How do you know what apps are worth your time and money? Just look to the review team at 148Apps. We sort through the chaos and find the apps you're looking for. The ones we love become Editor’s Choice, standing out above the many good apps and games with something just a little bit more to offer. Take a look at what we've been up to this week, and find even more in our Reviews Archive.
Nobody Said It Was Easy makes no attempts to mask its difficulty from players. The title tells them exactly what to expect. However, what they might not expect is just how creative the fiendish tricks actually are. Right from the start Nobody Said It Was Easy makes all the right choices that separate fair challenging games from purely frustrating ones. Running and jumping feel super precise, even with the added hindrance of virtual buttons. Players have more control over their character’s momentum on the ground and in the air than most games, or real-life, would ever provide, and instant respawns put players right back in the action after the constant, inevitable deaths. Even if the game consisted solely of the merciless enemies and rapid obstacles of most “masocore” games, it would still work because of how well it nails the overall feel that makes those games even remotely playable. --Jordan Minor
Requiring reasonably speedy reactions, The Hardest Flight doesn’t quite live up to its name (there are harder games out there, by a long shot). But that doesn’t stop it being a diverting way of spending five minutes. You have to control a ship as it attempts to negotiate various colored barriers. Controls are very simple: you tilt the iOS device to move the ship around and hold a finger to the left turning the ship blue, while holding a finger to the right turns it to pink. Don’t touch anything and your ship remains purple, the default color. The key here is to keep moving your ship around, while also changing color at the right moment in order to pass through barriers. --Jennifer Allen
Previously a PC and WiiWare indie hit (albeit with an extra ‘And’ at the start of its name), Yet It Moves has made the natural move to iOS. Issues with its brevity seem less like a big deal in a mobile format, although its controls are occasionally an irritant. Fundamentally, Yet It Moves is a side-scrolling platformer that has you helping a sketch figure to make his way back to the piece of paper he’s been cut from. No, I’m not sure why either, but it forms the basis of a fun concept. You can move left or right by holding a finger to either side of the screen, but everything else comes down to rotating the world. This is done through a hold and drag motion which, unfortunately, often interferes with movement. --Jennifer Allen
It hasn’t been long since massive hit Sons of Anarchy officially ended its run on TV. The story of the outlaw motorcycle gang was the perfect amalgamation of family, betrayal, violence, and drama. The TV show might have reached its zenith, but the franchise does get a breath of fresh air in Sons of Anarchy: The Prospect. This saga is based on SAMLIN, a chapter out of Oregon, and the opening sequence gives a bit of insight into the game. The portion reviewed covers the first chapter; it’s a rambling affair – a first-person perspective that starts off on a bike, tosses in brooding dialogue, and also sneaks in some gameplay tips. From there we meet our main protagonist, and learn a bit about the pressures that cause him to go down the dangerous road he goes down. --Tre Lawrence
It’s easy to dismiss a game as a Clash of Clans clone because there really are a ton of them out there. Gang Nations certainly owes a lot to that format, but it offers a few subtle differences to ensure that it feels more worthy of playing than most. Even if it does feel somewhat racist in terms of its stereotyping, at times. Your mission is to build a significant urban city and keep it safe from attack. It looks kind of slum-like, which is apparently (I guess?) why your defensive forces are comprised of hoodlums, thieves, convicts, and more. The usual format applies here: you use a mixture of cash and juice to buy stuff and upgrade places, and storage areas need to be upgraded as frequently as everything else so that you have any chance of progressing. --Jennifer Allen
Nine Months! is a thoughtfully produced documentary app about the development of a baby growing inside mom’s belly. It’s broken down into nine chapters that do a great job of explaining, in wonderful detail, the growth from embryo to fetus and culminating in a live birth. The major part of this app is seen as a cross-section of a woman’s belly, with the baby becoming larger and more developed month after month, including details such as the uterus complete with cervix, placenta, and umbilical cord, as well as details of how the baby’s body develops. --Amy Solomon
Other 148Apps Network Sites
If you are looking for the best reviews of Android apps, just head right over to AndroidRundown. Here are just some of the reviews served up this week:
Good things come in threes, they say. How many ‘connect three’ games make their way onto the marketplace every month? More than three, I’d imagine, so it’s becoming very difficult to find games in this genre that really stand out. Garden Fever, it has to be said, does everything well, though I can’t think of any one thing that it does differently. Which, when the Google Play Store is so flooded with these titles, is a bit of a killer. You should know the drill. Colored block (in this case they’re fruit) are aligned on a grid and it’s your job to slide adjacent blocks so that there’s at least 3 of the same color in a horizontal or vertical line. If you happen to align 4 or even 5 blocks, you not only clear more blocks but you get left behind with more powerful items that can clear even more blocks. To complete each level, you need to meet certain requirements such as ‘clear 60 red apples’ whilst also dealing with squares that have ‘mud’ or ‘ice’ in them. --Matt Parker
