"If there is an app for that"

Unforeseen Incidents Mobile review

September 27, 2024 by RSS Feed

Probably the most fascinating thing about Unforeseen Incidents is the way the context surrounding its subject matter has shifted so dramatically since its original release in 2018. Outside of that, it's a solid point-and-click adventure game that does a few innovative and refreshing things but also falls into the same classic pitfalls the genre is known for.

Point and click fever

Unforeseen Incidents is an adventure game in which you play as a handyman named Harper who lives in a town beset with a mysterious illness known as Yelltown Fever. It is unclear what brought the illness about, but it is deadly, has no known cure, and has set off quite a bit of civil unrest.

Suffice it to say, some things happen in Yelltown that set you on a quest to discover the mysterious origins of the fever. The only thing standing in your way is a set of puzzles that largely involve the quintessential task of finding, combining, and/or exchanging items with your environment and the game's cast.

Pre-pandemic pandemic

The overall story in Unforeseen Incidents has plenty of twists and turns, and--given that since its release a global pandemic has actually ravaged this planet due to widespread political failures--it all bends into a narrative arc that feels like it comes from another universe. Without giving anything away, the big reveal of the Big Bad Conspiracy at the end almost reads as hopeful compared to what has happened in real life. It's still bad, but arguably better than what we got (complete denial and apathy).

All along the way, Unforeseen Incidents is a treat of clever writing and character quips. Even in these one-liners, exposition points, and incidental dialog, there's an interesting throughline about community tribalism with implications that I'm not sure I agree with, but feels like something the writers were intentionally going for while writing some legitimately funny jokes. I am not sure I can say something like this about a lot of other games, though I wish I could!

A practical man wants practical solutions

What excited me most about Unforeseen Incidents when I first started playing it was its down-to-earth puzzle design. In addition to its tasks being somewhat straightforward, they all also felt in line with Harper's character as a handyman. You start the game by fixing some wiring and eventually get to car repair and even radio triangulation. It's neat stuff that is all mechanically satisfying and tangible in a way that lets you always see what your next step needs to be.

Unfortunately, Unforeseen Incidents strays away from this kind of puzzle design for certain segments of the game and they just feel awful by comparison. There are hallucination sequences, vague directions, and--in the case of the game's final puzzle--sometimes both, and they lead to frustrating results. That final puzzle in particular is such a far cry from so many of the other puzzles in terms of practicality that I was convinced it was bugged. I almost wish it actually was, because I maintain that the solution is bullshit.

The bottom line

Will I let a few bad puzzles tarnish my entire perspective on this game? Well, yes. But I will also say that despite those glaring and frustrating flaws Unforeseen Incidents is quite enjoyable and has more to say than a lot of other adventure games I've played.

Source link:https://www.148apps.com/reviews/unforeseen-incidents-mobile-review/

Free Apps to Download TODAY ONLY 09/27/2024

September 27, 2024 by RSS Feed

Colouring and drawing for kids , Cribbage HD , US Political News: Government and more

Colouring and drawing for kids ( $4.99 → Free ) Arima Jain Coloring and drawing for kids is a fun art app for children of any age. Kids can get creative, find inspiration, or simply get lost in coloring for hours. There are lots of different coloring pages and designs to pick from.

Cribbage HD ( $5.99 → Free ) WildCard Classics Inc New to Cribbage? No problem. Cribbage HD helps you every single step of the way. You’re able to use hints to develop your skills and learn new strategies. If you’re unsure how a hand is scored, simply tap the “Explain” button for a breakdown. When you’ve mastered the basics you can take your skills online, compete locally against a friend, or challenge the AI. The game also includes voice chat, and the ability to personalize the cards.

US Political News: Government ( $5.99 → Free ) Loyal Foundry, Inc. US Political News: Government has all the latest US political news, analysis, and insights from learning sources. The app offers real-time alerts and in-depth coverages of US elections and politics.

CV Maker & Resume Design CVium ( $39.99 → Free ) Lodz LTD Resume Builder Pro gives you everything you need to create a professional resume fast. There are over 25 different premade templates to choose from. Simply enter your contact info, education, skills, experience, and anything else worth noting. Resume Builder Pro can be used to generate resumes, CVs, and cover letters.

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

Balatro review

September 27, 2024 by RSS Feed

As soon as Balatro made its initial splash earlier this year, my initial thought (which I'm sure many others also had) was "this would be very nice to have on a phone." Well, now it's here, and it's definitely nice. Do yourself a favor and pick up Balatro so long as you don't mind holding your phone sideways.

I will not describe how Balatro works

That opening paragraph is about all I have to say about what Balatro is. If you want to read a good writeup about it, might I suggest this piece by Chris Person over on Aftermath. As for the port, it's a bummer that the game came to mobile and doesn't have some kind of portrait mode, and it seems like the touch controls just track your finger as if it was a mouse cursor, but hey, it works.

Now with all of that out of the way, I want to talk about why Balatro is so good. And I don't mean this in the way that every multi-layered roguelite develops its own brand of sticky gameplay loop that makes it hard to put down. No, I mean why does this game--with its one looping song and playing cards aesthetic--stand out in what is now easy to classify as a veritable ocean of high-quality run-based games.

I will instead talk about why I think it works

The answer, to me, can be boiled down to one word: preparation. In many great roguelites, players learn how to twist tactical advantages into an overarching strategy to clear some of the game's hardest challenges. This is also true in Balatro, naturally (and it is perhaps the most successful title I've played at facilitating this mentality), but the game feels almost equally prepared to thwart you.

