Crazy Machines

I love physic-based games, so naturally, Crazy Machines is right up my alley simply because it's a physic-based game that I can take with me. The object is to create a Rube Goldberg machine out of the given materials to make something happen. The most common scenario is to get the bowling ball to the goal area. Not only is this game fun, but it's challenging and a really fun puzzle. This is most definitely one of those games that will provide hours of brain-teasing exercises. Because there are multiple solutions for each level, this game really makes you use your brain and think about how you are going to make something happen. It really helps build problem solving skills while entertaining you at the same time. The graphics are very clean-cut and look fantabulous (fantastic and fabulous). The menu loading time takes a little longer than I would like, but that is no where near enough to make me regret this purchase. Currently $2.99 in the AppStore. Go get it now!!!

Seek 'n Spell

Have you ever thought to yourself, "Gee, I wish there was some sort of game that combines Wurdle and good old fashion tag"? Well, your prayers have been answered. Seek 'n Spell is a fun game that uses your actual GPS location to plant letters throughout your area that you then have to run to while holding your phone so that you can collect letters then spell things with your letters to gain points. And the best part? You can play with any other iPhone owner who has the app. Vince and I tried this out at a park a few weeks ago, and to be honest, while it was fun, it was also difficult because the GPS was not quite as quick as we were, so we were constantly running in the wrong direction before we realized where the letter actually was. But once you get the hang of it, this game can be loads of fun. My plan is to get a bunch of iPhone owners together to play a massive (dare I call it epic) game of Seek 'n Spell. $2.99 seems like a really steep price until you realize how impressive this app is. It uses your actual GPS location!!! Am I the only one who thinks that this is the coolest thing ever??? The AppStore could really use more apps like this; Apps that use more of the iPhone's special extras to make for a really awesome experience. That's why we all bought these phones to begin with, right?

SpinArt

I may be speaking for the both of us, but Vince and I have an obsession with these kinds of artsy apps. Both Colorsplash and Pano tickled our fancies in ways we can't even begin to describe. SpinArt really should be no exception. It does exactly what the title suggests. It is a replica of the cheesy spinart that you can do at art fairs and the county festival. The fun part is the no mess and the fact this it uses the iPhone's intuitive multi-touch interface to work. Start with a blank canvas, give it a spin with your finger, then select your colors and drag your finger across the screen. Before you know it, you're creating works of art that someone beside just your mother would be willing to hang on their refrigerator. The sheer fact that this app isn't glitchy or laggy makes it worth $.99, but then you realize you're having fun and it becomes one of your favorite apps. It's a great way to spend a couple of minutes. I've been playing with it for 30 minutes, and show no signs of really getting that bored with it. I would like to see the option to upload your own photos from your phone into the canvas, but other than that, it's a really fun app that you should download immediately if you enjoy these kinds of apps.

iDork

This game really speaks to my inner dork. iDork is fun, but I can't help but compare it to Trace. They both are stick figures trying to make their way across an obstacle course that you have drawn out for them. The only real difference is that Trace came first. Both are done with crude drawings and stick figures. One plus is that iDork has some really nice graphics when compared to Trace. Other than that, there isn't really much to review. If you want to get it, there is a free version and a $.99 version.

Karuki

Oh Karuki. Even the name sounds adorable, and that's exactly what this game is. The object of Karuki is to draw lines that the small little Karuki character will bounce off of and hit the various jewels. You have to gather as many jewels and small smiley faces as you can before heading towards the exit door which is usually located near the center of the arena. But that's not all. While collecting all these things, you also have to avoid the skull and cross-bones as well as not letting the Karuki get so low to the ground that he hits the water and drowns. This is another one of those fun games that will hold your attention for a few minutes to pass the time. It is definitely not a game that is intended for you to play for several hours, like Rolando. I have a love hate relationship with these types of games. On one hand, they make standing in line for something bearable, but on the other hand, what happens when you have to stand in line for much longer than the 10 minutes the game can hold your attention? Then you have to keep jumping from mini game to mini game. The AppStore could really use some more games that hold your attention for much longer. With all that said, Karuki is still worth the $.99 it costs.

