Archive for '9 Star Ratings'
LogMeIn Ignition iPhone Productivity App Review
Posted on 05. Sep, 2009 by iPhone App Reviewer.
LogMeIn Ignition: An excellent remote computer application for your iPhone.
| Our Rating: 8.7/10 |  |
[Screenshots] |
Version Reviewed: 1.1.119
Developer: LogMeIn Inc. [iTunes Link]
Price as of Review: $29.99
Current iTunes Rating: 4.5/5
Size: 2.2MB
LogMeIn is a utility that allows the iPhone or iPod Touch to control your PC, Mac or Linux (I believe) computer. There are already similar applications in the app store (Mocha VNC, Jaadu VNC) but LogMeIn Ignition provides a welcomed new experience. Controlling the computer is as simple as signing up for an account and installing the Java applet. You then just log in to your account from your iPhone/iPod Touch and select the computer you wish to control. Like any remote/VNC connection you should have a high speed internet connection and be prepared to sacrifice some extra features here and there on your computer. One great thing about LogMeIn is the ability to highly customize speed optimization.
LogMeIn takes care of all the ports, IP addresses and other network jib-jab the average computer use won’t understand. This allows you to easily access your computer from anywhere on the Internet as long as it’s turned on. This app has excellent support for many concepts that make your computer, a computer. A feature I’ve loved is the great support for multiple monitors. I always run my computer setup with a widescreen and external monitor, LogMeIn allows me to view and scroll around both.
The interface treats your computer like an editable picture, you can pan with one finger, tap to click, and even pinch your fingers to zoom in or out. You can choose two control methods where sliding your finger either moves the screen with a static positioned mouse, or it moves the cursor on a static position screen. Either way you can view the entire screen in detail, as well as portrait or landscape mode (accelerometer controlled).
All in all LogMeIn Ignition is an amazing app that provides easy remote control to users of any technical skill. The app has a few glitches, mainly those caused by too many attempts at optimizing speed (screen blankouts, temporary freezing). This app is perfect for anybody who needs to quickly edit an image in Photoshop, manipulate on an FTP client, or anything else. I’ve found lots of use for LogMeIn and I’m a very satisfied customer.
Final Ratings:
Usefulness: 9.8/10 – Accessing your computer from anywhere is something everyone wants to do.
User Interface: 8.7/10 – LogMeIn has a great interface with only a few glitches. Navigating around the computer’s display is very simple.
Price: 6/10 – It’s competitors are cheaper but for the ease of use compared to VNC, LogMeIn has a reasonable fee. Nonetheless $30 dollars is still expensive for an iPhone app.
Technology: 9.8/10 – This rating was to be expected, this app uses all the technology at hand.
Execution of Concept: 9.1/10 – Some additional features could be added here and there, some more optimization.
Overall Rating: 8.7/10
Further Improvements:
- Speed optimization
- Easy copy and paste sync (between device and computer)
- Misc. glitch fixes
- Audio sync! (iPhone will not play the computer’s audio)
- Peripheral sycn (use iPhone’s camera or microphone as an audio/video source on computer)
Screenshots of LogMeIn Ignition on iPhone App Reviewer’s Flickr Page.
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X2 Football 2009 iPhone Game App Review
Posted on 30. Aug, 2009 by iPhone App Reviewer.
X2 Football 2009: Fully featured immersing soccer on the iPhone.
| Our Rating: 8.9/10 | |
[Screenshots] |
Version Reviewed: 1.2
Developer: X2 Games/Exient [Interview with iPhone App Reviewer]
Price as of Review: $6.99
Current iTunes Rating: 4/5
Size: 81.1MB
Lite Version: [iTunes Link]
X2 Football 2009 is the kind of game you’d see on a system like the Playstation Portable, it’s completely 3D with amazing graphics and an excellent control scheme. This app is a full board sports app which allows you to play soccer (or football for our British readers out there) against a computer opponent. You’ll start by learning the controls and strategies in a training area with many different options and scenarios such as free kick and left corner. When done you can quit training and launch tournament mode or penalty shootout. You can also just go ahead and play a quick match with teams of your choice!
