Readers’ App Reviews – November 2012

This is a post by Reader’s Apps Reviewer Ryan Poolos, an iOS Developer and founder of Frozen Fire Studios. Check out his latest game, Cyborg Livestock.

It’s that time again – we’ve got another great set of apps made by our readers to showcase!

I’d just like to take the opportunity to thank all of you for making my weekend hobby possible by making awesome apps and games month after month :] I truly enjoy using all your apps and seeing what the community creates. Keep up the great work!

Without further ado, on to your apps! We’ve got:

• A matching game using celebrity names and their cartoon skulls
• An app that makes quadratic equations look easy (gasp)
• A handy app that will help you pinpoint that perfect color
• And much more!

Here we go again!

Word Flip!

Word Flip brings its own challenge to the genre.

Word Flip is similar to many word games in that you have a grid of letters and are tasked in building words for points. However, in Word Flip simply selecting a letter flips it over revealing a new letter. This brings a unique feel to the game.

You can actually start building a word without knowing what it will be until more letters are at your disposal. Its a very fun twist.

You can either play free play against the clock or try out some of the challenges that include things like playing pirate words, 8 letter words, or “word” + “flip” haha.

• Author: Nick Noble @_NickNoble
• Most useful tutorial: How To Make a Simple Multiplayer Game with Game Center Tutorial: Part 1/2
• App Store Link: Check it out!

iBallerburg

iBallerburg is an excellent tribute to Atari’s classic Ballerburg with HD graphics and easy to use touch controls.

If you’ve played the 1980’s Atari version you know how the game works. And you’ve likely played many many derivatives. Even the popular Angry Birds can probably trace its inspiration to these early physics games.

iBallerburg does an excellent job capturing the spirit of the game while taking advantage of the iPhone’s retina screen and touch interface. Simply drag left to right to aim your cannon and up and down to adjust your power. A store helps you stay stocked on cannonballs and powder as well as replace soldiers and cannons when they’re damaged.

I definitely spent a ton of time “reviewing” this game. :]

• Author: Daniel Witte
• Most useful tutorial: How To Create a HUD Layer with Cocos2D
• App Store Link: Check it out!

VinoBook

VinoBook is an app for all you wine enthusiasts out there.

VinoBook will make managing and organizing a wine cellar a breeze. Turn your collection into a catalog filled with pictures, dates, prices, countries, and much more. The app draws on a database of over 4 million wines around the world to autocomplete your inputs. Once you input your selection, you’ll have the ability to search and filter.

To top it off Vinobook is universal and iCloud compliant making managment from any device a delight.

• Author: Nicolas Granier @hafondecran
• Most useful tutorial: Beginning iCloud in iOS 5 Tutorial Part 2
• App Store Link: Check it out!

Frutiblop

Fruitblop is a simple, addicting game you’ve probably played in some form or another before.

Fruitblop brings this classic game to iOS with simple touch based flicking controls. Fling the colorful fruit across the screen and try to get 3 or more in a clump for points.

The game has infinite levels to keep you busy and GameCenter support to keep your friends busy. Its an excellent game for short spells on the iPhone but it also looks great on the Retina iPad.

• Author: Luis Parravicini @luisparravicini
• Most useful tutorial: How To Build a Monkey Jump Game Using Cocos2D, PhysicsEditor & TexturePacker Part 1
• App Store Link: Check it out!

Fun For Kids: Animals

Fun For Kids: Animals is a very colorful app for kids learning about their animals.

The app has a learning area where the animals are presented. Followed by 4 mini games to help the kids remember and associate the animals with their names and sounds in different situations. And finally there is a simple quiz to test kids knowledge.

And there’s also a free play area where you can drag and drop stickers to create custom sticker albums just for fun.

• Author: Willy Dharman
• Most useful tutorial: How To Drag and Drop Sprites with Cocos2D
• App Store Link: Check it out!

Celebrity Skulls

Celebrity Skulls is definitely a one of a kind game.

You’re shown cartoon skulls characteristic of their matching celebrity. You’ve got to decide, from a list of names, who the skull belongs to. The fun doesn’t stop there. The game has single player, time trials, and “skull-to-skull” multiplayer variations.

If there aren’t enough skulls preloaded for your entertainment, there are in-app purchases unlocking up to 140 celebrity skulls!

• Author: Interactive Computer Solutions Inc @celebrityskulls
• Most useful tutorial: How To Make a Simple Multiplayer Game with Game Center Tutorial: Part 2/2
• App Store Link: Check it out!

Best Gin Rummy

I’ve always had a love for Gin Rummy. The classic game meets iOS in Best Gin Rummy.

Best Gin Rummy presents a clear easy to play version of Gin Rummy. You play against the iPhone/iPad. No frills, no distractions just your row of cards and the deck. It works great on iPhone and iPad.

Game Center ties it together with highscores and friendly challenges.

• Author: Kural soft @kuralsoft
• Most useful tutorial: How To Market and Promote Your Games and Apps Part 1/4
• App Store Link: Check it out!

RssBook

RssBook has become my default RSS reader on both my iPhone and iPad. It does exactly what I need without fail. It had no trouble downloading, organizing and syncing over 2000 recent articles.

On iPhone is a simple reader helping you aggregate your articles and get the information you want fast. On iPad it takes advantage of the extra space with a sweet sliding panel interface reminicent of the older Twitter app.

I use it for the built in Google Reader support but it also supports pulling your Facebook feed in as articles alongside your other rss.

• Author: JinKook Park @RssBookApp
• Most useful tutorial: How To Market and Promote Your Games and Apps Part 1/4
• App Store Link: Check it out!