The Adventures of Timmy: Run Kitty Run review

Although video games were once confined to old-fashioned consoles such as the Nintendo or Playstation, thanks to products such as the iPad , iPod touch , or the iPhone, gamers are now able to take video games with them and enjoy them from anywhere imaginable. For those who enjoy playing in this manner, one of the most appealing games to come out in recent years has been The Adventures of Timmy: Run Kitty Run.

The plot revolves around the protagonist Timmy, a social misfit who is considered an outcast across the playground. Timmy has a low self-esteem, but gains confidence to face adversaries when donning a cat costume. The story begins when Timmy’s only friend, Kitty, is kidnapped by the school bully Mitch and held prisoner in his tree house. Timmy must battle foes and overcome obstacles in order to rescue his friend and free her from her troubles.

The genre of The Adventures of Timmy: Run Kitty Run is a traditional 2D platformer. Those who enjoyed the old Mario series will find this application particularly delightful, as it is reminiscent of Mario in many ways. For one thing, Timmy’s need to rescue Kitty is similar to Mario’s quest to rescue Princess Peach, and the gameplay between the two games is very similar. Both games involve a character who scrolls across a map and must leap and maneuver to overcome obstacles and reach the end of a level while subduing foes.
One aspect of the iPhone app that is particularly enjoyable is the visuals. The graphics are very high-quality and aesthetically appealing. Watching as friendly-looking, pink bunnies transform into demonic minions in an attempt to thwart Timmy’s efforts is surprisingly amusing and entertaining. Additionally, the audio is also very impressive and further adds to the quality of the app.

Although the storyline and visuals are both fantastic, one element of the app that may be frustrating to some players is the difficulty. Very precise timing and skill is required in order to beat the levels, and The Adventures of Timmy: Run Kitty Run is not the kind of game that can be completed in one attempt. This is a huge advantage for those who love challenging games that demand patience and perseverance. Conversely, those who become frustrated easily and do not enjoy games that are challenging may wish to avoid this app.
Overall, the game is very enjoyable and should not be overlooked by avid gamers. For those seeking an enjoyable 2D platformer, look no further than The Adventures of Timmy: Run Kitty Run.

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Price: $0.99

Hay Day review

If you take Tiny Tower to the country, you will get the Hay Day iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad app. You fix up a farm, cultivate crops, and create products to sell, so you can earn coins, power ups, and friends in the country side. The Hay Day iPhone app has bright graphics, a bluegrass soundtrack, and simple tools.
The Hay Day iPhone app opens with the completely unnecessary, yet charming story that you have inherited a farm from your uncle. You get a chance to fix it up by painting the barn, house, and silo. Then, you move methodically through planting and cultivating your first crop and establishing a chicken coop. As you earn points, your coins accumulate in order to build and buy equipment to convert your crops into marketable items like a bakery and a feed mill. A certain period of time must pass for items to grow and be prepared, so you can turn on notifications to let you know when your assistance is needed.

The Hay Day iPhone app has simple interface and navigation, but the gesture controls take a bit of adjustment. The tools and features are presented in helpful pop-ups that lead you through your tasks. There is a tool bar at the top of the screen to help you stay on top of your level and how close you are to completing the appropriate number of achievements to move to the next level. The farm is bright, and you can slide and zoom to move around it. When you are able to purchase and establish a bakery or other addition to your farm, you slide it to the appropriate place on your screen and drop it. The gesture controls for gathering eggs, painting buildings, baking bread, and other tasks are not quite as intuitive as creating your farm’s layout. You tap the area to activate it, but then you must touch and drag from the graphic that appears near the area. It would be more intuitive to touch, then drag from your touch.
The achievements and tasks are fun and thoughtful. You develop relationships with neighbors who buy your bread, as well as relationships with local businesses to sell your products. There is a board of sales that you can constantly fill to earn coins and power-ups. There is also a store where you can buy products, crops, animals, trees, and plants. You must complete a certain number of levels to unlock certain items.

The Hay Day iPhone app is fun, engaging, and addictive. It’s the easiest farm job available, and the download from the iTunes App Store is free.

