"If there is an app for that"

Shapr, StatMuse, Check, and other apps to check out this weekend

September 16, 2017 by RSS Feed

This week’s edition of our Apps of the Week roundup features a Tinder-like app for networking with like-minded people, an engaging sports app, and an ephemeral todo/task manager. And as always, we’ve picked two great new games for you to check out.

Shapr

This isn’t a new app, but it’s an interesting concept that I think is worth checking out if you haven’t yet. Shapr is a personalized, mindful way of networking. Based on your interests and experience, the app provides a daily dose of inspiring, like-minded people to meet nearby in your area. Whether you’re seeking friends or employees, each swipe is a new opportunity and a new discovery. Think of it like a dating app, but for professional networking. Kind of cool, right? Shapr is available for free.

StatMuse

Sports fans looking for a new way to follow and learn about their favorite teams and players may want to check out StatMuse. This app allows you to talk with your favorite players and personalities for your daily sports conversations. Keep up with the latest scores, stats and original content about the teams you love through personalized musings, and get instant NBA, NFL and MLB trivia answers dating back to 1876. Features the real voices of greats like Peyton Manning, Jerry Rice, Drew Brees, and more. StatMuse is available for free.

Check

Now I know what you’re thinking: great, ANOTHER todo list app. But I like options, and for the folks out there in search of more options for todo list apps, this one might be worth Check-ing out (see what I did there?). Check is an ephemeral to-do list app of sorts. You can rapidly create new tasks and add a duration period. At the end of that duration, your todos will expire and disappear. Ultimately you can revive the tasks you don’t finish from your “task graveyard” but the whole concept of getting your tasks done before they’re gone is the motivation here. Maybe this works for you, maybe it doesn’t. Either way, Check….it out. Check is available for free.

Iron Marines

From the creators of the award winner Kingdom Rush trilogy comes the most extraordinary space odyssey. A real-time, dynamic and deep strategy game that will transport you to amazing and unknown planets. Immersive, engaging gameplay, ridiculously appealing art, and a touch of silly humor. Brave soldiers, mighty mechas and powerful aliens await your command to face the greatest challenges. Yes this is a trashy freemium game with tons of IAPs, on top of an initial purchase price, but early reviews are through the roof. Iron Marines is available for $5 (with several IAPs).

Drag’n’Boom

In Drag’n’Boom, you play as a rebellious teenage dragon and burn everything your path! Roast the neighboring lords and steal their gold in order to mass the greatest treasure ever held by a dragon. It’s a unique mobile gaming experience. The left side of the screen controls your movement: jump, fly and charge your prey, and the right side lets you spit fireballs: pillage, burn and ransack. There are over 50 levels to power through and a leaderboard, so you can challenge your friends for high score. Drag’n’Boom is available for free.

More apps to check out

• Apple's free app of the week: INKS.
• Automatically download fresh desktop wallpapers every hour with Irvue

Source link: http://www.idownloadblog.com/2017/09/16/apps-of-the-week-9-16/

Get Ready for an Emotional Ride in OPUS: Rocket of Whispers

September 15, 2017 by RSS Feed

OPUS: Rocket of Whispers (Free) by SIGONO is an exploration game that also features a rich narrative. If you're the type of person who enjoys good storytelling, such as Old Man's Journey and OXENFREE, then you will like what OPUS: Rocket of Whispers brings to the App Store.

These days, video games are considered art, although not without controversy. Honestly, I believe that if television shows and movies are a form of art and entertainment, then so are video games, no doubt about it. Most games may be a mindless activity to keep yourself busy for a while, but others contain deep and emotional storylines and character development that rival even a good book. While I don't have too much time to dive into a deep and lengthy game recently, OPUS did catch my eye on the App Store this week. Fortunately, I can say that it does not disappoint.

$4.99

Old Man's Journey

Broken Rules Interactive Media GmbH

$4.99

OXENFREE

Night School Studio, LLC

Visually, OPUS is beautiful, as the game features hand-drawn artwork that's packed with incredible detail. While the game is rendered mostly in 2D, it utilizes a top-down perspective, so there's a bit of depth to everything on the screen. And since the game takes place in the snowy mountains, the color palette is rather muted and gloomy with earthy tones and some soft pastels. Animations are smooth and fluid with no lag on my iPhone 7. There's an atmospheric soundtrack in the background that is fitting for the overall theme of the game, and the sound effects are rather realistic. Overall, the developer did a great job with OPUS in terms of visual and audio design.

