Gadget Review: Mikey Digital external microphone for iPhone/ iPad

Review by Rob P. 

Why do you need an external microphone for your iThing? Well, if you’re an average user, you probably don’t. But if you’re a journalist, researcher, musician, student or podcaster, the Mikey Digital might just be the gadget for you.

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Heroes of Dragon Age; I just don't understand EA's mobile strategy

Opinion by Matt S. 

As a big fan of Dragon Age (yep, I even enjoyed the second one), I didn't really have a choice; when I saw that EA had released Heroes of Dragon Age on to the iOS App Store, I immediately downloaded it.

After playing for an hour I deleted it.

I don't have a problem with EA putting the investments that it does that it does into mobile market, in fact, when EA does a good job of it I more than welcome it - FIFA 14 is ace on iPad and Real Racing 3 might be laden with microtransactions, but the racing itself is compelling.

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Nintendo and iOS; there's simply no reason not to

Opinion by Matt S. 

Michael Pachter has riled up the most dedicated Nintendo fan base once again.

The cause for contention was this time over some rather frank and biting comments from Pachter that were reported on gamesindustry.biz, along with the idea that Nintendo should be releasing games on iOS (and Android, but for convenience this piece will just talk about iOS) platforms. After the story was published, my Twitter feed has been inundated with the usual retorts of "Pachter knows nothing" (because apparently not knowing stuff is how analysts keep their jobs at highly respected analyst firms) and "Nintendo should NEVER do iOS." And why should Nintendo NEVER do iOS? Because, obviously, iOS platforms lack buttons and as such it's inconceivable that they would actually play well.

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DDNet's Games of the year 2013: iOS Game of the Year

A couple of months ago we asked you to vote on your favourite games of the year (up to the end of October, except for the blockbuster of the year award, which is still running now on the site). You've voted and now, in the coming weeks, we will unveil the results.

The process: Earlier in the year we asked you, our readers, to rank nine different games per category in order of preference (or how interested you are in a game, if you haven't played it before). We have taken those rankings, averaged them up, and the resulting list below are the top four games - three runners up and the winner.

Though some traditionalists continue to hold out, more and more people are realising just how good the iPad and iPhone is for a host of games. Sure platformers and FPSers are often still patchy, but RPGs and strategy games, as you'll see below, offer some killer quality gameplay at a cheap price.

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Review: Luxuria Superbia (iPad)

Review by Matt S. 

Tale of Tales continues to prove that it is the preeminent developer of games that are not just artistic by accident; they're developed specifically to be art. And they're an eclectic team to say the least; after such dark projects as The Path and The Graveyard, Luxuria Superbia couldn't be more of a thematic foil. This game is positively filled with colour.

It's also a not-so subtle metaphor for the act of pleasuring a women. In Luxuria Superbia your job is to delve into the depths of a flower and stimulate it by rubbing on buds as they appear on the screen. The more stimulated the flower is the more colourful it becomes. In practice it's a little like a scrolling shooter, and points are accumulated by keeping the flower simulated. The twist is that if you oversimulate it the flower will climax and its game over.

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Review: Drive on Moscow (iPad)

Review by Matt S.

Drive on Moscow, the follow up to Shenandoah Studio's previous wargame, Battle of the Bulge, is a near carbon copy of the engine that ran the team's previous effort. That's a good thing because there are still far too few genuinely serious wargames available on the iPad, let alone ones that are as replayable and rich in depth as this.

As with Battle of the Bulge, Drive on Moscow follows closely a real conflict; in this instance the push of Axis forces to occupy Moscow before the winter could set in during World War 2. Of all the conflicts that marked World War 2 this is one of the most fascinating for students of history, as it pitted two supremely evil men (Hitler and Stalin) against one another, while desperate soldiers on both sides fought and died in a conflict that would mark the turning point in the war for the Allied armies.

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Review: Flowmo (iPad)

Review by Matt S. 

Flowmo lasts for around 30 minutes and in that time there's not a second of the experience that fits a conventional description of what constitutes a game. There's no definable characters, there's no linear narrative. It's abstracted in the extreme.

And it's wonderful.

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Review: Joe Dever's Lone Wolf (iPad)

Review by Matt S. 

