The App Shelf for iPhone and iPod touch
Top Shelf Apps for week of May 15, 2012New apps added every Tuesday! |
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Reviews
Quick Review: Let’s Golf HD (iPad)
Price: $4.99
App Store Link: Full / No Lite Version
Verdict: Love it
Replay Value: High
Pros:
Breathtaking scenery; simple but fun; currently the best golf game on the iPad.
Cons:
Casual mode maybe too easy; advanced mode too hard; unlocking customizable looks takes too long. There's also a bug in the app that sometimes causes the game to lose sound and a device restart is required to get it back. All that said, this is still a great game.
Lasting Appeal:
The game offers a decent amount of content with 4 unique courses, 63 holes, and four different golfers. The game offers hours of original gameplay, and if you enjoy the casual play, the app may find a permanent place on your device; however, after too much repetitive play might, players might find themselves memorizing the best approach to certain courses.
Bottom Line:
Let's Golf HD is without a doubt the best golf game currently available on iPad. Various elements, such as the game's cartoonish characters & simple club selection, may be initially off-putting for more serious golf-gamers, but the beautiful scenery and light-hearted approach make this an enjoyable and refreshing app for casual gameplay without completely eliminating the challenge for serious gamers.
Repurchase if you own iPhone version:
Maybe. Like many other iPhone to iPad ports, there's no new content here, but if you're dying for a golf game on your iPad and don't want to pixel double, Let's Golf HD is still your best bet.
Video Review: Madden NFL 10 - A New Brand of Touch Football
Price: $9.99
App Store Link: Full / No Lite Version
Verdict: Love It!
Replay Value: Very High
Pros: Great graphics, gameplay, and depth. Edit plays right on the field.
Cons: Repetitive commentators, cannot save original plays, and no multiplayer (yet).
Bottom Line: Madden NFL 10, despite a few flaws, is a console worthy iPhone app sure to impress and definitely worth the price. If you’re a fan of sporting games, this is a no brainer.
Madden NFL 10 for the iPhone OS redefines the meaning of touch Football: All 32 teams and stadiums, nearly 2000 players and 300 plays, and comfortable touch screen controls all at your fingertips. This is the app that hardcore football fans have been waiting for, and it definitely lives up to its expectations.
Madden NFL 10 is one of those apps that’ll make you realize the iPhone can definitely contend with the big-boy portable gaming systems, such as the PSP and the Nintendo DS. On the first start-up, the app asks for your favorite NFL team in order to make your life easier. From the title screen, players can choose to play a quick game, play a season, or view team rosters. In season mode, players will battle their way through a full NFL season, potentially taking their team all the way to the Super Bowl. “Play now” mode, on the other hand, will pit your team head to head against any team of your choice and is perfect for a quick, pick up and play game.
The graphics for Madden will put you right in the action. The control schemes for both offence and defense are comfortable and intuitive. You control player movement with an on-screen virtual analog stick and a slew of touch screen buttons that adapt themselves to your situation. Among other controls, QBs can pass, toss out of bounds, or scramble. Ball carriers can spin, sprint, and slow time. In slow motion mode, they can juke left, juke right or plow through defenders. Defenders can intercept, block passes, and dive tackle. Because of the clearly marked icons, the on-screen controls are easy to learn and master (possibly even more so than with a standard console controller).
One of the best features in Madden NFL 10 is the ability for individuals to edit and create their own plays right on the field. This is as simple as tapping the edit button and redrawing the movement line for one or more of your receivers. This makes your playbook essentially unlimited. My only gripe is that there doesn’t seem to be any way to save edited plays for later use.
Individuals also have the option of customizing their team through player trades and the signing of free agent players to create an unstoppable dream team.
EA’s iPhone interpretation of Madden 10 doesn’t have too many flaws, but there are a few. Probably the most obvious is the overly repetitive announcers. You’re more than likely to hear the same play commentary several times in one short game. This is a bit disappointing in a game like Madden; it’d be nice to make it through at least a full game without much repetition. The pre-game build up and end of game victory screens aren’t as fulfilling as they should be—something which Gameloft’s slightly less complex NFL 2010 app does better. Additionally, at initial launch, the game is missing any multiplayer functionality (something which the developers promise to update). Finally the inability to save custom plays for future use is a little inconvenient.
Over all, Madden NFL 10 for iPhone OS is quite impressive and fun. The arrival of this app on the App Store is a big step forward for the device, helping to establish it as a recognized gaming platform. There seems little doubt that football fans will enjoy playing this app. Like many other EA games, the high price-point might scare away some casual gamers, but rest assured, if you’re looking for a great football game app, Madden NFL is worth the price… especially when compared to other platforms.
