"If there is an app for that"

EA announces Plants vs. Zombies Heroes, a collectible card game set in the PvZ universe

March 10, 2016 by macjeff

Super publisher Electronic Arts today announced Plants vs. Zombies Heroes, a new installment in its popular Plants vs. Zombies series that “takes you beyond the backyard.” A collectible card game, Heroes lets you choose from hundreds of characters across the Plants vs. Zombies universe, including new roster favorites from Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2 like Super Brainz, Z-Mech, Citron and Rose.

Featuring comic-style narrative that tells the story gradually as the game progresses, Heroes challenges you to assemble an all-star Plants vs. Zombies team to outwit opponents in battle. The game soft-launched in New Zealand ahead of its upcoming worldwide release.

Created in partnership with PopCap, a mobile developer owned by EA, Plants vs. Zombies Heroes will be a freemium release with In-App Purchases.

Some of the brand new characters include The Green Shadow—an elusive but powerful peashooter known for taking out zombies with her Precision Blast—and Impfinity, a Zombie Imp Hero with the ability to create multiple Imp clones during battle.

And for the first time on mobile, you’ll be able to play as either plants or zombies. The game sports the single-player campaign mode that pits you against AI, but you can also challenge friends from around the world in real-time online multiplayer mode.

“In adventure mode, lead your favorite plant and zombies on an epic missions to battle and take down all opposing Heroes across locations as zany and diverse as the Heroes who inhabit them,” reads the description.

By completing daily quests, players can earn rewards to expand their roster of Heroes and sidekicks. The game is “charming and approachable, but rich with depth, secrets and strategy.”

Here’s the announce trailer for Plants vs. Zombies Heroes.

Players can also test their skills and experiment with different Heroes and team combinations in single player missions before creating new strategies for their Hero by selecting compatible teammates.

“Use the adventure mode to one your skills and fine-tune your strategy, experimenting with different heroes and powerful teammate combinations along the way,” notes EA.

And here’s the gameplay video.

Additional features such as real-time competitive player-vs-player mode and a crafting system will be delivered by way of free updates later this year.

According to developers, the journey of Plants vs. Zombies Heroes began more than two years ago as a paper card game prototype built in the spare time of EA’s Creative Director, Devin Low.

Additional videos are available via the game’s jam-packed YouTube channel.

The game is “coming soon” worldwide, localized in English, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.

For more information, check out the official website.

If you have a New Zealand App Store account, download Plants vs. Zombies Heroes for free from the New Zealand App Store.

Social Square puts your favorite social networks in one app

March 10, 2016 by macjeff

As a rule thumb, the more popular a social network is the uglier, slower and more terrible its mobile app gets.

Facebook’s app, for instance, has long been criticized for its battery hogginess, especially after it’s been discovered that it’s suspiciously circumventing Background App Refresh to continue running in the background when it should not.

That’s where Social Square comes into play.

Formerly known as MySocial, this iPhone app by Chase Giles lets you browse Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+ and Tumblr without having to worry about your iPhone’s battery life.

5 social services and one app to rule them all

After launching the app and connecting your networks, you can quickly switch between your Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+ and Tumblr feeds by tapping the icons lined up alongside the bottom. As both a nice touch and a thoughtful design decision, the iOS status bar automatically changes to that network’s specific color.

Completely rewritten in Swift for speed and using Apple’s new WebKit-based Safari View Controller, this app makes browsing your feeds as fast as in Safari itself while supporting the swipe gesture to go back and forward. Also, links in your social feeds open in-app and Safari content blockers are supported, too.

In addition to viewing posts, the app lets you publish status updates or post a photo to your favorite social services. There’s even a share sheet extension permitting you to save photos and text to any app in iOS’s multi-purpose Share menu.

3D Touch and iOS 9 multitasking support

Plus, it supports 3D Touch gestures so you can quickly compose a new post by pressing the app’s icon on the Home screen and then choosing an option in the shortcut menu.

Those who own an iPad Pro, iPhone 6/Plus, 6s/Plus will be happy to know that this app is fully optimized to take advantage of their device’s native display resolution.

And with full support for iOS 9’s new multitasking features, you can run Social Square alongside your other apps in Slide Over and Split View modes on compatible iPads.

“Minimal power consumption”

Now, the developer has claimed that browsing social networks in Social Square comes with “minimal power consumption”. Frankly, I haven’t had the time to run a non-scientific test to verify his claim so you’ll have to take it as-is.

Summing up

Granted, this app is basically a glorified web view of the top five social networks and as such lacks many service-specific advanced features. Though it won’t replace native mobile apps from Facebook, Twitter, Google, Instagram and Tumblr, Social Square should be more than adequate for keeping tabs on your friends’ posts on the go.

Availability

Social Square requires an iPhone, iPod touch or iPad with iOS 8.0 or later. The app is English-only and lacks a native interface on iPads.

Social Square is available free of charge in the App Store.

Free Apps to Download TODAY ONLY 03/10/2016

March 10, 2016 by macjeff

Loan Calculator — What If? , Bogga Easter , Frame Artist Pro - Photo Collage Editor - Design Scrapbook by Pic Layout and FX Filters For Instagram and more

iPhone:

The Wonder Cat is one charming little feline. Even though he’s lost in an untamed land, he always has a smile on his face. He will run along all on his own, so it’s up to you to navigate the platforms with perfectly timed jumps. Try to collect the flowers, stars, and random items the birds carry in to earn new powers and even ride along on friendly creatures. The game includes two distinct modes, and loads of challenges to take on.

