The Rune Factory series is a hybrid game that appeals
to a niche audience. It’s one part farming, one part finding a mate and one part action. That’s an odd combination and won’t appeal to some people — but those who enjoy this type of title, they will find plenty to like here. The game offers lots of customization and numerous things to do (including tilling crops, cooking, crafting, fishing, or just wandering the town to talk with people). The town is actually one of the most interesting aspects of the game, as every citizen seems to have a distinct personality and their own quirks. That’s vastly different than many similar games, where non-player characters are more robotic. Combat is challenging — characters move freely and in a very fluid method. It’s anything but boring — a common complaint in earlier entries in the series.
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Game Review: Adrenalin Misfits (Xbox 360)
Adrenalin Misfits won’t be a game that people
talk about in six months. Sadly, many will have forgotten about it. But that’s not to say they won’t have fun with it today. It’s the gaming equivalent of a potato chip: fun to enjoy for a brief moment, but something that leaves you hungry for more. The controls are inexact and might cause some frustration, but not to the extent that families won’t get past it. (Gaming enthusiasts are more likely to notice the problems.) The characters are largely forgettable and try too hard to be edgy, but being able to use your Xbox Live avatar to board down a mountain is novel. Both single- and multiplayer modes (split screen on the same TV) are fun and can be a good bonding experience for families — and might get the kids excited about some real outdoor winter activities.
App Review: Scene It? Harry Potter HD
Even if you’ve seen all of the Harry Potter films and have
a good knowledge of the series’ mythology, you’re bound to stumble across some head-scratchers in Scene It? Harry Potter HD. The app is a fun trivia challenge that will likely make you want to watch the films or read the books again and illustrates just how vibrant and rich a world J. K. Rowling has created. The use of local multiplayer is a fun one, as playing in the same room increases the intensity of playing against someone (versus an anonymous online interaction). The app’s in-your-face marketing of other products, though, along with occasional lock-up problems during film clips detracts from the fun — and starts to make the $4.99 price tag seem a bit high.
App Review: Over the Line?
As parents, we hope that our kids will come to us when 
they’re facing tough situations. But as kids get older, that doesn’t always happen. In an era of digital harrassment and sexting, kids are often too embarrassed or ashamed to talk to their parents. Over the Line? is a useful tool for them to learn that they’re not alone and to learn what others are going through. Beyond the community aspects, which are carefully monitored, it also offers straightforward information and resources to help kids in trouble. It’s not ideal, but if nothing else, it lets kids talk about their fears and situations that embarrass them in an inviting, anonymous forum.
App Review: Talking Rex the Dinosaur
There’s really nothing in Talking Rex 
the Dinosaur that Outfit7 hasn’t done in any of its six other “Talking Friends” apps. The main purpose of the series is for an animated on-screen character to repeat what you say to it in an altered voice. It’s a fun diversion, with a few features thrown in on the side — like feeding your dino a steak or playing a bit of catch with it — but it’s a one-trick pony that eventually does get old (generally much faster for adults than for kids). Still, the fierce T. Rex is bound to catch the eye of young dinosaur enthusiasts. The intensity of the animations might be a bit too much for the very young ones, though.
App Review: Jack and the Beanstalk 3D
Jack and the Beanstalk 3D is a fresh take on
a classic children’s tale, with bells and whistles aplenty. And what it does, it does quite well. The animations are beautiful. The control given to users over how fast or slow those animations run is engaging. And the background music, from Richard M. Sherman (composer of “It’s a Small World”), is charming. We only wish that the story itself was given a little more prominence and the learning potential of the app was better exploited.
App Review: Ragdoll Blaster 2 HD
With more than 200 levels, Ragdoll Blaster 2 
HD never gets old. What players may not realize is that much like Angry Birds, the longer they play, the more they learn about physics. There’s an undeniable visceral fun in shooting the ragdoll dummies out of a cannon, but the player’s focus quickly shifts to puzzle solving and how to hit the target — and the app never gives you an easy way out. The setup for the app is simple, but mastering it takes a long while, which are the key ingredients in a fun game.
Game Review: DanceMasters
DanceMasters is an incredibly fun game that puts 
no pressure on players to learn complicated moves. The point is less about nailing routines as it is about scoring points and moving. There’s plenty of flailing about, but that’s half the fun. The song selection likely won’t be familiar to people who don’t go to dance clubs, though, so you won’t be able to dance to songs you’re familiar with — and only 20 of the game’s 31 songs are initially available. (You have to unlock the others and DanceMasters isn’t real clear about how to go about doing that.) Downloadable digital content will seemingly broaden the catalog, but we would have liked to have seen one or two familiar songs.
App review: FIFA 11
FIFA 11 is about as authentic a soccer 
experience as you’re going to find, short of stepping onto the pitch yourself. It’s a loving tribute to the game of soccer (or “football” as it’s called outside of America) and the enthusiasm can carry through to the player. The game is visually gorgeous, but its controls are average at best and can cause a fair bit of frustration.
App review: Food Fight! – An Interactive Book by Glenn Melenhorst
Food Fight! – An Interactive Book by Glenn Melenhorst has 
some charming elements, but ultimately doesn’t stand up to the best interactive book apps — especially with its $1.99 price tag. The story’s message that vegetables can actually be tasty and shouldn’t be avoided simply because they are vegetables is laudable, particularly with the obesity epidemic, but the app’s interactive elements are just so-so, generally made up of brief sound effects and minor animations. Being able to zoom in on the story’s pictures is nice, but serves little purpose other than to better search for hidden stars, which unlock a less than impressive locked page at the end of the book. The app is fun, but it is not great when compared to some of the other excellent storybooks available in the iTunes store.
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Chris Morris: Journalist 