The App Joint

Bit.Trip Beat

Posted by Aaron On 8:00 AM 0 comments

If you're looking for a game that is original, this is the game for you. Bit.Trip Beat is a fusion of the classic Pong game with the popular music rhythm games of today, resulting in a game that is both highly addictive and intense. The game is easy to grasp but the game is difficult to master. Included are online multiplayer modes through Game Center which allow up to 4 players to play simultaneously.

A myriad of colour and effects enhance the experience

Highly Addictive And Intense

I'll be honest, at first I wasn't too impressed. It starts off slow and easy and just seems like a pong game that shoots balls at you to the beat of the music, but the game quickly sucks you in and immerses you in its well laid out gameplay. The balls being hurled at you will suddenly change speeds, directions and patterns. You may be faced with balls orbiting around another or balls coming at you in wave patterns. The further you get, the more difficult the patterns will become until you finally encounter the boss at the end of the level. The beauty of this game is that each time you successfully deflect a ball with your paddle, the sound it makes ties in with the music. A bar is filled with successful hits and depleted with misses. If you fill the bars you can enter multi mode or mega mode, each level intensifying the gameplay as well as the music accordingly. If you miss too often you are put into "nether" mode which strips the game of all music and sound and makes the game resemble the original black and white pong game.

There is a boss waiting for you at the end of each level

The Nitty-Gritty

Bit.Trip Beat is incredibly fun and extremely challenging. This makes finishing a level all the more satisfying, however the base game only comes with 3 levels. Additional level packs can be purchased for $1.99 (at time of release) and includes 3 extra levels. If you were to purchase all 3 add-on packs, the game can get pretty expensive when these levels should really be included to begin with. Also many players may give up out of sheer frustration because you cannot play the 2nd and 3rd levels until you unlock them, and unlocking them involves completing the previous level first.

Achievements and online multiplayer add replay value

If you are a fan of rhythm games and enjoy a challenge, I would say definitely pick this game up but give it a good chance before giving up on it. It is difficult and frustrating at times because the levels are long and if you fail you must restart from the beginning, but given a fair chance I'm sure you'll be hooked on it like I am.

Pros:

Addictive gameplay
Very original idea
Multiplayer and achievements included

Cons:

Only includes 3 levels

Version: 1.0.0
Price: $1.99
Size: 30.7MB
Compatible: iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad (has its own version)

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games-arcade |

SoundHound

Posted by Aaron On 12:12 AM 0 comments

Ever have a song stuck in your head but didn't know what the name was? In the past there were services offered by cell phone carriers that would allow you to call a number and hold the phone up to the speaker. You would then get a text message shortly after with the name of the song, along with a charge on your phone bill the following month. At the time this service was cutting edge. Today we have apps on our phones that will identify songs and more. I put SoundHound to the test and compare it to other music recognition apps.

Many options available after a song is found

After using the Shazam Encore app I was pretty impressed. Shazam found almost every song I tested off of the radio, mostly getting stumped on remixes of songs. After testing SoundHound I can say without a doubt that it is better than Shazam in every aspect. SoundHound claimed that it can recognize songs in as little as 4 seconds so I put this to the test. For the most part songs took a bit longer to recognize, probably on average about 10 seconds for an average song on the radio. I was able to identify a few songs in the 4 seconds that SoundHound claimed, usually if you're playing the chorus or some part of the song that stands apart from other songs. I liked how you can cut off the recognition process at any time and have SoundHound evaluate just what was played up until that point. This would be useful for ID'ing a short part of a song in a commercial for example, where the song clip would not last the full 30 seconds a song may take to identify.

Once you ID a song it doesn't end there. You have the option of purchasing many songs or ringtones off of iTunes. If lyrics are available they will be shown. If not you can Google the lyrics with the touch of a button. Any related YouTube videos will be viewable and you can share this newly found song via the usual social networking outlets. If the artist is touring you can find all tour dates and locations as well as purchase a ticket to their concert. All positively ID'd songs are logged in a history along with a Google map location of where you were when the song was identified.

If all of these options were not enough, SoundHound offers one feature that no other music recognition program has ever offered, and that is the ability to ID a song by singing or humming. This feature works with astounding accuracy. SoundHound's features go well above what any other music recognition app currently offers and should be the only app considered.

Pros:

Quickest recognition times
You can sing or hum a song and SoundHound will list possible titles
Lyrics and videos are included in the results

Cons:

Songs that are very new are often not recognized

Version: 3.4
Price: $4.99
Size: 11.4MB
Compatible: iPhone (iPad & iPod Touch with an external microphone)

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music |

Hector: Badge of Carnage Episode 1

Posted by Aaron On 12:22 AM 0 comments

If you're familiar with classic PC point-and-click games like Monkey Island or Sam & Max, you'll feel right at home with Hector: Badge of Carnage. Many of the great point-and-click games from the past were known for their sharp humour, mind-numbing puzzles and wacky items and Hector follows suit perfectly. With a mix of great visuals, hilarious voice acting and unpredictable puzzles this game is pretty much as good as it gets.

