App Shopper

I found appshopper.com and think it's a great resource! Similar to Pandora Box or AppSniper (which I have), it shows price drops on apps. So useful!

Dictionary.com review

Dictionary.com

Current price: Free

Reviewed at v1.0

Dictionary.com's app is a powerful reference tool made for the iPhone and iPod Touch. It uses a simple, user-friendly interface, allowing easy searches through Dictionary & Thesaurus.

If you've visited dictionary.com before, you'll know that this app provides clear defintions to a large selection of words, 275,000+. Thesaurus.com provides about 80,000 synonyms, according to Dictionary.com's description.

You're able to browse recent searches history and listen to pronunciations, as well as viewing "word of the day."

One of the greatest aspects of this app is the fact that it does not require Wi-Fi for searches. This optimizes the app's overall usefulness and convenience. You're unable to listen to pronunciations or view word of the day sans Wi-Fi; not a big deal to me, but worth mentioning.

Overall, dictionary.com is a useful, easy-to-use app, and proves to be convienient reference tool when on the go. And what's more, is that it's free!

Graphics/Interface: 5/5

Sound: N/A

Replay Value: 4/5

Value: 4/5

iCanSketchIt review

iCanSketchIt by ChewSoft LLC
Current Price: $0.99
Reviewed at v3.3
iCanSketchIt is a competative drawing game that tests your precision and attention to detail. The app features three levels of difficulty with three level packs in each degree of difficulty. There are a total of 8 levels in each pack, so if you do the math that's 72 levels! Great variety.
The game using a grading scale to determine your score. You can view the image you're to draw as a guide. You fool around with the brush sizes and style to craft the perfect picture. From there, you're scored, given a total, and able to share them through a global server.
The app is unique. I haven't encountered anything like it before. The levels are enjoyable to play and it's fun seeing how well you'll turn at each picture.
iCanSketchIt is Feint enabled, so you can view the chatboard and talk with other gamers. A nice touch, but I don't view it often.
There are two game modes: precision and speed. In precision, you're not timed, but scored on your drawing precision. On Speed, you must hit a certain percentage of precision to progress, in addition to being timed. Intense!
This app is enjoyable. It's a competative drawing aap, offering something new to the table. You're also able to use the sketch pad and save pictures. It's not a comprehensive drawing game though, so it's pretty basic.
iCanSketchIt is created by ChewSoft, headed by Andrew Borland. They put an immense amount of effort into their apps and listen to consumers. It's one-of-a-kind app that provides a unique gaming experience.
Graphics: 4/5

Sound: 3/5

Replay Value: 4/5

Value: 4/5

AniMatch review

AniMatch by Lima Sky LLC

Current Price: $0.99

Reviewed at v1.1.8

AniMatch is a kid-friendly matching game built for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Kids (and adults!) alike will enjoy this animal matching game, featuring a bevy of creatures, from raccoons to frogs to monkeys to lions & tigers and more!

The matching starts up right away. Matching on the 5x4 grid is fun and provides a challenge for all users.

Gamers are rewarded for matching up animals correctly, but also minused points when matches aren't made.

This game is geared mainly towards children, but it's the type of app that anyone can pick up and play.

The game is very fun to play for the little ones. It's definitely great to have on hand when you have your nieces, nephews, little cousins, or kids around. The pictures are pleasing and provide sufficient laughs and giggles. Controls are a breeze as well.

I short, AniMatch is a pleasure to play.

Tips from my 6-year old niece:

Provide a "hint" button (She got a little frustrated at times)

Ability to choose animals (Maybe in the form of a custom grid)

Graphics: 5/5

Sound: 5/5

Replay Value: 4/5

Value: 4/5

Labyrinth review

Labyrinth by Illusion Labs

Current Price: $2.99

Reviwed at v1.6.0

This app has a special place in my heart. It was one of the first apps I purchased from the Apple App Store, and has been one of the few that remain on my device.

Like the classic physical version of the game, in Labyrinth, you control a steel ball by tilting a wooden labyrinth, with the objective of getting it into the checkboard hole.

Like many buyers, I first used the lite version of this app. The app provides extremely precise physics and clear graphics, making Labyrinth a stunningly simple yet thoroughly enthralling app to play.

There are many downloadable level packs, which range from easy to difficult and everything in between. While the gameplay is repetative, you'll find levels sufficiently challenging.

