We will go into a quick break at the moment. We would love to continue reviewing the lesser-seen stuff in the app store, and giving you our thoughts on it, but due to certain time-constrains, we have decided to go on a little break!

We can still review your lovely gems if you wish and giving you our opinions via email or itunes, our contact details is just right at the top corner.

See yah for now!

I knew I was in for something good when I first loaded Pig Rush. I mean, what is not to love in a running pig? The gameplay of Pig Rush is very straight-forward and simple, but mastering it is difficult. Tap low for low jumps, and tap high for high jumps. The main aim is just to navigate through the beautifully drawn platforms through low and high jumps. How difficult can that get? Apparently, it is more difficult than I thought. Always jumping high ensures you will get to the next platform, but your distance available for your next jump might not be sufficient. Jumping low jumps is a safe choice, but can that low jump allow the cute pig to successfully reach the next platform? The decision of whether to jump high or low makes this game oh-so challenging.

“I am a pig, see me fly!”

The graphics in the game is simple, cute and fun. It is the sort of game where you want to play just one more time to see if you can beat your previous score- and that comes very easily too as each game probably lasts about a minute. The sweet thrill of short excitements makes me want to recommend this to all casual gamers!

“I won’t be a roast pork now “

My only gripe with the game is that highscore tables are online. You do get one local highscore entry, seen in the top left hand corner, but I feel this is the sort of game you might challenge your friends in, score-wise. “Hey, see if you can beat me sucker”-kind of thing and a local leaderboard will certainly allow for more re playability in this little gem.

- Cute polished graphics

- Simple fun gameplay

- Lack of local highscore tables; highscore tables are online

Whats not to love in a running pig game? Pig Rush is one fun quick pick-me-up game, a hidden gem indeed!

Scribble Pilot is yet another game that uses a doodle-styled form of art for its graphics. I believe this form of art style is hugely popularized by the app store hit game, Doodle Jump. It is a top-down shooter, with your main protagonist being a doodled-styled plane. Throughout the game, your main objective is to destroy all the incoming enemies and save the spaceman. At the most basic level of enemies, there are rocks scattered everywhere which you can destroy or ignore. The other enemies include UFOs (which strangely does not look like one), spaceships, space bugs and space mines (looks more like space poop; but nevermind ). Each level ends with a mothership boss enemy you have to fight. There are 3 types of weapons that you can peruse, the basic bullet, an upgraded bullet and a tri-shooting upgraded bullet. They all have their own ammo system and your doodle ship does not upgrade its weapon.

“Pew pew pew”

The main challenge of the game is to multitask all the various tasks, that is to destroy the incoming enemies, maintain your fuel capacity and ammo count with the powerups, avoiding bullets and saving the spaceman. It might sound like alot, but after awhile, you realize, there is really nothing else to it. Enemies can be avoided if you wish, you could miss a fuel tank and still survive til the next fuel tank. Your basic ammo is basically unlimited with the constant “Extra Bullet” powerups. Bosses and enemies all fight the same way, and feels like it is just a change of sprite. The only challenge as the levels proceed is that there are more enemies.

“Pretty sure I fought you before.” “Oh yeah, I just changed mah picturez”

The tilt controls is executed smoothly, however the shooting seems to lacklustre. I am not sure if it was intended or not, but there is a delay after every 5 shots. To me, it just creates a laggy feel to the game which really spoils the gameplay.

If you are a big fan of doodle-styled games, perhaps you may consider grabbing this game. But otherwise with the unchallenging repetitve gameplay and shooting flaws, I would not recommend anyone to get this game at the moment.

- Graphics (Doodle-styled) is polished

- Core gameplay is lacklustre and repetitive

- Controls can be better

Scribble Pilot attempts to take on the top-down shooter genre with the popular doodle-styled graphics, however the core gameplay and overall feel is lacking.

Scribble Pilot (Version reviewed: 1.2.0, Price as of review: $1.99)

Filed under: Reviews Tagged: 1-heart, games, review ]]> http://applovin.wordpress.com/2010/02/02/scribble-pilot-review/feed/ 0 Josh (wahseh) Mobile Photo 02-Feb-2010 AM 11 39 10 1heart copy review copy Mobile Photo 02-Feb-2010 AM 11 39 31 Mobile Photo 02-Feb-2010 AM 11 40 29 pros copy cons copy bottomline copy http://applovin.wordpress.com/2010/01/30/watermelon-review/ http://applovin.wordpress.com/2010/01/30/watermelon-review/#comments Sat, 30 Jan 2010 19:22:12 +0000 Josh (wahseh) http://applovin.wordpress.com/?p=171 ]]> This arcade-styled game is sure to get you in love with its cute watermelon graphics and music. MAXIMUM WATERMELON!