In almost every one of these games I've played, either the thresholds for success are so narrow that every run feels like you're scraping by or so wide that you can blow the whole game wide open if you know what you're doing. Balatro, quite fluidly, is extremely capable of both. It feels incredible to put pieces in place such that suddenly you are clearing blinds by orders of magnitude with single hands, but you cannot enjoy this success forever. Balatro has more than enough tricks baked into its own challenge systems that it will almost certainly catch up to you, sooner or later. Combine that with a gambling aesthetic (and mechanics) and some tempting ways to mutate each run, and it's no wonder time disappears every time you play it.

Also a note about Apple Arcade

The only other thing worth addressing in this review is Balatro's split availability on iOS. It seems Apple has fully abandoned the notion of timed exclusivity for Apple Arcade and so both Balatro and Balatro+ released at the same time. For my money, I would stay away from Apple Arcade, a service that has altered what it set out to do significantly since launch, removed over half of the amount of games currently released for it overall, and reportedly does not treat developers well.

If, for some reason, you have Apple Arcade, having access to Balatro is great. What's even better is that if your subscription lapses or Apple Arcade removes Balatro+ from its offerings, the paid version in the regular old App Store is there and your progress tracks between them. What it doesn't do is sync with any non-mobile versions of the game, so perhaps if you already played it elsewhere you might want to take that into consideration.

The bottom line

If you've reached the end here and are wondering what my score has to do with these words, I guess I can break it down here: Although Balatro looks great and is clearly very well designed, I do in fact wish there were some more options to make this mobile version friendlier for the small screen. There are other games that do Balatro's thing with enough of the same kind of flair while also adapting better, and if I'm going out of my way to play the mobile version, that is more important to me. Outside of the hype surrounding this game--which will fade--it shakes out to feeling like another great game to add to a pile of similarly great games.

Source link:https://www.148apps.com/reviews/balatro-review/

Free Apps to Download TODAY ONLY 09/26/2024

September 26, 2024 by RSS Feed

Golf Swing Vision: Slow Motion , Twisty Animal , Beat Watcher: Stress Monitor and more

iPhone:

Twisty Animal ( $1.99 → Free ) Digital Hole Pvt. Ltd. Use your fingers to tap left and right to dodge obstacles. You can play as multiple cute animal characters. The gameplay is easy the learn but hard to master.

Beat Watcher: Stress Monitor ( $6.99 → Free ) Ganotis Holdings, Inc. Beat Watcher will alert you when your heart rate goes above a certain BPM threshold. It’s perfect for managing stress, breathing exercises, meditation, or working out. Just turn the crown on your Apple Watch to set a desired threshold, you will hear a sound and vibration when your heart rate goes above the threshold, and a different sound and vibration when it goes back below that threshold. Beat Watcher is integrated with the App Heath app. Just keep in mind that background mode won’t work at the same time as another workout app.

Golf Swing Vision: Slow Motion ( $99.99 → Free ) Heliogram Labs Golf Swing Vision: Slow Motion allows you record your golf swing and analyze it in slow motion. You’re able to record shots in detail and break them down using instant slo-mo replay. You can compare your shot to top golfers by lining up your swing next to theirs. The app saves your swings so you can track your progress over time and see how your swing is improving.

RUGBY.net Six Nations News ( $5.99 → Free ) Loyal Foundry, Inc. RUGBY.net Six Nations News has the latest breaking news from all leagues and all countries. Find out how your favorite rugby teams and players are doing all in one place.

Solitaire Calm, Relax and Play ( $11.99 → Free ) Loyal Foundry, Inc. Solitaire Calm, Relax and Play brings the world of Solitaire to your device. Choose from a variety of themes and card designs. It’s classic Solitaire with either draw one or draw three gameplay. You can pick from either standard or Vegas scoring.

Amiibo Guide – TOTK, BOTW, EOW ( $1.99 → Free ) Actowise LLC Amiibo is Nintendo’s line of toys-to-life figurines that can be used to unlock features. Amiibos typically unlock a character, skin, level, or grant a special type of effect. This app provides you with the drop rates and the best strategies to get your hands on exclusive items.

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

Free Apps to Download TODAY ONLY 09/25/2024

September 25, 2024 by RSS Feed

Clumsy Bomb , USRUGBY.com Six Nations News , Design News: Graphic & Digital and more

Clumsy Bomb ( $1.99 → Free ) Digital Hole Pvt. Ltd. Tap the little bomb who loves to bounce to survive as long as possible. The faster you tap the higher you’ll go. Be careful not to hit the spikes as you bounce back and forth.

USRUGBY.com Six Nations News ( $5.99 → Free ) Loyal Foundry, Inc. USRUGBY.com Six Nation News has live scores, match previews, expert analysis, and the latest news. Find out what’s happening with your favorite teams, topics, and players.

Design News: Graphic & Digital ( $5.99 → Free ) Loyal Foundry, Inc. Design News: Graphic & Digital provides you with all the latest tips, trends, and inspiration for all things graphic and digital design. This app is the perfect way to hone your craft.

Louder Volume Sound Up Booster ( $14.99 → Free ) Future Moments Louder Volume Sound Up Booster is a fast and simple way to increase the volume of audio and video files. The app ensures your audio is always loud and clear without distortion.

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