"If there is an app for that"

Put the Links Together in the Puzzling Lynk

September 19, 2017 by RSS Feed

Lynk. ($0.99) by Michael Le is a new puzzle game that features a unique line drawing mechanic. If you enjoyed games like Linelight and Splitter Critters, then you'll get a kick out of Lynk.

When I'm under stress (and there's been a lot of that for me lately), I like to escape from reality with video games. My go-to genre of games are typically puzzles, because they keep my mind busy and stimulated while also helping me relax after a long day. Though it feels like I've been through all of the puzzle games on the App Store, I'm always looking out for something new and refreshing. When I saw Lynk on the App Store, it looked distinctive enough that I knew I had to check it out for myself.

$1.99

Linelight

Brett Taylor

$2.99

Splitter Critters

RAC7 Games

In terms of visuals, Lynk is as barebones as it gets. It's super minimal with just basic lines and geometric shapes set against a black background. If you're into simple and clean designs, then Lynk should be appealing in terms of graphics. Everything is rendered in 2D, so there's nothing too fancy. However, despite the simplicity, there's mesmerizing particle effects that are fun to watch as you successfully solve the puzzles. Since everything's set against a black background, the vibrant colors provide nice contrast. Animations are smooth and fluid, so there was no lag on my iPhone 7. While the game does not have a background soundtrack, there are soothing sound effects as you draw and make the links. Even though the game's audio and visual design is fairly basic, it works out well for what it is.

Like other puzzle games, Lynk is level-based. Players must go through each stage one-by-one in chronological order. The game does not provide you with a tutorial or hints, so it's all up to the player to discover the rules and mechanics of Lynk on their own.

The goal is pretty straightforward: connect the blue circles together, while getting all of the other objects and avoiding obstacles in the process. Oh, and your line can't cross over itself, so you'll have to be careful! Fortunately, the game doesn't penalize you for messing up, so it's rather relaxing. Lynk evolves over the 130 levels it provides in the initial download, so you learn the objectives as you go.

Controls in Lynk are simple and intuitive. To connect the blue circles, just draw a line with your finger from one to the other. Things start off easy enough, but then you'll have walls and mazes to maneuver through, green squares to collect, and more. Eventually, you'll also get red circles, but the only way to connect them is to connect the blue ones first, as the red ones mimic the blue line. This is trickier than it seems, because walls and other obstacles stand in the way, but it's entirely possible to have multiple solutions to a puzzle.

A path drawing puzzle game with a variety of mechanics.

The Good

Lynk is an incredibly relaxing puzzle game with a fresh premise that's nice to see in a marketplace oversaturated with puzzles. The minimalistic design should appeal to those who don't like a lot of fancy and flashy graphics, and the sound effects are whimsical. Controls are intuitive and friendly enough for anyone to pick the game up and play. Even without handholding and guidance, figuring out how to do things in Lynk is not hard, so this is a great game for anyone.

The Bad

For the most part, Lynk is a fantastic little puzzle game for everyone. But if you prefer a challenge and want something that makes the game harder, such as a time limit or move restrictions, then you won't find it here. And if you aren't a big fan of minimal design, then Lynk may not be for you. But if you can put these aside, Lynk is rather enjoyable.

The verdict

As a fan of puzzles and someone who feels like there's nothing new or interesting on the market, Lynk is like a breath of fresh air. I love the simple and clean aesthetic, and the sounds are delightful. Even though I usually like at least a little guidance when starting a game, I found Lynk to be straightforward enough without losing the player, which is nice. The puzzles themselves are challenging but not frustrating, and sometimes even make you think outside the box to solve.

I recommend giving Lynk a try if you're in search of a tranquil puzzle game this week. You can find Lynk on the App Store as a universal download for your iPhone and iPad for just $0.99. There are no in-app purchases.

8.4

OVERALL

Game Controls 9

Replayability 8

Graphics 8

Sound/Music 8.5

Gameplay 8.5

$0.99

Lynk.