AstroTilt

Here's a great game for you brick-breaker fans! AstroTilt is a great game for iPhone and iPod fans of all ages. So basically you play by touching the screen at the bottom. There is a joy-stick mode, a two-arrow mode, and a sliding mode. These modes correspond to the gameplay and what slides the paddle left and right. A really cool feature about this game is that if you take your finger off the paddle/screen the game will become paused, and the ball will stop. This is great for if you are multi-tasking and have to take your finger off the iPhone really quick. You will not lose your progress. This is a great game and I really recommend you pick up a copy for the App Store shelves. I literally could not stop playing this game and continually keep picking it up and playing if I get sick of my other games. Check it out in the App Store today! There is a FREE version and a version that costs $1.99.

Line Rider

Your favorite computer internet based game has finally reached the App Store shelves. Line Rider iRide is that game where you have to create a track for the little penguin and his sled. Make your penguin do crazy flips and sled down huge drops. A really cool thing you can do to personalize the course or include a theme is work with the green track which is scenary. Create a jungle oasis or a mountain range. The only reason I have this game is because a friend wanted to play it on my phone, and he offered me $3.00 for it, so I let him buy it. I really lucked out because I actually do play it occasionally. This is a really fun game for the iPhone, but the price of $2.99 seems a little steep to me. Check it out in the App Store today! :D And if you have never heard of line rider, check out the online version first, right here!

Scoops

Here is a great game for everyone! It's called Scoops! Scoops is another game that uses your iPhone's accelerometer to control the game. Stack your ice cream cone with tons and tons of ice cream. The more you stack the more points you receive. BE AWARE: the more ice cream you stack, the higher it gets, and the more difficult it becomes to stabilize the cone. Try and stack similar colors together for bonus points! Can you stack your cone past the moon and into the solar system? You can also listen to your own music while playing this game on your iPhone.
This is a great game, and have really enjoyed playing it during the seven months or so that I have owned my iPhone. A really cool feature is that there is global scoring to track your progress against the rest of the world. Try out this game and see if you like it. Purchase it in the App Store today for $0.99

AirCurve -- Acoustic Amplifier for iPhone

I have a pretty neat iPhone gadget for all you guys. Here is is, the AirCurve. It is an amplifier for the speaker on your iPhone. This little gadget has a curved "horn-like" shape built into the dock that projects sound/music/your blaring alarm clock into the room increasing the sound by 10 decibels. Another really cool feature is that the dock and body is clear/see through so that you can appreciate the beautiful design of the amplifier. Another thing this dock offers is a little port so that you can stick your existing iPhone charging cable through the dock in order to charger your phone while the iPhone is on the dock. FYI: THIS WILL NOT WORK WITH THE iPOD TOUCH
@mhelvey bought this device for me for my birthday and have used it ever since! I love it! It really does amplify your music and you can hear the difference. Its great for an alarm clock or music for a party...a quieter party. The only downside, this device will not work with any case on your iPhone. The only "case" it will work with is the ZAGG InvisibleShield. Keep in mind, this amplifier will not compete with or replace your current boombox. But it is a fun device to play with. Check it out here. It's $19.99.

6-in-1 Casino

~~My Fifth and Final Review from SinCity!!~~

For my last Las Vegas review, I thought I'd go for an app that combines several casino games in one. 6 to be exact. 6-in-1 Casino combines 6 casino games: Baccarat, BlackJack, Roulette, Video Poker, Slots, Casino Wars. Earlier this week, I called the Slots game a crude rendition, but that was before I had ever opened this app. The truth is is that this app is just plain ugly. Just opening it makes me cringe. There isn't much to review since these are just some basic games, but they look hideous. I can hardly believe that I payed $.99 for this monstrocity of an app. I could understand this app's look and feel if it were free, and even then, I'd be upset that I wasted any space on my phone with this app. Don't even search for this app, it will only make you upset. Not worth looking at.

I'd like to thank Vince for all his help this week by posting all my reviews. He's a pretty cool dude!

