MovieMusic Review
November 20, 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 20, 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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Life is Short, So Cause Some Chaos in Death Coming
November 20, 2020 by RSS Feed
Death Coming ($1.99) by Sixjoy is a dark and humorous puzzle game about death. If you enjoyed games like Party Hard Go, Slayaway Camp and Friday the 13th: Killer Puzzle, then you will love Death Coming, since it falls into the same kind of genre.
These days, most of my gaming time has been with Monster Hunter: World on my PS4. However, when I need a break, I've been looking for games on my iPhone to keep me busy. If you've been following me on AppAdvice, then you'll know that I'm a sucker for puzzle games of all kinds. In fact, it's hard to think about a puzzle game that I have yet to try out on the platform. And I like cheesy horror flicks, so games like Slayaway Camp were perfect. But that came out a while ago, and I need something new. So when the news of Death Coming hit my inbox, I was intrigued. The game came out on PC last year, but I had never heard of it until now. And I'm glad I found out about it, because it does not disappoint.
Party Hard Go
TINYBUILD LLC
Slayaway Camp
Blue Wizard Digital LP
Friday the 13th: Killer Puzzle
Blue Wizard Digital LP
Visually, Death Coming features beautiful pixel art that reminds me of various Kairosoft games, as well as the opening sequence for the HBO show, Silicon Valley. Despite going with a pixelated aesthetic, Death Coming manages to pack in a ton of detail for the various environments and characters. It also utilizes a top-down isometric perspective, as you're essentially like a god...of death. This makes it easy to see everything in a single glance, and you can zoom in freely with multitouch gestures. The frame rate for the game is smooth and fluid, with no issues of lag or choppiness on my iPhone 8 Plus. The soundtrack is oddly upbeat and quirky considering the dark nature of the game, but that just makes it more humorous to me. Plus the sound effects are delightful.
You're just an average old guy living his life, until one day you die in a freak accident. Not knowing what happened, you don't realize you're dead until Death reveals himself to you. Death makes a promise that if you help him harvest enough souls, he'll revive you, leaving you no choice. You end up becoming an agent of Death: a Reaper.
Since Death Coming is essentially a puzzle game, you'll go through the story in a linear fashion with levels. To unlock the next area, you must have cleared the one before it. However, solving the puzzles themselves don't have to be in linear order — just trigger the death traps as you please and get your kills, with weather permitting of course. Your goal in each stage is to kill a minimum number of people (indicated at the top right corner), but you do so by making it all look like accidents. Eventually, the Angels show up and act like police — if they catch you in the act, then you're "arrested" and lose a heart. Once all three are gone, then it's game over, and you have to restart.
The controls in Death Coming on mobile are simple and intuitive. Because each stage can be pretty vast, you can freely pan the camera around with one finger. To zoom in or out, just do the pinching gesture. Your new Reaper powers grant you the "Reaper's Eye," which lets you notice death traps in the environment, such as water and electric poles, flower pots, billboards, dangerous boxes piled high on shelves, and more. If you notice something that could be triggered, just tap on it. It'll be red if it's a death trap, while also highlighting areas that it will affect in red. Tap it again to trigger it, and hope that you catch some some unsuspecting victims.
Again, watch out for the Angels, as they'll arrest you if your Reaper Eye highlights a potential trigger and gets caught in their scanning range. Death Coming also features areas with more elaborate death traps, where you have to get rid of security patrols before it can be used.
The levels become more complex as you go, requiring more brainpower and multiple attempts. Observing the behavioral patterns and idiosyncracies of the NPCs is important, as it helps you figure out the right moment to trigger a death trap, which is key to killing efficiently. When you meet the bare minimum of required kills to clear a stage, you can stop and move forward. But another option is to stay and strive for gold, because why not master a stage?
Another fun thing about Death Coming is the fact that there are unique stories for each stage. For example, the second area on the map features the "Glorious Leader" who resembles Kim Jong Un in a satirical fashion, and you're in a factory that's working on restoring power to a nuclear missile. There's spies trying to sabotage the Glorious Leader, but Death doesn't take sides — just get him those souls.
Play as death, and manipulate the surroundings to bring judgement time to others.