Watermelon! is a arcade-styled game by GAMEGOU. Armed with cute graphics and design, I certainly fell in love with it in an instant!  The premise of the game is simple, shoot watermelons at the invading robots (They look too cute to be called robots though ), with the aim of getting them on back where they belong, on the moon. To achieve that, you have to chain a series of watermelons so they will get hit multiple times and soon transverse to the moon. The robots are hostile to the watermelon-throwing hero though, shooting him with bullets and hampering his quest to get them back where they belong! There are some friendlier robots though, giving you health points provided you do not treat them with the same watermelon treatment!

“Take that watermelon!”

There are 12 levels in the game, with 4 waves per level. However, the game “saves” at every 3 levels. So essentially, you can only start at levels 1, 4, 7, 10 (you get it) when you want to play the game. I would love to be able to start at every level, but this is just a minor gripe. The music, done by Danpaladin, is very addictive and well-fitting for the game. The craziness of the music only adds to the enjoyment of play in the game. The tilt controls also feel natural and easy to use. I would certainly hope to see a better integrated highscore and statistics system, like ability to put names on highscore tables. After all, if this was planned to be like an arcade game, there should be names on the highscore system, so one can challenge other to out compete each other.

“It gets difficult!”

The gameplay is simple and fun, well-suited for the 5 minute break. It feels like playing a really cute arcade game with all the hectic tilting and swiping, and Watermelon! certainly executes it well. If you are expecting some sort of storyline or depth in the game, you will be disappointed. Otherwise, it is definitely a worth-getting for the arcade goodness!

- Clean, imaginative graphics and crazy-fun music

- Fun arcade-styled gameplay

- No real depth in the game;

- Highscore system can be improved!

This arcade-styled game is sure to get you in love with its cute watermelon graphics and music if you are seeking simple fun. MAXIMUM WATERMELON!

Watermelon! by GAMEGOU (Game version reviewed: 1.0.0; Price as of review: $0.99)

Filed under: Reviews Tagged: 3-heart, games, review ]]> http://applovin.wordpress.com/2010/01/30/watermelon-review/feed/ 0 Josh (wahseh) Mobile Photo 31-Jan-2010 AM 02 38 02 3heart copy review copy Mobile Photo 31-Jan-2010 AM 02 38 21 Mobile Photo 31-Jan-2010 AM 02 38 29 pros copy cons copy bottomline copy http://applovin.wordpress.com/2010/01/30/depict-review/ http://applovin.wordpress.com/2010/01/30/depict-review/#comments Sat, 30 Jan 2010 17:47:22 +0000 Josh (wahseh) http://applovin.wordpress.com/?p=134 ]]> Depict is the go-to multiplayer pictionary-esque game with its impressive polish and execution. At free, it is a no-brainer grab from the app store however its success still lies in whether it has the ability to rake in constant players, which it doesn’t at the moment.

Depict by Makeshift Games,  is like a drawing and guessing game that was released in December last year. Initially priced at 99c, it has now been changed to a free game with 2 in-game upgrades, a custom avatar maker and a lightning round mode, both priced at 99c each.

The game is pixel styled, giving you a retro-feel while playing the game. I really enjoyed the design and polish of the game because of the pixel style. How cool is drawing in pixels? Things look differently when it is drawn in pixels and the outcome comes out fresh to the user. I personally find my horrible drawings more forgivable in pixels too. How the game plays is that each user gets to draw once and is given one word from a list of words, the user is to draw it out and getting the other players to guess correctly. If the user is not drawing, he will be guessing what the other users are drawing and selecting what he think is the most likely choice. It is not easy though, as some words are so closely linked either in definition or drawing that it challenges both the drawer and guesser to draw intelligently and guess intelligently .

“Now WTF is a friar?” – I drew a picture of McDonald’s Fries for this and people actually managed to guess it

“The guessing mode” – Note that some words when drawn can come out similar so both the drawer and guesser needs to think smart!

