Tag Archives: apps

App review: Food Fight! – An Interactive Book by Glenn Melenhorst

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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.

Read more at Common Sense Media


App Review: PopOut! The Tale of Peter Rabbit

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Loud Crow Interactive hits one out of the park with their first app. PopOut! The Tale of Peter Rabbit is one of the best children’s book adaptations we’ve seen. The reading interactive elements are stellar — but what makes the app really stand out is its detailed use of sound and movement with the pop-up elements. Every image is filled with several interactive elements that will enthrall children and adults. Flick the leaves falling from trees in the artwork and they’ll come floating out into the book. Touch Peter or his siblings and they’ll giggle with delight. The narration and music, meanwhile, are soothing and bring Beatrix Potter’s classic tale to life. It takes the children’s book app to a new level – and is worth every penny of its higher-than-other-book-apps price tag.

Read more at Common Sense Media

App Review: Reckless Racing HD

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Reckless Racing HD is, simply put, one of the best racing games on the iPad. It doesn’t take itself seriously. It’s easy to pick up and play. And it doesn’t overstay its welcome. Races are short, fast and full of hairpin turns. Even multiplayer is an easy affair, not requiring — or requesting — anything other than a username (and, you don’t even need to provide that). The graphics are wonderful. The game lets you choose your difficulty settings and comes with a hefty number of tracks. The user interface takes a little while to get used to, but once you do, this is a hard app to put down.

Read more at Common Sense Media

App review: iMut8r

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iMut8r is an app that blends the creative and creepy to great effect. It’s certainly too intense for young kids, but for older teens and adults, there’s great fun to be had in transforming yourself or a friend into a ghoul or werewolf. Figuring out the steps is easy, even without reading the tutorials and because the effects change your picture so dramatically, it’s not critical to perfectly align your photo with the template. The price is right and the pictures certainly help older users get into the Halloween or horror spirit.

Read more at Common Sense Media

App review: Chuzzle

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The team at PopCap Games knows how to make ultra-addictive, truly fun games — and Chuzzle is no exception. What’s ironic about that is the similarities between this and the company’s better-known Bejeweled are numerous (both are, at their heart, match-3 games), but ultimately Chuzzle feels unique. It’s charming, engaging, and very well designed. The game slowly ramps up the difficulty, but at such a methodical pace that it never seems to get too hard. It’s a bit expensive at $2.99 (but still worthwhile); keep an eye out for a bargain, as the game is sometimes discounted.

Read more at Common Sense Media


PBS joins the iPad parade

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Add PBS to the networks streaming content directly to the iPad.

The public network launched a free app yesterday allowing users to full-length versions of some of its most popular programs, including “Nova,” “Antiques Roadshow” and “Austin City Limits”. The app also gives a one hour preview for the networ’s upcoming multi-part series “Circus”.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

 

App review: Super Mega Worm

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Super Mega Worm doesn’t take itself the least bit seriously — and that’s what makes it so fun. The deliberately archaic graphics and the ripped-from-a-cheesy-1950s-horror-film premise add to the kitsch factor. While technically violent — in that you’re killing tiny people – it doesn’t seem realistic. If you like the idea of being a super-ravenous, all powerful bad guy, this is the app for you.

Read more at Common Sense Media


App Review: Modern Combat 2: Black Pegasus

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Shooters are hard to pull off on the iPhone, but Gameloft has done a terrific job with Modern Combat 2. The graphics are sharp (especially for folks using an iDevice with a Retina screen). The action is tense and well-paced. And the missions are varied. There is, however, a fair bit of predictability — particularly for players who have put in some time with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, from which this app borrows quite liberally. It is, however, a realistic portrayal of violence and isn’t something that is meant for kids.

Read more at Common Sense Media

App Review: My Town

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My Town has quickly become one of the most popular location-based apps around, with more than 4.5 million users. It has achieved this success by moving beyond simple check-ins and adding a fun gaming element to the app. That said, it’s not something that’s suitable for younger users — or even young teens. While the privacy issues are not as worrying as apps like Fourquare and InCrowd, there’s still the potential for users to inadvertantly reveal their location to strangers.

Read more at Common Sense Media

App Review: 1 Little Boy

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1 Little Boy is not just good. It’s wonderful. The story is basic, but the twist that the entire trip has occured in a child’s imagination is a great way to encourage your kids to dream. The apps enhances the story with gorgeous artwork and a bare-bones approach to letting the story unfold. It’s one of the few apps that allows parents to record their own voice to narrate the story, which makes it more personal for young readers. The price is a little higher than we’d like, but it’s by no means excessive. This is a wonderful addition to your app collection if you have young children.

Read more at Common Sense Media