When creating matches you can choose starting positions and other team management abilities. Afterwords you’ll be thrown into the playing field in a fully 3D environment. For control there’s three side buttons for passing, sliding, shooting and other actions. You then have a very responsive touch joystick for movement of the player. The artificial intelligence is excellent – the computer opponents are challenging and even details such as red/yellow cards have been added. You can tackle 
other players and steal the possession of the ball. Not to mention you have in-game replay’s which are saved and can get zoomed in, panned and rotated around and played and multiple speeds.
The graphics are absolutely stunning for an iPhone app and the game runs them with perfect stability. The field is clear and all the player’s animations are perfect. The sound effects include dynamic commentary – roaring crowds and even the swift sound of that soccer ball hitting the net. Unfortunately there’s no accelerometer controls, nonetheless the touch control scheme is amazing, X2 Games has done an excellent job.
All in all X2 Football 2009 is an amazing sports game app for any fan of immersing gameplay and detailed 3D graphics. Definitely seven bucks well spent.
Final Ratings:
Gameplay: 9.4/10 – It’s a complete soccer game!
Enjoyment: 9/10 – Awesome to see something like this being so well executed on the iPhone.
Graphics: 9.7/10 – Probably the best in-game graphics I’ve seen.
Sound: 9/10 – Stunning, love the commentary.
Technology: 9/10 – Have I said wow yet?
Replay Value: 7/10 – This is the only part of our review that is not simply excellent. Without a full tournament mode, unless you simply love soccer, you won’t play games a lot.
Final Rating: 8.9/10
Further Improvements:
- Full tournament modes
- Multiplayer Mode
More screenshots of X2 Football 2009 on iPhone App Reviewer’s Flickr Page.
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Manage Your Football Club iPhone Game App Review
Posted on 25. Aug, 2009 by iPhone App Reviewer.
Manage Your Football Club: Any soccer/football fan needs this app.
| Our Rating: 8.8/10 | |
[Screenshots] |
Version Reviewed: 1.2
Developer: Sports Director Ltd. [iTunes Link]
Price as of Review: $5.99
Current iTunes Rating: 3/5
There was a lot of hype about Manage Your Football Club when it came out – and rightly so. This is the ultimate team managing experience for football (soccer in North America but I’ll abide by British terms) fans. In MYFC the goal is to lead your chosen football club to victory and financial glory. You won’t find this game is like a joystick controlled soccer game, but more so a fantasy football style theme. The interface is huge and you’ll have to figure out how to control your team (you can control pretty much anything).
A single game of Manage Your Football Club can be huge, the app of course saves your progress on exit and loading it is easy. The climax of the app is the oh-so-sweet point where you get to schedule your matches against other teams and then play them out. The computer mostly generates the matches results by itself but you can choose formations and players as you go. It’s a very unique, very immersing experience. All the different options can leave you exploring the app for weeks.
The user interface is spectacular, without doubt the best interface I’ve seen on an iPhone game – the menus are easily navigated and everything just looks beautiful. It adds a click sound to every button (something I’ve always thought the iPhone should have everywhere) and the new pages load fast. So many different user interface elements have been added and customized to fit the theme.
All in all, Manage Your Football Club is a great app for any football/soccer fan. The only frustrating thing about it is the lack of a tutorial – although there’s a small info button for each new page. With the amount of time that you’ll be playing, $5.99 is a great price, this is truly an development gem. We extend a huge tip of our hats to Sports Director Ltd. for this great app.
Final Ratings:
Gameplay: 9.8/10 – There’s so much to do, it’s really quite insane. The ultimate “fantasy football,” type experience.
Enjoyment: 8.2/10 – Once you’ve figured everything out you’ll enjoy it quite a bit, unfortunately it can take a bit of time to get to that point.
Graphics: 9.2/10 – One of the best user interfaces I’ve ever seen – without doubt the best one I’ve seen on a game. All the graphics are excellently rendered.
Sound: 7/10 – Unfortunately there aren’t many sound effects.
Technology: 9/10 – The touch controls are very responsive, stability is great, and they’ve taken the iPhone user interface to the extreme.
Replay Value: 9.2/10 – There’s so much to do and a single game could last for weeks.
Overall Rating: 8.8/10
Further Improvements:
- A tutorial is needed
- Bluetooth or wi-fi multiplayer would be awesome.
