear to those who do not understand English, and have no option to change the game text to their own native language. While I don't understand the text in Cinco Paus right now, I'm finding learning through experimentation to be rather fun, and it certainly is an interesting approach.
868-HACK
Michael Brough
Visually, Cinco Paus is bit on the stranger side, as the cartoonish style is what I would imagine an acid trip being like. In fact, it reminds me of the art style of some adult swim cartoons, but honestly, it just makes Brough's game even more unique and special. The colors in Cinco Paus are bright and colorful, which are sure to bring a smile to your face, even if you don't understand what the game is saying. Despite this fact, Cinco Paus has icons (some straightforward while others are more obscure) that appear after you've used one of the staffs, so there's a little guidance as to what's happening. Animations in Cinco Paus are smooth and fluid, so there's no issues with lag or choppy frame rates on my iPhone 8 Plus. The game's soundtrack is also a bit weird, but delightful to listen to.
Since Cinco Paus is a roguelike, that means that each round is randomly generated, so it's never going to be the same game twice. The goal in Cinco Paus is to help your wizard character get from the starting point to the exit, which takes you to the next area. There's enemies that are in the way that resemble various animals, like frogs, prawns, and lizards. On top of that, there's items like keys to unlock chests, and even tomes that can modify the properties of your wands and staffs.
The controls in Cinco Paus are simple and straightforward, especially if you've played turn-based roguelikes before. Just swipe on the screen in the direction that you want to move to, and the wizard will do so, assuming that there's nothing in the way like a wall or enemy. You can swipe into an enemy to do a basic attack, but keep in mind that some take multiple hits to kill (life points indicated by the dots), and can hit you back as long as it's alive.
Fortunately, that's where the wands come in. At the top of the screen will be five sticks, which are the wizards wands and staffs. To use them, just drag the one you want to the wizard, and make sure that it's pointing outward in the direction you want it to face. Once you release your finger, it will activate, sending out a shot that can dish out some nice damage to enemies, so you want it to hit something.
But be careful when using these wands though, because you only have five of them, and they won't get replenished until you reach the next area. Also, icons show up next to each wand after it's used, revealing their properties. The properties get randomized with each game, so it may not be the same on your next run. The attributes can mean that a wand does double damage to frogs, or teleport you past an enemy. You won't know what a wand does until you use it, so it forces you to make use of your resources and also observe what they do.
Unless you know Portuguese, Cinco Paus will be one of those games that you may enjoy but have to figure out everything scientifically, as none of the text helps you out. It's different, refreshing, and a welcome challenge. And with a different loadout for each game you play, it's always going to be a surprise, and who doesn't like surprises?
CInco Paus is a quirky and lighthearted roguelike that's all about experimentation.
The Good
Cinco Paus is a special gem on the App Store. The game is full of quirkiness and charm, from the choice of language to the graphics and music. While many may not understand what the text says, the game is simple enough to figure out through mere observation and trial-and-error. I also like the randomization aspect, as it brings a fresh new experience on each run.
The Bad
While I like Cinco Paus for what it's worth, it may not be everyone's cup of tea. The language barrier may be bothersome for some, and the art style is rather unorthodox. Like they say, this game may be an acquired taste for fans of Brough's previous work.
This is definitely not a standard game, and takes a bit of getting used to. But if you can get through the hurdles, then it's rather enjoyable.
The verdict
As a fan of Brough's other games, I think Cinco Paus is another great hidden gem from him that I'm happy to have in my collection. The distinctive art style makes me think of obscure adult swim cartoons, and I think the experimental approach with Portuguese is a fascinating perspective on language barriers in games.
The gameplay itself is easy to pick up and learn after a few tries, and I enjoy the fact that each staff has a new set of properties in each game. It keeps you on your toes and you must try them all out in the first level to know and understand what their properties are. On top of that, there are a lot of other things in the game to learn as you play, such as enemy behaviors and what items do.
This is a game that will keep you interested and coming back for more. Cinco Paus is available on the App Store as a universal download for your iPhone and iPad for $4.99.
8.7
OVERALL
Replayability 9
Game Controls 9
Gameplay 9
Graphics 8
Sound/Music 8.5
Cinco Paus
Michael Brough
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Kraino is a Retro, Action-Packed Platformer That's Completely Free
November 21, 2020 by RSS Feed
Kraino (Free) by Angel Dorantes is a side-scrolling action platformer that is reminiscent of classic games like Mega Man and Castlevania. If you enjoyed other iOS games like Goblin Sword and Sword of Xolan, then Kraino is an excellent choice to consider.