Michael Le

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

Free Apps to Download TODAY ONLY 09/19/2017

September 19, 2017 by RSS Feed

Haze ~ Weather Forecasts , Planett: Simple daily & weekly todo list / planner , Fall Down | Endless and Level Game, Highscore Game and more

iPhone:

Haze ~ Weather Forecasts ( $0.99 → Free ) Franz Bruckhoff Haze puts some color into your forecast. The app boldly displays the current temperature in the middle of the screen. Tap on the temperature to get the forecasted high and low, feels like temperature, wind speed, and wind direction. A downward swipe will reveal a five-day forecast. The colorful background animations will reveal whether the high for tomorrow will be warmer, cooler, or stay the same based on the direction of the flow of the waves. Haze also includes sunshine hours, UV, cloud coverage, sunrise and sunset times, precipitation chances, humidity levels, atmospheric pressure, and loads of themes to choose from.

Planett: Simple daily & weekly todo list / planner ( $1.99 → Free ) Qi Meng Planett provides simplicity in a complex world. When adding a plan or a task, you’re asked to enter a description, location, date, and time. Your item will then be placed in a scrollable list on the main screen, where you can check it off, delete it, or move it to another day with just a swipe. Across the top of the screen you’ll see your entire week at a glance. As an added bonus, you can swap out the photo within the planner to either inspire or reflect your day.

Universal:

Fall Down | Endless and Level Game, Highscore Game ( $0.99 → Free ) Think Simple Pub. Fall Down requires patience and a steady hand. The object of the game is to navigate a ball around treacherous obstacles by bouncing it left and right with taps. One collision with an obstacle and it’s game over. Fall Down’s level mode includes five worlds with 10 levels in each. Its endless mode will have you competing for high scores.

Classroom Checkout ( $4.99 → Free ) FikesFarm, LLC Classroom Checkout makes it a breeze to keep track of books. As a teacher, you’re able to create an account and add books to the digital library via barcode scans. Then your students can create their own accounts using unique numeric login codes. Every time a book needs to be checked out, they can simply login to their account and scan the barcode.

SomaFM Radio Player ( $7.99 → Free ) SomaFM SomaFM doesn’t require any registration or additional purchases. Just launch the app, pick a station, and enjoy! Stations can be filtered by popularity or genre, and they can be marked as favorites for quick access. SomaFM offers high and low bandwidth streaming to help avoid data overages. It also includes background streaming support, the ability to share what you’re listening to, and Apple TV and AirPlay support.

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

Grapple Gum is a Sticky and Addictive Action Platformer

September 18, 2017 by RSS Feed

Grapple Gum ($1.99) by Ali Mehrez is a slingshot-style action platformer that is both challenging and delightfully charming. If you enjoyed other games like Pigeon Wings and Super Samurai Rampage, chances are high that you'll love what Grapple Gum has to offer.

I'm going through a lot right now, so I've found a lot of peace in just sitting back and playing video games as of late. It's helpful in taking my mind off of things, even just a little bit, so I appreciate having all of my games right now. Though I have most of the consoles that matter (Nintendo Switch, 3DS, and PlayStation 4), I still find most of my gaming time spent on my iPhone just because I have it with me at all times.

Usually I like to unwind with stimulating puzzles, but every so often I just want something frantic and action-packed. When I saw Grapple Gum trailers a few weeks ago, I knew that this was something special and I had to get my hands on it. Now that it's out, I can say that it doesn't disappoint.

$1.99

Pigeon Wings

Ignacio Schiefelbein

$1.99

Super Samurai Rampage

Brackish Games

$0.99

Doodle Jump

Lima Sky

Visually, Grapple Gum is stunningly gorgeous with a completely unique aesthetic. It features doodle-style artwork, similar to the days of Doodle Jump. Everything is rendered in 2D, but with the blurred graph paper background, the game carries a pseudo-3D effect. In the foreground, you have your pink gum ball character, as well as a ton of floating balloons and enemy doodles that are out to get you.