More screenshots on our Flickr page.
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Phaze iPhone Game App Review
Posted on 24. Aug, 2009 by iPhone App Reviewer.
Phaze: Ultra fast reflex racing.
| Our Rating: 8.5/10 | |
[Screenshots] |
Version Reviewed: 1.00.00
Developer: Handmark Inc
Price as of Review: $4.99
Current iTunes Rating: 3.5/5
Lite Version: [iTunes Link]
Phaze is [*sigh* yes, another one] racing game, yet probably one of the most addicting ones I’ve ever played on the iPhone. The setting is different than most, we take a step into the future, racing with jet powered hover cars going at high speeds. The game requires great reflex skills as all the tracks have bends and turns – failure to dodge these will result in loss of health. Once you run out of health your vehicle will explode and you’ll definitely fall behind.
Phaze has several different maps and tons of vehicles – each with their own statistics, unfortunately you aren’t able to customize or buy additional parts for any of them. Either way though there’s so many new things to unlock, you can play this game for days (trust me, it’s pretty darn addicting). You can play in quick play mode to practice and beat your lap times or you can test your skills (and unlock new vehicles/maps) by playing Championship mode. On four different difficulty levels the competition can get fierce, always dropping bombs and launching missiles.
The user interface is a simple menu, absolutely nothing fancy, just allows you to get into the game. Although something like a cover flow mode to browse through available vehicles would be cool. The controls are all based on the accelerometer, no touch controls are available. Luckily you can calibrate and set the sensitivity of the accelerometer to your personal needs. There are some unfortunate glitches and annoyances, in earlier versions even some stability issues. Most have been fixed and you just need to figure out a comfortable spot to play. The graphics set the perfect theme and don’t wear down the app’s performance; the sound is just as good.
All in all Phaze is a phenomenal racing game, probably the most addicting racing game I’ve played on the iPhone. After getting past a few annoyances, $4.99 is a great price and all racing lovers should pick this one up. Bravo, Handmark Inc.
Final Ratings:
Gameplay: 8.9/10 – Great racing Artificial Intelligence, power-ups during racing, and to top it off – unlockable vehicles and maps
Enjoyment: 9.5/10 – Absolutely – could hardly put it down.
Graphics: 8/10 – Double S – Suitable and Satisfactory
Sound: 8.1/10 – Bursting sound effects that enhance the racing experience.
Technology: 6.5/10 – A lot of annoyances, able to set accelerometers sensitivity but the relative angle has some serious problems.
Replay Value: 9.8/10 – Seriously addicting and for bonuses you can go through all the championships on four difficulty levels.
Overall Rating: 8.5/10
More screenshots here.
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Kryzer iPhone Game App Review
Posted on 22. Aug, 2009 by iPhone App Reviewer.
Kryzer: Arcade gaming on steroids.
| Our Rating: 8.9/10 | |
[Screenshots] |
Version Reviewed: 1.2
Developer: FDG Entertainment
Price as of Review: $0.99
Current iTunes Rating: 3.5/5
Lite Version: [iTunes Link]
Kryzer is a full blown 360 degree arcade game in which you control a spaceship fighting against enemy entities. Although this isn’t a remake of any classic game, Kryzer really brings back the old arcade gaming experience. The object of the game is to hunt down enemies by shooting at them, all you have to do is control your proximity to and from the inner circle. Seem easy? Bring it on; you’ll need some awesome reflexes to get in the high scores on this bad boy. The game will continue to speed up (and change colour to notify you) and more enemies of different types will appear. Every level you’ll also get a snake boss which can be a tricky thing to beat.
Due to the repetitiveness of the game, a few users might quickly forget about Kryzer and move on, the other 95% of it’s audience, will put it on the first page of their iPhone and be immensely addicted to it. With it’s smooth and sleek graphics and very stable gameplay, you’ll be quite addicted. I’ve found it to be the perfect pick up and play game, even though a game could very well last for hours (ok you’d have to be pretty good), the average game would be around 10 minutes, you can exit the app at any time and then pick it back up at any time with your progress saved.
