Few franchises have enjoyed such a cult status as the famous Monkey Island series by LucasArts. While the original trilogy is simply above all praise and the remastered versions of The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition and Monkey Island 2 Special Edition: LeChuck’s Revenge (TMA Review) have already found their way onto iOS, the PC version of Escape from Monkey Island was a flop. That’s why when Telltale announced they were going to take over the series from LucasArts, the entire Monkey Island community held its breath. And only with the release of Monkey Island Tales 1 could fans finally breath… Monkey Island Tales 1 is a hallmark Telltale episodic point-and-tap adventure. We meet Guybrush Threepwood, the mighty pirate™, already all grown up and still married to the beautiful Elaine. Fighting the evil LeChuck yet again, Guybrush blunders the mystic potion in an attempt to defeat his foe once and for all… instead turning him human. LeChuck immediately takes off with Elaine, leaving Guybrush with zombie-hand syndrome and wrecked on a remote island. Monkey Island Tales closely follows the groundwork laid by the founders at LucasArts two decades ago, but with a few dashes of classicTelltale. The episode may roughly be broken up into several sections, with 3 distinct tasks required to be completed in order to continue on with the storyline. The puzzles aren’t particularly difficult, though they embrace the classic wacky logic of the franchise. And to further help you on your adventure, Guybrush will occasionally utter helpful hints on what to focus on next when idle. For purists this can be turned off in the menu by the way. In addition to the classic item and dialogue based puzzles, you’ll encounter the hallmark treasure hunting ones as well. No mini-games thankfully as it would obviously throw off Read More
When smartphones first came out, it was pretty rare for them to get a virus. But hackers simply needed some time to catch up with the rapidly growing platform. Unfortunately, now they have caught up, smartphone users can be susceptible to attacks if they’re not careful. The sad news for Android users is that their phones are considerably more at risk to viruses than iPhones. That said, iPhones certainly aren’t exempt from malware. The idea that hackers can’t infiltrate Apple products was disproved years ago. So, how do you protect your smartphone from viruses that could put your private and precious data in the wrong hands? Here are five suggestions to help protect your phone from harm: 1. Download some anti-virus apps. Quite a few Android users have had success with the free AVG Antivirus app. This is especially useful if there’s already malware on your phone; you can scan the settings, files, and media in real time. If you want an Android app that does a great job of preventing viruses, NetQin provides a free option with plenty of features. As for the iPhone, there is currently one Apple approved antivirus app, and it is Intego’s VirusBarrier ($2.99, includes one year of malware updates). It does on-demand scans of files received by e-mail or on iDevices, and scans for spyware, Trojan horses, adware, keyloggers and more. 2. Rooting your Android or Jailbreaking your iPhone will provide way more customization options and features no doubt, but doing so can also potentially make your device significantly more vulnerable to malware. Ideally, the safest way is running the latest Android/iOS firmware (and not root/jailbreak your phone), but if you do decide to be adventurous and take that route, just know that the risk of picking up a virus will be increased, no matter how small. For Read More
I’m sure the top story this week is 9mm from Gameloft, but I’m going to mention Pocket RPG, the latest offering from Crescent Moon Games. This stylish RPG should be a treat for anyone that likes dual stick games or rougelike offerings. I just wish they would have released the iPhone version first. Racing seemed to be a prevalent theme this week. If you enjoy futuristic jaunts you should check out Protoxide: Death Race from HeroCraft. On the other hand, if you just want to cause havoc in the current era, Reckless Getaway might be more your style. Finally, those that are more interested in proving their skills than causing any damage at all should consider Xtreme Wheels, a trial bike game that offers some really intense graphics given the game’s style of game play. – HeroCraft is probably most well known for some creative and fun puzzle games, but now they’ve stuck their hands into the racing genre with what looks like some pretty interesting results. In the future society has fallen apart, and Death Races are