There are a few options to tweak to the game to your preferences. You can game time limits to add a level of challenge to the gameplay, turn sound effects on and off, and play in 3D mode, which is also adjustable. These simple changes may seem trivial to other games, but to a simple game as Labyrinth, it makes a difference.

I purchased this app at around $6 or $7. I say take advantage of the current price drop. While this game is fun and challenging, there is only so much you can do with it.

Nonetheless, Labyrinth was the first app of its kind available on the Apple App Store. Illusion Labs has done an excellent job with this app, as many as the several other apps they have produced.

Graphics: 4/5

Sound: 4/5

Replay Value: 4/5

Value: 4/5

Up There review

Up There by Veiled Games
Current Price: $1.99
Reviewed at v1.2.1
Up There is one of those simple games that seem to stick to you, no matter how approachable the gameplay.
It's probably due to the attention to detail that's been put into this game. The hand-drawn graphics are beautiful and add to the aesthetic quality of the game; the music is fantastic, featuring original songs "Joy of Sky" and "Artic Moon." The levels transition seamlessly and the pacing of the game is smooth.
The objective is to keep the ballon from disappearing from the screen, or getting stuck underneath somewhere. Dodge bookshelves, branches, clouds and more as you continue on in the game. The gameplay is very straightforward, allowing gamers of all generations to experience Up There.
There are several options available to gamers as well. You can change difficulty from easy to hard (no in between), personalize your balloon pattern (I stick to red), try reverse controls, and choose songs. You're able to view personal and global scores as well.
With any straightforward game, Up There is repetative. When I first purchased it, my competative edge to get a top score was much higher than today, after having owned the app for months.
This game currently costs $1.99, but there is a lite version out now too. The game is worth the price; if you appreciate all the aspects of the game, you'll see its worth.
Graphics: 5/5

Sound: 5/5

Replay Value: 4/5

Value: 4/5

Scoops review

Scoops - Ice Cream Fun for Everyone by NimbleBit
Current Price: $1.99
Reviewed at v1.6.1
Scoops is a fun stacking game that involves everyone's favorite foods: ice cream and veggies. While that statement is contestable, there is no doubt that Scoops is a fun game anyone could enjoy.
You start out with an empty cone, and slowly built up your cone by stacking the scoops of ice cream. Avoid veggies to maintain your multiplier bonus though! I noticed you seem to multiply higher with stacking same color scoops, but that's impossible to do continuously. There are rainbow cones, that up your score and multiplier, and the title scoop purple with stars, that give you an extra 'star,' or life. Or else it's 3 veggies and you're out!
The game is easy to play. Use the accelerometer to catch the right items, and watch you go higher and higher into the sky, until you reach the planets.
The graphics are cartoon-style but fun to see. The background transitioning is smooth and looks good as well. The sounds do not support a mute switch, and recently, NimbleBit implemented sounds from Sky Burger when you nearly catch a veggie. It's not a bad thing, but I'm not a fan of it.
The game has few options, besides global and personal scores, and challenge emails.
The app costs $1.99. It will provide escapes from boring lectures, car rides, and other events in which you need quick entertainment. Check out Scoops today!
Graphics: 4/5

Sound: 4/5

Replay Value: 4/5

Value: 4/5

Doodle Jump 1.2.1 update

The recent Doodle Jump update, to v1.2.1, enables a cool collaboration with PocketGod.

Simply put in a default Pocket God name (i.e. Ooga, Klak, etc.), and this is what you get: a pygmy emerges in place of the DJ character (you shoot coconuts!)

I think this was a cool, cute idea. If you appreciate both apps, this app is sure to amuse. 

Doodle Jump review

DoodleJump by Lima Sky LLC

Price: $0.99

Reviewed at v1.2.1

In Doodle Jump by Lima Sky LLC, you control a cute, perpetually jumping green creature going from platform to platform. You must dodge monsters, shoot them by touching the screen if need be, as well as avoiding any faulty platforms. This game provides simple, direct gameplay, precisely what has made it so addicting for so many players. 

The game provides no multiplayer functionality; you are competing against yourself to get a higher score. You do have the ability to share scores with your Facebook friends, as well as emailing them through the game. You can view global and personal scores as well. 

The game employs cartoon-style graphics in bright, crisp animations. The controls are simple; with the use of the accelerometer, you control your character from platform to platform.