The sound effects really move along our arcade paradigm we’ve got going here, they can get slightly annoying like most arcade game’s sound. However the gameplay will really overcompensate and create a delightful ambiance for your addicted mind. I really haven’t found anything I don’t like about this app. Maybe a storyline or additions to the app throughout the game would be nice, and that’s really what stopping from getting this classic a 10/10.
So if you’re an arcade freak or just like a good addicting game, pick Kryzer up. For a mere dollar this is one of the best values I’ve seen. If you’re not sure about it, there is a lite version. Enjoy!
Final Ratings:
Gameplay: 8.2/10 – Simple but immensely immersive.
Enjoyment: 9.5/10 – There was a point where this was definitely my favourite app.
Graphics: 8/10 – With any app, they could be better; I really like the style of Radial 50 with the cool background graphics. Maybe Kryzer could implement this.
Sound: 7/10 – It’s an arcade game – not good not bad. Really adds to the gameplay though.
Technology: 8/10 – Even though it just uses two touch buttons to control it, it’s the stability and sleek user interface that brings this rating up.
Replay Value: 9.7/10 – This is one of the most addicting apps I’ve played since Trism or Phaze.
Overall Rating: 8.9
Note the average rating is actually 8.4 but we’ve given it a half bonus point cause it deserves it.
Further Improvements: (Note to the developer!)
- Different sound effects
- Better backgrounds then just the plain ones now
- Storyline or some reward to get throughout the game
More screenshots on Flickr.
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Radial 50 iPhone Game App Review
Posted on 21. Aug, 2009 by iPhone App Reviewer.
Radial 50: A highly enjoyable 360 degree breakout game.
| Our Rating: 9.1/10 | |
[Screenshots] |
Version Reviewed: 1.02
Developer: Roundthird Interactive LLC
Price as of Review: $1.99
Current iTunes Rating: 4/5
Size: 37.0MB
Lite Version: [iTunes Link]
Radial 50 is a revolutionary breakout game with astounding gameplay and and an awesome theme. The goal, like any breakout game, is to knock out as many bricks as possible without losing lives. Radial 50 adds a spectacular twist, you’ll control your paddle in a circle, 360 degrees. The graphics are spectacular, each level with a new and refreshing background; the rest of the area is very vibrant and the particle effects are superb. Even the user interface looks smooth, Roundthird Interactive must’ve done some vigorous work on this app.
You start with five lives (which will regenerate slowly) throughout each level, make sure that if you lose one that you get your paddle over to the ball quickly. Due to the 360 degree nature, and the very small amount of clearance between the bricks and rim, once you’ve missed once with the paddle, you’re likely to lose quite a few lives. The way the game area is setup makes for a challenging play session. However there’s multiple power-up’s (and down’s) to guide you along the way. My tip for making major points? Try and get the Particle Magnet and Explode Target power-up’s together.
The touch control scheme very responsive except for a very high annoyance, even though the paddle goes around in a circle, you can only slide your finger vertically to control it, may people will try and slide their finger with a curve; this can cause some serious first-play problems. Unfortunately no accelerometer controls (how about tilting your iPhone to move particles?). Luckily Radial 50 makes up for that with awesome stability and little to no glitches.
All in all, Radial 50 is the best breakout game I’ve played on the iPhone, and probably in my top 25 favourite iPhone games. If you like breakout games, addicting “just-one-more-round,” or just love great games, $1.99 is a great price. Enjoy!
Final Ratings:
Gameplay: 8.9/10 – Lots of different powerups and a really addicting, creative gameplay.
Enjoyment: 9.5/10 – Definitely o of my top 25 most enjoyed apps 
Graphics: 9.2/10 – Extremely creative and awesome to play on, no level is boring with this.
Sound: 8.5/10 – Crystal clear sound effects, no trouble playing iPod music.
Technology: 9/10 – Quite a few settings, awesome stability, geotargeted global high score boards, ability to post score to Twitter and Facebook. Just a few control annoyances that stop this from getting a perfect 10.
Replay Value: 9.5/10 – 50 different levels and even achievements, several different leaderboards; lots of motivation to play this.
Overall Rating: 9.1/10
Further Improvements:
- Two player mode!
- Difficulty settings
- Accelerometer controls
More screenshots on our Flickr Page.
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