Full of crude humour and memorable characters

Obese Prostitute Included

When you start the game you wake up in a jail cell with no pants on in the police station you work at. From that moment you know that this game will be a hell of a ride full of laughs and unexpected puzzles. This game does a great job of immersing you in it using detailed scenery, unique characters and unpredictable dialogue. The entire game contains spoken dialogue which adds a great deal to the fun factor. Like many games of the genre in the past, you must use and combine items in ways you would never think of at first. The results are always hilarious and solving the puzzles are that much more satisfying. You will encounter crazy personalities such as an overweight prostitute, a troubled youth looking to boost his street cred and some clueless cops just to name a few.

Every good porn shop should put out a free bowl of lube

A Complete Game

If you are looking for something negative about the game you would be hard pressed to find one. Maybe, and it`s a strong maybe, the game may be too short for a select few if you can solve the puzzles quickly as there are not too many locations you can visit. Keep in mind that this is only episode 1 of 3 promised episodes by the developer. After finishing this game I was left wanting more. This game does so many things right and has become a benchmark for how a complete game should look like.

Pros:

Excellent visuals and dialogue
Hilarious characters and dialogue
Overall fun from beginning to end

Cons:

Not enough locations

Version: 1.1.2
Price: $3.99

Size: 196MB

Compatible: iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch

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games-adventure |

Coin Push Frenzy

Posted by Aaron On 11:29 PM 0 comments

You may have seen or played a coin push game before at a place like Chuck E. Cheese or Dave & Busters. If not, the premise of the game is simple: insert coins into a machine with a moving shelf and have your coins push other ones off the ledge. I'm not proud to admit that I have been addicted to this game for the past week, and for reasons I'm not even sure of.

Push boxes and special coins off the
ledge for bonuses

Simple Yet Addictive

Coin Push Frenzy is not an overly complicated concept. Drop coins into the play area and have the moving shelf push your coin into the others, causing them to fall off the ledge in front of you. If the coins fall off the side ledge they don't count. You can unlock special coins that will help you out, for example an anti-gravity coin that will levitate coins toward you or a bomb coin that will shake up the board. The main draw of the game are the collectibles. You are given 1 board to play on in the beginning and 2 additional boards which can be unlocked through collectibles. There are also collectibles which are just for show as well as achievements through the Plus+ network. Getting all of these collectibles isn't particularly easy since you must drop a green box off your ledge and there is a possibility that box may contain an item you already possess. You will accumulate additional coins every 30 seconds while playing or every 3 minutes while the game is shut down. You can also purchase coins in the game which you can use to play with or unlock new game boards, however this completely defeats the point of the game. If you want to get the most out of this game, do not purchase any coins.

Get Ready To Be Frustrated

Coin Push Frenzy is not without its problems. When you drop a coin, many times it will not bounce. The physics of the coins is completely unrealistic, many times behaving like the coins are made of styrofoam and other times like they are made of lead. Some times it seems like the coins are coated in oil, sliding across the top of other coins right into the gutter. Another major frustration which happens all too often is when a bonus coin or box is dropped, it will bounce and slide right off the side ledge. But part of this frustration is what keeps you coming back for more because as frustrated as you get trying to find the collectibles that you don't have yet, finally getting that last item to complete your set is equally satisfying.

Pros:

Easy to pick up and play a quick game
Addictive gameplay and unique special abilities
Good amount of collectibles

Cons:

Coins don't move like real coins do
Too many coins fall into the sides

Version: 1.1
Price: Free (in app purchase available)
Size: 10.9MB
Compatible: iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch

iPhone apps at AppStoreHQ

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free, games-arcade |

NHL 2K11

Posted by Aaron On 11:10 PM 0 comments

Playing NHL 2K11 is like dating a really hot girl (or guy) who's as dumb as a rock. It's fun to fool around with at first but you can't get too serious with it. At firstglance the list of options just astounds you because NHL 2K11 has more than any other game on the iPhone or iPad. 2K Sports has been producing hockey games for many years so the groundwork has already been laid to make this game fundamentally sound. You have the option to play an exhibition game, start a season or play a shootout.

Ice-level replay of goals are shown... once.

Lack Of Handheld NHL Games

With the absence of EA's NHL 11 and 2K's NHL 2K11 on the PSP and NDS, many handheld gamers are stuck with the iPhone and iPad versions. Like previous NHL games all of the rules can be tweaked to your liking and you can change the camera view depending on which perspective you wish to play with. Replays are offered on all goals, however there is no option to re-watch any replays. The graphics are a bit choppy and don't seem optimized for retina displays and there is no commentary or speech at all during gameplay. There is no multiplayer option nor is there a way to update the out-dated rosters.

Centering pass... where's my winger?

Not Suitable For iPhones?

Don't get me wrong, NHL 2K11 is fun to play and does have enough features to keep people happy, however one of the biggest challenges on the iPhone version is the fact that the virtual controls are on the screen. Many times you will be entering the offensive zone along the boards looking for a centering pass but your thumbs will be covering your other players. With the iPad's larger display this is not as much of an issue. The game uses 3 virtual buttons which are situated somewhat close together, and because you can't physically feel the buttons you may end up shooting when you really intended to pass. I also found that passing was pretty touchy. Many times passes would be thrown into an empty corner or behind the net instead of in front of it, or your team mates would not be able to handle the pass properly and you would lose possession. I found the game would pause quite often during the game, albeit for only a split second but long enough to ruin a play now and then.

Overall NHL 2K11 delivers a decent hockey game that nails the overall feel of what you would find on a console, but with some noticeable flaws.