App Review: Snoopy’s Street Fair

Snoopy’s Street Fair is positively charming and does a good job of utilizing the familiar Peanuts characters to create a fun, simple simulation that can engage players of all ages. It also boasts lots of extras, like collectible cartoon strips that never get old. However, the fun qualities are quickly overshadowed by the game’s aggressive way of encouraging players to buy in-game currency at high real-world prices. It’s quickly obvious that this is an app that’s much more concerned with separating you from your money than it is about providing enjoyable memories. It also encourages you to recruit friends from Facebook or Game Center to join you as you play.

This ponzi scheme-like marketing is old hat in the world of Facebook games — and has even been done before in the app store — but being nickel-and-dimed every time you start to have fun quickly can take the wind out of your sails.

Read more at Common Sense Media

App Review: A Charlie Brown Christmas

While the nostalgia wave and smart release timing are likely to give A Charlie Brown Christmas a boost, don’t let that distract you from the truly wonderful nature of this app adaptation of the familiar television special. Narrated by Peter Robbins, the original voice of Charlie Brown, and featuring innumerable voice clips from the show, it’s a faithful retelling of the story and certain to charm both children and parents who remember it from their own childhood.

Beyond the story itself, there are plenty of extras, like the chance to decorate your own Charlie Brown Christmas tree. Word and note highlighting serve as educational prompts to children as they peruse the text and play with Schroeder’s piano. And touching illustrations on screen make them spring to life. It might start a bit slow, but by the time you get to the familiar Peanuts theme, you’ll find yourself smiling.

Read more at Common Sense Media

‘Peanuts’ app coming from makers of controversial Smurfs Village

You’re on the iPhone, Charlie Brown.

Capcom has acquired the rights to create social games based on Charles Schultz’ s Peanuts comic empire, which will put Snoopy, Lucy, Linus and the rest of the gang on Apple’s iDevices this fall.

Read more at Yahoo! Games