"If there is an app for that"

Dash and Slice Through Foes in Bushido Bear from Spry Fox

May 25, 2016 by macjeff

Bushido Bear (Free) by Spry Fox, LLC is the latest game that features our favorite cuddly little square-shaped bears. If you’re a fan of Triple Town or Alphabear, then you must add Bushido Bear to your game collection now.

I’ll admit it — I’m a fan of cute things. I mean, how can anyone not like adorable little animals that are the stars in games? While Triple Town came out many years ago, I didn’t get into it back then, because I believe I was on a match-three burnout at the time. But I was definitely aware of Triple Town, so when I heard that Spry Fox were going to come out with a word game featuring little bears, I couldn’t resist. I became addicted to Alphabear, and even ordered an iPhone case last year that had an adorable pattern of the different bears that you could collect in the game. Even though I haven’t played Alphabear in a while now (the levels got ridiculously difficult for me), I was excited about Bushido Bear when I heard about it a few months ago. Unlike the other two games with Spry Fox’s bears, Bushido Bear is a full-on action game that will keep you on your toes.

Visually, Bushido Bear is stunning, but that is to be expected from Spry Fox. The game sports a gorgeous hand-drawn aesthetic and the bears, like in previous games, all have their own unique outfits and personalities. The colors in the game are fairly bright and vivid, breathing even more life into Bushido Bear. Even the enemies have their own special outfits and behavior patterns, and all animations in the game are smooth and fluid. If you played Alphabear or Triple Town, then you won’t be too surprised, but it is still great to see that Spry Fox has retained their style throughout all of their games, as different as they may be from one another. And since this is an action game with warrior bears, the soundtrack follows the traditional samurai-ninja warrior theme, which I found to be relaxing and soothing.

Bushido Bear features one mode, and that is to survive as long as possible. There are no levels to complete, just endless hordes of enemies to slash your way through. However, each day there will be three different quests that are generated for players to complete, which earns them some nice rewards. This adds to the longevity of the game, since you can’t just rush through every possible quest in one day.

The gameplay in Bushido Bear is simple and straightforward, but it does take a bit of practice and getting used to. In short, circles appear on the arena to tell you when incoming enemies are appearing, so you’ll want to avoid standing idle for too long. Each wave of enemies is different too, so it’s never quite the same thing. To attack, just draw a path for your bear with your finger. Your bear will dash on that path with swords on both sides, slicing up any nearby foe. To just move around without attacking, just tap on the spot where you want to go — this is good for collecting those bonus rewards. The game starts out with the forest arena, but after you complete enough quest sets, more environments become available.

The game continues until you die by running into an enemy or getting hit by their attack (watch out for projectiles). If you have collected multiple bears already, then there will be an option to “avenge” your fallen bear with another one in your cute arsenal. Each bear has their own traits too, such as being slower but harder to hit, carrying big swords, and plenty of others.

As you play Bushido Bear, there’s opportunities to earn gold coins. These coins can be used in the Dojo to purchase upgrades for each of your bears, which means longer sword reach, faster attack speed, or better dash control.

But if you’re looking for more bears and even customizing the trails that the bears leave behind in their whirlwinds of fury, then you’ll have to be a bit more patient. That’s because these require collecting several tokens of each before they are available for you to use. The tokens can be acquired from the Shrine, or you can watch a video and get a free gift, which may have coins or tokens. While this is fairly annoying, it does give you more reason to keep coming back to play the game, at least. And to keep things even more interesting, each bear that is available in the game has their own ultimate special attack that can be activated with certain conditions on the battlefield.

I used to be an Alphabear addict, but now I’m becoming a Bushido Bear fiend. It’s incredibly fun to draw paths and watch your endearing little bears lay waste to their foes, but the variety of enemies means some strategy is also involved, rather than just going ham on the battlefield. Like other Spry Fox games, Bushido Bear looks amazing and has relaxing tunes, and the gameplay is just downright fun. Who knew a studio well known for puzzle and word games could come up with an awesome action game too?

I recommend checking out Bushido Bear if you’re a fan of Spry Fox, just like bears in general, or want something fun to keep you busy. Bushido Bear is available as a free universal download on the App Store with in-app purchases.

