otakumobile: Apps of the Week

Can you believe that Thanksgiving is less than a week away? I could swear that Father Time is sitting in his dusty old study, moving the clock hands forward during this holiday season. I don’t even have my meal plan ready yet.

If you are looking for a new email client, want to do a little coding, or have a hankering for classic video game ports, we have a few apps that will make you smile this weekend…

Boxer

If you are still not happy with the iPad mail clients available to you, it may be time to try out Boxer. This email app has actually been around for a while, but only recently have the developers decided to grace us with an iPad optimization. With it, you can add multiple emails, swipe to delete and archive, and more. Connect to DropBox and Evernote to access files, documents, links, and photos while composing messages. Mark emails as spam, send them to a to-do list, and “Like” messages that friends send to you. Connect to Facebook and LinkedIn to view your contacts’ profiles. Tap their profile picture to see phone numbers, email addresses, and recent correspondences. This app is on sale for $0.99 (regularly $4.99).

Oceanhorn

If you can’t have Legend of Zelda on iOS, Oceanhorn is the next best thing. Some people are calling it a copycat. Others are calling it the best game in the App Store. Don’t you want to know which side you fall on? Help the young adventurer explore an island full of mystery and monsters. Find clues that will help you rescue your lost father. Or, is he lost? Collect coins and hearts and throw pottery like you did when Zelda was your pal. The legendary Nobuo Uematsu of Final Fantasy fame, as well as composer Kenji Ito scored the game. You will easily get lost in the adventure that awaits you with sword and shield. This game is available for $8.99.

Flight Track 5

Once Apple decided to throw everything out the window and start over design wise, so did a lot of app developers. That’s why we’ve been seeing a lot of brand new versions of old apps with number attached to them. Flight Track 5 is one of those apps that has been completely redesigned with a new look, new user experience, and plenty of features to make it worth paying for twice. Users can add all people traveling on a trip to track their flight status, add flights to calendars, and share flight status through iMessage, SMS, Airdrop, Facebook, and Twitter. You can also add seat numbers, confirmation codes, and more to the notes section. Find out where your connection is by checking out the airport map. Find real-time updates for gates, delays, and cancellations. This app is available for $2.99.

Legend of Equip Pants

I don’t know why games about missing pants are so funny to me, but they are. Trouserheart made me giggle because the powerful king was fighting in his undies. This game makes me laugh out loud because our forlorn adventurer is as naked as a jaybird from the waste down. Don’t worry. He has a big black bar covering is stuff. This humorous take on a role-playing text based adventure game will give you something to do while waiting for your pants to dry at the laundry mat. Just make sure you have something else to wear while your trousers are having their own adventure. This game is available for free.

Little Bit Evil

If you are feeling a bit devilish this weekend, why not spend a few hours defending your evil land against those pesky archangels. Build and upgrade towers, cast spells, and plan your strategy against oncoming hordes of do-gooders. There are 60 towers with different upgradable abilities and features. If you make it through the easy level, replay it in hard mode, or challenge the system for practice attacks. Play across multiple lands with iconic imagery that will remind your of your satanic childhood. Complete more then 70 achievements to complete your skills tree. This game is available for $3.99.

Text Tool

Nothing is better at scratching that laziness itch on a Saturday afternoon than editing plain text files, am I right? Looking for a really good time? How about taking a crack at some file configuration. Yeah. Really though, this app is a useful productivity tool for sorting, splitting, joining, and changing cases. It also makes it easier to encode URLs and search and replace text. It features 28 different text transform tools that are designated to easy-to-use buttons. You can customize transformation options, apply the transforms to all text or only selected words, use various fonts, and use gestures to help with editing. This app is available for $4.99.

Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse

In 1991, Sega released an adorable platformer that won the hearts of gamers everywhere, not just kids. Mickey’s quest to save his lovely Minnie won over even the most hardened of game reviewers. This week, Disney launched the remake of the classic title on iOS. While it may look completely different, it still has the same charm as the original. Help Mickey save Minnie by running along a side-scrolling landscape, attack enemies, bounce to higher heights, and throw projectiles. The game features a similar theme as its original, but with updated graphics, new layouts, and different puzzles. This game is available for $9.99.

More apps you should check out

These apps have been updated

This weekend is a big one for me. I am throwing my annual Halloween shindig. I plan for it all year long and my friends show up in some amazing costumes. I’ll be busy all weekend, planning for the festivities, and then recovering from them.

