"If there is an app for that"

Forge Your Own Epic Tale in Become a Legend: Dungeon Quest

November 13, 2017 by RSS Feed

Become a Legend: Dungeon Quest ($2.99) by Pablo Martinez is a roguelike platformer dungeon crawler. If you enjoyed other games like Cat Quest, Kalimba, and Mr Future Ninja, then you may like what Become a Legend has to offer.

When I'm feeling overwhelmed by reality, my activity of choice is to just kick back and relax with video games. While I usually prefer to relax with puzzles, sometimes I have the itch to explore dungeons and collect loot. That's why I've put so many hours into games like Diablo III, but I'm always on the lookout for new ones to hit the App Store. While roguelikes aren't for everyone, I like them because they give me the challenge of besting myself in each attempt. I also grew up on platformers and love dungeon crawling RPGs, so Become a Legend intrigued me because it had everything I love in one game. What could go wrong?

$4.99

Cat Quest

The Gentlebros Pte. Ltd.

$3.99

Kalimba™

Flashbulb ApS

$1.99

Mr Future Ninja

Appsolute Games LLC

Visually, Become a Legend has a minimalistic cartoony aesthetic going on, and that's quite alright with me. It gives off a cutesy, not-so-serious vibe that's always welcome in mobile games. Everything's rendered in 2D, though some parts feel like pseudo-3D (like going through doors to get to the next floor). The color palette in the game is a nice mix of dark, gloomy tones and contrasting vibrant hues, so it's easy to see what's going on. The character models for your chosen protagonist and enemies are detailed, and the textures in the dungeon environments look good.

Animations are mostly smooth and fluid, though I did experience a few jerky movements due to unresponsive controls. The game music is rather subtle, which I found odd, considering the genre. The sound effects are nicely done and rather realistic with what you'd expect from castle dungeons. Overall, the developer did a pretty good job with the game's visual and audio design.

Since Become a Legend is a roguelike, that means each run you do through the dungeon is procedurally generated. No matter how many times you try, it's very unlikely that you'll ever get the same run twice. The element of surprise is always there and keeps things fresh and interesting, which is why I like randomly generated games. The point of the game is to forge your own legend as you go through all of the dungeon floors and face off against the final boss, whatever it may be.

The controls are simple, though I'm not completely satisfied with the default settings. In the bottom left corner are two buttons that let you move left or right. In the other corner, you have several action buttons: a sword for a basic melee attack, a spell button for casting a magical attack (costs mana), an up arrow for jumping (double tap to double jump), and a down arrow for sliding through ledges.

While the controls work okay, I had issues with their positioning. I'd often find myself casting a spell rather than a regular attack, and sometimes it didn't even register my button press. The responsiveness of the controls aren't fantastic, and could definitely use more optimization. If it's just the button positioning you're worried about, though, the game has four control schemes in the options. However, I would like to see more customization with the controls, and even MFi controller support in the future.

Become a Legend is a bit more forgiving than other roguelike games. If you die, you have one opportunity to revive and make the most of the run before you die again. On the second time, that's it — your performance is tallied up and you get your score for that attempt. If you manage to find the doorway to the next floor, the game gives you the option to save and return to the menu if you want to finish it later. Or you can be brave and continue onward without a break.

Along the way, you'll find gold coins from breakable items around you, and even enemies drop some cash. The gold is what you need to upgrade skills for your hero, which you can do at the beginning of each new run. The upgrades include dishing out more damage, having more health points, stronger spells, and more. But you'll want to spend as much gold as you can, because to enter the dungeon, it costs you 100 percent of whatever gold you have left.

On top of everything, the game features daily missions that you'll want to complete to earn extra rewards. These quests include things like killing enough of specific enemies, collecting a specific amount of gold, and more. The daily missions give players a reason to keep coming back to the game and just extend the longevity.

Become a Legend: Dungeon Quest is a fun mashup of roguelike, platformer, and dungeon crawling RPG.

The Good

Become a Legend: Dungeon Quest is a fun game that will appeal to fans of the genre. The visual style is cartoonish and cute, which just adds to the overall charm. The sound effects are fun to listen to as well. The gameplay is interesting, as it's combining three genres into one, and the exploration factor is a nice addition.

While not everyone may be a fan of procedurally generated games, I think it works out well for Become a Legend. I'm always eager to find out what the next run will be like, and I love being surprised. It also makes it fair, since one can't memorize how to do a certain floor layout. The daily missions add more reason to keep coming back to the game.

