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Kaptain Brawe – It’s A Brawe New World: G5 Entertainment

jmcclain0129 — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 14:21:40 +0000

Kaptain Brawe: A Brawe New World (Full) – G5 Entertainment

Kaptain Brawe App Review by Slapapp

Kaptain Brawe – A Brawe New World is an epic based adventure play where a space cop Kaptain Brawe needs to rescue two alien scientists. This engaging as well as humorous gameplay has been developed by G5 Entertainment. ‘Kaptain Brawe- A Brawe New World’ runs on devices using Apple’s iOS Version 3.0 or later (iPhone, iPod touch and iPad).

Kaptain Brawe App Review by SlapApp for G5 Games

The game starts with how humans have progressed and made their presence in space by exploring new planets and other objects in the universe. Inter-space travel has resulted in space hijackers and kidnappers, and space police to control them. The game makes you the super confident and brave space cop, Kaptain Brawe. My mission was to rescue 2 alien scientists who had been kidnapped. It all sounded very serious but as I progressed the storyline became quite entertaining.

The game has been set in 4 unique planet surroundings. There are over 40 different locations in the gameplay with amazing graphics for each. So there I go jumping into the spacecraft.

Kaptain Brawe App Review by SlapApp

Kaptain Brawe keeps switching between three characters – Brawe, Luna and Danny as he meets up with numerous other personalities. These include characters in the form of space pirates, secret agents, interstellar government and so on. The storyline goes through space conspiracy, quests and general chaos.

Kaptain Brawe App Review by SlapApp

I could play in 2 game modes. Hard Mode – I had to choose between the hand and the magnifying glass to interact with objects on screen. Casual Mode – The hand and magnifying glass were chosen for me and there were lots of hints provided. The question mark icon proved very useful as it showed all intractable objects on the screen. Even the exits are visible as arrows on clicking the question mark. The journal at the bottom left of the screen showed a list of tasks I must finish.

Kaptain-Brawe-App-Review-by-SlapApp

The look and feel of the game is similar to the point-and-click adventure games such as Telltale games. The initial download is free but once I finished the tutorial part, a payment of $4.99 has to be made to continue the play.

To sum it up, Kaptain Brawe – A Brawe New World is a challenging yet humorous gameplay about finding items, questioning characters and combining everything perfectly to solve puzzles. It has a brilliant soundtrack and I felt as if I was watching an old adventure flick. The amazing graphics combine hand-drawn backgrounds with 3D character models. The game scores in the retro look and feel but for new age kids who are used to playing modern adventures with full voice casts will get disappointed. The company needs to bring in more innovation for a longer app life.
Specifications:
Seller G5 Entertainment
Platform iOS3.0 or later
Genre Adventure, Puzzle
Number of Players Multiplayer
Updated 12 January 2012
Version 1.0
Size 285MB
Languages English, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish
Requirements Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.

Price $4.99

Paradise TV

Steve — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 17:38:08 +0000

JENS Ltd. has another sexy app that’s hit the App Store and this one features beautiful photography of fine females as well as short video clips. Paradise TV follows a popular lineup of sexy applications released by JENS. The app features 50 video clips and over 100 photos of sexy, magnificent female models.

JENS has about 13 “sexy app” products on the market. When you see tantalizing titles like “Hot Booty” and “Boob Party” pop up as you search for new apps, you are bound to give it some attention; the app icon image along with the name perks some curiosity to say the least. JENS has taken a stronghold in the sexy apps entertainment category for the iPhone and iPod Touch. With professional photos of the highest quality and a video section as well, this app features some truly stunning subjects:

“This app experience is truly unbeatable. With 30 minutes of streaming video and over 100 professional models you can not go wrong. It is the only bikini app you will ever need. Featuring the models of TOP 100 and 50 VIDEO CLIPS.” – JENS

While this app contains a nice accumulation of sexy female models, we did find some functionality issues that prevented us from getting the most out of the app. The photos are of the highest quality and really look professional, though the functionality has some limitations.