Universal:

With Loan Calculator, you don’t need to have a bunch of reference help files or documentation. Finding out how much your monthly payments will be is as easy as filling out three open fields. Loan Calculator provides you with the option to add additional monthly and yearly payments, helping determine how much faster your loan can be paid off and how much money you’ll save. The total lifetime cost of your loan including interest is calculated as well.

Your child must first hunt down the hidden egg. They can then apply all kinds of different designs just by tapping and dragging them onto the egg. After everything looks just right, your child can snap a picture of their unique egg and share it with the family.

It includes 28 pre-made templates for you to choose from, allowing you to quickly throw together everything from invitations to recipe cards. You can create your very own custom frames as well with up to 56 cells, different background and border colors, custom text, speech balloons, and stickers. The app also includes the ability to apply filters to photos, four output resolutions, and the ability to share your works of art via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Picasa, Tumblr, or Flickr.

Storm and Skye is about courage, friendship, and pure imagination. The duo set out on their big adventure to explore a rundown car wash. What they find is a whole new world with dragons and knights. This audio animation storybook is about 45 minutes in length, and features rich visuals that come alive with the stellar narration. Storm and Skye includes short chapters that are meant to mimic real physical children’s books. This way your child can enjoy a chapter or two and then later on pick up where they left off.

Starting today and going through Saturday, all new players will receive a free premium card pack worth $10. The pack will award you with 10 random characters or starships, which will help you progress even faster. You don’t have to be a fan of Star Trek to enjoy this hybrid match-three game. The basic gameplay mechanics are quite familiar, requiring you to swap gems to create matches of three or more. But instead of going for a high score, you’re going to try to defeat your enemies by matching gems to fire your weapons, build up your defenses, and unleash special attacks. Just be aware that you share the board with your opponent. This adds another layer of strategy since you’ll want to avoid creating easy matches for them. The cards you earn can be used to upgrade your crew and your starships.

We like Word Mess because it’s accessible to gamers of all ages. At the beginning of each round you’re presented with a word or type of word that must be discovered among the mess. You have a limited amount of time to track it down and tap on it. You’re able to play all on your own or compete with your friends in head-to-head battles. You’re also able to compare your skills via Game Center.

Unlike similar finance apps, 5coins doesn’t try to do it all. Instead, it focuses on just what you spend on a daily basis. No jumping through multiple screens to perform a single task. Just swipe down on the screen to enter a value and attach a note. The app will keep a running total of everything you’ve spent, and you can view your expense history with an upward swipe. 5coins is able to alert you when you’re spending too much and have a chance of going over-budget.

Best app deals of the day! 10 paid iPhone apps on sale for a limited time

March 10, 2016 by macjeff

Everyone likes free apps, but sometimes the best ones are a bit expensive. Now and then, developers put paid apps on sale for a limited time, but you have to snatch them up fast. Here are the latest and greatest apps on sale in the iOS App Store.

The post Best app deals of the day! 10 paid iPhone apps on sale for a limited time appeared first on Digital Trends.

Free Apps to Download TODAY ONLY 03/09/2016

March 09, 2016 by macjeff

Bumper Jump , Princess Fairy Tale Coloring Wonderland for Kids and Family Preschool Ultimate Edition , Orbital and more

iPhone:

Stand O’Food 3 is the quintessential time management game. You’re required to feed a variety of hungry patrons before they get up from their tables in pure rage. It may sound easy, but you will be tasked with making more than 90 different recipes and 18 special sauces through 75 levels.

Based on the historic flame light on Wisconsin Avenue, this weather app allows you to see what the weather will be like based on color. If the flame light is blue, there’s no change in view. If the flame is red, there is warm weather ahead. If the flame is gold, you better watch out for cold. And if the flame is flickering, there’s some precipitation in your future. You can also pull down on the screen to see the highs and lows for the next two days.

Universal:

Today only: Unlock all of the aliens and remove the ads between games free of charge! Tap the “Aliens” button in the bottom right corner of the main screen and scroll through all of the aliens until you reach the end. You’ll then see the option to unlock the aliens and remove ads. Tap and confirm. Bumper Jump is a simply adorable high score game. All you have to do is tap to place bumpers underneath your alien to bounce it higher and higher. You’ll find randomly placed planets in your way during the ascent, and bumping into them will result in impossible to control deflections, so try to avoid them. Power-ups like mega bounces, planet repellers, and slow-mo will appear as well to assist you.

We’re recommending Princess Fairly Tale Coloring Wonderland today because it does a great job of guiding your child along the way. They get to color in 11 difference scenes with just a tap. As your child works their way through each scene, new interactive characters and items will appear out of nowhere. The app also includes helpful hints, so even young children can join in on the fun.

Your orb cannon is positioned at the bottom of the screen. Tap at just the right moment to launch an orb into space and watch as it begins to expand until it rams into something. Orbs that have settled will start with the number three, and each time they are hit the number will decrease. Keep firing and smashing orbs into each other to keep the screen clear. The game includes three modes, colorful particle effects, and online leaderboards.

The online world isn’t getting any safer by itself, so take it upon yourself and put oneSafe in your pocket. It allows you to safely store and recall login information, social security numbers, credit card numbers, private photos, and just about anything else you can imagine. The ready-made templates make it easy to enter data, and you can categorize it in a variety of ways. The app also includes iCloud and Dropbox support, four separate login methods, a built-in secure web browser, and search.

Stand O’Food 3 is the quintessential time management game. You’re required to feed a variety of hungry patrons before they get up from their tables in pure rage. It may sound easy, but you will be tasked with making more than 90 different recipes and 18 special sauces through 75 levels.