The Good
Death Coming is definitely a unique puzzle game that stands out from the rest. It's packed with gorgeous and detailed pixel art with an eccentric soundtrack to boot. The controls are simple to pick up and intuitive for touch screen devices, so it works out well. The stages are pretty elaborate, full of surprises, and it can be fairly challenging to beat, so prepare yourself for multiple attempts and high replay value. The dark humor is more silly than anything, so it's perfect for anyone who enjoys some satire.
The Bad
While Death Coming is great, the levels can take up quite a bit of time, and that's the only drawback to the game. I don't think it's something that you can just pick up and play when you have a few moments. Death Coming is best suited for those longer gaming sessions, due to the amount of observing, planning, and execution involved in clearing stages.
The verdict
As someone who loves a bit of dark humor and puzzles, Death Coming is just perfect and right up my alley. The graphics are visually impressive with the modernized pixel art, and the sound design is fun to listen to. It's also worth taking the time to read Death's quips to your character, because who knew Death could have a sense of humor anyway? The puzzles themselves are challenging, and the Final Destination style accidents are downright entertaining.
Death Coming 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.
9.4
OVERALL
Graphics 10
Sound/Music 10
Replayability 9
Game Controls 9
Gameplay 9
Death Coming
Sixjoy Hong Kong Limited
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Jot - Notes & Todos Provides Simple and Quick Note Taking
November 20, 2020 by RSS Feed
Jot - Notes & Todos ($1.99) by Things That Are Brown is a no-fuss app for taking quick notes and nothing else. In a way, it's the antithesis to Collections, which is another recently released app that I've enjoyed. With Jot, you get quick text and basic lists, nothing more and nothing less.
When it comes to remembering things, I usually end up just jotting everything down on my phone somewhere. For years, I've been using Drafts for all of my note-taking needs, since the app quickly captures and allows you to do a multitude of actions with the text afterwards. I know others who just use Apple's default Notes app, and that's all fine and dandy, but maybe neither of them are for you. After all, one can be rather complicated, and the other is simple enough but has that weird paper texture thing going on, which can be distracting. What if you want an app that is completely distraction-free and super easy to use and has no bells-and-whistles to worry about? Then my friends, Jot - Notes & Todos is the answer.
Mentioned Apps
Mentioned Apps
Collections - Photo Bookmarks
Yakow Limited
Drafts: Quick Capture
Agile Tortoise
Jot has a cute and simple icon, and once you tap it, you're taken to a barebones interface that is designed to get out of your way. You'll find the main screen is a list of existing notes, and a button in the bottom right corner (reminiscent of the "New Task" button in Things 3) lets you add a note with ease. Swiping horizontally on notes in the list reveal actions, and the omnipresent search bar at the top means you can search through your notes at any given moment. On the initial launch, there's a brief tutorial that shows you the ropes, but honestly, the app is so straightforward it's not needed and can be skipped through. Seriously, Jot is incredibly effortless to use, and perfect if that's what you're looking for. It's like dealing with a digital piece of paper that's always ready for you at any given moment.
By default, there's a few introductory notes waiting for you in the main screen. These notes pretty much give you the instructions on how to create a new note, take action on existing ones, and how to use the search. It's easy and there's no hassle involved.
If you swipe left on a note, it reveals the Pin and Archive actions. Pinning makes a note stick to the top so it never gets pushed down in the list, and Archive is for when you're done with a particular note. Even if a note is in the Archive, you can still search for it with the search bar, as the app looks through all text in notes.
When you swipe right, it reveals actions you can take with the text inside of the note itself. You can copy all of the text to paste somewhere else, or share it using the iOS Share Sheet. One nice touch about Jot is the fact that if you swipe and pull the note enough, it defaults to the action on the outside once you release your finger, meaning it's either copied or archived. If you want to share or pin, just swipe enough to reveal the actions in the drawer, and then tap to select.
When you need to create a new note, just tap on that big purple button. You'll find yourself in the note editing screen, which features it's own typewriter-like mode, so that the text shows up in the middle of the screen, pulling in your eye focus. When you move into the next line, or enter those line breaks, your current text just gets pushed up, and the cursor still remains in the center. It's distraction-free at its finest, and I also like the thicker cursor, as it feels more solid than many thinner counterparts I've seen.