Some noteworthy issues with the photo section are:

You can’t pinch and zoom in on photos
Once a photo is selected you have to go back to the main photo menu as opposed to hitting a “next” button to quickly scan the library
There is a bar on the top of the screen (along with the back button) that doesn’t go away and this interferes with the image
The scroll functionality on the photos main menu section is a little cumbersome; it slides up and down in large movements (or sections) as opposed to sliding seamlessly along with the touch.

Besides these details we think the photos look great overall and wanted to reiterate that the photography is truly top-notch.

The video section has 50 clips of various models in different scenes doing their thing in front of the camera. It appeared that the video camera may have been a secondary means of capture alongside the still photography that was taking place. While the video clips are a nice touch in an app like this, a lot of the clips are very short and somewhat simplistic in the way they have been edited together. The video quality is decent at best, but i’m assuming that has to do with compressing all the video clips so they could fit on the application (This app is internet free and pulls all its media locally). Even though the video section felt secondary to the photography, i still think it’s an important element to add in an app of this genre.

Key Features of Paradise TV:

The hottest models on Earth
30 minutes of streaming video
Easy to use controls
Free updates
Links to their other Top Bikini Model apps

One other thing to note: This is a paid app BUT it still has advertisements scattered throughout. We would have liked to see this app as ad-free considering it’s purchased. Maybe the developers will create an ad free version for a slightly higher cost down the road. Another feature some users might take advantage of is grabbing stills of their favorite model, then using it as a screen background or emailing it to friends. There is definitely a large market out there in the App Store for these kind of apps and JENS has tapped that market hard. With a large selection of sexy apps to select from, Paradise TV appears to be one of their best versions yet. We can only wonder what they will come up with next; maybe an all-in-one “best of” app pulling from all their previous titles!? Boobs and Booty galore.

Children’s Bible

Steve — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 01:37:58 +0000

Children’s Bible, created by BCNmultimedia is a well developed app containing comic books about biblical stories. This app is targeting young children between the ages of 7 – 13. It’s an educational avenue for children, put in an easy to understand format. The price of the app is FREE, though please note that you have to purchase additional packs to make the app worth while.

The illustrations are pretty detailed and the navigation is quite simple to figure out while also providing a slick way to get through the scenes. Tapping the screen to the right advances you to the next frame, though the actual transition from one scene to another animates by shifting, scanning and zooming across the page, making for a nifty scene change. Tapping the center of the screen takes you to the controls menu, which is basically a visual menu of the comic that allows you to scan through each page for reference. The app also allows you to pinch and zoom into hard to read text areas.

The Bible is meant to be read by a more mature, older audience (in general terms), so having this app tailors the teachings of the bible in comic book form and makes this not only an appropriate app but also a spiritually enlightening one that’s also entertaining in the process.

Children’s Bible comes with one free story, the “Birth Of Jesus”. This comic is 4 pages long and tells the story of the angel appearing to Mary, the search for a room at an inn, the birth in a manger and the shepherds visit. Readers can purchase additional comics and activities from within the app for $2.99 (at the time we reviewed the app there was a Christmas sale, making the cost $1.99). Each additional comic is 25 pages. The list of available in-app packs are:

Annunciation of the Birth
Birth of Jesus (Free)
Visit of the Wise Men of the East
Childhood of Jesus
Baptism of Jesus
Temptations of Jesus
Call of the disciples
Wedding at Cana
Sermon on the Mount: the Beatitudes
Sermon on the Mount: Love the Enemies
Sermon on the Mount: the Prayer

Children’s Bible is available through the iTunes App Store as a free download for iPhone and iPod Touch devices. With seven languages to select from, full-color comic book style art work, and intuitive navigation controls that guide you through the pages, this app is a great tool to teach your child about the Lord above in a fun and engaging manner. The quality and solid development behind the app easily makes it a SlapApp “4 finger” rating, though the cost of the individual packs may deter some from getting the most out of it, so keep that in consideration prior to trying it out.

