One of the highlights of the You Don’t Know J
ack series has always been its topical nature. And the series couldn’t be more topical in its iDevice debut, with questions and comments about Elizabeth Taylor’s death, Charlie Sheen’s bizarre behavior, and the royal wedding. As with the recent console version, this is a wonderful blend of sarcasm and trivia and melds old school gameplay with modern times. The jokes might go too far for some parents, though, so this is definitely not a game for younger players. Older players will love the humor, however. And, as an added bonus, the questions are truly challenging, which could help you learn a thing or two as you play.
Tag Archives: app review
App Review: Collision Effect
Collision Effect is downright mesmerizing. 
Armed with both a puzzle mode for strategic thinkers and an arcade mode for people who like their action a little faster paced, the game takes a basic mechanic — don’t let two comet-like orbs of different colors collide, but match up the ones of the same color — and with a little polish turns it into a game that’s hard to put down without taking just one … more … turn. Bonus points for not going with the obvious explosion sound when two incompatible orbs collide and for the colorful “tails” the orbs leave behind them as they move. They’re particularly helpful when you’re trying to figure out what you did wrong — and they add to the difficulty in later levels as you’ll need to brush them away with your finger to get a better view of what’s happening on screen. This is a rare game that can both calm and excite you — sometimes simultaneously.
App Review: Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 12 for iPad
Compared to its peers, Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 
12 is one of the best golf games on the iPad, but judged against the larger console gaming category, it falls a bit short. The swipe mechanic used to take shots works fine most of the time, but occasionally adds more power than you expect — and little errors in the angle of your swipe can have tremendous consequences on screen. However, these controls do provide you with the ability to shoot the ball at a slight angle and add some English to it, which affects its landing. The commentary is also sometimes inappropriate for the situation on screen — not in an offensive way, but it often seems disconnected to the player’s situation. Players can create their own character or use one of the pros, but it doesn’t tremendously affect gameplay. All of this said, the game looks great and the Closest to the Pin challenge is one of the better Facebook integrations of any app. Dedicated duffers might like parts of this app, but casual fans of the sport — and young players — are likely to get frustrated.
App Review: PAC’N-JUMP
There’s really not a lot that’s new with PAC’N-JUMP, 
but that doesn’t stop it from being an eminently enjoyable diversion. Stealing the successful Doodle Jump formula, the game puts Pac-Man on a vertical quest, rather than a maze-based one. And while he still gobbles up dots and power pellets, he also has a series of platforms to help him get higher — and boost the player’s score. The controls are very responsive and rather than being a one-trick pony, players can unlock additional maps that pit Pac-Man against enemies from other classic arcade games, such as Dig-Dug, Rally-X, and Galaga. It’s a retro twist on what is already an iDevice gaming classic.
App Review: Saving Seeds HD
Physics games and iOS devices go 
together, but so far the emphasis in these games has been on cute and funny cartoon characters. Saving Seeds HD : doodle physics takes a different, slightly more mature, approach. It accomplishes this by offering a series of increasingly tough puzzles and rewarding you with a zenlike moment of peace when you succeed, with calming music playing as you watch your seed(s) turn into flowers. It is, in fact, hard to get truly frustrated with the game, as the omnipresent lulling music is so effective at calming the player — and perhaps sharpening their game. With more than 120 levels, there’s a lot to play here. And like the titans of OS gaming, even when you finish, you’ll want to go back and play it all over again.
App review: An Amazing Day At The Zoo
An Amazing Day At The Zoo isn’t exactly amazing, 
but it’s not bad. The app’s use of video footage of real animals is a nice surprise, versus the usual still or animated pictures so many other apps offer. The information, however, is basic and likely will only interest very young children. Older kids will already know most of the facts (i.e. pandas are from China, baby kangaroos are called joeys, crocodiles have strong tails). The narration might also appeal to young viewers, but it could quickly grate on adult ears. Most disappointing, though, is the app’s lack of interaction. Aside from flipping pages, there’s nothing for users to do but sit and watch — which puts this behind the curve in the educational app space.
App review: ABBY MONKEY – First Words for Preschool: Animals HD
The developers may not know how to put together a succinct 
app name, but when it comes to fun ways to educate children, the team knows what it’s doing. First Words is a good head start for children who know their ABCs and are curious about what to do with them, showing them how to spell more than 80 animal names and rewarding them with cute animations. The matching puzzle is aimed at slightly older players. As with other entries in the series, parents can adjust the difficulty of any part of the app to give it longevity. The promotional links at the app’s start-up page are oppressive, though, and are out of place in something that is so targeted to a young audience.
App review: Redshift – Astronomy
Astronomy isn’t a scientific path for weaklings, but with 
Redshift – Astronomy by your side, you’ll be better armed to explore the mysteries of the cosmos. With an incredibly deep catalog of heavenly bodies and more data about each than you know what to do with, this app is an exciting, interactive way to learn about the universe. Rather than just being a data dump, it’s also an interactive tool, showing you what’s above you in the night sky and helping you identify constellations and planets. Kids who want to learn more about planets and stars can use the app’s “travel” mode to “fly” to a location and orbit the planet or star. It’s a bit pricey, but it’s a perfect companion for stargazers — and an embarrassment of riches for students looking to learn more on their own or for a tricky homework assignment.
App Review: iStunt 2
Originally a flash game for the PC, iStunt 2 has 
transitioned wonderfully to the iOS world. While it’s hardly advanced, the game is a lot of fun, offering a wide number of challenges and checkpoints (so that when you inevitably fail at one of those challenges, you don’t have to start over from the beginning). The game looks great, is easy to control and is loaded with over 40 levels, which is a bit more heft than you might expect from a title like this. Paying for a game that can be played for free online might seem a little odd, but consider it a small tarriff for being able to play this great title while you’re on the go.
App review: Geo Walk HD – 3D World Fact Book
In an era where expertly researched encyclopedias are 
nearly extinct and crowd-sourced ones often contain faulty data, Geo Walk HD – 3D World Fact Book is a breath of fresh air. Loaded with information in easily digestible nuggets, the app makes learning truly fun. And a quiz mode helps owners review what they’ve learned (or test their existing knowledge) in an entertaining fashion. Rather than focusing on space or theoretical concepts, the app sticks to the real world, but finds plenty of unheard of creatures that might as well be aliens — like the Blobfish or Fishing Cat. This is, hands down, one of the best educational apps in the App Store.
Chris Morris: Journalist 