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Price: Free

Temple Run 2 review

The Temple Run 2 iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad app is an exciting game where you guide your runner through an obstacle course, earn power-ups and abilities with your accurate gesture controls, and save a precious idol in the process. The graphics are an intriguing mix of Indiana Jones meets the Mayans, and the gesture controls’ simplicity fool you into believing the game will be easy to beat.
The Temple Run 2 iPhone app has an excellent tutorial process to get you started. The home screen has an ancient temple graphic and text that encourages you to to grab the idol and run. To introduce you to the gesture controls, the directions appear briefly on the screen. Then, you have a chance to try them out on the actual course. You will appreciate the ability to experiment with each gesture control and get the hang of it within the game’s interface. You use vertical and horizontal swipes intuitively. To jump, you swipe up. To slide under an obstacle, you swipe down. To turn left, you swipe to the left horizontally. A right turn requires a right horizontal swipe. You tilt your iPhone in the appropriate direction to grab coins and power-ups. You double tap to use a power-up.

The gamescape of the Temple Run 2 game is filled with details and challenges. You are running from a monster, so the perspective is just behind your character. When the monster creeps up, you’ll see it just behind you. This perspective also gives you just enough time to use the appropriate gesture. The gesture controls are extremely accurate. For example, as you approach a turn, you have to swipe exactly to the left or right. If you try to make the turn with your character by swiping vertically just a bit then to the right, you will jump and miss the turn. The fast-paced nature of the game makes you want to use gesture controls that simply will not create successful results. The ability to be calm, show restraint, and be accurate is the key to winning this game. Appropriate timing and perfection in gesture controls are necessities, as you encounter bridges, ziplines, waterfalls, ruins, and wheels with spikes. You may need to tilt, swipe up, and swipe to the right in just a couple of seconds to grab coins, gems, and power-ups.
You can earn points quickly. As you earn points, you can change characters. You can also earn abilities and power-ups to double your coins, boost your speed, spawn, and protect yourself. You can also make an in-app purchase to select from different abilities and power-ups ranging in price from $.99 to $19.99.

Both addictive and exciting, the Temple Run 2 iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad app is a great choice, and the free price makes it a no-brainer for those who like to earn rewards instead of purchase them.

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Price: Free

Flow Free review

If you, your kid, your neighbor, and the person standing next to you to order coffee likes puzzler iOS apps, the Flow Free iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad app is an absolute must. The graphics are crisp and bright, and the quantity and quality of puzzles makes it accessible, addictive, and appealing to virtually everyone with an iOS device.
The Flow Free iPhone app opens with a column of simple choices and an ad bar at the bottom of the screen. The graphics of the game are striking–bold primary colors juxtaposed with a solid black screen. From the home screen, you can select free play, time trial, settings, about, and more games. The about section gives you a concise and helpful description of the game play. You connect the dots of the same color on a matrix grid, but none of the paths can intersect.

You can select between two modes of play. The free play selection has an unusually large selection of game choices grouped into three categories–easy, medium, and hard. As the games increase in complexity, the puzzles become larger. There are 120 easy and medium puzzles and 30 hard ones in the free version. To play against the clock, you select time trial settings. You can select from different puzzle sizes and times to test your ability.
The game play interface is efficient and interesting. You touch the bold dot and slide your finger to the desired position. The gestures are intuitive and responsive. You can keep track of your puzzle solving by watching the numbers at the top of the screen. Since the object is to connect the dots of the same color in as few moves as possible, you can monitor the number of moves you have made and compare yourself with the best possible way of solving the puzzle. You can access hints in the lower right hand corner of the matrix grid, and you can undo your most recent gesture by touching the double arrow icon just below the grid.

Since virtually everyone in our family plays the Flow Free iOS app on different devices, we’ve noted that the smaller screens make puzzles easier. My son plays Flow Free on his iPad mini, but switches to his iPod Touch for the more difficult puzzles. The smaller screen makes the puzzles more compact, so you can more easily determine the paths.
The Flow Free iPhone app is supported by ads. You can purchase an ad-free package for $3.99. There are also multiple selections depending on the size and type of puzzles you like to solve for $.99 to remove some ads. Parents will specifically appreciate that there is a kids pack for $.99. The ads are not obstacles to the game play, but they are distracting and worthy of the small in-app purchase to eliminate them.