Jot is also capable of simple to-do lists. To turn your note into a todo list with checkmarks, just tap on the checkmark toggle box. The clock button allows the app to remind you about your note or list with a few options, ranging from "Soon" to "Tomorrow" or "In a week" or a custom reminder date and time. According to Jot, "Soon" is considered one hour from now.
The search bar in Jot allows users to search their notes for anything, including archived notes. Just type in the words you're looking for, and Jot shows results in real-time. It's fast, responsive, and comprehensive since it searches through all text.
Jot is designed to be simple, barebones, and easy to use. You can access the settings by tapping on the notepad button in the top right corner. This brings up a menu with a few options, like autocorrect, auto-archiving of completed lists, launching in the compose screen by default, and requiring Touch or Face ID for authentication for access to the app. There's no syncing options or extra things to worry about, such as titles or manual saves.
Jot is perfect for those who want a simple and fast, distraction-free note-taking app without the fuss.
The Good
Jot lives up to its name — it's an no-fuss app that lets you quickly dump your ideas, notes, and other text quips, then get back out and carry on with your day. It's fast, simple, and has enough features to make typing easier, without being overwhelming. The swipe-based gestures mean you can take action on a note quickly, and being able to have basic todo lists with reminders is nice.
The Bad
While Jot is good for what it is, this definitely won't appeal to everyone. The lack of syncing options could be a big drawback for certain people, even though Jot wasn't designed to be a long-term text editor or note app. It's for quick things you need to jot down, and then you copy the text for elsewhere while archiving it in Jot.
Also, the lack of titles could be an issue for some, and it's impossible to have a mix of basic text and list in one note. If you want a list, it's all or nothing here. So if you were looking to make a titled list, that's too bad — you just have to live with an untitled list here.
Another thing to note is the fact that longer notes appear truncated i n the note list, and there's no 3D Touch to peek and pop a note. This would be a perfect addition to the app to make it easier to view longer notes. And if you have phone numbers, emails, addresses, or URLs, they aren't clickable within Jot itself. While I understand that Jot is geared towards simple text only, having the option to launch other apps directly from within Jot saves a lot of trouble.
The verdict
I love using my phone to take notes and write, so naturally I had to give Jot a try for myself. While I can see the use case for it, I don't think Jot will be replacing Drafts for me. This is simply because I prefer an app that has a way to save my data in the cloud, as I use it as my notepad for everything I need to reference later. And what if something happens to my phone and I didn't copy the text out of Jot? It might end up gone forever, and I don't want to take that chance.
However, if you're looking for a simple app for quick notes and lists, complete with reminders, and don't need iCloud or Dropbox syncing, then Jot may be for you. If my workflow was different, then this app may have worked for me.
Jot - Notes & Todos is available on the iPhone App Store for $1.99.
8.1
OVERALL
Lasting appeal 8
iPhone Integration 8
User Interface 8
Is engaging 8.5
Does it well 8
Jot - Notes & Todos
Things That Are Brown
Source link: http://appadvice.com/reviews
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Enjoy Explosive Tunnel Shooter Action in Space Cycler
November 20, 2020 by RSS Feed
Space Cycler ($1.99) by Sung Liwen is a retro tunnel space shooter arcade game that's as challenging as it is fun. If you enjoyed games like Danmaku Unlimited 3 and AKA TO BLUE, but wish for some classic Tempest shooting action, then Space Cycler is perfect.
When I was growing up, I spent a lot of time playing computer games while I was hanging around my siblings' PCs. I ended up playing whatever games were on them at the time, which usually involved Solitaire, Classic Pinball, Asteroids, or Tempest. I loved arcade games back then, and I enjoy them even more now. It's hard for me to find good space shooters on the App Store, let alone a tunnel-style one that's reminiscent of Tempest. So when I was perusing the App Store for some new entertainment, I stumbled on Space Cycler, and am glad I found it.
Danmaku Unlimited 3 - Bullet Hell Shooter
Sunny Tam
AKA TO BLUE
TANOSHIMASU CO.,LTD.
