App Review: Golfshot: Golf GPS by Shotzoom Software

Golfshot: Golf GPS by Shotzoom Software is an amazing app for all golfers.  At first I was worried about getting this app since I have an iPod Touch which doesn’t have a GPS.  Now that I have the app and have tested it out, I am pleased to report that it works great on the iPod Touch, and I didn’t really miss any of the added features that the GPS allows you to have.

To start out, Golfshot will show up with all of the golf courses that are nearest to your location.  You get to select which course you will be playing on and which tee box you will tee off from.  For those of you with an iPod Touch, you will need to download the information for the course that you are playing on a Wi-Fi network before you go golfing.  After that, you get to add any other golfers that will be playing in that round with you.

When you get to the golf course, you can pull up an aerial view of the hole you are on.  By holding one finger on the screen, you can move a target on the screen to map out your approach to the hole.  The app will give you the distance from your tee box to the target, as well as the distance from the target to the green.  Those with a GPS enabled iPhone can get distances measured using their GPS location, specify distance to the front, center, or back of the green, and see professionally mapped targets for each hole.  Those without GPS (iPod Touch and iPhone first gen.) can view distances based on predetermined measurements of the course, which can still be very helpful.

After you have finished a hole, you can input the scores for each person.  To enter scores, just tap on each golfer’s name and put in their score. Following that, you can put in which club you used at the tee off, how good of a shot it was, whether or not you hit into a sand bunker, and whether or not you got any penalties.  After all the information is entered, the app will display your score.  You repeat this process for all of the golfers in your group.  By turning your device to landscape mode, you can see the scorecard that looks like the ones that are supplied by most golf courses.

The other major feature of this app is statistics.  After you play a round of golf, you can view your stats from that round. Some of the stats are Driving Accuracy, Greens in Regulation, Recovery Performance, Putting Averages, Scores by Par, and Scoring. These stats are great for helping you see patterns, good or bad, in your golf game.  For me, they helped me to realize that my drives usually veered off to the left.  Now the next time I play I will be able to adjust my swing so that my drives will go straight.

Golfshot is a rather expensive app.  However, if you are looking for an app that has all of the same features as this one, your only alternative is a $300 plus GPS.  This lower price point makes Golfshot well worth the money.  It works seamlessly, and it can really help you to improve your golf game.  If you are an avid golfer, this app is a must have.

Developer’s Website: http://golfshot.com/

App Review: 4X4 Jam by Invictus

4X4 Jam by Invictus offers an awesome off-road experience.  There are 3 different games modes in 4X4 Jam.  The first mode is called Jam Mode.  In Jam Mode, you race opponents to a series of gates placed throughout the level.  If you are the first one to reach a specified gate, you will receive 1 point.  Whoever reaches 5 points first, is the winner of the game.  To guide you to the gates, you have a compass in the bottom of the screen.  The compass will show you how far away the gate is, and what direction it is located in.

The next game mode is called Race Mode.  In this mode, you race your opponents through a set series of gates that make up a race track.  You must go through all of the gates and come in first place to win the race.  The third mode is called Free Roam Mode.  In this mode you can roam around freely through either of the two levels and practice your off road driving.  You can customize each of these modes before you play them.  You can choose which track to play on, how many gates there are, how many opponents there are, and what the difficulty level is.  You can make the game exactly how you want it.

There are 3 different control modes. The first mode is accelerometer steering with auto acceleration. The second is accelerometer steering with manual acceleration. The third is touch steering with auto acceleration. All of these modes work very well. It will just take a little bit of playing around with to figure out which control mode is right for you.

4X4 Jam is an awesome game for everyone. It has very simple controls, great gameplay, and wonderful graphics. The only problem with the app is that there are only 2 tracks and 2 car types.  It would be nice if the developer could add some more choices in those categories.  However, this is still a great game that can be easily loved by everyone.

Developer’s Website: www.invictus-games.com

App Review: Prey Invasion by Hands-On Mobile

Prey Invasion by Hands-On Mobile is a very complex game with very realistic graphics. In the game you are playing as Tommy Hawk, a modern-day Cherokee warrior. Your girl friend has been kidnapped by aliens and now it is your job to rescue her before she turns into an alien. To do this you must face ugly mutant aliens and kill them before they kill you. You can use any of the weapons that you pick up on your quest. Once you have picked up a weapon, you retain it in your arsenal and can switch between weapons when you need to.  As a Cherokee warrior, Tommy Hawk can use his native powers to help him on his quest.

