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.
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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.
Read more at Common Sense Media
App Review: PopOut! The Tale of Peter Rabbit
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.
App Review: Reckless Racing HD
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.
App review: Pecos Bill
The tall tales of Pecos Bill are entertaining 
enough without augmentation, but when you blend in Robin Williams’ enthusiastic telling of the story (with his inevitable bits of improv), good looking artwork, and the ability to customize the experience, it’s a perfect storm — and makes for one of the better video adaptations of a classic book in the app store. The Pecos Bill app can be enjoyed by both kids and parents, offering a good blend of education and entertainment. The price is, admittedly, higher than most, but this app comes with a fully animated movie rendition of the story, which is magical enough app that you won’t regret spending the money.
Read more at Common Sense Media
App review: The Velveteen Rabbit
The Velveteen Rabbit is a timeless story of the 
power of love, and this app does a wonderful job showcasing that to young readers and viewers. The artwork is soft and fits the story wonderfully, and Meryl Streep does a good job narrating the story. The app is priced a bit high, especially considering the lack of any real interactivity, but the classic story has the potential to engage and captivate children.
Read more at Common Sense Media
App review: iMut8r
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.
App review: Chuzzle
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
App review: Super Mega Worm
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
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.
Chris Morris: Journalist 