The Bad

While I love what Become a Legend offers, I am not too happy with the control schemes. Yes, there are four different layouts to choose from, but I'm having issues with all of them. Specifically, the button positions feel a bit off to me on my iPhone 8 Plus, and it's not as responsive as I'd like it to be. Hopefully the developers can add MFi controller support in the future, as well as let players customize the button positioning, or just optimize it better in an update.

The verdict

I was excited for the release of Become a Legend: Dungeon Quest, and while the game itself is fun, I feel like the overall experience is a bit marred from the controls. As much as I like the delightful graphics, gameplay, and replay value, it gets frustrating when the controls don't respond to my touch or I end up tapping the wrong button too often. Hopefully these issues get fixed sooner rather than later.

Become a Legend: Dungeon Quest is available on the App Store as a universal download for your iPhone and iPad for $2.99. There are in-app purchases for potions and gold.

8.0

OVERALL

Replayability 9

Gameplay 9

Graphics 8

Sound/Music 7.5

Game Controls 6.5

$2.99

Become a Legend

Pablo Martinez

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

Free Apps to Download TODAY ONLY 11/13/2017

November 13, 2017 by RSS Feed

Audio Notebook: Sound Recorder, Notepad, Organizer , Picture Perfect - All in One , Outland - Space Journey and more

iPad:

Audio Notebook: Sound Recorder, Notepad, Organizer ( $4.99 → Free ) Qrayon, LLC Audio Notebook is able to capture a whole day’s worth of audio while you take thorough notes. When creating a new note, you’re able to title and color code it. Then tap record and start typing. The app features a large, legible font and automatic spellcheck, making it supremely easy to blast out notes. You’re also able to take notes in portrait or landscape orientation. When playing back audio, you’re able to seek and choose various speeds. The app includes unlimited audio recording, customizable categories, the ability to filter notes, and the ability to share notes and recordings via email.

Universal:

Picture Perfect - All in One ( $0.99 → Free ) Nitish Mishra Picture Perfect’s name says it all. It’ll help you take your photos from average to outstanding in mere moments. You’ll find all kinds of cropping tools, filters, stickers, tonal adjustments, blur and sharpening effects, color splash options, fonts, and even emoticons to utilize. Just go through the toolbar items one-by-one.

Outland - Space Journey ( $0.99 → Free ) Vito Technology Inc. Outland is a collection of 20 time-lapse videos that will take you on a space journey. The collection includes everything from the winds of Jupiter to the ISS flying over Earth to the liftoff of ExoMars 2016. Each time-lapse video includes serene background music, a short description, and a date and time overlay. It’s best if you can hook your device up to your TV to truly enjoy the experience.

Time Manager - Daily Time Tracker ( $1.99 → Free ) Kurtis Pritchard Time Manager provides quick access to all of your common tasks. Simply create recurring subjects and projects, and when it’s time to work on a task you’re able to categorize it with just a couple of taps. Each task must include a start and end time, which allows you to keep track of the time spent. Time Manager will break down recent trends and present them as graphs. You’re also able to create reports and export them for record keeping.

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

Free Apps to Download TODAY ONLY 11/12/2017

November 12, 2017 by RSS Feed

Memorandum: Personal Planner & Calendar , Baby Growth Chart Tracker , Cheerleader - Stay Productive and more

Universal:

Memorandum: Personal Planner & Calendar ( $0.99 → Free ) Natan Zalkin Memorandum puts all of life’s important events in one place. It has two separate views that act as one. Just tap to switch between the two. It automatically syncs with the native calendar and reminders apps, helping you get started quickly. You can then add your own events, tasks, reminders, and notes. Memorandum also includes the ability to filter content, search, iCloud support, and multiple color themes.

Baby Growth Chart Tracker ( $4.99 → Free ) MINSK LLC Baby Growth Chart Tracker is pediatrician-approved, so you can rest assured that the data will be as accurate as possible. Start off by entering your child’s profile information and attach a photo. Then every time you go in for an exam, input the weight, height, head size, and BMI for your child. Baby Growth Chart Tracker will be able to chart your child’s growth and predict their height with 90% accuracy. The app also includes WHO and CDC charts, imperial and metric support, the ability to track and compare multiple children, and the ability to backup and restore data.