Visually, Space Cycler has a lot going on for it. The game is rendered in 3D with a quirky and cute cartoonish art style that makes me think of Saturday morning cartoons when I was younger. The space backdrops are what you'd expect from this kind of game, and the textures are nice. Enemies and bosses are pretty detailed and all of them have their own unique appearances and behavior patterns, while your ships have distinctive aesthetics based on the primary weapon type. There's a lot of fun and exciting explosions to witness, and it's easy to spot the incoming enemy bullets and attacks, which tells you when you need to move to dodge them.
Space Cycler is full of bright and vibrant colors, and the animation is smooth and fluid with no lag on my iPhone 8 Plus. The upbeat music is quirky and charming, fitting with the rest of the game's eccentric nature. The sounds are also fun and fit the typical space ship noises that you'd expect from cartoons.
You can play Space Cycler solo or with a friend in the local co-op mode, so one device is between two people. There are five planets to fly and fight your way through, but you unlock them in chronological order. So to get to the second planet, you must clear out the first one, and so forth. Each planet counts as the main stage, but there are multiple waves for all of the planets, including challenging boss fights. Once you unlock a world, you can start new games from there, rather than starting from the first world. However, your score won't be as high this way, so keep that in mind.
There are three space ships that you can choose from in Space Cycler, though only the first one, Bullet, is available at first. To unlock the other two styles, you must reach a certain point threshold. Each ship has a different primary weapon type and unique ultimate attack. You earn points by defeating enemies, as well as collecting the stars that they leave behind. The more you get, the better. Fallen foes can also leave power-ups behind, which you want to collect to upgrade your weapon, giving it more firepower.
Controls in Space Cycler are simple and allow for one-handed play. A slider towards the bottom of the screen lets you move your ship clockwise or counterclockwise on the screen, with the enemies coming in from the middle of the circle. When you move, your ship automatically shoots its primary weapon, so you don't need to worry about a separate attack button.
For the most part, the sensitivity on the slider should be decent enough for most people. However, I wish that there was an option to adjust sensitivity, since you can either move too fast or too slow during more intense fights, like with bosses. I felt that sometimes my ship moved too slowly, or I zoomed across the circle and end up hitting something else I didn't notice. Perhaps I just need more practice, but I feel like adjusting the sensitivity would help out most people.
The co-op mode is a neat feature, as it lets two people play on a single device. This is probably better on an iPad than an iPhone, but it works on both. The second player can just tap to jump in, choose their ship, and then you're both off. You can save your partner from the verge of death, but watch out! It's entirely possible to collide on the battlefield, so you need to be careful and coordinate with each other appropriately to defeat the enemies.
Space Cycler is highly entertaining with fun graphics and challenging on-rails tunnel shooting gameplay, and there is an awesome local co-op mode.
The Good
Space Cycler is a lot of fun and has plenty of replay value. The game is full of vibrant, eye-catching visuals and the music is well done. While five worlds doesn't seem like enough at first glance, when you consider the fact that each area is broken up into several challenging waves of enemies, it's actually a lot of content for the price. Plus, the game gets progressively more difficult, so it does take time to master and beat them all.
On top of it all, Space Cycler's co-op mode is a delightful surprise that works, and is perfect for those who enjoy local co-op with friends.
The Bad
For what it's worth, Space Cycler is a hidden gem on the App Store with a lot of good things going for it. However, again, I would like to see options for control sensitivity, as it would help with better reactions to enemy behaviors and attacks. Hopefully the developers can consider this in the future.
The verdict
Space Cycler is not a new game, but it was recently released and a nice surprise for me on the App Store. I love distinctive graphics that separate games from the rest of the pack, and Space Cycler has that. The music and sound are fun too, and the intuitive controls work well for one-handed play. The stages are challenging, and I can definitely see myself playing this for a while, especially with the co-op.
Space Cycler is available on the App Store as a universal download for your iPhone and iPad for $1.99. There are no in-app purchases.
9.2
OVERALL
Sound/Music 10
Replayability 9
Graphics 9.5
Gameplay 9
Game Controls 8.5
Space Cycler
Sung Liwen
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credit : appadvice
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