The game controls for Prey Invasion are rather complex and difficult to use. There are two control modes: Digital, and Analog. The Digital Controls provide many buttons. Each of these buttons controls a different aspect of Tommy’s movement or the view on the screen.  It takes a little while to get the hang of what each one does.  The Analog Controls provide two Joy Sticks for you to use. One of them will control the movement of Tommy Hawk and the other will control where he is looking.  If you can find a control mode that you like, there are quite a few fine tuning adjustments that you can make to the controls.

Your first goal in playing this game should be to find the Spirit Bow.  Obtaining this bow has several advantages.  First and foremost, once you have obtained it, you cannot die.  That does not mean you are invincible, though.  You simply enter the spirit realm when you are out of life.  Here you can use your spirit bow to shoot spirits.  These spirits will help you regain your physical and spiritual strength.  The Spirit Bow also allows you to spirit walk.  When spirit walking, you can leave your body behind and explore areas of the level just ahead without getting hurt.  You may even be able to do things in this state that you cannot do in your body.

Prey Invasion for me was very confusing.  There is no real tutorial.  So, you are mostly on your own in figuring out how to play the game.   The “help” section of the menu does shed some light on a few things, though.  I would recommend checking it out before you begin playing.  It explains a little about your quest and about the many options for controls.  Also, much of the landscape in the game looks the same.  It was hard for me to find my way around.  The addition of a compass to show you where you have been and where you are going would be very helpful. With a few simple tweaks, Prey Invasion could be a lot of fun.

Developer’s Website: http://www.handson.com/

App Review: Medieval by Brisk Mobile Inc.

Medieval by Brisk Mobile Inc. is a cool castle defense game. The goal of the game is to defend your castle and flag from attackers. If the enemy gets your flag and take it back to their side, you lose. If you keep your flag on your side for the entire game, then you win. You defend your castle by using a cross bow mounted on the top of your castle to shoot them as they approach your castle. To shoot the cross bow, place your finger on it.  Then, draw your finger back to draw the bow, move your finger up or down to aim the shot, and release your finger to fire.  After each shot that you take, you have to wait for the weapon to recharge before you can fire again.  I did have some trouble actually hitting the enemy sometimes, but I suppose that is par for battle.

When you defeat enemies, you receive gold. Gold can then be used to upgrade your castle’s defenses.  You can access the upgrade menu at any time during the game by tapping on the cog at the top left of the screen.  The top row of upgrades are buildings that you can add to your castle.  You must purchase these upgrades before you can recruit troops to defend your castle.  For example, purchasing barracks will allow you to hire knights.  The second row of upgrades are weapons upgrades.  You can upgrade to flaming arrows, triple arrow shots, bomb arrows, and much more. Once you have purchased these upgrades, they will show up as an icon at the bottom of the screen when they are ready to be used.  Your cross bow will still fire the standard arrows unless you tap on the upgraded arrows that you purchased.  These too will need to recharge after use.  The troops are also deployed by tapping on an icon in the lower right of the screen.  Keep on eye on your gold, though.  Deploying troops can be very helpful, but it is never free.

If you are feeling overwhelmed with the oncoming waves of attackers and are simply standing by while they destroy your castle and steal your flag, you can choose to start the current level over again by tapping on the circle arrow button at the top left of the screen.  You can also simply pause the game and take some time to rethink your strategy.

With three levels of difficulty and the ability to save up to four games simultaneously, Medieval is sure to keep you busy for awhile.  It is an awesome game with clear graphics. I would love to be able to zoom in on the scene and see things a little more clearly, but the game works well the way it is.

Developer’s Website: http://olmob.com/

App Review: I Dig It by InMotion Software, LLC (with tips)

I Dig It by InMotion Software, LLC is a really fun game with a great story to go with it. Times are tough and rain is scarce.  Farmer Lewis is running out of money.  So, he invents a digging machine to dig for things that the farmer can sell for money to pay off his mortgage. You get to control the digging machine and collect the objects out of the ground and then sell them. Using this money you can also upgrade your machine in several areas. You can upgrade the hull, the coolant, the drill, the radar, the fuel tank, and the cargo. Each of these upgrades will help to allow you to reach deeper depths in the earth, which contain more valuable objects that you can collect. Every object that you collect takes up space.  When your cargo is full, you will need to return to the surface. Once you have surfaced, you will also need to get more gas and sell the items at the stand.

