Developer: 2XL Games Inc
Category: Games
Price: Free
One of the things that makes the App Store so appealing to consumers is the inclusion of Lite games to whet the app-etite (see what I did there). Lite games are free and give us the chance to test an app before we make a purchase. In most cases the inclusion of a Lite version of an app means that the developer has confidence in his/her product and as a result they are happy to give a little piece away for free (there’s no smash and grab 59p for rubbish). In the case of 2XL Supercross, the Lite version completely sucks you into a world of motorbike and jumps and practically extracts the money off of your credit card for the full version. The graphics are stunning and the gameplay is very real for a mobile device. Getting used to the controls can take some time as the realism means you can’t just hold down the accelerator and power through the tracks, you have to take real physics into consideration and brake accordingly. You really get a sense of just how much air these bikes get when you play and if you really get into it, like us, you’ll find yourself bracing for every impact you make as you come flying down from an insane jump. A great game.
Longevity: 5.5
Fun Factor: 9.0
Practicality: 4.0
Value For Money: 10
Kung Fu Verdict: 7.5
Developer: Virtual Programming
Category: Games
Price: £0.59
In this installment players are aiding Thot, Lord of Wisdom - God of the moon. The name of the game is to create groups of tokens in the quickest time using the least amount of moves. It starts incredibly simply which lulls you into a false sense of security and before you know it you’re getting frantic trying to beat the clock. This is far more strategic than the other games which require little forward planning, this one is much more chess like in terms of plotting moves ahead. Its a very addictive game. Like the rest in the series the graphics are great, the sounds are awesome and the value is even better. We’d recommend every single one of the series to puzzle loving iPhone users and we’d also recommend getting the set, they’re great games.
Longevity: 6.5
Fun Factor: 8.0
Practicality: 5.0
Value For Money: 8
Kung Fu Verdict: 7.5
Developer: Virtual Programming
Category: Games
Price: £0.59
This temple belongs to Horus who is the Protector of Kings and god of the sky. He claims that helping him on his quest will earn you the respect of the gods. This time around the strategy for level completion is much simpler than any of the other games and just requires you to tap on groups of three or more tokens. The simplicity of the game means that its the quickest of the series and also the easiest to get in to. This game is definitely the one to try before getting the rest of the series and again it’s great, great value at just 59p. The entire series are a very cool group of games and the subtle variations in gameplay mean that you get hours of strategic fun for a couple of quid.
Longevity: 7.0
Fun Factor: 8.5
Practicality: 5.0
Value For Money: 8
Kung Fu Verdict: 8.3
Developer: Virtual Programming
Category: Games
Price: £0.59
In the third Saqqarah game players are fighting for Anubis. He is the guardian of the dead and by far the most sinister of the gods involved. This is reflected in the music, which has a more movie like quality - adding weight to the task at hand. This time around the aim of the game is to use your finger to drag a line across three or more connected tokens on a grid. Those tokens will then explode allowing more to fall into the grid. This game is much more like Isis in terms of pace and players can really race through the first few level. Obviously they get a lot trickier as you go. It goes without saying that this games’ graphics and sounds are exceptional and that for 59p its well worth a download.
Longevity: 7.5
Fun Factor: 8.0
Practicality: 5.0
Value For Money: 8
Kung Fu Verdict: 8.0
Developer: Virtual Programming
Category: Games
Price: £0.59
This is the second game in the Saqqarah series and sees players trying to help Isis: The mother of Gods. The principle is similar to that of Bast and uses similarly joined tokens, only this time the board is always full and you rearrange the tokens into groups of three or more. Should you do this they will explode and more tokens will fall from the top of the screen to fill their place. The way this system works means that as tokens fall they often fall into groups of three or more creating continuing explosions and a constant falling of new tokens. This lifts the game and makes it seem incredibly fast paced and action packed. The speed and smoothness of the gameplay makes it instantly likeable and all the more addictive. This is one of the best of the series and an example of how to make a simple game incredibly cool.
Longevity: 7.5
Fun Factor: 8.0
Practicality: 5.0
Value For Money: 8
Kung Fu Verdict: 8.0
People are talking about Apple muscling in on Nintendo’s portable gaming territory, but its biggest competitor of late has been Amazon. You know, the one with all the books? Apple’s got your ears, but now it’s started fighting for your eyes too.