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Price: Free

Super Snack Time review

The Super Snack Time iPhone app is an arcade game that incorporates elements of pinball and Space Invaders. The free download from the iTunes App Store is fun and appealing, but the simplicity of the gestures and the relatively slow movement of certain elements of the game in the early stages may turn off those who prefer more complex iOS games.
The Super Snack Time iPhone app has a typical free game interface. The simple home screen offers one touch selections to play by selecting levels, play arcade style (available with unlock), shop, and adopt. You can also earn coins by connecting on Facebook and Twitter. The screen for play by levels is fun, and it is reminiscent of Super Mario Galaxy. There are five, quasi-planets, and you start with the highlighted one in the upper left hand corner. At first, you just tap the world, tap the level, and hit play. As you unlock skills and power-ups, then you can tap additional items bought or unlocked and incorporate them into your game play.

The Super Snack Time characters are known as gobblens, and they are cute, circular blobs that you fling and toss at obstacles crossing in the sky. In a similar vein as Space Invaders, the obstacles move across the screen in different layouts. There are berries that require multiple wallops to eliminate them. You may hit dynamite to explode and take out multiple obstacles at once. You earn extra points by knocking out multiple obstacles at one time through achievements and power-ups. You can also hit cannons and high-powered items to win, and then, you use them to shoot more frequently and earn points quickly.
To shoot an item out of the sky, you point and fling your gobblen with a simple swipe and flick. The flick is a responsive gesture control. You can pull back and release, or simply fling it into the sky. To use a power-up, you adjust the direction of the item with your finger and tap the icon. The gobblen can also bounce off exploding items and the side of the screen, then take out additional obstacles for extra points. You can spend your points on costumes, power-ups, and rewards.

The Super Snack Time iPhone app has responsive gesture controls, nice graphics, and a solid interface. It doesn’t get too fast and difficult quickly, and it may not suck folks in swiftly. The arcade mode would make up for the slow arrival of challenges, and it’s unlocked in just a handful of levels. It’s certainly worth a look for those who enjoy arcade iOS games.

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Price: Free

Sketchworthy – Notes, Sketches, and Ideas review

The Sketchworthy – Notes, Sketches, and Ideas iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad app creates customized journals with drawings, web pages, images, and locations that can be saved as a PDF document. The interface is attractive and appealing, and the tools are accessed with intuitive, agile gesture controls. There are some great surprises and upgrades available in the in-app store too.
You create your first journal by touching the plus icon at the bottom of the screen. You title it, add notes, and choose a color. The colors are bold, pretty primary colors including blue, red, green, orange, and pink. A plain black option is available as well. Your journal is added to your journal bookshelf. You touch it to add items to the page.

For each page you add to a journal, there are four options. A touch on the piece of paper icon will create a clear screen for you to add information with gesture controls. The old school paper map icon opens the option to add a location. The spider web opens a browser to add web information. The polaroid icon gives you the chance to choose a photo from your iPhone library or shoot one from within the Sketchworthy – Notes, Sketches, and Ideas iPhone app.
To add drawings and text with gesture controls, the interface functions nicely. At the top of the screen, there is a bar with icons that you swipe horizontally to access the editing tools. The options include undo, redo, trash, pencil, marker, and eraser. The undo and redo add or subtract incrementally. For the pencil and marker, you tap the icon to use it on the screen. A double tap on these icons opens a page of options to change the color and size of the pencil and marker.
The ability to add locations, web pages, and photos is a neat touch, and the interface, again, is simple and complementary. You touch web, surf, and tap done to add it to your journal. The location can be activated using your location services. You add a photo from your library, size it with pinches on the screen, and adjust the light with a volume style bar at the top of the screen.