As someone who grew up in the '90s with the old-school platformer games, I can definitely appreciate any new foray into the crowded App Store market of platformers. Castlevania is one of my favorite series, especially the 2D ones that were on the old Nintendo consoles and past handhelds. There's nothing more satisfying than jumping to avoid obstacles and hack-and-slashing away at hordes of undead minions. So when I saw Kraino on the App Store, I was pulled in right away — the screenshots alone made me reminisce about my childhood. Needless to say, Kraino is a must.
Goblin Sword
Gelato Games Ltd
Sword Of Xolan
Alper Sarikaya
Kraino features a super retro, pixel art visual style that will make any '80s or '90s kid feel at home. The graphics are true to the classics that it draws inspiration from, and if I didn't know any better, I'd mistake this game for one that was on Super Nintendo or Sega Genesis. Even though it's a pixelated style, Kraino is still incredibly detailed and everything looks fantastic. The colors range from dark and gloomy tones to more vibrant and bolder hues. Animations are buttery smooth and fluid, so I experienced no issues with lag or choppy frame rates. I found the soundtrack to be fairly quirky and eerie at the same time, which means it's pretty delightful. It has a touch of metal to it, which is fitting considering there's skeletons and other baddies galore.
Kraino takes a lot of inspiration from the classic games, like Mega Man and Castlevania. There are six dungeons to make your way through, and they are rather lengthy. There are, however, checkpoints at certain points in the game, so if you die, you can pick up from the last checkpoint you reached, rather than start at the beginning. Each area features a series of connected rooms, and you must make your way through each one to face off against a tough boss at the end. The goal of the game is simple enough: hack-n-slash your way through to the end, and see how far you can get.
You'll always start the game with three lives. Controls are easy and intuitive. In the bottom left area, there are two buttons for moving left and right. In the bottom right corner of the screen are three buttons for your basic melee attack, jumping, and your ranged axe attack.
For the most part, the default button positioning works out well enough, as I had no real issues with moving around and attacking. Be warned though, because there's no way to customize the button size or positions, so you're stuck with them. Honestly, it takes a bit of practice to get used to them, but it shouldn't be too bad.
Again, you only get three lives in the game, and your health bar is displayed in the top left corner. If it's fully depleted, that means you lose a life. You also straight up lose a life if you fall onto spikes, so be careful for those. There may be opportunities for more lives or health by breaking lights and other objects, so make sure to explore every little nook and cranny. You can watch an ad to gain a continue, though, but this is completely optional. It's also the only time you'll see ads in the game.
On top of it all, there are power-up items that you can use to your advantage against the various creatures of the night (even though you're a skeleton). The power-up items are what you'd use for the ranged attack slot, and these can include throwing axes, saw blades that move along the floor and walls after you throw them, and more. They are pretty scarce though, so I'd recommend holding on to them only for boss fights, because the other enemies can easily be taken out with regular attacks.
Kraino is an excellent action platformer that's a great homage to the classics, and it's free with no strings attached.
The Good
Kraino is a true gem of a game, and it's hard to believe that something this good is free. The vintage pixel art graphics are a nice homage back to the golden days of gaming, and the music and sounds are super charming. For an action platformer, the controls work out pretty well, and it's intuitive enough for anyone. The stages themselves can get pretty challenging, and the boss fights are definitely something to look forward to.
The Bad
Kraino is a solid game, but there's always improvements that can be made. For one, I hope to see customizable control options in the future, because I think being able to change the button size and positioning could help some people out. And while the only time you'll see an ad is if you want to get a continue in the game, there's no way to get rid of ads or even just support the developer (no in-app purchases). This is a freebie game where I would like to see a tip jar to contribute to.
The verdict
As someone who grew up with these types of games, I am in love with Kraino. Everything about it just takes me back to my youth — the pixel art, the music, the core game mechanics, and the whole dark castle setting. It all brings a smile to my face, and I still can't believe this game is free. It's pretty high quality for the price, and there's no intrusive ads or in-app purchases, which is a rarity these days. I just hope to see controller options in the future.
Kraino is on the App Store as a universal download for your iPhone and iPad for free.
8.9
OVERALL
Graphics 10
Sound/Music 9
Gameplay 9
Replayability 8.5
Game Controls 8
Kraino
Angel Dorantes
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