The game is OpenFeint enabled, and if you have an account prior to this, you can essentially start playing in a matter of seconds after launching the game, which I find it a strong point of a good multiplayer game. There is no need to find rooms or the likes, as the system enters you automatically into one room. If you don’t have an OpenFeint account yet, you will be assigned a Guest user and can start playing immediately too. You can convert to a full-fledged account when time permits. Adding your new-found drawing buddies is also a breeze as you can add them in-game, and it links to their OF account too!

When you enter into a game, it will more often be started already, and you will enter in the next round. There are 5 rounds in each game, and restarts constantly after each game ends. Some people might be put off by not playing from round 1 because they would not be able to be the highest scorer by the end of the game. But asides from seeing your name on top after the end of 5 rounds and getting a slightly bigger e-penis, there is really no other benefits from finishing on the top. The lack of such a distinction creates a more relaxed environment for the game, giving players more enjoyment in the game. You score points by guessing correctly the fastest and also for drawing accurately (which is judged by how many people guessing your picture correctly). The points are accumulated at the end of each game, giving you a total. Again, the total is never really revealed to anyone else, giving the relaxed environment I was talking about earlier. The achievements the developers put in gives the game more fun and replayability. Examples of  some achievements include guessing 20 times correctly in a row, scoring 1500 points total, people giving you favorites for your drawing etc.

The core game is largely unaffected by the in-game upgrades and it does not feel like a freemium model some games are adopting, that is to offer a bit of levels to entice the user and then selling additional levels. Essentially, the in-game upgrades serve as extensions to enhance your gameplay experience. Users would not feel that they are not playing a fully-fledged game if they do not buy the in-game extras. And oh, there is no ads too, in case you were wondering.

One major gripe about this game is that there is a lack of players usually, at least at my timezone. It ranges from 5 players to 15 players online at once, give and take a few players AFK-ing, many of times you would not play in a full 5-user game but instead play with lesser players. It is fine though, given the relaxed nature of the game, but certainly I would love to see more full games and players around. A multiplayer game’s success can be measured by the number of people playing, and for now, Depict does not have players playing the game to make it a success. Imagine a scenario where you hope to play a good game, and in one room you enter there is a douche who keeps drawing out the words, you leave and try to enter another, only to find out that the other room only has 1 player – there goes one good game experience, hampered by lousy players and the lack of players.

Clearly this game is full of merits and I would strongly recommend it to all users to at least try it out, even if drawing is not your thing. It is a great casual pick-me-and-play game, and the fact that you can start playing in a matter of seconds with other people gives me more reasons to recommend it to everybody.  It is perfect for that 5 minute break! However, the game is currently hampered by the lack of users. I certainly hope more people will notice this hidden gem in the app store and make this game a success. I find it sad to see a great polished and well-executed game not do well because people do not notice it!

- Smooth gameplay experience and execution

- Great design and art-style

- Perfect for the 5 minute break

- Lack of players in a multiplayer game?!

Depict is the go-to multiplayer pictionary-esque game with its impressive polish and execution. At free, it is a no-brainer grab from the app store however its success still lies in whether it has the ability to rake in constant players, which it doesn’t at the moment.

Depict: The Multiplayer Drawing and Guessing Game (Version reviewed: 1.2; Price at review: FREE!)

Filed under: Reviews Tagged: 3-heart, games, review ]]> http://applovin.wordpress.com/2010/01/30/depict-review/feed/ 0 Josh (wahseh) 3heart copy review copy Mobile Photo 27-Jan-2010 PM 07 55 37 Mobile Photo 31-Jan-2010 AM 01 23 35 Mobile Photo 31-Jan-2010 AM 01 21 48 Mobile Photo 27-Jan-2010 PM 07 55 44 pros copy cons copy bottomline copy http://applovin.wordpress.com/2010/01/29/our-new-rating-system/ http://applovin.wordpress.com/2010/01/29/our-new-rating-system/#comments Fri, 29 Jan 2010 05:31:16 +0000 Josh (wahseh) http://applovin.wordpress.com/?p=112 ]]> We have finally came to a conclusion with a new rating system! We have decided to use a 4-pronged approach to summarize our reviews and impressions. The ratings aims to give a concise end to our impression, and hopefully give our readers a clearer understanding.

We will use a system of 3 hearts in our ratings. We do have a special accolade on top of getting the full 3 hearts, given only to those applications and games we find a must-buy and most deserving. When we confer this accolade, we strongly recommend our readers to check the game out!

Otherwise, here is our 3-heart review system and what each heart means

(1/3) “Worth the skip” – Our 1-heart rating means we recommend you not getting the application/game. It might not be a totally bad (*cough* shit *cough*) application or game, and there might still be merits found in the application/game. But our point is that we strongly feel that it is worth the skip for now.