When you complete a journal, it stays in an iOS Newstand-style library. For each journal, you can touch it to make the cover fill the screen. You press the arrow icon at the bottom of the screen, and a PDF copy is created. You can view, export, or send via email.
The Sketchworthy iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad app is a universal download for $1.99. The tools and functions merit the price, but the thoughtful in-app purchases are great. You can buy more refined tools like a productivity package for $1.99 with monthly and weekly calendars. That would be a handy tool for families and teachers. The game pack for $.99 makes road trips and visits to Aunt Edna’s house fun, as you can play the license plate game, hangman, and tic tac toe on your iPhone and iPad. There are also in-app purchases to add more colors and tools to enhance what you draw on the screen. This would also be a great tool to track business projects, ideas, and inspirations. The Sketchworthy iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad app is the notebook you no longer carry, and the pen you never could find.

Download Sketchworthy – Notes, Sketches, and Ideas

Price: $1.99

SetMyCamPro review

Are you a seasoned photographer or simply ready to elevate your iPhone camera’s cabilities? The SetMyCamPro iPhone app is loaded with tools, functions, and real camera settings to help you shoot great photos.
The SetMyCamPro iPhone app has an in-depth introduction and quick links to resources to help you maximize its tools. The home screen has top and bottom menu bars with the same options. The top bar simply has abbreviations, and the bottom menu bar has abbreviations and a graphic to describe the icon. To get started, the first place you will want to check out is the set-up icon. You select from a range of specific cameras by Canon, Hasselblad, Leaf, Leica, Marriya, Nikon, Olympus, Panasonic, Pentax, Phase One, Sigma, and Sony, as well as cameras for specific formats. You turn the flash on or off, but you can also turn the flash on and off in the camera interface. Finally, you select a distance on a dial for your subjects. The distance can be calculated in several different dimensions.

The Depth of Field or DoF icon leads to intricate, yet surprisingly streamlined interface. You set your lens by swiping vertically through a range of sizes. According to the distance previously established in set-up, the near focus depth, focus, far focus, and depth of field are calculated and presented. If you decide to change the distance of focus on the dials, the information adjusts to reflect your changes.
The Field of Vision of FoV icon gives you a chance to make a range of adjustments with smart tools, as you snap your photo. With agile, responsive gestures, you can adjust brightness, turn the flash on and off, add a grid, and adjust the lens. Additional unexpected tools that pop into the camera screen are histogram, image stabilizer, and enhancement tools. You tap the image capture icon in the upper left hand corner to capture your images. The images are saved in your iPhone photo library, so you can adjust in a different photo editing iOS app or share.

The $5.99 iTunes App Store download is a reasonable expense for the highly customized features. Developed by professional photographers who want to add functionality, the SetMyCamPro iPhone photography app is trying to rid the world of blurry, grainy iOS photos one by one.

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Price: $5.99

Twitter #music review

Sync your Rdio, Spotify, and Twitter accounts to explore, discover, follow, play, and tweet music with the Twitter #music iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad app. The incorporation of two modes of navigation and simple gestures complements the spontaneity, serendipity, and excitement of listening to music in a fresh, fun way.
The interface of the Twitter #music iPhone app seems to revolve around the idea that there should be two ways for everything–except how you tweet what currently plays via #nowplaying and how you sync your Twitter account. There are two ways to sign in to your Spotify or Rdio account. At the end of the brief introduction contained in three or four slides accessed by horizontal swipes, you can sign in to them. Or, when the Twitter #music iPhone app opens to its home screen, you can tap the top middle icon to open a menu that slides down. The menu has Spotify or Rdio at the top of the list, followed by emerging, suggested, #nowplaying, and me. You touch the me icon, and you sync your Twitter account in a couple of touches on the screen. Your profile page appears with your Twitter details, and the musicians you currently follow arranged in a matrix.

The popular, emerging, suggested, and #nowplaying feeds have the same layout. Each musician’s photo is accompanied with their name, and the layout is in a matrix. You use a vertical swipe to explore the list. You can continue to move between the categories with the use of the drop down menu from the top bar. Or, you can swipe horizontally to switch feeds. You touch an artist’s photo, and it expands in size. When a photo is highlighted, the other artists’ photos form a photo collage around it. You touch the middle of the photo to start playing an artist’s song, and you can highlight the Twitter symbol to follow the artist. The artist’s Twitter handle is listed just below the highlighted photo, so you can touch the Twitter handle to find a list of musicians the artist follows. This is a cool way of finding new music. When you play a song, Spotify and Rdio users will listen to it through that service. If you do not sync those accounts, a preview of an artist’s song with iTunes is played.
In the lower left hand corner of the screen, you will find the play button. You can touch the play button, and it expands on the screen. The name of the artist and song frame the play button. There is a small photo of the band, and, with a touch, you can move to the artist’s profile. In the upper right hand corner of the play button is the compose tweet icon. With a touch on it, your tweet is automatically crafted and acknowledges the artist and source of the music. You can also add details. I do wish you could tweet #nowplaying from the feed interface as well. There is enough space to incorporate that icon without cluttering the interface.