Of all the nostalgic trips I've have on my iPad, Lone Wolf could have been the mightiest of all. As a kid I bought, read and reread Joe Dever's fantasy choose-your-own-adventure games more than anything else I read, I suspect. As Fighting Fantasy was proving to be the most popular gamebook series in the mainstream, it was Lone Wolf that was occupying my time.

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Review: Galaxy Factions (iPad)

Review by Sam M. 

In yet another casual strategy game for tablets, Galaxy Factions tasks you with commanding an outpost that has been charged in getting rid of the pirate colonies that have illegally settled nearby. Galaxy Factions takes the basic attack and defense formula we’ve seen before, and tries to mix it up.

You first have to build a base, your home of operations. From here you mine for resources that can be used to build defensive weapons, troops to attack other bases and buildings that will help your base function. The more walls and turrets you build the harder your base will be to destroy. That being said if your base lacks offensive power, then you won’t be able to destroy enemy bases.

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Review: Oceanhorn: Monster of Uncharted Seas (iPad)

Review by Matt S. 

I suspect this game is going to annoy Nintendo fans. Without crossing into plagiarism, Oceanhorn is a faithful recreation of the basic Zelda aesthetic and gameplay structure, and not only that but it brings more new ideas to the famous formula than most modern Zelda games have managed.

The obvious inspiration for this title is Zelda: Wind Waker. Players come into possession of a small boat early on and from there the quest involves sailing from island to island, looking for precious objects and delving into puzzle-filled dungeons. As with Zelda games, environments only start to open up once you've acquired the right tool for progress through a barrier; for an easy example there are parts of islands blocked by objects that can only be destroyed by bombs.

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Review: Lego: The Lord Of The Rings (iPad)

Review by Andrew M.

Developing a game around a legacy like The Lord of the Rings is a not easy. Sure, it helps to have some of the most famous characters in the history of literature, television, film and comics on your side but still, it’s also so easy up upset fans by doing something wrong, and we've seen that happen often enough with Tolkien's work. Time and time again the Lego games do a stand-up job of living up to the legacy. Producing games with DC characters, Marvel characters, Indiana Jones, Harry Potter and so on has always guaranteed interest in what the development team is doing. Now there's the second new Lego game on iPad in less than a month (following Lego Batman: DC Super Heroes). I can't see anyone having anything but a blast with this game.

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Review: Garfield Kart (iPad)

Review by Matt S. 

Ever since the original Super Mario Kart, it's been far to easy to throw a collection of loved characters together in a package where they race around tracks in karts throwing random weapons at one another.

Typically these games have been less than successful because a good racing game isn't that easy to produce. It needs balanced physics, well-designed tracks and thorough play testing in order to make sure that everyone's favourite character has half a chance of winning.

Against all odds Garfield Kart isn't that bad. In fact, it's quite enjoyable.

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Review: Treasure Seekers 3: Follow The Ghosts (iPad)

Review by Andrew M. 

G5 Entertainment definitely knows its niche in developing games that have worked well for years as time-wasters on computers. Whether they are games for people that aren’t inclined to dedicate the time that an AAA game demands or that don’t really see the appeal of more adrenaline-filled games, they are entertaining because once you start playing, there is an innate need for you to finish the game, even if it is little more than a digital version of the I Spy games we played as kids. The point-and-click adventures and hidden object games are G5's wheelhouse and the Treasure Seekers series has been successful enough that we have a new sequel in Treasure Seekers 3: Follow The Ghosts.

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Review: Shape Jam (iPhone)

Review by Andrew M.

Recently I succumbed to the advertising on several of the Podcasts I listen to and started playing Lumosity. It’s a good app, a little restricted for people who don’t want to buy a yearly subscription, but overall pretty good. Basically the idea is brain training by giving you a random assortment of games every day and you have to beat your previously highest score. Loading up Shape Jam, it feels like you are playing just one Lumosity game but with the added twist of playing against someone online.

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Review: Chainsaw Warrior (iPad)

Review by Andrew M.

One of the best things about the tablet market today is ability for developers to take our childhoods and turn them into iOS apps. I've got fond memories of epic games of Monopoly, Trivial Pursuit and Risk, and now I can now relive it anywhere. Not being into the card based adventure games or adventure board games as a child, Chainsaw Warrior was a new experience for me and so I get to play this newest iOS recreation with eyes untinted by nostalgia. While I had more experience with traditional board games, these games also translate from the physical to the virtual very well, offering fans of the game a chance to relive the time that many were able to first experience games.