Strimko

Ryan Johnson — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 00:30:35 +0000

The popular online logic based puzzle game Strimko hits the iPhone and iPod Touch app market with a bang. To put it simply this game sets a new bar for logic based puzzle apps. Strimko is fun, addictive, challenging, rich with features, jam packed with brain twisting logic puzzles, all packed into one extremely user friendly interface that’s been well thought out and is sprinkled with “nice-to-have” features that help make the game experience exceptional. It’s the type of game that you pick up and don’t put down.

If you’re not already familiar with Strimko, it’s a number based puzzle game that forces you to use logic to solve puzzles. Essentially you’re provided with a grid that contains a few prepopulated numbers, and it’s your job to complete the grid without having two of the same numbers in the same row, side by side, or in the same stream. As simple as this sounds, you’ll quickly realize it’s not. The further you advance in the game the more crucial it is that you apply sound logic with every number that you place. You’re assured not to get very far in this game if you don’t.

So what do you get with Strimko? Well, for one thing you get quality puzzles. Strimko hasn’t been developed by an inexperienced puzzle loving amateur living rent free in their parent’s basement. Strimko puzzles are all hand designed and difficulty graded by puzzle pros. It comes with over 20 hours worth of continuous gameplay comprised of 120 unique never been published puzzles, ranging from 4×4 to 7×7 patterns, 4 levels of difficulty, in game hints if you need it, and more. Not to mention, if you’re a Strimko solving machine, you can add additional puzzle packs via in-game purchasing.

One thing I noticed while playing Strimko was that every button, feature, and control were all where I wanted them to be. Quokka Studios went the extra mile when they developed this app and it shows. Not once did I find myself confused, lost, or in want of additional features. The game’s graphics, colors, sounds, instructions, layout, extras, and gameplay are all perfect. I wouldn’t change a thing. Not to mention, there’s a really slick iPod integration feature that allows you to access and control your iPod from within the app. This was easily my favorite feature. I think other apps should take note on this one. The moment I got my songs playing and submersed myself in the game, I played for nearly an hour and didn’t even know it. So far I’ve made it through 11 of the easy puzzles, leaving me 109 more puzzles to go! Not sure how for I’ll get but I definitely plan on finding out!

Whether you’re into puzzle games or not you should definitely check out Strimko. If you’re the type that likes to test drive the car before you buy it, then download the free lite version and take it for a spin. It’ll give you just enough of a taste to see what I’m talking about. I found Strimko to be extremely fun and addictive and without a doubt 100% worth the purchase. I recommend it to everyone.

Pub Pong

Ryan Johnson — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 12:32:40 +0000

No, this isn’t just another beer pong game, Pub Pong is like air hockey for alcoholics! In this game you’re constantly bombarded with glasses full of beer, liquor, and cocktails from all angles. It’s your job to prevent drinks from passing by your side of the bar. To stop drinks you’ve got to grab one and chuck it back. Drinks bounce, ricochet, and collide to create ever evolving and challenging game-play. Each time an alcoholic beverage slips through your grasp you’ve got to chug, chug, chug it. Drink by drink your buzz increases, glasses start to blur, your reaction time slows, and your hand-eye coordination worsens. Let too many drinks pass by and BWAAAHHHH! You blow chunks everywhere and it’s game over!

Pub Pong, created by Xogos, leverages the iPhone’s accelerometer to grab and throw beverages. To grab drinks you simply maneuver your iPhone or iPod from side-to-side to move your in-game hand toward glasses. Once you’ve grabbed hold of a glass simply flick your wrist in a throwing motion to send the glass sliding across the bar. There are both single player and multiplayer game modes. In single player mode the objective is to earn as high a score as possible while in multiplayer mode you face off with another iPhone or iPod Touch wielding opponent in a head-to-head dual over a Bluetooth connection.