The excitement and attraction of the Twitter #music iPhone app is the chance to funnel and filter musicians and bands. The suggested feed had a couple of fun suggestions, as well as a few I would expect based on my Twitter social network. The #nowplaying feed is a cool way to discover artists played by your Twitter followers and those you follow. And, for me, it helps me keep up to date with popular music, so I can talk with my friends’ kids. I just learned of the band One Direction yesterday.
Some people may be frustrated by your lack of ability to select a specific song, but this is a tool for expanding your musical horizon–not limiting it. The Twitter #music iPhone app is well-designed, easily navigated, and a pleasure for music lovers–especially those with Spotify and Rdio.

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Price: Free

8tracks radio review

The 8tracks radio iPhone app is a cool blend of Songza, YouTube playlists, and Spotify with a great system of tags to help you find, listen, and share the perfect playlist. As you get started with the 8tracks radio iPhone app, you are reminded that “8tracks is internet radio created by people, not algorithms.” You can connect and engage with the creators of playlists with simple, integrated social features.
The 8tracks radio iPhone app requires a Facebook authorization or a log-in through your 8tracks account. The Facebook authorization requires you to allow access to your public profile information. Surprisingly, there are no additional questions regarding posting on your behalf, and my 8tracks Radio activity was not published on my timeline. In an awkward pop-up after a song started playing, it asked for me to find Facebook friends who are using the 8tracks radio iPhone app. This authorization should be in the initial permissions process. I would recommend creating an 8tracks account to access full functionality, as you can only create playlists online at 8tracks.com. The absence of the ability to create a playlist within the 8tracks radio iPhone app is unfortunate.

After authorization, the explore page opens with a matrix of tags. The tags refer to style of music, bands, inspiration, and activity. You can select from literally hundreds of tags like break up, study, The Smiths, cardio, drunk, jazz, Lil Wayne, and more. You touch a tag and move to an additional page to select one more tag. This additional step customizes your playlist selections. A new screen filled with the feed of playlists that fall into your categories is created. You can browse through the lists in two ways. The default is a larger thumbnail with the title just below the photo. You use horizontal swipes to check out the other lists. Or, you can tap the see all icon, and the playlists have a smaller photo, title, tags, and social engagement. You use vertical swipes to check out the selections. I prefer the list form, as there is more information to help you find the perfect groove.
You simply touch the play arrow in the middle of the photo to start the playlist. The title of the playlist, social engagement features, and artist information frame the playlist’s photo. You can touch the heart icon to like, and you can comment by touching the conversation bubble icon. You can also share your playlist to Facebook, Twitter, email, and text. There is an unobtrusive ad banner that can be eliminated by touching the x icon in the corner just above the play button, artist, and song information at the bottom of the screen. The icon in the top right corner of the screen leads you to information about the person who created the list. You can check out their profile photo, name, social engagement, description of the playlist, and categories. You can touch a profile and follow them, as well as check out the user’s other playlists. The music runs in the background on your iPhone, if you navigate out of the 8tracks radio interface.

The 8tracks radio iPhone app also includes some additional nice touches. The home screen records your history, as well as your favorite searches. It’s a nice way to stay organized and revisit your favorites. The search screen allows you to type a specific artist, feeling, and genre. The most popular searches are also listed.
The 8tracks radio iPhone app is a cool way to listen to music, and it is free. The interface does require you to move through several screens, but you can usually tap the back button in the upper left hand corner. The ability to create playlists from within the 8tracks radio iPhone app and the incorporation of a seamless authorization process would be great enhancements.

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