EatOpine Is Like Facebook for Foodies
October 27, 2017 by RSS Feed
Reviewed by Sarah Hanlon
It’s really cool about social media is that it goes far beyond connecting with people you know. There are social networking apps for every kind of interest you can think of, from cars to video games.
EatOpine is an awesome app that allows you to discover new restaurants in your area in a cool and innovative way. If you love food you’ll love this app!
Concept and Functionality: 
If you’ve ever used your iPhone to search for a place to eat, you’ve undoubtedly heard of apps like Yelp. EatOpine, by EatOpine LLC, goes beyond ratings and reviews by encouraging users to submit photos of their meals.
Not only is this a great opportunity for you to show off your awesome sushi spread, but it’s a chance for fellow foodies to discover a new restaurant to check out.
EatOpine is a social network, which means that you have to create an account or connect the app to Facebook in order to use it. As you share your food finds, your social network of foodie friends will continue to grow.
As someone who is always looking for new place to eat, I know I would use EatOpine on a regular basis.
The only drawback is that the app is still in its infancy, which means that you may not have a lot of users in your area at first.
EatOpine iPhone App
Don’t let that stop you from giving the app a try; just be sure to tell your friends about.
Features:
One of the things I really like about EatOpine is that it serves multiple purposes.
It’s a great platform for people to share gorgeous plates with each other.
It also functions as a way for people to spread the word about fantastic restaurants in the area that deserve to be recognized.
Lastly, this might even be an app that can solve the dreaded question of where you’re going to eat tonight.
Value:
EatOpine is available to download from the App Store for free. I couldn’t find any in-app purchases or ads, which means that users will have a clean and unintrusive experience.
Overall, I definitely think EatOpine will gain traction among foodies. It has tons of potential, and I really hope the app takes off.
EatOpine requires iOS 9.1 or later and is compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.
Source link:http://www.theiphoneappreview.com/2017/10/eatopine-iphone-app/
credit : theiphoneappreview
FROST is a Puzzle Game Bursting With Life
October 26, 2017 by RSS Feed
FROST ($4.99) by kunabi brother is a soothing puzzle game experience that makes reality melt away. If you enjoyed recent puzzles like Campfire Cooking and Motif, then you are bound to love FROST.
Life's been fairly stressful for me lately, so I enjoy just sitting at home and relaxing with games on my iPhone. While recent games like ICEY are perfect for me to get some frustrations out, I usually prefer puzzles to help me unwind. I love puzzle games because they're calming and stimulating at the same time. And while I've gone through most puzzles on the App Store, I can't help but be on the lookout for new ones when the opportunity arises. FROST is one of those games that mesmerizes you with screenshots, and I knew I had to check this out for myself. Like the developer's previous release (BLEK), FROST does not disappoint.
Blek
kunabi brother GmbH
Campfire Cooking
Layton Hawkes
Motif.
Tarik Canturk
Visually, FROST is gorgeous thanks to Apple's Metal 2 GPU. The game consists of nothing more than glowing orbs and light particles, yet it's all beautiful. While FROST appears to take place in a 2D plane, because the flow of the particles can change, it may look a bit 3D at times when the particles appear to come out towards you. It's a nice effect that's rather peaceful and tranquil.
The colors in FROST range from bright neons to more muted tones, but everything meshes together nicely. All animations are smooth and fluid, with no lag on my iPhone 8 Plus. There's an ambient and atmospheric soundtrack that plays in the background, and the whimsical sound effects are delightful to listen to. The developers did an excellent job with FROST's visual and audio design, that's for sure.
Like other puzzle games, FROST is level-based and players must go through each stage in chronological order. It's unclear how many total levels there are since you have to go through them all to find out, but there's definitely a good amount for the buck.
The goal in FROST is to guide the flocking spirits (particles of light) back to their home planets (glowing orbs). The game starts out easy enough, but then you have to figure out correct pathways, perfect timing, and other obstacles that stand in your way. Despite the difficulty picking up at a gradual pace, the game is still incredibly relaxing thanks to hypnotic light particles.