I Dig It has very simple controls. All you need to do is use the control stick which is in the bottom of the screen. This will allow you to dig tunnels through the ground towards the objects.

I Dig It is a very well done and addicting game. The controls are extremely easy to use and master. The animations are smooth and the graphics look perfect. The sound effects are also very realistic. I Dig It is a great game for everyone to play.

Tips

1. Be careful with your digging machine.  Excessive drilling or digging will cause it to heat up.  If it overheats, game over. Upgrade the cooling system to help keep it from overheating.
2. Don’t crash it or bump it too hard.  When you are “flying” around and bumping into things, the hull gets damaged.  Too much damage and your machine is finished.  An upgrade to the hull helps keep damage at bay.
3. Watch your gauges, especially gas.  You’ll quickly notice that the digger machine uses a lot of fuel.  There’s an upgrade for this too but depending on your order of upgrades you’ll need to do some mining first and get some money.  The developer obviously thought that gas was back at $4.00 per gallon because it is expensive to refuel the digger.
4. If you can, maximize your cargo hold with objects you’ve found. ie: dig until your cargo is full.  Flying in and out of the holes takes a lot of fuel.
5. There are multiple levels of upgrades for each component.  However, they quickly get expensive.  Digging deeper gets to better items you can sell for more money.  The deeper you go, the less around you you can see (radar) as the ground gets more dense.  When you’ve got the first order of upgrades complete ($100.00 levels) then start digging deeper and deeper.

Developer’s Website: http://trinitower.inmotionsoftware.com/

App Review: Baseball Slugger: Home Run Race 3D by Com2uS Corp.

Baseball Slugger: Home Run Race 3D by Com2uS Corp. is a great game that is loaded with cool features. The object of the game is to win gold balls so that you can buy new things. You can buy things like new shirts, bats, and gloves. These things will help you to become a better player by increasing your power and contact with the ball. These items are available at the player shop.

There are several different modes that you can play in to win gold balls. The first is called Match-up. In this mode, you will match-up head-to-head against other players from around the world. If you get a better score than the person you are playing against, you will get more gold balls. The next mode is called Classic. This mode will allow you to try and hit home runs until you fail 9 times. The number of  home runs you get determines the number of gold balls you receive at the end of the game. The last mode is Arcade Mode. This mode is the same as Classic Mode except that the number of home runs you hit doesn’t effect the number of gold balls you receive. A gold ball will be pitched once in a while. If you hit a home run with this gold ball, it will be added to your stash of gold balls that you can use to buy new gear.

The controls on the game are extremely simple. To move your swing area, just tilt your device. To swing, just tap anywhere on the screen.  Baseball Slugger is an awesome game. It has super amazing 3D graphics and very easy controls. This game is an essential.

Developer’s Website: http://iphone.com2us.com/game/overview.asp?gcode=slugger

App Review: Fast & Furious The Game by I-play

Fast & Furious The Game by I-play is a great new, fast-paced racing game. There are several game modes that are available for play. The first game mode is Story Mode. Your goal in Story Mode is to become the best racer by earning the best car. To do this you need to complete each of the 9 sections. There are three parts in each section: a normal race, a special race, and a mission. There are many different types of special races. An example of a special race would be a Drag or Drift Race. These special races are different from other races because of the way your car acts. In Drag Races, you don’t need to steer, all you need to do is tap the screen to shift gears when it’s time. The Drift Races make it so that the back wheels on your car are very slick. This will force you to drift a lot, making it hard to steer.

The next mode is called Quick Play. This mode will allow you to pick which type of race you want to compete in. It will then pick a random car for you to use as well as a random opponent. The next game mode is Compete Online. This will allow you to compete against people online for the best times. You can challenge their “ghost” to a race, and if you win the race, their car will be added to your garage. If you lose, then nothing will happen. The last section is WiFi Multiplayer. This mode enables you to race against your friends on the same WiFi network. If you win the race against your friend, you will get their car. If you lose, they get your car.