Since OPUS: Rocket of Whispers is a story-driven game, players will be taken through a rather emotional roller coaster from the beginning. There's a lot of text and dialogue in OPUS due to the narrative, so a lot of reading is involved. However, the story is rather interesting, and it captures you from the get-go, though it does start off a bit slow. I also found the characters to be full of personality, even though the main character is a bit annoying due to his attitude.

Without giving away too much of the story, the basic premise is this: A boy (rocket engineer) and a girl (a witch) are the only two survivors of an apocalyptic plague. But it's up to them to build and launch a rocket successfully so that the souls of the deceased can return to the stars, as per their tradition of space burials. The land used to be quite prosperous, but now it's become a barren and cold wasteland with many artifacts and secrets to discover about their past.

Controls in OPUS are simple and straightforward, with the game telling you how things work in the beginning. To move, just drag your thumb on the screen in the direction you want to go. The game uses a virtual joystick for movement, but it is never in a fixed position, so it goes where your touch is. When there are items that you can interact with, there's subtle hints to indicate that fact, and you just tap on the object.

Since your main objective involves building the rocket, you'll have to put it together too, so there's a bit of crafting involved. And because the materials used affect the rocket, there may be some trial-and-error involved.

OPUS: Rocket of Whispers is a fantastic mix of exploration, story, and emotions. The controls are simple and intuitive, so it's easy enough for anyone to play. The game is a free download, and it includes the first part of the game (about an hour) so that everyone can give it a try. To get the full game, you'll have to get it through an in-app purchase of $1.99, and there are some additional bonuses you can get, like the Husky.

An emotional story driven adventure about two lone survivors trying to build a rocket to get back home.

The Good

OPUS: Rocket of Whispers is a true gem on the App Store. The game sports amazing and highly detailed artwork, and there's 30 different soundscapes that are relaxing and soothing to listen to. For those who appreciate a great story, OPUS has it, and it's captivating and immersive due to the great character personalities that are relatable. I think the first hour is good enough to give players a taste of the game, and it's well worth the two bucks to get the rest of it.

The Bad

OPUS: Rocket of Whispers is a pretty dang good game, but only if you like exploration and story. If you aren't fans of either of those, then there isn't much that this game can offer you. It's not an action-packed game, so if that's what you're seeking, then you'll need to look elsewhere. But honestly, even with the slightly slow beginning, this is worth trying at least.

The verdict

I only started OPUS: Rocket of Whispers this morning, but so far I'm loving it. I'm still going through the first part of the game, so I haven't unlocked the full version just yet. But the storyline is interesting, emotional, and the characters are relatable. Plus, the art is gorgeous and the music is delightful. Controls are simple to work with and aren't too fussy.

I recommend giving OPUS: Rocket of Whispers a shot if you want to dive into a game with meaning this weekend. You can find OPUS: Rocket of Whispers on the App Store as a universal download for your iPhone and iPad for free. There are in-app purchases for the full game unlock and other bonuses.

8.5

OVERALL

Game Controls 9

Graphics 9

Sound/Music 9

Gameplay 8.5

Replayability 7

FREE

OPUS: Rocket of Whispers

SIGONO INC.

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

Free Apps to Download TODAY ONLY 09/15/2017

September 15, 2017 by RSS Feed

Toca Life: Farm , Jigsaw Wonder Kittens Puzzles for Kids , Screenshots - Find, Share, and Delete Screenshots and more

Universal:

Toca Life: Farm ( $2.99 → Free ) Toca Boca AB Anything goes in Toca Life: Farm. Your children are able to move around the farm with just a tap. They can explore the barn, tend to the animals, harvest crops, and so much more. Each location is its own mini adventure with tons of interactions to discover. The app includes a total of four locations and 29 characters to meet.

Jigsaw Wonder Kittens Puzzles for Kids ( $1.99 → Free ) Eggroll Games LLC You won’t be able to resist the charm of this jigsaw puzzle game. Each of the 36 jigsaw puzzles features an adorable kitten photo to reconstruct. The jigsaw puzzles can be broken up into as few as four pieces and as many as 24. You’re also able to choose whether or not you want a colored background and outline hints. What more could you ask for?

Screenshots - Find, Share, and Delete Screenshots ( $0.99 → Free ) Stepan Grigoryan Screenshots helps you easily find, hide, share, and even delete the screenshots cluttering up your library. It features a wide variety of filtering options, allowing you to hunt down screenshots by date, device type, and even orientation.