(2/3) “Consider getting” – Our 2-heart rating means we feel that our readers could consider getting the application/game. We probably found some positives that make getting the game worthwhile to grab, however there are still certain areas that could be improved which is why we say consider getting for now.

(3/3) “Worth getting“” – Getting a 3-heart means we feel the application/game is worth getting! We probably feel that it stands up to its current price point, and that it is polished and well-developed – indeed worth getting!

(3/3) + apploved accolade “Must get!” – Our highest rating conferred on the site! The 3-heart + apploved accolade represents our strongest recommendation for the application/game. We feel that our readers should strongly check out this applications due to the enjoyment we had playing the application!

This rounds up out new rating system! Any comments/queries about our system, you could contact us via the comments section or email us! Sure, you can also tell us our pictures suck,

However, after much debate, we decided that perhaps a “rating” system might pave way for better review system. While words, pictures, and videos can convey majority of our impressions of the game, clarity of our review will definitely be better if we do introduce a rating system. We will still stick with our normal reviewing standards, however we would introduce a rating system. Again, we wouldn’t judge so critically in terms of rating numbers, like Gameplay: 85/100 etc. , but rather we would have a concise rating at the end of the review.

More information on that will be finalized. We are pretty thrilled for this change too and we hope that as our readers, you will benefit from it too!

A unique concept for a game, but that is the end. Get this if you like flexing your fingers, or really bored with 99c to spare, if not this game is worth missing.

You would think that this would not happen, a typo in the application name! FingerFex, or corrected in the game, Finger Flex is a unique game I came across on the application store, but that is the end of the good things I have to say.

The main aim of the game is to tap from 1-5 in sequential order in the quickest possible time without lifting any of your fingers.  There are a pretty decent number of levels, provided you don’t get bored before that.

There is a caveat though, you cannot raise any fingers in your conquest to hit the number 5. This is where the flex comes into place, you need to properly plan out your fingers to finish the level fastest. Did I mention that tapping anything else besides the next dot gives a game over?

- Interesting concept, time-killing game, decent amount of levels

- You definitely need a table to play this one, both hands are needed

- Graphics look mediocre

- Annoying sounds

A unique concept for a game, but that is the end. Get this if you like flexing your fingers, or really bored with 99c to spare, if not this game is worth missing.

FingerFex (Version reviewed: 1.0; Price as reviewed: $0.99)

Some games wow with their content and some games wow with their concept. The game “tiler” wow-ed us with its elegant and sleek graphics. “tiler” is a smooth take on the classic slider puzzle game by tattooed orange. There is nothing really special about the slider game, it is after all an old classic game some might remember playing when they were young and getting really frustrated with it. It is a simple game and tiler does take it in a right direction by giving it very beautiful graphics, making this simple game a pleasure to play with.

The game starts off like the real slider toy, “Slide to Open”, giving you a breathe of the visual experience you will be expecting already. The game offers you several skins to enhance this visual treat, and even a night mode for playing at night.

Everything flows so elegantly in this game, while on the night mode, the time menu changes to the dark version too. Oh, and did I say to activate the night mode you actually have to flick a light switch?

Even the highscore table is a visual treat; there is a highscore table of your most recent finishes and an online table of the best finishes. I would appreciate if they kept your best finishes locally too, however the local scores table is of recent finishes.

There isn’t really anything else to write about this game, because after all, it is a slider puzzler. My major gripe about this game is the lack of difficulty mode. There is only one difficulty present and after awhile, you feel as-if you are playing the same thing over and over again. Including difficulty levels will certainly help the game alot in terms of re playability and challenge. My minor gripe include the lack of local highscores, but instead they sort by recent scores, so you cant keep track of your best timings and moves used.

- Aesthetically pleasing game; feels and plays very polished

- Simple, fast, pick-me-up game

- Lack of varying difficulty modes

- Highscore table can be improved

If you are looking to immerse yourself into a beautiful and relaxing puzzle game, you should check out this slider puzzler, however it is let down by the lack of additional difficulty modes.

Notes: I have spoken to the developer of tiler, and he mentioned that additional difficulty levels will be included in the next update, along with more skins, added sounds, facebook and twitter integration. I will give a reupdate of this review when the update is launched!

Tiler (Version reviewed: 1.0.0; Price as of review: $0.99)

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