Space adventurers, take heed: Sentinel: SciFi Space Shooter is here. The game is a bit more involved than might seem at first glance; there are a host of subtle details that are revealed during the tutorial. The game offers two modes, a quick Arcade version and a more complex Campaign mode. Campaign opens up with the optional tutorial, and it walks the player through the basics of gameplay.The backstory highlights the gameplay: somewhat desperate space pilot, mining and unfriendly enemies. the view is first-person, and there are two main virtual control buttons that cover weapons to the right. The game runs in landscape, and this allows the player to control movement and sights with the left thumb. There is a bank of menu buttons towards the leftmost top, and there are life/shield gauges at the top. --Tre Lawrence
Everyone needs a good puzzle; Cell Motus wants to be that puzzle one can lean on. The game is its own tutorial; it starts off easy, giving a taste of the gameplay. The player is faced with a singular puzzle, with an encompassing “cell” looking to be matched with a small circle of the same color. The trick here is that each cell has an incorporated direction point that controls which way the cell can go; so, when tapped (tapping the cell invokes movement), the cell can only go forward in the direction of the angled pointer. Now, the first level is a gimme — one cell, one circle, and a couple taps to solve. The next few levels are fairly easy too, even as we begin to see multiple cells and matching circles. --Tre Lawrence
Finally, you can't show guns on the App Store, but you can poke fun of Kim Jong-Un. The App Store is weird, basically, is Pocket Gamer's take on last week.
Ubisoft's new runner, Monkey King Escape, tells the story of the Monkey King as he races to escape the Jade Emperor's armies. The story is based on the classic Chinese novel, Journey to the West.
You'll be flying, dashing, and jumping your way through the mythical world of Chinese mythology. You can also connect with your friends online to compare scores and see who is the most agile Monkey King of them all. In celebration of the Chinese New Year, there will be two special in-game powers for a limited time. You'll be able to decrease your speed by changing into a sheep or increase your running distance by performing the Lion dance.
You can download Monkey King Escape for free on the App Store now.
FreshPlanet has announced that their popular music trivia game, SongPop, is getting a sequel. SongPop 2 will have a fresh look and a new tournament-style mode. You'll be able to compete in a series of quizzes, which will add to your score on the global leaderboard. Top players will win prizes like coins, power-ups, and even VIP badges.
The sequel will also add a new pack of six playlists, with of 200 songs each, every week. Probably the best part is that the songs are free to try.
“We were thrilled to see how many people were playing SongPop over the years,” said FreshPlanet CEO Mathieu Nouzareth in a press release. “I think of SongPop 2 as a love letter to our community. We listened to their feedback, and now we're using it to design a game that expands on everything they loved about the original - plus a fresh new look and a ton of extra surprises."
FreshPlanet has not given a specific release date for SongPop 2 yet, but it should be out this Spring.
Bitstrips, the app that turns you into a cartoon character, has been updated to include a new feature that lets you add your avatar to photos.
With the Bitphoto update you can take a photo or use one already in your camera roll as a background for your Bitstrips comics. The app lets you choose a variety of poses and give you the option to add a speech bubble so you can say what is on your mind. And when your masterpiece is complete you can show it to your friends and family using the sharing functions.
Bitstrips is free on the App Store, so download it today and start your own comic strip.
tinyBuild Games has announced that they are set to help bring the darkly comedic math puzzle game Divide By Sheep, which is being developed by Russian/Ukrainian studio Bread Team, to the App Store.
While there are lifeboats ready to carry the sheep away to safety, there's limited space on board - with hungry wolves and lasers adding to the player's problems - meaning care will be needed to ensure that they don't subtract from the woolly population too much. Among the hundred levels available there's also the Dark World, where multiplying the numbers on the Grim Reaper's death boat is the aim.
Divide By Sheep will be available on the App Store on a date soon to be calculated.
Gravity Software has announced that they will be releasing their new game, Religion Simulator. It's a strategy game that allows you to design your own religion and pit it against other religions to take over the globe. Spreading your religion to more tiles nets you more gold, which strengthens your campaign.
You'll be able to decide the philosophy of your religion, such as the importance of faith, publicity, knowledge, or even happiness. You will also be able to build laws into your religion and forms of punishment. Religion Simulator gives an interesting - and perhaps controversial - look belief structures, and only time will tell if players will be benevolent gods or something much darker.
Religion Simulator will be available February 27 on the App Store.