In single player mode you’re essentially playing drunken table tennis against an invisible opponent. A variety of drinks appear from above, bouncing and sliding in your direction. You’ve got to grab them one at a time and send them skidding back to the other side of the bar. Once they reach the other end drinks simply bounce off an invisible barrier and head back toward you. The longer you stay alive and the more glasses you ricochet and destroy, the more points you earn. In multiplayer mode the game-play is the same except you’re facing off against a friend or foe leveraging an iPhone or iPod Touch’s built in Bluetooth connectivity. It’s a one-on-one dual to the finish. The first one to get sick is the loser!

The most important thing to focus on while playing Pub Pong is your Tipsometer. It functions like an energy bar, except it measures how much you’ve had to drink. Your start the game as Sober, then go to Tipsy, Merry, Drunk, Bladdered, and then finally to Sick. You Tipsometer increases each time drinks pass through your grasp. You can lower your Tipsometer by earning big points and eating pub food. To earn points and pub food you’ve got to catch drinks, ricochet them off one another, and smash into pieces by making them collide.

Key Features of Pub Pong:

Bluetooth enabled for in person one-on-one action
Tuned accelerometer controls for realistic inebriated game-play
Gross burps, disgusting eating sounds, nauseating hurls, and realistic bar room sounds
Global leader board powered by Open Feint

Overall we found Pub Pong to be a fairly unique game. It’s crude and often repulsive sound effects make you feel like you’re side by side with a couple of dingy regulars at a worn and battered pub. The graphics are fairly basic, but that actually seems to fit the game well. We didn’t experience any bugs or weird quirks throughout our review process. If there was anything that we think could improve the game it’d be to increase the sensitivity of the game controls. We found the in-game hand to maneuver slower than we would’ve liked. Even when we positioned the iPhone at sharp angles the haste at which the hand moved from one side to another seemed to slow. We also think the throwing motion could be more sensitive. When we whipped our wrist to throw a glass the release seemed delayed, and in many cases the glass never left our hand. We definitely appreciated the way the game-play shifts as you character gets more intoxicated. It’s as appealing to the eye as it is frustrating to play!

One thing’s for sure, Pub Pong’s drinking theme, and semi-crude humor is right in line with what most college kids can relate too. It’s not a stretch to think it’s multiplayer mode could be used as a friendly pre-party drinking game. If you’re into drinking themed and drinking game type apps for iPhone and iPod Touch, you might just get a kick out of Pub Pong.

Maat

Steve — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 03:36:08 +0000

Maat is another spin-off of the timeless Chinese puzzle game, “Tangram.” With a new twist on visuals and some special additional features, Maat is sure to be appealing if you are a fan of puzzle play. There are currently quite a few Tangram puzzle games in the app store, so let’s find some of the unique features that make Maat a worthy choice.

Maat comes with two distinct game modes: Puzzle Game Mode and Relics Dig Mode. In Puzzle Game Mode you are basically playing by the original rules of Tangram. You start off with an empty shape and a bunch of random puzzle pieces. Select a piece from up top and place it into the shape, fit the pieces together until the puzzle is completed. Do this fast enough and earn one of three sacred awards. A timer has been included so after a level has been conquered, you can go back and replay that level in hopes to get a better time. Your best score is shown under the icon on the menu screen.

In Relics Dig Mode, your goal is to select specific relics hidden in a sea of similar looking items. The game is deceptive due to the sheer amount of relics you must scan through. This game will randomly select three relics and each relic needs to be found three separate times before winning. You are also under the clock in this challenge so move as fast as possible!