Controls in FROST are simple and intuitive. In each stage, a flow of spirits comes in somewhere on the screen. You must draw a path with your finger from that stream to the corresponding planet. You'll see your path appear "depressed" on the screen, as it will end up being slightly lighter than the background. Small particles indicate the path that the spirits will take once the current gets picked up. To get rid of your paths and start fresh, just tap anywhere on the screen.
As you get the spirits to their home, you'll notice a ring fill up around the planet. This indicates the number of spirits each world needs, and once it's full, you'll have a limited amount of time before it slowly begins to deplete. When a level involves multiple planets, you must make sure to get the spirits where they need to go in a timely manner so that all planets are filled and don't run dry. It sounds easy enough, but it's much harder than you think, especially when multiple colored spirits and differently sized planets come into play.
FROST is a game that's all about the universe and life, which is apparent as you watch the particles dance and freely flow on the screen. There's also mysteries behind everything that will unravel and reveal itself as you make progress in the game. FROST is always in constant motion, and it's all about balance.
The makers of Blek have a new path drawing puzzler for you.
The Good
FROST is downright stunning with the exquisite graphics that are made possible by Apple's Metal 2 GPU. This is a game that makes a great case for showing off the capabilities of your iPhone or iPad. The sound design is also peaceful and delightful to listen to as you guide the spirit particles, so it's an excellent choice to relax with after a long day. Controls are simple and the puzzles themselves are rather challenging the further you get.
The Bad
For the most part, FROST is excellent. But the game does not explain much to the player, whose left to figure things out on their own. While it's not a big deal for me, some may be annoyed by the lack of guidance. And if you're not impressed by watching many light particles floating around on a screen, creating some wickedly cool designs, then I'm afraid this game may not be for you.
The verdict
I love games that help me take a load off after a long day, and FROST does exactly that. The graphics are top notch quality and show off what our iDevices are capable of. The music and sounds help put your mind at ease and focus on figuring out the puzzles, which can be challenging later on. Controls are cleverly designed and intuitive for the platform. There's plenty of content for the price, and this is one game that you'll find hard to put down once you get going.
I recommend giving FROST a try if you're in the mood for a soothing puzzle game about life. You can find FROST on the App Store as a universal download on the iPhone and iPad for just $4.99.
9.2
OVERALL
Graphics 10
Replayability 9
Game Controls 9.5
Sound/Music 9
Gameplay 8.5
FROST
kunabi brother GmbH
Source link: http://appadvice.com/reviews
credit : appadvice
Apollo Reddit Client Looks Like Apple Made It, and In a Way, It Did
October 26, 2017 by RSS Feed
Christian Sellig, a former Apple intern, was never happy with the quality of Reddit clients for iOS. They usually don't follow the iOS user interface guidelines, Sellig says, so he set out to create his own Reddit client. He gathered feedback from thousands of Reddit users over the course of several years, took what he learned working at Apple, and put a lot of work into developing a gorgeous, powerful Reddit client called Apollo.
narwhal for reddit
Rick Harrison
Reddit: Trending News & Tips
REDDIT, INC.
Submarine —Powerful Reddit App
Julian Weiss
Apollo is a gorgeous, easy to use Reddit client. You don't have to sign into your account to use it, but you're certainly missing out on the entirety of the experience without doing so.
Images in Apollo are, by default, presented inline. You can change this by switching to Compact view in Settings, but the speed and beauty with which Apollo treats images is a welcome improvement over the normal experience. Even comments benefit from this, with inline previews of the content.
Even images from sites other than Reddit, like Imgur photos, are rendered inline, so you don't have to change to another app to see them.
If you click on a link within a Reddit post, that link opens in a web viewer within Apollo — no more switching to Safari and back to follow links.
Navigating in Apollo Reddit Client is equally fantastic, with a lightning-fast jump bar and groupings of popular and trending posts.
The way Reddit *should* look on an iOS device
The Good
Apollo has become my go-to client for Reddit on my iPhone. Since Sellig designed it following iOS guidelines, it just feels like an app that was destined for the iPhone or iPad. It's right at home, looks and acts like many of the apps Apple has preinstalled on the devices.