the new law. The game comes with 4 single player modes and the ability to connect over WiFi. There are 12 different vehicles to choose from, each with their own look and feel. You’ll enjoy some breathtaking 3D graphics as you race across 16 different tracks in 4 locations. There’s no mention of social networking, so hopefully that’s coming if it’s not already there. It sounds like Protoxide has the action that Ionoscraft Racing was missing. Too bad there’s no craft customization involved in Protoxide… HeroCraft, , 73.2 MB – $2.99 – Guardians sounds like an interesting combination of “infinite runner” and one-on-one combat. You are the captain of the Royal Guard, and apparently going down with a sinking ship is not in Read More
Today’s lead in is the latest offering from Square Enix, which is unique in both content and price. The game is called Imaginary Range. It’s a combination of comic book and mini-games, and it’s absolutely free. If you’re into aquatic life with attitudes you should check out either Destructopus or Laser Dolphin. The former is more for those who just want to destroy everything, while you can’t go wrong with the latter’s protagonist – a mammal that totes some pretty awesome weaponry. Finally, if you haven’t gotten your fill of puzzle games with cute characters yet, Chillingo is happy to bring you Spider Jack… a puzzle game with a cute leading character. – Spider Jack looks like Chillingo’s take on such games as Arachnadoodle (TMA Review) and Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor, and if it’s half as good as either of those that’s just fine with me. You control Spider Jack, and you’ll travel to various locations, trying to eat every fly you run across. There are 75 levels to play through, each of which has multiple solutions and star ratings to keep coming back until you’ve mastered every one. The game uses a realistic physics model, though I’m not quite sure you’re really going to know what it feels like to be a web slinger. But hey, it is just a video game! You can gift levels to your friends – I’m curious what exactly that means – and the visuals look quite enchanting. Overall I’d say you can add this to the list of fun cartoon like physics games with cute leading characters. Clickgamer.com, , 16.7 MB – $0.99 Clickgamer.com, , 14.2 MB – $1.99 – At its base Piclings is an amusing but pretty standard platform adventure game. You play a little guy named Picazzo and you Read More
Google Goggles, a neat visual search tool that first made its way into the last October, has just received some nifty upgrades. Firstly, pointing your iDevice camera at US print advertisements (those from August 2010 onward) will display more info about that product/service online. Secondly, GG will now help Sudoku fiends solve the puzzle at hand with the help of the onboard camera: Our favorite weekend distraction is a quiet 15 minutes spent solving a Sudoku puzzle. But even that can be an frustrating experience if (like us) you make a mistake and are unable to solve the puzzle. Now, Goggles on Android and iPhone can recognize puzzles and provide answers to help make you faster than a Sudoku champ. So if you ever get stuck, take a clear picture of the entire puzzle with Goggles and we’ll tell you the correct solution. Check out this video to see how it works. The Google Mobile App is free to download and those who enjoy attacking a Sudoku here and there should definitely give this new feature a try. Check out Google’s demo video below. Google Mobile, , 8.6 MB – Free Read More
Solar Walk - 3D Solar System model App TouchMyApps is giving away 3 copies each of Vito Technology’s Star Walk – 5 stars astronomy guide (iPhone/iPod Touch), Star Walk for iPad – interactive astronomy guideand Solar Walk – 3D solar system model (universal app). All 3 were recently updated and received new features, include Santa mode (that’s right, spot St. Nick in the sky), Airprint and more. For those you into astronomy, Star Walk is arguably the best stargazing app on the App Store: Star Walk is your personal planetarium that can answer all of your curiosities about the sky! For anyone who is interested in stargazing, amateurs or professionals Star Walk makes discovering more than 9,000 stars, planets, constellations, and messier objects as beautiful and easy as it has never been before! And if you wish to explore the vast Universe and see the different planets in 3D models, Solar Walk is a great choice for both the iPhone and iPad: Let’s find out more about our neighboring planets in the Universe, play around with them determining the speed of circulation, time, choosing a particular planet to become the center of the Universe, seeing the moons of Saturn, Jupiter, Mars and Uranus. The 3D model in the Solar Walk app is the exact reproduction of the real solar system. Whether you’re an aspiring astronomer or not, the Star Walk and Solar Walk apps are a great learning tool, not to mention cool apps to show off to your friends and family. Be sure to check out the complete contest details after the break! – $4.99 – $2.99 – $2.99 Good luck! Read More