Grapple Gum uses a color palette full of bright and vibrant colors that contrast nicely with the off-white background of graph paper. Even the leaderboards have a hand-drawn pencil-on-paper design that I am in love with. Animations are buttery smooth and fluid, so I had no issues with lag on my iPhone 7. The game also has a quirky soundtrack that is fun to listen to as you play, as well as bubbly sound effects. The developer did an excellent job with Grapple Gum's visual and audio design, because it's completely immersive.

Grapple Gum is a roguelike arcade platformer shooter, and there are 10 levels to get through. While that doesn't sound like much, the game is pretty difficult, especially when you take into account the gigantic bosses that await you.

In each level, your goal is to collect the three stars that are scattered around the level, before facing off against a boss. While each stage can be pretty big, there's a compass indicator that tells you the direction you should be going, as well as the distance between you and the star or boss.

After each boss fight, the game presents you with two potential upgrades. You must choose one before you move on. These upgrades are always randomly generated, so you may not get the same ones after each level.

The controls in Grapple Gum are simple and intuitive, clearly designed for touch screens. Since you're controlling a sticky pink piece of gum, your main mode of transportation is to grapple on to the floating balloons. To do this, just tap on the balloon you want to go to, and your gum will extend a sticky arm out and hold on to it, pulling you towards it. You can also pull back on your gum to fling it in the opposite direction, similar to Angry Birds. When enemies show up, just tap on them to target and shoot. While the controls are pretty straightforward, things do get hectic, so juggling everything can be rather challenging in later stages.

While you start out with a basic gun in the beginning, there's six different weapons that you can acquire to help you in battle. There's a weapon that shoots explosive bullets, another that shoots in a three bullet spread, and more. Each weapon type has upgraded versions too, so you'll want to upgrade your weapon of choice if you can. Other upgrades include increased fire rate, longer range for shots, and more health.

As you collect stars and defeat enemies, you'll accrue money. While you usually can only choose one free upgrade between stages, you can get both if you have enough money (at least 1000). It's best to get both if they're of use to you when you have enough money, because otherwise the money is wasted.

Once your gum is out of health, the game ends. You'll see your stats, including how many enemies you killed, bosses you defeated, bullets fired, money acquired, and how long you managed to survive. The time you last becomes your score, and is what the game uses for leaderboard rankings. So the longer you last in a game, the better.

Grapple Gum is an intense and action-packed arcade action platformer shooter that you're bound to get stuck to because it's so good.

The Good

Grapple Gum has many good things going for it. The graphics are distinctive and serve up great eye candy thanks to the vivid colors. The music is also downright satisfying, so make sure to turn the volume up for this one. Controls are simple enough, but do take some practice to truly master. While the core mechanics seem easy at first, the pace of things picks up quickly and then it's quite a frantic, chaos-filled action game. Even though there is only one mode, it's a fun and challenging high-score chaser that's hard to put down.

The Bad

Grapple Gum is a great game overall, but that's not to say that it doesn't have any flaws. The control scheme works decently overall, but sometimes I end up shooting my weapon instead of hooking onto a balloon as I was originally trying to do. This leads to me falling and scrambling to get back on my feet. I'm not sure how this can be fixed, but I felt that it should be pointed out.

The verdict

I've been looking forward to Grapple Gum for a while now, and I'm glad that it's finally arrived. The game is beautiful with the quirky hand-drawn doodle art style, and the audio is a fantastic touch. While it looks like an easy game, Grapple Gum is rather challenging, and should satisfy anyone's sweet tooth craving for an action-packed platformer shooter.

I highly recommend grabbing Grapple Gum if you want an physics-based action platformer that isn't like anything else you've played before. Grapple Gum is available on the App Store as a universal download for your iPhone and iPad for just $1.99.