Key App Features:

Collect precious scarab awards
Amazing graphics you just won’t see in any other Tangram game on iTunes
Two difficulty levels
Three award types
Simple, intuitive controls
Visual hint system
Solve puzzles in any order
Puzzles save automatically so you can easily pick up where you left off
View your collected awards and keep track of your progress
Professional sound effects and absorbing music immerse you in the game

The entire graphic theme of Maat consists of Egyptian icons and artifacts, from the desert game board to the ancient Egyptian statues and relics. This creates an inviting overall environment in which to play the classic Tangram. The controls are very simple to figure out, though they felt a tad sluggish and cumbersome at times when trying to place the pieces. All the pieces are found up at the top. Slide from left to right until you’ve found your piece, then drag it down and place it into the shape (game board). The piece will lock into place once positioned correctly. Maat comes with 12 puzzles total: 6 easy and 6 hard. This is a decent amount of puzzles, though once you have gotten through all 12, the game has little value after that point, unless you challenge yourself to top a previously timed score. It would be nice if the developers included additional puzzles down the road.

The iTunes App Store has become over-flooded with different versions of basically the same app, so competition is higher than ever. With a game like Tangram, we’ve all seen it before so when you release an app in a popular genre like this, it’s important to go above and beyond if you want to stick out from the crowd. Maat provided a fresh Egyptian theme, a bonus game (Relics Dig Mode), and award trophies. Obviously if you enjoy the game of Tangram, than you should give this one a try. At the current price-point of $1.99, the game delivers on providing a decent number of levels, however it’d definitely be sweeter if it had more. According to Survivorsoft, the apps developer, there are eight new Christmas themed levels and a lite version of the app currently under review in the App Store, so those extra levels we were craving should be hear real soon!

Work Tracker

Rich DeBell — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 17:37:53 +0000

Work Tracker is a simple and easy to use app. Its purpose is to help you track the hours that you work. In only a few seconds, you can track the number of hours that you work, the overtime hours you work, and the money that you earn.

The reason I gave Work Tacker two fingers is because it is a “take it or leave it” kind of app. It serves a very specific purpose and if that’s all you need then definitely download it. Otherwise for most users I would say it’s really lacking in features and in design. Work Tacker does let you very easily track your hours over a daily or weekly basis for one task. It’s also nice how you can set the time-frame from which you switch to overtime, i.e. after 40 hours and then the pay adjustment. All of this is done very easily and without any bugs or problems. I would think this app could be significantly more robust however without a great deal of additional development time.

My Wishlist of features includes:

The abilty to track multiple projects. Many of us today, myself included, are multi-taskers both working both many jobs and multiple projects within each job, so it would be good to be able track an unlimiited amount of projects.
I also would like to see some additional tracking abilities. For instance it would be nice to not only track a pay rate but to also be able to track cost, if for instance you know that an hour of work costs a spefic amount. Then you could also see a quick breakdown of profit.
Including the abilty to view by more timeframes then week is also a good feature. It would be helpful to be able to track a projects time over both shorter and longer periods of time. i.e. Hours, Day, Week, Month, Quarter and Year.
The ability to export out the data and send via email would be a nice feature so that users can more easily share, store and use the metrics for their business.
Lastly I do believe a little bit more effort put into the overall design would be nice. I’m not a big fan of sacrificing ease of use, functionality and navigation in the sake of appearance, however I do believe more could be done here without any risk of that.

Once again Work Tacker is a good app if you need to track one project. If that’s what you need then this does the job. If you need more then that this app doesn’t fit the mold…yet.

What will the iPhone on Verizon mean for AT&T and iPhone App Developers?

Ryan Johnson — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 01:51:45 +0000

According to a statement made yesterday, by a Wall Street analyst, Apple is seriously considering dropping its exclusive deal with AT&T next year. This is great news for Verizon customers who are sick and tired of being marketed so-called iPhone killers that end up being little more than iPhone pretenders. Now the million dollar question becomes, how will the anticipation of the iPhone on the Verizon network affect AT&T’s iPhone sales in the U.S.? For years AT&T has enjoyed skyrocketing sales as well as unheard of new subscriber growth due to customers switching carriers for the iPhone. Now that we’re just months away from the possibility of the best carrier network in the U.S. offering the iPhone, how will the network plagued by dropped calls (counter to their advertising claims) fair out? I’m sure you’ve all noticed the 3G marketing push that Verizon’s been doing for the last month or two. They’re boasting how much larger their 3G network is than AT&T’s (There’s a map for that!). Many see these ads as an early marketing attempt to entice users into waiting to buy an iPhone until it’s available on Verizon.