Dictionary.com - Dictionary & Thesaurus

Whats the definition of aplomb? or albeit? what about dubious? Yeah, thought so. Well if you too had the Dictionary.com app, you would know the definition of these words and hundreds of thousand more. It is a very simple app that has both a dictionary and a thesaurus. Along the bottom of the app, there are four buttons: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Recent, and Word of the Day. Tap a button to get to that feature. I personally love Word of the Day. It is great to go to this app and learn a new word. Try and use it all day in your daily life. :D Another really awesome feature is that right next to the search word in the results page, there is a little speaker icon. Tap it and hear a woman pronounce the word to you. Pretty cool feature! This is a great app available in the App Store for FREE! Get your personal dictionary/thesaurus today. Dictionary.com is FREE, you cant go wrong with this one! @JESSRENE told me about this app. Thanks Jessica!

QuadCamera - Multi Shot

Want one of the best photography apps for your iPhone? Then you will have to check out QuadCamera. It is the only multi-shot app in the App Store that is totally worth it. It took an awful long time for the developers to get QuadCamera working with OS 3.0, but it has finally come out! Just two days ago this app hit the App Store, and has had nothing but rave reviews.

When you open up the App, it looks just like your stock camera App, but this one is different.In the bottom right hand corner of the screen there is a little icon that has four neon squares and a status bar. Tap this and it brings up the options menu. Here you can adjust the timer for how long you want in between each shot. The shorter the timer, the quicker the shots are taken. The longer the timer, the more then delay.

Next is the layout option. Do you want to see the pictures come up in 2x2, 4x1, 4x2, or 8x1? Just choose this option with the tap of a finger.

Next down the list is color: you can choose from vivid, dull, grayscale, bright, hi-contrast, and no effect. (Vivid was chose for both these shots, hence why they seem super bright. And yes, my cheeks are naturally bright red :D)

From this menu you can also email the devs(really helpful guys who write very thorough emails, promptly), write a review, get support, and email friends about this wonderful app! We were promised big things in the next update so check it out today! Check out QuadCamera for $1.99 in the App Store.

Check out a couple of pictures I took with this new app in the App Store! :D

Sol Free Solitaire

~~My Fourth Post from Sin City!!~~

Ok, this one isn't really a casino game, but it is a card game and it's one of my all time favorite iPhone games (I'm sure Vince is going to make fun of me for that). Sol Free Solitaire. What makes this game so great is that for the price of nothing at all, you get a really nice looking game that also comes with several different card games. Those games are: Baker's Game, Baker's Game Easy, Demon, Klondike Deal 1, Klondike Deal 3, and Spiderette. These are all simple soltaire style games with the Klondikes being the version most of us are used to. And if you aren't sure how to play one of the games, this game comes with free and thorough instructions. One of my favorite parts is that this game keeps track of your stats, so it will tell you how many times you have won all together, how many times you've won without using the "Undo" button and so much more. A really powerful app for nothing. The company, Smallware, has five versions of soltaire, all ranging from free to $1.99. The pricier ones feature more games and different themes, but if all you're looking for is a fun soltaire game to play, then Sol Free Soltaire is the game for you.

Speck Features Us On Their Website!

Guys! Check this out! Speckproducts.com has featured mine and Zack's blog and our Speck case reviews on their website! :D Check them out, and buy some of their cases. Best in the business!

-Speck Fitted case

-Speck Candyshell case Thanks Speck! :D Everybody! Please check out Speck Products at Speckproducts.com

Pano--SF Giants Experience

My dad and I went to the San Francisco Giants game today and I thought I should purchase the app Zack had previously reviewed. It is called Pano, and here is one of the pictures I took with Pano. If you want to check out Zack's more in depth app review, click here.

This is the view from my seats! Club Level--Section 216. Row H. Seat 5&6.
What happened in the game: Cain threw 9 innings of shutout ball, and got a no decision and the Giants won 1-0.
End of Story. Enjoy my picture!