The ability to switch between Large or Compact mode is terrific for those times when I need to quickly peruse Reddit topics. I can get the images out of the way, and just read the titles. When I'm ready to just browse, I turn off Compact mode and enjoy the gorgeous image rendering the app affords me.
Navigating between subreddits is a breeze, with the fast jump bar. You can tag your favorite subreddits, and then access them quickly from the top dropdown menu.
Apollo features great gesture controls, fully customizable, for upvoting, downvoting, replying, and saving posts. You can also upvote, downvote, collapse, or reply to comments with simple swipe gestures. Other control groups include your inbox, profile posts, and profile comments.
The Bad (Spoiler alert: there is no bad)
There isn't much not to like about Apollo Reddit Client. It works beautifully, looks like a native iOS app, and offers plenty of functionality.
The only real "negative" is that you don't get all of the features for free. I totally understand that, since Sellig obviously wants to benefit from his development and maybe even make a living.
You can unlock all of Apollo's features with a Kind Tip of $2.99. That will provide you with the following features, on top of the free ones:
- Submit posts
- Multiple accounts
- Auto dark mode
- Custom app icon
- Touch ID and passcode
- Customize gestures
- Keyword filters
- Comment color themes
- Default Reddit homepage
- Gif timeline scrubbing
If you really want to give more, Sellig also supports additional tips of $4.99 or $9.99. There aren't any recurring costs or fees, and the contributions help support an amazing client.
The verdict
Apollo is an amazing creation, and does everything so well I had to struggle to find something negative to say about it. Sellig has done an amazing job of bringing Reddit to the iPhone and iPad in a way that makes it look right at home.
9.8
OVERALL
Lasting appeal 10
iPhone Integration 10
User Interface 10
Does it well 10
Is engaging 9
Apollo Reddit Client
Christian Selig
Source link: http://appadvice.com/reviews
credit : appadvice
Question Everything in ICEY, an Intense Hack-n-Slash Action Game
October 24, 2017 by RSS Feed
ICEY ($2.99) by X.D. Network is a side-scrolling action game that's rather meta in and of itself. This is a mobile port of the ICEY game that was released on Steam in November 2016. If you enjoy other hack-n-slash titles like Super Samurai Rampage and Severed, then you'll like what ICEY brings to the table, but it's not without some flaws.
When I'm feeling a bit stressed, I enjoy getting my pent up frustrations out through video games. There's nothing better feeling than just unleashing a flurry of attacks on some digital enemies and watching them fall, you know? While I haven't heard of ICEY until now, I knew that this was a game I had to check out after seeing screenshots and video of the gameplay. And while I'm liking it so far, it definitely isn't without some flaws.
Super Samurai Rampage
Brackish Games
Severed
DRINKBOX STUDIOS INC.
Visually, ICEY is gorgeous. The game features a heavily anime-inspired aesthetic to it, especially with ICEY's character design. ICEY is rendered in 2D, but the backgrounds are rather detailed and provide a bit of depth to everything, so it's almost like pseudo-3d. Environments are fairly detailed and textured, along with enemy robots. If you're an anime fan, you'll feel right at home. ICEY has smooth and fluid animations, so there was no issue with lag on my iPhone 8 Plus. The atmospheric and ambient soundtrack is soothing to listen to, and the sound effects are done well. On top of that, the unique narration that you hear as you play is incredibly human-like and sounds natural, but will make you question everything. As you may have guessed, this is where the meta part of the game comes into play.
Since ICEY is a side-scrolling action game, players must go through everything in linear fashion. You'll navigate through a series of connected rooms in order, and the only way to proceed is to clear out all enemies in the room you're in. There are also some tough boss fights that you'll be put up against. The game starts you off with a tutorial that explains all of the controls and basic actions to you, which I recommend paying attention to because things can get a bit tricky. The story is a bit generic and cliché, involving the typical hero who awakens from a deep slumber and must set out to defeat an evil villain trope that's been overdone.
The narrator will narrate everything that occurs on the screen, and even point you in the right direction to make progress, but you may not always want to listen. The meta part of the game involves breaking free of an omnipresent force and forging your own path. After all, can you really trust a mysterious omnipresent force like that without questioning its true motives?