Might highest score is under 30,000. What I've encountered are monsters, blackholes, spaceships, and disappearing white platforms. There are other platforms as well; the "safe" green color, a moving blue platform, and a brown, broken and unsafe platform. 

The game uses score markers so you can view local (personal) and global scores. You have the option of allowing global leaderboard auto submission, as well as directional shooting and sound muting.

In all honesty, this game is very simple. However, perhaps this simplicity is what has immersed so many players in to wanting a higher score. Its accessibility makes it a game for all ages to enjoy, and the coming updates are sure to enhance the already addictive gameplay.

Currently, the game costs $0.99. Considering the bevy of games available for that same price, there are probably few as simple and addictive as Doodle Jump. 

Graphics: 5/5

Sound: 4/5

Replay Value: 4/5

Value: 5/5

Pocket God review

Pocket God by Bolt Creative

Price: $0.99

Reviewed at v1.16

It is safe to say that Pocket God has become an iPhone/iPod Touch phenomenon. It has remained at the top of the paid App leaderboard, and has amassed thousands of fans worldwide.

This entertainment app gives its users ultimate powers--you are the Pocket God. What does that mean? Well, it means you have the ability to do pretty much whatever you'd like to your little people, or pygmies. Torture them with rain and thunderstorms. Flick them ashore. Unleash a mighty wind. Let them fish, or feed them coconuts. Provoke the t-rex. And the list goes on...

The app has progressed greatly throughout the past few months. Bolt Creative seems to be putting in a massive amount of work to make this app a success. And it their hard work has paid off thus far.

What makes this app so popular? I used to ask that myself, in the app's early stages. There was little to do at first, only a few activities for short entertainment. As more updates, or "episodes" released, however, it became clear that Bold Creative has much more in store than us buyers suspect. 

The graphics are excellent and quite amusing. The facial expressions, changes in weather, and aftermath of your actions are clearly apparent, making Pocket God an interactive experience for consumers. 

The pictures I posted doesn't do the app justice, nor does any review or video for that matter. To truly experience the Pocket God app, you have to play for yourself and discover ways to amuse (or torture) your pygmies. At $0.99, the game is accessible to all users; rhe immense sense of control this game gives to players is something few apps have yet to achieve in the same sense as Pocket God. With so much to do, and presumably, much more to come, purchase Pocket God now...you won't regret it!

Graphics: 5/5

Sound: 5/5

Replay Value: 4/5

Value: 5/5

Be sure to visit pocketgod.blogspot.com

English Phrasebook (Idioms) review

English Phrasebook (Idioms) by ADS Software Group

Cost: $0.99

Reviewed at v1.3

English Phrasebook (formerly known as Idioms) offers a wide selection of English idioms available to view without internet connection. Some of the commonplace phrases include "eagle eye," "rub salt to the wound," as well as "MacGyvered" and "a broken clock is right twice a day." The UI of the application is similar to browsing songs on your iPhone or iPod Touch; content is alphabetized and you simply scroll through the right side to browse phrases. There is a search function, multi-colored backgrounds to "spice" up the screen, and quizzes. The phrases are well defined, but I have a few minor gripes with the app.

First off, scrolling through phrases is not as fluid as I'd like it to be. Perhaps this is because I've gotten used to quickly browsing through songs on my iPod Touch, but it is frustrating to find the screen this scrolling even when you're not touching the screen. 

And while I adore the great variety of idioms, or english phrases as ADS terms it, the app needs something to liven it up. The quiz format, in which you select between "Word" or "Definition" (which is mainly just memorizing the term or definition) is not intuitive or useful. I know this app is not meant to function as an idiom game, but offering such a functionality leaves room for criticism. Tweaking the quiz format with definitely "pack a punch" to the app's overall appeal.

The multi-colored screens are great and all, but maybe some customization options could be implemented? At times I feel the font is too small or hard to read. May that's just me, but I'd like the appearance to be changed a bit in that aspect.

Despite the minor flaws of this app, I have no other criticisms. If you're interested in the english language, or stuying idioms, or just curious about them, this app will suffice. There are 9,000 idioms featured, with concise, easy to understand definitions. You'll be able to view familiar phrases, while discovering new ones at the same time.

The app has not been updated in a while, but hopefully some changes are in store.

Graphics: 3/5

Sound: N/A

Replay Value: 4/5

Value: 4/5

v1.8 of More Toast! now available

This updated adds ability to put toppings on both slices of toast, eating both slices of toast, and new savory toppings among others. Yummy!