If you are keeping your weekend free for games, or looking for a productivity app to keep you on track, we’ve got a list of apps to checkout…

Tweetbot 3

If you are a visitor of the Twitterverse, you most likely already know about Tweetbot. The popular Twitter client gives you all manner of options and controls over your 140-character social networking service. This week, Tweetbot received an iOS 7 overhaul and is full of new features (and a separate download price) to make you feel like your Twitter account is a whole new beast. You can hide unwanted hash tag tweets, sync your preferences between all devices using iCloud, save multiple tweet drafts, and more. This app is available for $2.99.

Dead Trigger 2

Madfinger’s previous zombie shooter was hugely popular in the App Store and even won a Hall of Fame award from Apple in 2012. The sequel promise more brain-eating fun as you run for your life in a post-apocalyptic world where humans eat humans. Grab your gun and head for the streets as you shoot your way through new zombies, like Kamikaze, Vomitron, and super challenging bosses. Meet up with the Gunsmith, Medic, Scientist, Smuggler, and Engineer, who will all help you unlock new weapons when you complete missions. Unlock super secrete bonus features, like Rocket Chicken and Grenade Chicken. This game is available for free.

Gneo

Take action on your to-do list with an effective organization app that helps you prioritize the things you need to complete. Check out the Canvas to see what tasks need immediate attention. The Forecast brings your calendar into the mix so you can plan ahead for what needs to be done in the future. Add follow-ups and reminders to keep you on deadline and makes sure you don’t forget about anything. Categorize your tasks so you can quickly access something relating to your current activity. Integrate with Evernote to access your to-do lists from any device. This app is available for $4.99.

IM+ Pro7

If you are looking for the ultimate chat client, you’ve found it in Shape’s newest iOS 7 redesigned IM+ Pro. This app lets you log into all of your various chat services for multiple chatting at once. Text mobile-to-mobile through Beep, encrypt your chats for true privacy. Store your chat histories, and even print them out using AirPrint. Talk you friends and family through Facebook, Twitter DM, Google +, AIM, and more. Express yourself with clever emoticons and customize the look of your chat window using different themes, backgrounds, and sound notifications. This app is available for $4.99.

Tick

Tick offers a simple and beautiful list maker that makes it easy for you to quickly write down things you need to do, grocery items, and more. The animated icons make it simple to quickly find the list you are looking for and the well designed UI gives you instant editing capabilities. All you have to do is start typing to create a new list. Writing it down on a piece of paper couldn’t be easier. Plus, ticking items off of your list is as easy as tapping the screen. If you don’t need a lot of bells and whistles with your list maker, Tick keeps it simple for you. This app is available for $1.99.

Figure

This amazing app by Propellerhead has been around for over a year now. However, it’s always been $0.99. This week, you can get your hands on the music creation app for free. Make songs by tapping instruments using drums, bass, and synthesizer. Slide your finger across the screen to manipulate the sound, tempo, and octaves. This app is great for seasoned musicians and musical noobs alike. It is simple to adjust the digital instruments to your liking without needing any kind of musical background. However, musicians will know how cool it is that Thor and Kong power these instruments to bring a realistic sound to a fun little app. This app is available for free.

Fright Heights

Chillingo’s new Halloween-themed game puts you into a haunted hotel where you must call on the inhabitants of the underworld to scare your guests. Channel ancient talismans to conjure the undead and fill the empty rooms of your establishment. The game mixes puzzle and strategy, putting your skills to the test. Earn points and cash for scaring your guests out of their minds. Create fright combos by chaining your ghosts together. Use your “boo bucks” to buy menacing monsters like vampires, werewolves, and ghouls. This game is available for free.

LoryStripes

O.K., I’m not going to lie. I chose this app mainly because my name is in it. I couldn’t pass it up. It’s not everyday that my name shows up on an app. This fun photo filter adds striping effects to your images based on Italian designer Laurent Rosset. Add a unique look to your pictures with 40 different stripes with 120 preset designs. Customize the color using 62 hues and nine shading options. Rotate, scale, and move your strips to fit anywhere on your image. Use the masking tool to weave stripes throughout objects in the photo. This app is available for $1.99.

otakumobile

Saturday, November 23, 2013

Apps of the Week: Oceanhorn, Boxer, Flight Track 5, and more