Sago Mini Monsters ( $2.99 → Free ) Sago Mini Sago Mini Monsters allows your child’s creative side to shine. They get to start off by painting the face of a colorful monster. It will then grow horns, eyes, and a mouth. Just tap and drag each piece to switch it out with another. The monster can be fed with the food that floats to the top of the goo from which it came. Once the monster has had its fill it will need its teeth brushed. Other objects will also randomly float to the top of the goo, which can be applied to the monster before it gets its photo taken.

deGeo Camera - Photos Without Geotags ( $0.99 → Free ) MobileInfocenter Every photo you take includes GPS location data. This hidden data provides anyone with your exact coordinates. With deGeo, you’ll never have to worry about this little secret because photos taken with it don’t include any sensitive data. You can, however, choose to include basic metadata like the date and time. The app also allows you to add a grid overlay to the live camera feed, and change camera features with a swipe.

Source link: http://appadvice.com/apps-gone-free

Apple’s free app of the week: INKS.

September 14, 2017 by RSS Feed

Apple on Thursday updated its App of the Week promotion with the game INKS. For the next 7 days, you can pick up the former Apple Design Award-winner for free on both iPhone and iPad—a solid savings of $3.

From the App Store Editors’ Notes:

Pinball meets paintball in this gorgeous Apple Design Award winner from the team behind Lumino City. Inks ditches the stressful, not-so-fun parts of pinball, focusing instead on a breathtaking experience that’s part puzzle-solving, part artistic explosions of color. We seriously want to frame our best levels—Inks is that beautiful.

And here’s a clip of the game in action:

INKS. is available for free in the App Store.

Source link: http://www.idownloadblog.com/2017/09/14/inks-free-app-of-the-week/

Free Apps to Download TODAY ONLY 09/14/2017

September 14, 2017 by RSS Feed

Scribble Press - Creative Book Maker for Kids , Taskcode - for tasks, subtasks & notes , Levitagram - Levitation Photo Camera for Dummies! and more

iPhone:

Taskcode - for tasks, subtasks & notes ( $0.99 → Free ) Biographics Taskcode streamlines the way you record tasks and notes with its unique data input system. You’ll first have to learn the six codes for input. They’re essentially a set of special characters that allow you to enter data via lines of text instead of jumping from option to option. If you forget a code, don’t worry, there’s a quick reference guide built into the app. Taskcode also includes batch editing, sorting, auto-suggestions, a dark theme, and much more.

iPad:

Scribble Press - Creative Book Maker for Kids ( $2.99 → Free ) Fingerprint Scribble Press was designed for the classroom and your home. The app will take your child step-by-step through the book making process. They’ll first get to choose a theme or start with a blank canvas. Then they can fill in the blanks of the story and illustrate each page. Characters can take on the faces of friends and family using the camera, and your child can record their own voices and music. More than 300 drawing tools are available to use as well. The stories can be saved and shared as photos or videos.

Universal:

Levitagram - Levitation Photo Camera for Dummies! ( $1.99 → Free ) LOCQL, Inc. To make it seem as if your subject is levitating, start off by taking two separate photos. The first photo should be of your subject in its environment, and the second should be the environment without your subject. Make sure to keep the camera steady between photos in order to get the best results. Levitagram will automatically align and stitch together the two photos, so all that’s left for you to do is cut out the parts you don’t want. When you’re finished creating your magical photo, you’re able to save it or share it via Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Messages, or email.

EXIF Viewer by Fluntro - View, Remove GPS Metadata ( $2.99 → Free ) Fluntro Want to know everything about your photos? Just launch EXIF Viewer and provide it with access to your photo library. EXIF Viewer will then grab each photo’s EXIF metadata and display the most important information right below. You can swipe across a photo to view even more detailed information. Tap on a photo to bring up the ability to remove the EXIF data. The app also includes a wide variety of other handy features including a photos extension, three viewing modes, a Messages app, and the ability to copy EXIF metadata to the clipboard.

Earthlapse ( $0.99 → Free ) Jetson Creative LLC Earthlapse provides you with a whole different view of our beautiful planet. You’re able to swipe across the screen or just allow the planet to rotate all on its own. Seven stunning views are available, and while you gawk at the blue dot, you’re able to listen to eight relaxing space soundtracks. Earthlapse also doubles as a nice weather station and desktop clock.

Source link: http://appadvice.com/apps-gone-free