Fast & Furious is an awesome racing game. The coolest feature to me is that you can compete online to win other people’s cars. The only thing that should be added is multiplayer over Bluetooth instead of over WiFi. That would make the game perfect. Fast & Furious is a great game for anybody.

Fast & Furious The Game is $1.99 in the iTunes App Store.

Developer’s website: http://www.iplay.com/index.aspx?GEO=US

App Review: Tyrian by Mobila Interactive

Tyrian by Mobila Interactive is a scrolling shooter game that is very fun. In the game you are a space ship. Your mission is to destroy as many enemies as possible. Watch out for enemy fire.  You can play in either arcade or full mode. Arcade mode will allow you to play individual levels. You will automatically get to use the best ship with all of the upgrades you could ever want.  Full mode allows you to advance through the game like a story. You can upgrade your ship, armor, and guns using the money you earn by defeating enemies.

The controls on the game are very easy to figure out. All you do is put your finger where you want your ship to go. Your weapons fire automatically. You can adjust your ships settings using the bar on the right side of the screen. These settings allow you to change weapons, or turn off weapons.

Tyrian is a great game with addictive game play. Tyrian is based on the original computer game developed by Eclipse Productions in 1995.  The graphics for the game were released in 2007 under an Open License which makes this version for the iPhone possible.  Since the app depends on the graphics from the original game you must download them upon first launch of the app. Other than that, I enjoyed every minute of playing Tyrian.

Tyrian is $1.99 in the iTunes App Store.

Developer’s Website: http://www.mobilainteractive.com/tyrian/

App Review: Asphalt 4 Elite Racing By Gameloft

Asphalt 4: Elite Racing by Gameloft is a fast paced racing game. The object of the game is to beat races in order to unlock new cars and tracks while earning money to buy the cars you unlock at the same time. The first thing that you unlock is cars. You start out with a Mini Cooper and try to work your way up to the Bugatti Veyron. You also unlock new parts for your car. Then on the menu screen, you can buy and apply the parts to your car. These parts will both make your car faster, and cooler looking. You also unlock new levels. There are 100 levels with 4 in each city. Some of the cities are: Rome, New York, Mumbai, Paris, and Shanghai. Each of the 4 races in each city has a different objective. There are Cop Chases, Crash Rallies, Cash Attacks, Duels, and Normal Races.

There are 3 different types of controls that you can choose from. Tilt is the first one. Using this all you need to do is tilt to turn. The next is Tap controls. Using these controls all you need to do is tap on the side of screen that you want to go. The last type of controls is Steering Wheel. This will make a Steering Wheel appear in the bottom of the screen that you will turn just like a normal steering wheel with your finger.

Asphalt 4 is an awesome racing game with lots of cool features and great controls. The only thing I didn’t like about it is that every time you turn, no matter how big or small the turn is, your car will start to drift. Besides that, this is an awesome game that will keep you entertained for hours.

Asphalt 4: Elite Racing is on sale for $0.99 in the iTunes App Store.

Developer’s Website: http://www.gameloft.com/iphone-games/asphalt-4-elite-racing/

App Review: Brave Dwarves by GO! Games

Brave Dwarves by GO! Games is an awesome game with cool graphics. You start off by choosing which character you would wish to play as. On each level, your goal is to collect all the gems and other treasures while killing the enemies. After you have collected all the gems, you will be able to go through the door onto the next level. Every 20 levels there will be a boss that you will need to defeat to move on to the next level. There are 100 levels and 5 different types of worlds to play in.

The controls on the game are very simple. You shoot your weapon by tapping the screen. You can get a new weapon on many of the levels. You use these weapons to defeat enemies. If you get touched by one of the enemies, your life bar will go down. If your life bar hits the bottom, you will have to restart the level. To move around the level, tilt your device in the desired direction. To jump, all you need to do is swipe your finger towards the top of the screen. If you don’t like the accelerometer controls, you can also choose to use the Touch Arrows. This will display a control pad that you will use to move around the level.

Brave Dwarves is a great game to play when you are bored. You quickly become wrapped up in the exciting game play. This game is capable of keeping anyone entertained for hours on end.

Brave Dwarves is $0.99 in the iTunes App Store.

Developer’s Website: http://www.horoshieigri.ru/iphone/

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