Video Review: Gameloft’s NFL 2010 Scores Big!
Price: $7.99
App Store Link: Full / No Lite Version
Verdict: Love It!
Replay Value: Very High
Gameloft’s NFL 2010 obliterates the current standards of sports gaming on the iPhone OS, even possibly raising the bar for all genres. The game has amazing graphics, gameplay, and controls. At the moment, you’d be hard pressed to find a better football game for iPhone—Of course I say this pre-Madden 2010, which also has high expectations, but even Madden might have its work cut out for it after NFL 2010. If you’re a football fan, this app is more than worth the price
Gameloft’s NFL 2010 is the first fully licensed, fully featured NFL sports game for iPhone OS, and it’s definitely a winner. The app features a full list of NFL teams and rosters for the 2010 Season. The game features 4 play modes, including exhibition, season, play offs, and quick play, along with 3 difficulty modes and several customizable options.
Graphics, music, and sound are phenomenal and certainly comparable to other portable platforms. The app also features a real announcer that is very well voiced, if occasionally a bit repetitive. At any time during play, you can pause the game to access instant replays, team rosters, or call timeouts.
Gameplay for NFL 2010 differs in many ways from console-based Football games, but in a beneficial way that lends itself well to the iPhone controls. That said, players still use a D-pad to control movement and make selections from a playbook of over 200 plays.
Offense is one area where gameplay differs. Instead of using buttons to pass, you tap the player you wish to pass to. The likelihood the players will catch the ball is designated by the colored icons over their head. In addition to throwing, the QB can scramble or toss the ball out of bounds to stop the clock.
After selecting a play but before the snap, pressing the coach-cam button shows the intended paths for your players; this can be helpful for planning. In one of the more unique features of NFL 2010, you’ll often see time slow during a play. This means one of your players has the chance to act. On offence, this occurs before a tackle, giving you the option to juke, spin, or plow. On defense you’ll get options to deflect or intercept passes and another set of options to fast tackle or slam tackle (which is more likely to cause a fumble). It might not be exactly like the gameplay you’re used to, but it’s definitely fun, fast, and fitting for iPhone. In my opinion, NFL 2010 is a Touchdown for the iPhone.
Review: 10 Pin Shuffle: A Table Shuffleboard App Worth Playing
Price: $2.99
App Store Link: Full / No Lite Version
Verdict: Love it!
Replay Value: Very High!
10 Pin Shuffle offers two great games in one: Table Shuffleboard & Shuffleboard Bowling. This app offers great graphics, great physics, great gameplay, and great multiplayer fun. If you've been looking for a shuffleboard app for iPhone, this is the one to get. If you've never played shuffleboard, maybe the bowling aspect will be enough to pull you in; either way, this app offers a casual & fun way to kill time alone or with a friend, so you should definitely give it a chance.
For those of you who have never played table shuffleboard, the concept is simple. Typically played by two players with four pucks each, players take turns sliding pucks down a long, narrow board. The goal of the game is to score the most points per round until a player reaches the total designated number of points to win (typically, 7, 11, 15, or 21). Points are scored by sliding your puck inside a scoring zone while managing to keep it on the table. At the end of a round, only the player with the highest score for that round may add those points to his or her total score. The real challenge of the game comes when players use their pucks to ricochet, block shots, and knock other pucks off the table.
10 Pin Shuffle does an exceptional job capturing the shuffleboard experience. The app plays just like the table game. Players slide pucks using their finger. Graphics and gameplay are superb. The physics feels incredibly accurate, and just like real shuffleboard, is easy to pick up, but difficult to master. The app lets you play against four different shuffleboard opponents with varying skill levels, as well as a human opponent on the same device (no online or network modes).
In addition to standard shuffleboard, the game also contains shuffleboard bowling. The concept is fairly self-explanatory. Through each of 10 frames, 10 pins are set up at the end of a shuffleboard table, and players get two pucks to knock them down. It plays nearly identical to traditional bowling.
Overall, 10 Pin Shuffle is a great 2-in-1 app. The simplicity of play makes it perfect for casual play on the commute to work or for a quick break. Playing with a friend makes the game even more enjoyable. Should you ever need to quit in a hurry, the game auto saves and will pick up exactly where you left off on next start-up. This is one of those apps with very high replay value, and if you give it a chance, it just might manage to find a permanent slot on your device.
What we'd like to see in future updates: Online multiplayer; support for up to four players (especially for bowling).