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

Trace Your Way Past City Lines in This Charming Puzzler

May 25, 2016 by macjeff

City Lines for puzzle lovers (Free) by Genix Lab is a cute new puzzle game that lets players visit various cities from all over the world just by connecting the dots. But don’t be fooled — things are trickier than they seem. If you’re a puzzle fan and enjoy seeing the world, then this is a nice combination of the two.

Traveling around the world is pretty much one of my biggest dreams, and I’m sure that it is the same for many others as well. However, let’s face it — not all of us are rich and can afford to travel around the globe as much as we’d like. Perhaps one day it will be possible, but in the meantime, we’ll just have to make do and see the world through the eyes of others. Or in this case, a puzzle game that lets you see some sights while also stimulating your mind! I’ve been waiting for City Lines for a few months now, but it has only recently arrived on the App Store. But for any puzzle fan, it has been worth the wait.

First off, I’m in love with the visual style of City Lines. The game sports a colorful, flat aesthetic that fits in well with the modern iOS looks, but it has enough shadow and depth to make the cities you paint in come alive. Not to mention the fact that all of the city elements have a bit of retro flair to them, which I find rather fitting for the game. The animations in City Lines is also gorgeous, as everything is fluid and smooth. As with other puzzle games, there’s a rather soothing soundtrack in the background that will definitely help you unwind and relax, and the sound effects when you connect the dots is rather whimsical.

In City Lines, there are two sections of levels available: Free Packs and Premium Packs. There is a total of six cities in the Free section, though the last two require you to reach a certain point in the previous pack to unlock. The Premium Packs section has five more cities that are higher in difficulty than what you start out with in the Free section, and they cost $0.99 a pop or you can get them all for $2.99. Since the game is initially free, you do get a decent amount of content for not paying anything, but there are some occasional ads. These can be removed with a $1.99 in-app purchase.

At some point through the free campaign, you will unlock Multiplayer Mode, though I’ve been having some connecting issues with it so far during my testing this morning. From the App Store screenshots though, it seems like you challenge other players through a series of rounds and whoever ends up with the most points (less moves are better) wins. There is even a spinning wheel that determines what challenge awaits your opponent, so each game will be different.

The gameplay of City Lines itself is rather interesting. Depending on the pack and level that you’re doing, the square grids will range from 5×5 all the way up to 10×10. There will also be bridges involved on some levels, which mean that two paths can occupy one square (one on top and another underneath) so it adds another layer to the game. Each level’s grid will feature different emblems, but there are always two of each. Your goal is to connect these emblems to each other until the entire grid is filled up with colored lines that match each dot. When everything is filled in, the city comes to life with homes, buildings, people, nature, and water. You’ll even get to see some familiar landmarks depending on the level pack that you’re working on.

While City Lines starts out easy enough with the 5×5 levels in the Saigon pack, the difficulty ramps up once you get into the larger grids. Things end up not being so straightforward, as there are more dots to connect and larger grids to fill. You’ll have to think about the paths you draw carefully since every square needs to be filled before the level is complete. Up to three stars can be earned on each stage too, depending on the number of moves you make, so less is better. The paths can overlap as you draw them, though the current one will just replace the previous one, causing you to use another move to fix it, so be careful.

If you ever get stuck on a puzzle, the game gives you five free hints to start with. But once those are used up, you’ll need to purchase more through in-app purchases. But I’d recommend holding off on using up your hints, especially in earlier levels, because a lot of them can be solved just by trial-and-error.

As a big puzzle game fan, I’m enjoying my time with City Lines so far. The visuals in the game look stunning, and the music is soothing. It takes a simple game concept and ramps it up at a gradual pace so it is not overwhelming, and it is pretty challenging overall. But watching a city come to life with familiar landmarks at the end makes everything worth it. I just want to see better connectivity for the multiplayer aspect, as I was unable to test that out from multiple connection errors today (through both Wi-Fi and cellular data).

I highly recommend checking out City Lines if you have not done so already. It’s an endearing puzzle game that will appeal to all fans of the genre. You can find City Lines on the App Store as a universal download for free with in-app purchases.