Currently Apple makes somewhere in the neighborhood of $450 per iPhone sold. It’s widely known that AT&T takes a financial hit each time an iPhone is purchased. However, because the iPhone demands a feature rich cell plan, AT&T makes wheelbarrows full of cash after customers have owned there iPhone for a couple years. Certainly Verizon wouldn’t ink such a deal, but Apple has eyes on Verizon’s huge market share and will probably be willing to make much less just to get some skin in the game. Can you imagine the shift that iPhone on Verizon will do to the mobile industry in the U.S.? It’ll without a doubt accelerate the phasing out of traditional cell phones in exchange for smart phones. Don’t get me wrong, stats have clearly showed this trend occurring over the last two years; however the rate of change will increase tremendously. Imagine the added impact if Apple waits until landing Verizon to launch their long awaited and widely rumored iPhone nano.

How will the introduction of Verizon affect iPhone App Developers?

With the potential for the iPhone owner community to effectively double over night with the addition of Verizon, what will that mean for app developers and the App Store? Well, one thing’s for sure it’ll definitely have a huge impact on the number of apps available and the number of downloads. With the current AT&T only customer base, the App Store reached two billion downloads in a year and a half. Imagine what that number will look like after Verizon steps in. Imagine how much of a premium that’ll put on having your iPhone app highly visible to consumers. It’s certainly not a time for your app to be buried!

Due to its popularity the App Store has evolved in such a way that only those who take it seriously and execute continuous and effective marketing campaigns are successful. Timely press releases, buzz generating previews, pre-release promo videos, post release announcements, demo videos, social media profiles, dedicated websites/micro-sites, and SEO for each are integral parts of an effective marketing campaign. Equally as important are unbiased 3^rd party reviews of your app. Having your app reviewed by popular app review sites creates much more awareness for your app than you can create on your own. With the App Store’s sales booming, and the likelihood of Verizon coming soon, app developers everywhere need to be asking themselves, “What am I doing to maximize my app’s chances for success?” Well, for starters we recommend you check out a recent interview that SlapApp.com Cofounder Ryan Johnson had with leading edge app marketing agency The Appency Press. In that interview Ryan provides insider tips for developers to increase their chances of having their app selected and reviewed by popular app review sites. As many of you already know, popular app review sites are flooded on a daily basis with more review requests than they can ever possibly fulfill. Unless you find a respected site that guarantees to publish every review request they receive, you better make sure your review request stand out from the rest. Think of it as if you’re review request is your resume and you’re trying to get a job. You’ve got 10 seconds to convince someone that you’re worth it!

To request a review from SlapApp.com please go to http://www.slapapp.com/request-a-review

To learn more about The Appency Press and their custom app review advertising services, please visit http://theappencypress.com/marketing-services-2/

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BREAKING NEWS: 100,000 Apps in iPhone App Store

Ryan Johnson — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 01:48:11 +0000

October 27, 2009

Remember when the iPhone App Store first opened in July 2008 and the big news was that there were 500 apps available for download? I was so excited that I ran around the office spreading the good news. My uncontrolled excitement was quickly trampled by an overwhelming amount of naysayers. As they clicked away on their clam-shell phones and whirled the little ball on their BlackBerry’s they looked at me as if they were disgusted that anyone would suggest to them that there was something else better out there. Within an instant they had dismissed the App Store as nothing more than insignificant and childish. Not willing to take no for an answer, I tried to win them over by showing off a few shiny new apps. I’m pretty sure I showcased the same cliche apps as many of you did. I waved my light-saber, poured and drank my virtual beer, and I rolled my Super Monkey Ball around to showcase the amazing accelerometer based controls. I looked up from my iPhone with a huge grin on my face eager to see that I had one them over. They looked at me with a blank and unamused stare, followed by brash statements and questions: “What would I do with apps on my phone? I don’t need any of that silly stuff. Even if I did, I’d never ever use it. I would definitely never pay for anything like that! It’s a phone. I don’t use my phone for anything else but making phone calls! Who in their right mind would actually care about this kind of stuff? Certainly not me!”