Controls in ICEY are simple, but take a bit of time and practice to fully master. In the bottom left corner is your virtual joystick for horizontal movement. The bottom right corner has four buttons placed in a diamond formation, and each one is labeled with a number and a symbol. With the "01" button, you perform a basic attack. The "02" performs a heavy attack, which is capable of breaking through enemy defenses. The "03" allows you to jump (double tap for double jump) and "04" does a dash forward. Eventually you get a "05" button in the very bottom corner that lets you do special attacks once you've unlocked them.
While the game does a good job of explaining the controls, I wish that there was the option to change key bindings. I often found myself pressing the wrong button because I'm used to controls from other games, and end up dashing instead of attacking, or attacking rather than jumping. Hopefully the developers consider giving players the option to customize the button positions or bindings for a bit more freedom and streamlining in with the controls in the future.
ICEY's health bar is shown in the top left corner. Underneath the blue health bar is the yellow shield gauge (looks like arrows pointing right). The shield protects her from some damage but has to recharge after it's depleted. Performing a dash uses one charge, and you only have three available at a time. However, dash charges refill quickly enough, so you shouldn't have an issue with being completely out.
The key behind ICEY are combos...a lot of combos. The damage that ICEY does is increased for each consecutive hit that she's able to land. She's also capable of executing crazy combos from the ground and air alike, so it's best to experiment. And make sure to break through enemy defenses with her heavy attack so then you can unleash your fury.
For those of you who care about trophies and achievements, there are plenty to discover and unlock in ICEY. You'll also come across floating panels that can be activated with a hit from ICEY. These allow you to get upgrades for ICEY's moves and abilities by spending the cash you acquire from defeated foes. It's important to take advantage of these when you come across them, because they'll make battles easier.
ICEY is an intense side-scrolling action hack-n-slash style game that is rather meta.
The Good
ICEY is a great little side-scrolling action game that is sure to delight fans of the genre. The anime style art is polished and appealing, while the music and sound effects are a nice touch. The controls work well enough but require time and practice to master. The game's story is the typical fare, but the meta part with the narration and questioning of the omnipresent force is a nice element to the game. Battles are fun and intense, and should appeal to fans of hack-n-slash action.
The Bad
While ICEY is pretty good for the most part, it's not without flaws. I mentioned earlier that the controls should be customizable with the bindings, as it would streamline the process for players who are used to other key bindings for similar games. Also, the difficulty level, even on Easy, can be a bit hard because of the controls. Hopefully the developer can fix that.
The verdict
Overall, ICEY is definitely a game that fans of the side-scrolling hack-n-slash action genre should check out. The game features amazing visual style, great sound, and the narration can be rather humorous and serious at the same time. Controls are okay, but should be fixed in the future. The key to victory in battles is dependent on your combos, so make sure to mash on those buttons and land as many hits as you can. The game says "don't think, just fight," and that's exactly what you'll want to do when robots are trying to get you.
I recommend giving ICEY a try if you're looking for a fun and frantic hack-n-slash game. You can find ICEY on the App Store as a universal download for your iPhone and iPad for just $2.99. There are no in-app purchases.
8.1
OVERALL
Graphics 9
Replayability 8
Sound/Music 8.5
Gameplay 8
Game Controls 7
ICEY
X.D. Network Inc.
Source link: http://appadvice.com/reviews
credit : appadvice
Campfire Cooking is One Delectable Treat for Puzzle Lovers
October 20, 2017 by RSS Feed
Campfire Cooking ($3.99) by Layton Hawkes is a delectable puzzle game about cooking meals over a warm, toasty fire. If you love campfire meals but don't want to deal with the hassle of real-world camping, then Campfire Cooking is the perfect treat for you. It's similar to other games like Slayaway Camp, in the fact that it's like a Sokoban-style puzzle.