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

Free Apps to Download TODAY ONLY 05/25/2016

May 25, 2016 by macjeff

Relax Rain , Animal Game Show - Whose Toes are Those? - Matching Fun for Kids and Family - Ultimate Edition , Anodia: Unique Brick Breaker and more

iPhone:

Relax Rain offers a soothing way to unwind. It includes eight different rain sounds: Forest Rain, Heavy Rain, Light Rain, Rain on Tent, Rain Shower, Sprinkle, Thunderstorm, and Wind and Rain. All sounds were recorded in high definition. Just swipe to choose your sound, set the timer, and relax.

You're able to mash away on the scrollable keyboard to create and record tunes whenever the moment strikes. The app features a 32-bit professional quality digital signal processor, allowing you to hear your tunes just as they were intended. The app also includes dual analog modeling oscillators, Audiobus input, MIDI-in, SoundCloud support, and 30 factory presets.

Universal:

Animal Game Show will build up your child's confidence while entertaining them. Your child gets to see a set of toes sticking out from underneath the curtain, and they must decide what animal or person they belong to. They’re provided with three possible answers, and when they select the correct one the curtain will be drawn.

Keep the ball in the air by continuously sliding your paddle under it via touch or tilt controls. Try to collect power-ups while avoiding all of the power-downs that come streaming down. The game includes more than 150 levels loaded with all kinds of crazy objects to destroy, more than 20 power-ups and power-downs, two modes, and achievements and leaderboards via Game Center.

Octagon will test your reflexes and your patience. As you go speeding along, you’ll need to swipe left and right to spin your world to avoid all kinds of procedurally generated speed bumps. Giant gaps will also appear between tunnel platforms, requiring you to swipe up to flip upside down and surf on the opposite side of the tunnel. The game includes classic and endless modes, and an energizing soundtrack to match the gameplay.

Today only: Unlock Fudget’s pro features free of charge! Simply go to the Settings menu, tap on Fudget Pro Upgrade, and confirm your action. The upgrade will unlock eight themes, a calculator, Touch ID support, and the ability to export budgets. Fudget takes a less-is-more approach to finance tracking. You’re able to create separate budgets for each month, specific occasions, or anything else you deem necessary. It only takes one tap to add income or an expense, and you will see your totals updated in real-time at the bottom of the screen. Income and expenses can be favorited in order to be repeated in future budgets. You’re also able to reorder, edit, and delete entries at will.

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

Best app deals of the day! 6 paid iPhone apps for free for a limited time

May 25, 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! 6 paid iPhone apps for free for a limited time appeared first on Digital Trends.

Challenge Your Math Skills with 102030

May 25, 2016 by macjeff

Reviewed by Marilyn Chau

102030 is not just “original and addictive” but it also features a simple concept and helps your math skills too.

Features:

As suggested by its name, 102030, by Li Yinjian, is definitely a fresh idea in the app store and is a game where numbers matter.

Specifically, players in this challenging app are given the task of adding up game pieces to equal values of “10,” “20,” or “30.”

However, just being clever with your mathematical strategies isn’t enough to dominate in this game. Instead, in-app “bombs” get in the way of your matchups, and it’s up to you to carefully plan the timing and location of your game pieces in order to successfully rack up high scores.

This app features both “endless” and “challenge” variations, with optional signing in to your iTunes game center account to compete for tops scores if you’d like.

As a whole, we found this innovative game to be just as fresh and fun as promised. It is a simple concept, but it definitely takes awhile to get the hang of. In-app instructions are decently clear, but there is still a learning curve when first starting out.

Appearance and Layout:

102030 iPhone App Review

Just as 102030 has a pretty simplistic concept of gameplay, the artwork within the app is very simple as well. Things are kept to a minimum; during games most of your games pieces take up the majority of your screen, with a small portion dedicated to showing scores.

With “ball and stick” game pieces, however, detailed designs really aren’t needed; the simplicity of the graphics matches perfectly with the overall feeling of the app.

Getting around the app is easy to do as well; a home screen shows you a few navigational options to get you oriented when first starting out.

Value:

102030 is a free app. It features simple graphics and fun gameplay, and while it might take new players a bit of time to really get the hang of, it’s definitely a game that will delight anyone who loves a good multi-layered challenge.

I had a few instances where the app crashed on me, but as a whole, 102030 ran very smoothly with minimal problems. For a free game, it’s definitely worth at least trying out.

102030 requires iOS 6.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.