. If you need advice on whether the food you buy is a healthy meal or a calorie nightmare, aims to make it easier for you to decide. The developers, Viaden Mobile, say that the app is “simply the best tool on the App Store for those who care about their bodies, want to be fit and maintain their health.” The app boasts of a barcode scanner that, with a single tap, will identify food items and evaluate how healthy they are. You can log the items or search for specific food products in a 300,000 strong database culled from restaurants and shops. The rating system is based on the widely used Food Score system which compares foodstuffs with their counterparts and rates them. In addition, the app provides live support with free tips from a team of diet specialists. “FoodMeter: Good Food or Bad Food?” is currently occupying the leading positions on the App Store in the Healthcare & Fitness category and should be a godsend for all the health junkies out there. The universal app (designed for both iPhone and iPad) is available on iTunes for the low price of $0.99. ARAWELLA, , 15.21MB – $0.99 ★★★ More than 300,000 food items from supermarkets and over 300 restaurants ★★★The application works on iPhone (including iPhone 4 with Retina screen), iPod Touch and iPad! ★★★ Scanning and manual barcode input, searching by dish, brand and restaurant ★★★ Ask your questions about healthy eating and get professional consultations! We all buy products at supermarkets, go to bars and restaurants and want to be healthy. However, it’s not always easy to figure out whether you choose a healthy dish. FoodMeter is created to help you make the right choice and select healthier foodstuff and dishes. There’s no more need to carefully examine various Read More
If you’re one to browse the App Store via iTunes or from your iDevice, it’s likely you’ve come across previous Apple lists that promote certain apps/games, like the Awesome iOS 4 apps and The Best Games You’ve Never Played roundups. Well Apple has released a new one and it’s called “Big Games, Great Prices”. This list of games actually coincides with the recent fire sale of many top notch titles that saw prices drops in the $0.99 – $2.99 range. Of the 50 being included, some of the more notables include: A good number of these games are considered must-haves, especially if you dig that particular genre. I highly recommend you take a look and see which you’d like to scoop up at the reduced price. You can find the “Big Games, Great Prices” roundup on the App Store here . Read More
is a new puzzler by FDG Entertainment, who is no stranger to the App Store, having published titles like , Kryzer, and Parachute Panic. It is the official successor to Ynth, which was released over a year ago by krabl.com. In Beyond Ynth, you play as Kribl, a ladybug sent by the queen of Kriblonia on a quest to retrieve the diamonds scattered by the four dark spiders of the apocalypse. In order to do so, you must travel through wooden mazes, dodge obstacles and collect diamonds whenever possible. The concept behind Beyond Ynth’s gameplay is certainly unique. It mainly consists of Kribl pushing against wooden boxes from within in order to move along. There are many hindrances that will try to squish, trap, freeze, melt, and incinerate you. There are also boxes, blocks, and acorns that you have to push out of the way so that you can reach the diamonds. It is evident that the developers spent a considerable amount of time designing these levels, as they are well thought out and the puzzles are indeed challenging. So much so that for the casual gamer, this can be an extremely difficult game. I find that I cannot play it for more than twenty minutes at a time before it becomes too frustrated to continue. Frustrating as it may be, it does have excellent replay value, with 80 levels in four different environments and two diamonds to collect within each one, this will not be completed quickly. The graphics in Beyond Ynth are simply amazing, with wonderful textures and animations for our adorable ladybug. The game is also Retina optimized, meaning those with an iPhone 4 and iPod Touch 4 will enjoy its gorgeous visuals even more. If you want a game that really shows off your device’s Retina screen, this is the Read More