Follow this: a couple months ago Amazon – out of nowhere – released Kindle for the iPhone. A little, free program, the Kindle app lets you read electronic books purchased on Amazon’s e-book reader. A month later, Amazon announced the Kindle DX, a big version of its Kindle reader, formatted for newspapers, magazines and other periodicals – things that we have been reading on the iPhone for the past two years.
It is doubtful that, even without Amazon’s cock-blocking, the small-ass iPhone would ever overtake the book, magazine or newspaper industries. However, power moves like the Wall Street Journal’s new polished iPhone app are making the iPhone the go-to place for news (and reading) on the go.
Damon Brown is author of “The Pocket Idiot’s Guide To The iPhone”. His latest book, “Porn & Pong: How Grand Theft Auto, Tomb Raider And Other Sexy Games Changed Our Culture”, is out now. Read his writing at www.damonbrown.net
Damon writes a fortnightly column for iPhone Kung Fu and also features in iCreate Magazine each month.
Developer: Iain Dodsworth
Category: Social Networking
Price: Free
Twitter clients are extremely popular apps on the App Store and as a lot of them are free there’s little need to worry about loyalty; you can swap about at will. With this in mind we definitely recommend that you give TweetDeck a fair crack of the whip. It emulates the incredibly popular desktop client of the same name and is by far one of the slickest Twitter clients we’ve seen. It keeps all of your information, including a feed of tweets by those you’re following, your mentions and your direct messages in separate columns that you can reach by flicking left and right. New information pops up in easy to read and react-to bubbles and everything has a very slick, cool look. When you add to this the inclusion of push notifications this really is a recipe for an addictive app. Other things you can do include creating groups, searching Twitter and adding multiple accounts. They key to the success of this app is the styling. It feels like a big app with lots of room for you to sweep around in order to get the information you want, rather than confining everything to the dimensions of the iPhone screen. Its a very clever ploy and it works wonderfully. A great app made even better by the lack of a price tag. Download it now!
Longevity: 9.5
Fun Factor: 8.0
Practicality: 8.0
Value For Money: 10
Kung Fu Verdict: 9.8
Developer: Virtual Programming
Category: Games
Price: £0.59
The ancient quest of Saqqarah are a series of games from Virtual Programming. Bast is the Goddess of love and war and and requires players to complete a host of levels in order to save the beauty of her monument. You have to use your finger to move connected tokens into groups of three or more. Once this happens parts of the board illuminate and you gain points. This is a game of strategy and as the levels continue your movements have to be more and more chess-like. The graphics and sounds on this game are incredibly sumptuous and add to the series’ attraction. The price is also a great attraction, for just 59p you get hours of joyful frustration. An addictive game but not the best in the series so look out for the rest!
Longevity: 7.0
Fun Factor: 7.0
Practicality: 5.0
Value For Money: 8
Kung Fu Verdict: 7.0
Developer: Clickgamer technologies Ltd
Category: Games
Price: £0.59
This is an app that relies heavily on gameplay, the graphics are more akin to Cube Runner than anything more polished. Your goal is to survive battlefields in your tank all the while picking up flags, ammo and tokens so you can wreak havoc on your enemies. Controls are simple, you have two gun buttons, one is your hi-tech laser machine gun and the other fires missiles. On the other side of the screen you have directional control, which can be used in tandem with the accelerometer to pull off crazy maneuvers. At first this game can seem a little tough, if you don’t hit the ground running you can be pulverized within a couple of seconds. If you do stick it out you soon get the hang of things and can begin smashing up the enemy - which is very satisfying. A cool game, well worth the outlay, provided you give it some time to get used to the controls.
Longevity: 7.0
Fun Factor: 7.0
Practicality: 3.0
Value For Money: 9
Kung Fu Verdict: 7.5
Developer: Avantar LLC
Category: Navigation
Price: Free
It’s amazing to think something like the Yellow Pages directory that we once took for granted as a resource has become so obsolete. Fortunately, the same service continues and you can take full advantage of it on your iPhone, using this brilliantly simple app. When you launch Yellow Pages the application detects your current location and bases your searches, whether they be for a hotel or a hotdog, on your surrounding location. Yellow Pages doesn’t demand a full description either, type something simple like bank or parking and you’ll be provided the full list of nearby services. Of course, you can also use the app to search other locations by changing your location from the homescreen. Shortcuts are included for common searches like restaurants and doctors too. A functional, free finder application.
Longevity: 8.0
Fun Factor: 4.0
Practicality: 8.0
Value For Money: 10
Kung Fu Verdict: 7.8