Cheerleader - Stay Productive ( $1.99 → Free ) Monkey Taps Cheerleader will get the positivity flowing. You’ll first be asked to set up when your daily reminders begin and end, and how many times you want them to be sent throughout the day. Then select your favorites from a wide variety of cheerful messages and they’ll help perk you up when needed. The app includes more than 30 themes to choose from, and the ability to share the messages.

True Skate ( $1.99 → Free ) True Axis In True Skate, your fingers act as your feet. The flick controls work exactly as you would expect them to, allowing you to pump, ollie, flip, and grind with little effort. The tutorial at the beginning of the game will walk you through the basics to ensure you get the hang of things before taking on missions. The game includes realistic physics, the ability to challenge other players, replays, slow motion, and the ability to unlock loads of additional content.

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

Free Apps to Download TODAY ONLY 11/11/2017

November 11, 2017 by RSS Feed

Orderly - To-do Lists, Location Based Reminders , Windy ~ Natural White Noise , Easy Spending - Money tracker, Budget Planner and more

Universal:

Orderly - To-do Lists, Location Based Reminders ( $0.99 → Free ) Tekton Technologies (P) Ltd. Orderly is all about prioritizing tasks to ensure you complete the most important ones on time. When creating a task list you’re able to title the group and add as many items as necessary. The menu bar icons at the top allow you to quickly change the background color, text, and font to make the list stand out. A priority level, reminder, and proximity reminder can be attached as well. All of your task lists will appear as little notes on the app’s home screen presented in order of importance.

Windy ~ Natural White Noise ( $3.99 → Free ) Franz Bruckhoff Windy combines natural wind recordings with stunning artwork to help you sleep, relax, study, or meditate. It utilizes stereoscopic 3-D audio that’s optimized for headphones, so you can drift off into your own little world. The six natural wind recordings can be mixed with rain, river sounds, birds, and crickets. There’s also a whimsical story embedded within the app, allowing you to follow Windy on her journey to breathtaking locations.

Easy Spending - Money tracker, Budget Planner ( $1.99 → Free ) Tekton Technologies (P) Ltd. Most finance apps are all cluttered up with unnecessary options and data, but not Easy Spending Expense Tracker. The app’s home screen only displays your current account balance and two buttons: Add Income and Add Expense. When adding income or an expense, you simply have to define an amount and choose a category. The amount will automatically be added to or subtracted from your total. You’re able to look back through your transaction history, and create reports from all of the data.

Math Flashcard Match Games for Kids in Elementary School Studying Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication and Division ( $8.99 → Free ) Eggroll Games LLC Math Flashcard Match Games creates a fun environment for your child to work on their math skills with its eye-popping visuals and positive encouragement. Your child can work on matching problems to their answers or matching problems to other problems. The difficulty can be adjusted by changing the number range and by showing the cards or keeping them face down. The game also includes a bubble popping reward after each round.

GiftBuster: Wish List Registry ( $0.99 → Free ) Giftbuster Inc. GiftBuster is all about convenience. It makes it easy to show your friends and family what you want and need. Simply find the item you want via the browser, copy it from someone else, or add it manually. Friends and family will be able to see exactly what you want and choose to buy the gift for you. GiftBuster also allows you to create fundraisers for things like your dream gifts or travel, and friends and family can chip in whatever they can afford instead of purchasing the entire thing.

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

Zach Gage's Flipflop Solitaire is a Fresh Take on a Classic

November 10, 2017 by RSS Feed

Flipflop Solitaire (Free) by Zach Gage is a new solitaire card game that breaks all the rules. You'll want to take all of your previous knowledge and experience with solitaire and throw it out the window. This is nothing like you've played before. If you enjoyed Gage's other games, including Spelltower, then you don't want to miss this new hit.

As a kid, I grew up with Solitaire on my computers. It was the quintessential computer game and one that everyone pretty much turns to when they need to kill some time back then. It's a definitive card game, but let's face it — the original gets boring after a while. That's why when Gage released Sage Solitaire a few years ago, I was eager to give it a try as it was a fresh new take on a classic. Sage Solitaire ended up being one of my favorite mobile games for a while, and it still holds up well. But when Gage releases a new game, I have to have it. And boy, this one is another surefire hit.

$2.99

SpellTower

Zach Gage

Free

Sage Solitaire

Zach Gage

Just like his other games, Flipflop Solitaire has a super minimal aesthetic to it, which I love. Everything is in 2D with a simple and clean design to it. The icons to represent each suite in the deck of cards is simplified yet iconic, and the colors are bold and vibrant. I also like the modernized typography with the rounded text, because it feels softer on the eyes. Animations are smooth and fluid on my iPhone 8 Plus. There's not much going on for music, but the sound effects are fun and whimsical. Gage has a style, and it clearly shows once again in Flipflop Solitaire.