Well, looking back I guess I have room to say I told you so! It’s been amazing to see how quickly the iPhone App Store has blown up! From the day it was launched it’s popularity spread like wildfire and before you know it 500 apps became 1,000, then 5,000, 10,000, 30,000, 50,000, and 75,000. And now another huge milestone has been reached. Today the popular blog Gizmodo announced that the App Store has officially broken the 100,000 app mark. The unofficial tally of approved apps is 101,843, of which 93,000 are currently available for download.

The numbers are nothing more than staggering. It seems like just yesterday that Apple announced the 100,000th download. Since then we’ve seen the app download dial whirl uncontrolably like the winds of an F5 tornado, spinning it’s way to the previously unimaginable number of 1 billion downloads. So much for that measly billion. Apple now acknowledges they’ve reached the 2 billion download mark! Incredible! What’s next?

Source: Gizmodo – 100,000 Apps and Counting – http://gizmodo.com/5391070/100000-iphone-apps-and-counting

Got an app in the App Store? Request an unbiased review from SlapApp.com! http://www.slapapp.com/request-a-review

AstroRaider

Ryan Johnson — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 02:41:34 +0000

If you love retro-style intergalactic shoot ‘em up spaceship games then you’re sure to love AstroRaider! This little gem resembles the 1980′s classics Galaga and Space Invaders, but with new creative wrinkles that help bring the game into the 21st century. For starters, unlike it’s old school cousins your spaceship is MUCH more maneuverable. You can zoom your ship in any direction, 360 degrees, to avoid and attack your alien enemies. There are other helpful features like the ability to turn off in game messages, adjust the sound effects and music, switch your controls from right handed to left handed, and three view modes you can choose from during gameplay that allow you to zoom out and see more of a level! The purpose of the game is to successfully complete eight challenging levels by successfully defeating all of the alien queen mother ships. Each time you defeat a queen you open a warp gate that takes you to the next level.

One thing you’ll notice right out the gate is that the gameplay is staggeringly fast! You zip from side to side, up and down, in and out, around and around, all while dodging incoming fire, enemy space ships, clusters of asteroids, energy zapping force fields, and devastating fire from the queen mother ship. Amidst all of this chaos you must manage to fire your canons like an expert, accrue as many points as possible, and avoid taking damage. Each time you take major damage points are subtracted from your score.

Earning points is a critical element to advancing in the game because points earn you special weapons that help give you a leg up on the competition. There are three special weapons in the game. The first special weapon is the EM pulse, which you earn each time you gain 2,000 points. It temporarily paralyzes alien ships so you can pick them off like fish in a barrel. Earning 5,000 points gets you a Super Shield that makes your temporarily immune to asteroids and enemy fire. The final and most significant special weapon is the Nuke, which essentially levels everything in it’s path. In order to make real headway in the game you’ll need to earn big points. You earn points by eliminating enemies and by destroying asteroids. If you destroy every asteroid in a level you earn bonus points. In addition to earning special weapons, you also increase your firepower by completing levels. Your blaster power increases as you advance, eventually reaching blaster power 5 which provides you with “double-shot” capability.

I tell you what, we really like AstroRaider. The gameplay is fast paced, exciting, challenging, and super fun to play. After just a few minutes with the game it was clear that Clever Martian, the app developer, had put a lot of thought into the app’s interface and controls. Every option that you wish many other apps had this one has. It may not be obvious at first, but as you play the game it will become apparent that you’ve got literally every option necessary to make the game as convenient and fun as possible. It’s always nice to see a game that is this fun, this challenging, and this user friendly that only costs $0.99! Go download AstroRaider today!