8bit Games - Flying

For you old generation gamers(like my parents age) :D, here's a modern game designed like it was made in the 1970's! Even for the kid's, this is a great little game that will keep them entertained for hours. I know I really enjoyed it and could not stop playing it. I personally started off with the FREE 2D version just to see if I liked it, and i really enjoyed that version. It's a super cool Flying game that uses the iPhone's accelerator. All you need to do is tilt the iPhone back and forth to get your little bi-plane to dip and soar. Watch out for the buildings, trees, and other obstacles as you fly through the different levels! This game is brought to you in a very pixely neon, bright green and black. A really great feature the developers added is global rankings and the ability to challenge anyone on your iPhone contacts or any of your friends on Facebook. Check out Flying in the App Store. Get it today for $1.99 and if you want to play a FREE version, there is one in the App Store but it is 2D.

Zynga Live Poker

~~My Third Post from Sin City!!~~

Ok actual poker fans. If my last review wasn't authentic poker enough for you, then this one will have to be the one for you. Zynga Live Poker or Live Poker, in short, is a portable version of online poker gaming. Albeit, you aren't playing for real money, you do build up a credit within the game. The interface is really crisp and snappy. Lag is something that can really ruin an app, but lag is something Live Poker lacks. It is really nice that you do not have to start a new account with Zynga to play. You can start one if you want to, but you also are given the option to login using your Facebook account. A plus side to that is that it automatically uploads your profile picture from your Facebook to Live Poker. I will give you a warning: this game is really only fun to serious poker players. You definitely have to know what you're doing 100% before you start. There's a free version as well as several different deluxe versions ranging from $.99 to $14.99.

AT&T myWireless Mobile

Ever wanted to download a new game or make a phone call to a family member or a dear friend but you are afraid you are going to go over your minutes or use too much data on that much needed download for the month? Now there are two things you can do. Go home and make the call or download the game on iTunes, or you can download this AT&T myWireless Mobile app and check your data usage and minutes used on the go. You can even pay your phone bill from this app. At the bottom of the app there is a toolbar type feature. On it there are tabs for: Home, Bill Pay, Usage, and Features. This is how you navigate around the app. Before you can use this app though you need to sign up for online/mobile account management at http://www.att.com/mywireless. I have heard a lot of problems about this app, but I have been using it for 7 months or so and never had a problem. I recommend you try it out yourself and see if it works for you. You can't lose! AT&T myWireless Mobile is FREE in the App Store and it really helps out any iPhone user! :D

Trace

Here is a great flash game for you guys! Trace is really fun to try and beat in one or two or three or four or five sittings(length of time spent during each sitting varies). I beat the whole game in 184 minutes! It is a simple game with many variations as to how to accomplish the goal.
The goal of the game is to get your little stick person from point A(where you start) to point B(the yellow spikey sun looking object). Dodge the obstacle by drawing lines with your finger on the screen to create a pathway for your little character to walk on. You can erase any pathway you dont want anymore by tapping the eraser and then drawing over the line you already have. To move you use the left and right arrows on the bottom left of the screen. And to jump, tap the triangle on the right side of the screen. This game also offers alot of levels. 600 in all!! There are 6 different worlds with different themes and each world has 100 levels! The worlds include: Paint, Water, Plant, Chalk, Flame, and Space. Lets see how fast you can beat this game! This is a great little game for any Flash or iPhone fan! Check out Trace in the App Store for Free! :D