9.4

OVERALL

Graphics 10

Sound/Music 10

Replayability 9.5

Gameplay 9

Game Controls 8.5

$1.99

Grapple Gum

Ali Mehrez

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

Free Apps to Download TODAY ONLY 09/18/2017

September 18, 2017 by RSS Feed

Reminders Widget , Tadaa SLR , eXtra Voice Recorder - Record, Add Notes & Photos and more

iPhone:

Tadaa SLR ( $3.99 → Free ) menschmaschine Publishing GmbH Tadaa SLR does most of the heavy lifting for you, but it includes a handful of powerful editing features that will please even the most seasoned iPhoneographers. After taking your photo you’re able to apply a mask to your subject manually or have Tadaa SLR detect the edges automatically. The aperture, highlight and gloss levels, and range of your blur effect can be adjusted via sliders. Circular, linear, and complete blur options are available as well. With your subject fully in focus and background blurred out, go ahead and add some filters before sharing it.

Universal:

Reminders Widget ( $1.99 → Free ) Crater Tech LLC Reminders Widget enhances the way you use reminders. It taps into the native Reminders app in order to pull any entries you’ve already created. You can then access all due or overdue reminders from a convenient Today widget. The widget also allows you to create new reminders, sort reminders, scroll through groups, and complete reminders.

eXtra Voice Recorder - Record, Add Notes & Photos ( $1.99 → Free ) Denys Yevenko The app provides you with full control over every aspect of your recordings. While recording you’re able to add comments, bookmark important sections, and even sync photos with sections. You can then go back through your recordings to split, trim, and remove unwanted sections. All of your recordings are stored locally, but you can also upload them to your favorite cloud storage services like Google Drive, Dropbox, and Evernote. Recordings can also be resumed at any time, shared, and searched for by title or comments.

INKS. ( $2.99 → Free ) State of Play Games INKS is pinball with an artistic touch. It provides classic pinball gameplay, allowing you to simply tap on each side of the screen to control the paddles and launch the ball through the air. But where it differs from other pinball games is with its explosion of color. In order to complete a level, you must get the ball to touch all of the colored side panels. After doing so, ink will bleed out onto the pinball surface and create works of art. The game includes more than 100 levels to experience.

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

Free Apps to Download TODAY ONLY 09/17/2017

September 17, 2017 by RSS Feed

Currencies - The Smart Currency Converter , Among Thieves , Colossatron: Massive World Threat and more

iPhone:

Currencies - The Smart Currency Converter ( $0.99 → Free ) Edovia Inc. Currencies takes a different approach to exchange rate conversions. It puts all of your currencies in one place, allowing you to set an amount and see 160 conversions at once. You’re also able to set currencies as favorites, or simply have Currencies determine which you need to convert based on your location. The app also includes a lock screen widget, Apple Watch support with dictation, and intelligent clipboard detection.

Universal:

Among Thieves ( $2.99 → Free ) LAN - GAMES EOOD The one thing you must remember while playing Among Thieves is that there isn’t any honor among thieves. Everyone is fair game. With that in mind, the rules are fairly straightforward. The goal of the game is to be the thief with the greatest fortune. You’re able to accumulate wealth by planning street robberies, performing dangerous heists, sabotaging your opponents, and even stealing directly from your opponents. All of this is accomplished by playing various action cards when it’s your turn. A complete list of rules is available within the game.

Colossatron: Massive World Threat ( $0.99 → Free ) Halfbrick Studios To overcome the formidable forces of General Moustache and his military units, you must attach colored power cores to the body of Colossatron in order to create matches of three. Power core colors can be mixed to create new, more powerful gadgets and weapons, so pay close attention to where you place them. You’re also able to upgrade and repair your Colossatron using prisms collected during your rampage. The game includes seven continents to destroy, epic boss battles, and achievements and leaderboards via Game Center.

Pixel Trip ( $0.99 → Free ) Free Dominion Studio LLC Pixel Trip isn’t your everyday matching game. This one is all about speed. The game includes three different modes, all of which require you to match tiles as quickly as possible. Each grid has one and only one set of four matching color tiles. You must drag your finger across them before the timer hits zero. It sounds easy, but once the clock starts ticking you’ll feel the pressure build.

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