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Review: Pocket God: Ooga Jump (iPhone)

Jumping right out of its sandbox, Ooga Jump takes the Pocket God franchise to new heights; literally. Developer Bolt Creative has taken advantage of what the mobile phones are best at doing to give players a new way to experience its popular franchise. While you've seen everything this game offers elsewhere before, there’s a lot of enjoyment to be found all the same.

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Review: Batman: Arkham Origins (iPhone)

Review by Chris I.

With the console release of Batman: Arkham Origins just behind us, I stumbled across the iOS version of the title, noticed that it was a free download and decided to give it a go. Without any knowledge of the game prior to the download, I went into the title, well, blind as a bat to what I'd be doing. Once the darkness lifted, I’ve found that I’m enjoying myself quite a bit with this mobile title.

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Best Women Safety Android and Iphone Apps

Imagine a situation. You have to travel alone to your native place in a private bus, and then you face a horrible situation where you cant help yourself. Or imagine another situation, where you go out alone for shopping, you take a taxi home and before you notice, the taxi directs to a wrong direction. It always takes just a few seconds for something wrong to happen. Many of us, especially women are not being allowed to go out alone because of the threat. However we don't have a complete solution to this problem, but of course a precautionary step can be taken, in order to prevent such situations. The Delhi case and the recent case in Hyderabad where women have been brutally treated, in these kind of situations this can be a clever step which may protect you. 

There is a way where you can notify your friends or family in case of any emergency. StaySafe is an Android and IOS app that allows you to automatically inform your emergency contact list and send them your latest GPS location.

This app is available for all the android devices in Google Play App Store and IOS devices in Itunes App Store. All you need to follow is a few steps of registration and you can use the app.

Must Check: Find Name of Unknown Mobile Number

The major key points of this app are:

1. A simple shake activates the SOS alerts

2. A text message and/or email is sent to your selected contact(s) with your name and a voice recording of the situation just after you shake your phone.

3. Your exact location is sent in the alert.

4. The battery level of your phone is sent in the alert.

5. These messages are sent at regular intervals which can be set, to help identify if the user is moving.

 Download and Install SOS on your Mobile

• Open the stay safe app in your phone as soon as you download it.
• Here you have to select a security pin which is of a 4 digit number, this security pin is for conformation of your phone number.

• In this step you have to set the shake limit by setting a timer. 

• As we can see in the picture below, in the time set above, for example 3s, we should be setting a shake limit.

By following the simple steps, your registration is completed. SOS Stay Safe is a very useful and easy way to avoid any kind of emergency problems when you are alone. 

Users can send SOS alerts to their friends and family on sensing danger, simply by shaking their phone. Text and email messages are sent at regular intervals to provide real time GPS tracking from your exact location. The alerts are sent discreetly, without you having to even look at your device.

This app comes into handy in different situations for anyone, like say accidents, abuses on women, kidnaps etc. 

Start using this app, its extremely useful in tough situation you never imagine. Though this might not be exactly helpful, in case of low battery or network problems, this is just a solution as something is better than nothing.

Also check some of the women saftey apps like bSafe,Life360,circleof6,FightBack and admob which are some of the best apps to protect yourself in emergency situations. 

Must check: Tips to Increase Battery of Andorid and Iphone

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Next generation mobile devices: the home consoles of tomorrow?

Opinion by Chris I.

With all the hype surrounding the vastly approaching next generation gaming console releases, it’s a joy to see gamers’ excitement filling the web and forum pages across the Internet.

But as I see what’s to come with these new consoles, it’s become quite apparent that it’s a lot more of the same that we already have. Sure there are improved specs, but the upgrade is not as visually obvious as it was in previous generations. Yet, with the economy just recently looming on the brink of another potential collapse and the production cost of games continuing to rise, I can’t stop myself from thinking even further forward. Why? Because I’ve had something in my home produce that “Wow!” factor numerous times now and it wasn’t a gaming console.

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Review: Rhino Rush Stampede (iPhone)

Review by Andrew M. 

Mobile games all aim to be addictive. They are designed so that if you sit down on the train or lounge or whatever, you can just whip out your device and play a game for five minutes. But the secret to a good iPhone game is to get to you come back over and over or sink hours into something that you should be able to get your fix of in five minutes or less. It's bad for productivity, but it's the glorious reality of Rhino Rush Stampede. It’s so addictive and wonderfully so.

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