With the initial download of Flipflop Solitaire, players get to play 1-4 suites for free. However, the 5 Suite and 1 Suite Extended modes are only available through the full game unlock, which is available for $2.99. It also includes backgrounds, different card backs, and color schemes. Honestly, the game is one of the best iterations of Solitaire yet, so I think it's well worth the money.

So what is Flipflop Solitaire? As Gage himself describes it, regular solitaire is about untying knots of unordered cards into clean, sequenced stacks. Flipflop Solitaire is like the reverse of that. In Flipflop, you take your knot of cards and tie it into other, maybe better knots. Eventually, you untie the knots you created into the final stack of rightly sequenced cards. The game gives players full, complete control over how the stacks are created, giving the game a lot more depth than you'd originally think.

Yeah, that sounds a bit confusing. But once you start playing the game, it begins to make much more sense. Even though you get 1-4 Suites for free, I highly recommend playing a few rounds of just one suite to get an idea of how the game plays.

At the top, you have four empty slots. This is where you stack up all of the cards in order, from lowest (Ace) to highest (King) value. Underneath these slots are your five card stacks. The top most card is face-up, while the rest of the stack is face down. You'll want to get these cards organized in their own stacks, and they can be stacked going down in value, up, or even both.

There are two extra cards that are tucked away at the bottom left area of the screen. These can be played at any time if needed. Adjacent to these cards is the Undo button, and a "?" button that shows you all possible moves you can make. In the bottom right corner is the deck that gets dealt when you need more cards, but once it's out of cards, it's out.

Unlike traditional Solitaire, where you must arrange stacks in proper order (put lower value card on top of another card), you can put a card of higher value or a different suite on top of another. For example, you can have "K, Q, J, Q, K" in a single stack, or even "2, 3, 4, 5, 4, 3, 4." You can break up stacks and move a cluster of cards together at once, but only if they are the same suite.

Controls in Flipflop Solitaire are simple and can work two ways. You can choose to drag a card or entire stack with your finger, but you have to make sure your finger is on top of the card that starts the sequence you want to move. The easier way is to just tap on cards or the top of stacks, which makes them auto-move to the spots that they can go to. The game also has haptic feedback if you use a device that supports it. I appreciate the haptics, because it feels like all of my moves are validated.

On top of the various game modes that you can play, Flipflop Solitaire has plenty of achievements to obtain. These give players a reason to keep coming back and playing the different difficulty levels. And like traditional Solitaire, if you can get all of the rightly ordered stacks at the top, then you get a fun animation for your efforts.

The maker of Sage Solitaire, SpellTower, TypeShift, Really Bad Chess, and more has a new form of solitaire for you.

The Good

Flipflop Solitaire is another great card game from Gage. The minimalistic design is appealing to the eyes, and the subtle sound effects are delightful. The gameplay mechanic is interesting and takes your previous experience of Solitaire and replaces it with a new, modern take. The free download gives you plenty of game modes to keep you busy, and there are a lot of achievements and other things to unlock. And if you need more flip flopping, then the full game unlock is fairly reasonable and well worth the cost.

The Bad

Honestly, I can't think of anything negative to say about Flipflop Solitaire. Perhaps just the fact that it requires you to forget everything you already know about a timeless game, takes those rules, and spins it all around. It does take a bit of getting used to, but once you get the basics, it's fun and addictive.

The verdict

I've only played a handful of rounds since downloading Flipflop Solitaire, but I can tell I'm in love with it already. The design is modern and colorful, with plenty of options for customization if you want to spice things up. The controls are intuitive and prove that this is a great iteration of mobile solitaire, and the gameplay is fun. Once you start, it's hard to stop playing. Flipflop Solitaire is one of those perfect mobile games to play when you have some downtime.

I highly recommend grabbing Flipflop Solitaire. You can find Flipflop Solitaire on the App Store as a universal download on your iPhone and iPad for free. A $2.99 in-app purchase unlocks the full game, and is well worth it.

9.6

OVERALL

Replayability 10

Graphics 10

Gameplay 10

Game Controls 9.5

Sound/Music 8.5

FREE

Flipflop Solitaire

Zach Gage

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