Bejeweled 2

Now your favorite PC/Mac game now on the iPhone! Pop Cap games has brought you another great title in their collection, Bejeweled 2. This game is very simple to play and provides a ton of fun for many hours. This was actually the game I purchased right before I left SJO airport in route for Denver, Colorado for my first visit to CU Boulder. And boy was this game great. It entertained me the whole flight and kept wanting to play it. My dad liked the game so much, he constantly stole my iPhone just to play it. I think that tells you how great the game really is. We couldn't keep our paws off it.
So, basically the gameplay is exactly the same as the PC/Mac version. The goal is to make big connections by getting three of the same color/gem in a row. The more of the same color/gem in a row, the bigger the excitement and more points you receive. You simply just need to tap one of the gems and line it up with 2 others of the same color. This will start the madness. And if you ever get stuck, and arent sure where to tap next, a little silver, solid arrow flashes above the gem you can move next. It's a great feature that can be toggled on and off.
There are three game modes for Bejeweled 2. The three modes are Classic, Action, and Endless. Classic is the basic mode. You make groupings of three or more and you get points. The points equate to a green progress bar at the bottom, and the more points you get the more the bar fills up until you win the level.
Action mode is almost like Classic. The only difference between Action and Classic is that in Action mode, the progress bar moves both ways. The better you do and more combinations you have the the more the progess bar goes up. If you slack off and start taking too long of trying to fit a gem where it doesnt belong, you lose progress. The game is over when you either beat the level, or you fail.
Endless mode is the third and final mode, and there is no way you can lose. If you run out of options for matches, the game gives you a new board and replaces the gems for you.
I highly reccomend you check out this game in the App Store today. Get Bejeweled 2 for $2.99! I really reccomend it! :D

MotionX Poker Quest

~~Second Post from Sin City!!~~

I've never been a huge fan of poker games, but MotionX Poker Quest has got me addicted! (To the game, not gambling...yet...). That's because this is no ordinary poker game. Instead of playing with cards, you roll a set of dice that have numbers and suits on it ranging from the 9 card all the way through the aces. You roll the dice, select which dice you'd like to keep (ex. A one pair) then roll again. You roll a total of three times in order to get the hand you want. There are two ways to roll: wither hit the "Roll" button, or shake the phone. And don't worry if you have no idea how to play poker, because one of my favorite parts of this game is that after each roll, at the bottom of te screen appears an icon that tells you exactly what kind of hand you have available. The graphics look outstanding and the sound effects are crisp and perfect. Two problems I hard are that there seems to be a little bit of a lag between rolling and choosing your dice and the shaking isn't very sensitive at all so you end up looking like a crazy person whenever you want to roll. But with those minor problems aside, this game is most definitiely worth taking a look at. There are quite a few versions of this game. A lite one and two $2.99 versions. I kind of don't want to review the other games I have lined up for this week because that would mean I'd have to stop playing this one!

Dactyl/Dactyl 2

Very simple game, but super addicting. You can play it forever, always trying to better your high score. Touch the lit bombs on the screen before each individual timer(this timer is not visible)expires and the bomb explodes. The game ends once you touch the background or one of the bombs explode. This game really tests one's hand-eye coordination. Check out Dactyl for FREE in the App Store! And if you really want a challenge, purchase Dactyl 2 for $2.99 in the App Store. This version has more bombs and more levels to play with! :D

Backgrounds

This is a very very simple app, with not much to say about it. It is pretty self explanatory. I think it is important to highlight in this blog though, because some people may not have heard of it yet. It is called Backgrounds. As you may have already guessed, this app has nothing but hundreds and hundreds of backgrounds specifically for your iPhone. Some include Artsy, Funny, Cars, Messages, Cute, Movies, Animals, For Guys, For Girls, Valentines Day, Other, Sports and more! It is definitely the best background app, especially because it is FREE. Check out Backgrounds in the App Store today! :D

Ragdoll Blaster

At first I was a little hesitant to purchase this brand new app just for a review, being as how i am just a college student, with very little money, and no salary for this wonderful blog that Zack and I are putting together. Well, as you can see, I sucked it up, didnt buy food during my lunch break at Big 5 today and now I have a wonderful name app called Ragdoll Blaster!
Just by looking at the app description in the App Store, I could tell I already fell in love with this app. I enjoy playing the apps where physics plays a part in the game play. The point of this game is to shoot the little ragdolls out of the cannon until they hit the red bulls eye. You have as many shots as you need to hit the bulls eye. Just keep in mind, you are competing against yourself and you are trying to hit the target in as few shots as possible. Each level has different obstacles that makes the different levels more and more challenging. This is a great little game for any physics based enthusisat. There is both a Lite(FREE) version and a paid version for $1.99 in the App Store! Check it out and download it today. Even if you don't want to spend the money, download the FREE version and find out what all the hype is about. :D