Simple Machine has released a new update for LEX, the game that has you combining letters to form words before time runs out. This update adds a daily letter challenge using a different letter each day. For those of you that excel at spelling, there's a trophy room to display your feats. The game now also includes a dictionary and a new end game screen that will display your top ten scores.
You can download the new and improved LEX for $1.99 on the App Store.
Today's your last chance to nominate the top iOS and Android apps for the 7th Best App Ever Awards.
Nominating shows developers just how much you love their apps, and can help the apps you choose stand out in the ever-crowded marketplace.
It's simple enough to nominate: just head over to Best App Ever, pick your platform, category, then search for the app you want to nominate and hit the "Nominate this app" button.
We know you love apps, after all, that's why you're here. However, everyone has a shortlist of go-to apps - we just want you to nominate yours.
You don't have to vote for each and every category, but we recommend you at least vote for the ones you're most passionate about.
So... what are you waiting for? Load up your iPhone, iPad, and/or Android device, peruse through your favorite apps, then throw them a nomination!
The Firm is an arcade-style video game where you are a small paper-pushing cog in the big machine of a corporation, and Sunnyside has released a new update that adds a ton of new stuff.
Now the game has all new music and sounds, a ranking system, new cards and game mechanics, social functions, and new options like a colorblind mode and "happy" ending (i.e. less... final). Sunnyside has also done away with the old in-app purchases so you can enjoy the game in full.
The Firm is available for download on the App Store for $0.99.
Chesslike: Adventures in Chess, by Adam Moore, is a new spin on the classic game of chess. Chesslike is a puzzle adventure where the pieces now have new rules and you'll be exploring dungeons as you play.
You can also create your own dungeons with the level editor available on Chesslike.net and custom maps can be shared on the site so your friends can see just how devious you are. The game features items such as swords and shields that will upgrade your pieces, and you'll find helpful items such as keys and maps as you explore.
You can check out Chesslike: Adventures in Chess for $1.99 on the App Store.
2K has released new content for WWE SuperCard. The update adds the Fusion Chamber, which allows players to merge lower-ranking cards to create 48 new super-powerful Fusion cards.
There will be eight rarity levels of recipes for merging, from Common to Survivor. You'll also be able to purchase new card packs, Ultra Rare, Epic, and Legendary WWE Divas to expand your lineup.
You can download WWE SuperCard for free on the App Store.
Pocket Gamer reports that Apple has decided to allow developers more room for their downloads; bringing the maximum size of iPhone and iPad apps from 2GB to 4GB.
Apple's site said this on the topic:
The size limit of an app package submitted through iTunes Connect has increased from 2 GB to 4 GB, so you can include more media in your submission and provide a more complete, rich user experience upon installation. Please keep in mind that this change does not affect the cellular network delivery size limit of 100 MB.
This is a huge deal, as games and apps can now have double the amount of content - but of course those with 16GB devices are going to fill their libraries a lot faster.
+Universal & Apple Watch App - Designed for iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch
An update has arrived for ESPN's iOS app (Formerly 'ESPN SportsCenter'), bringing in further device support, a redesign, and the introduction of ESPN Now.
The app now takes advantage of the bigger iPad screen, with scores and news displayed at the same time. iPhone 6 and 6 Plus owners will also be happy to hear that the app has been adapted to make full use of their bigger displays. The addition of ESPN Now, meanwhile, allows users to swipe to the right to access photos, videos, and social media content from ESPN. The cricket fans out there (insert obligatory 'C'mon England!' comment here) will also find that support for the upcoming Cricket World Cup has been added, bringing in video clips and scores from the 50 over contest to the app.
The updated ESPN app is available to download now for free.
Imangi Studios and Bruce Lee, LLC (they own the image rights for the martial arts legend), have announced that the late film star will make an appearance in the popular endless runner Temple Run 2. Players will be able to control the creator of Jeet Kune Do as they escape from the Demon Monkey, all the while receiving encouragement via inspiring quotes when they need it most.
Shannon Lee, daughter of Bruce Lee and CEO of Bruce Lee, LLC, had this to say on her father's introduction to the game:
I’m very excited to have my father become part of the Temple Run family. It’s apropos the character will launch in 2015, which just happens to be his 75th birthday year! Not only is this a great and fun way to celebrate my father’s birthday, but I’m grateful that my father’s legacy will continue to live on for fans of all ages via our partnership with Imangi.
Temple Run 2 is available to download from the App Store now for free.
Fans of Baldur's Gate II:EE are no longer shackled to their iPads. Overhaul Games has added iPhone support in a new update, so now it's even easier to take Baldur's Gate with you wherever you go. They've also fixed a ton of bugs, improved pathfinding, added German and Spanish translations, and stabilized multiplayer support.
You can download the new and improved Baldur's Gate II:EE for $9.99.
:: DECENT SHOT