When I'm feeling a bit stressed, I like to unwind with either video games or food. Yes, I know — stress eating can be unhealthy. Fortunately, when I heard of Campfire Cooking, I knew that this was something I absolutely had to have, as it combines two of my favorite things into one! While I heard nothing about Campfire Cooking before this week, I must say that this is one of the best games I've purchased as of late. It satisfies both my sweet tooth and craving for puzzle games.
Slayaway Camp
Blue Wizard Digital LP
Visually, Campfire Cooking is stunning and beautiful. The game has a kind of cartoonish aesthetic with the characters and food, but it's done gracefully so it's not over-the-top. The food looks simple yet appetizing, and the campfires have a soothing look and feel to them that mimics the real thing nicely. There's several different environments to set up camp in, and they all have a believable appearance. The vignette around the screen edges is a nice touch, as it puts the focus on the puzzles.
All animations are smooth and fluid, with no lag on my iPhone 8 Plus. The game features an upbeat and quirky soundtrack with realistic sound effects as food cooks over the fire. Overall, the developer did an excellent job with Campfire Cooking's visual and audio design.
Like other puzzle games, Campfire Cooking is level-based. At the moment, there are eight different trails (chapters) for players to explore, and each one contains about 10 puzzles for you to solve. The nice thing, though, is the fact that you can play the stages in any order, so if you're stuck, you can just try a different level. However, you do need to solve a certain amount before the next trail gets unlocked.
The nicest thing about Campfire Cooking is that even though it's a puzzle game, there's still some rather endearing characters and story to everything. In Campfire Cooking, you'll meet a grandpa who takes his grandkids out camping for vacation. There's plenty of stories to share with everyone, along with many jokes and moaning about cell phone reception. These scenes take place between puzzles and are sure to bring a smile to your face.
Controls in Campfire Cooking are simple. In each puzzle, there are metal and wooden skewers of marshmallows that you can twist and rotate on the board. The goal is to get everything evenly cooked on the flames. To make a skewer move, just slide it in the direction you want — they spin as they slide over. It can't move if there's no space to fit the marshmallows, and it can't cross over other skewers. To rotate a skewer (wooden sticks only, no metal), just drag over it until you see curved arrows, and then move your finger until the arrow is filled. If the space allows for it, that wooden stick will rotate.
Eventually, there are other camp meals that you'll have to cook, including various soups in pots. The pots can't move on their own — you need to push them around with skewers, and even magnets are introduced later. The pots just need to go into the flame once to be prepared, but marshmallows must be toasted on both sides and not burnt. However, some levels start off with burned marshmallows, and you must use these to set the fire on the board in order to prepare the non-burned food. Some puzzles are a piece of cake, while others are definitely not a walk in the park.
Start up the campfire, and get ready to think about roasting marshmallows.
The Good
Campfire Cooking is a genius and fresh new take on puzzle games. The visual style is unique and rather realistic for a cartoonish aesthetic, and the music is delightful to listen to. Plus, who can resist the sound of a marshmallow toasting up over an open fire? The game concept is simple enough, but the puzzles can get tricky, making you truly use your head. The family-friendly characters are relatable as well, making this a fantastic puzzle game for anyone.
The Bad
Honestly, Campfire Cooking is an excellent game. However, if you're the kind of person who doesn't enjoy puzzles that make you use your head, then you may get frustrated with this one. Still, I think it's best to give this one a shot, because you may change your mind.
The verdict
Overall, Campfire Cooking is one of the best puzzle games you can get for your iOS device. The game looks gorgeous, and the sound mimics the camping experience. The controls are easy to learn and optimized for touch screens, so there's no issues there. The puzzles have a nice complexity to them, ranging from easy to tricky, but once you figure out a puzzle you've been stuck on, it's incredibly satisfying. Having the option to play levels in any order you want is also a nice perk.
I highly recommend Campfire Cooking if you're a puzzle fan. You can find Campfire Cooking on the App Store as a universal download for your iPhone and iPad for just $3.99. There are no in-app purchases.
9.6
OVERALL
Graphics 10
Sound/Music 10
Gameplay 10
Replayability 9
Game Controls 9
Campfire Cooking
Layton Hawkes
Source link: http://appadvice.com/reviews
credit : appadvice
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