Category: Reviews

Written reviews of apps and games for both Android and iOS devices

Categories
Games Reviews

Let’s play Global Thermonuclear War with Wargames WOPR

How many times have you seen the 1983 movie Wargames?  If you’re a computer geek, and I bet you are, then you have probably seen it more than a couple of times.

The movie features a high school,  old school, hacker (Matthew Broderick) who breaks into corporate servers via dialup modem so that he can play their new games before they are released.   I’m sure many Android gamers would love to get their hands on the newest games before they are released.    He’s also not above changing a grade or two on the school computers.  But then he accidentally hacks a government computer and wackiness ensues.

Fast forward 29 years and we have Wargames: WOPR for Android.    The officially licensed game features images and storyline from the movie.  You are playing the role of WOPR (War Operation Plan Response), the super computer from the movie.  You face off against different characters from the movie as the storyline proceeds.

The goal is to string together objects to remove them from the board.  If you remove missiles, it damages your opponent.  There are also health tiles which heal you, radar tiles which allow you to launch special tactics and money tiles that you can use to launch mods.    To add complexity, there are tiles on the board which belong to your opponent and if you don’t remove them in time, they act against you.The gameplay is a pretty basic puzzle but they have included several different mods and tactics which you earn throughout the game.  These add a level of complexity which actually makes the game much more challenging and entertaining.  You have the option to upgrade these tactics and mods with “memory” you earn with each level.  The amount earned depends on how well you play the level.

In the first levels, the enemy only has missiles that you must deal with.  But in later levels, they add enemy health tiles and radar tiles.  If the enemy fills their radar to 100% then they can launch a special weapon against you which you have 4 turns to destroy.  These different tiles means that you must decide whether you want to destroy,  the enemy missiles, health, or radar tiles.  This add a level of strategy to a game which, on it’s face, is a simple puzzle game.

Wargames: WOPR is very entertaining and doesn’t get boring due to the way they change things up every few levels.  I found myself playing for a lot longer than I should have on my Droid X and Nook Tablet.   And honestly, you don’t have to be a fan of the movie to love the game.  In fact, I think the story line will be fresher and more entertaining to someone who hasn’t see the movie and doesn’t know where it’s going.

I don’t usually buy games but this one caught my attention and it was worth every penny.  Check it out.

Market: Google Play

Cost: $0.99 USD

Developer: Be Rad Entertainment

Other Reviews:

Shall we play a game? WarGames: WOPR may be the best 99 cents you spend all week – AndroidCentral.com

Mutually-assured destruction in WarGames: WOPR for iOS and Android – InsideMobileapps.com

WarGames: WOPR  – PocketGamer.co.uk

Categories
Reviews Sports

Keeping Up with the Euro2012 Soccer Tournament


App Name: PTSoccer Euro2012

Market: Google Play

Developers: Catalyst People Limited

Review:
In just about a week the 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, or Euro 2012 will begin with the finals be hosted by Poland and the Ukraine. If you would like some more information about the tournament, you can check out the Wikipedia page or the official website . Looks to be an exciting tournament!

If you are looking for a great way to keep up with all the action, then you might want to check out PowerTable Soccer Euro2012Android app from Catalyst People Limited.

Overall the app works fine on my Android phone. The user interface is clean and easy to read. Navigating within the app is fine with all information being only 1-2 clicks away. This app provides a great deal of details and information on the tournament. Since it is free, there really isn’t any reason not to give it a try. The app has the information broken into five sections

1. Teams -a list of the 16 teams in the tournament. With each team you can then click and get more information on team members, matches, and news.

2. General tournamanement news, videos, groupings, and knockouts.

3. Matches– a very easy to access and follow tab with all of the matches, dates and times and predictions.

4. PowerTable– the 2012 PowerTable rankings for each team and Tiers. Who is going win? Which team has the best power ranking? A neat feature here is that you can now create your own PowerTable. With the app, you can easily share your PowerTables with others on Facebook and Twitter.

5.  My Wall – In this section you can add different teams to your wall which will allow you to quick find the info you want to know on them.

Soccer is not as popular here in the US as it is in Europe, but its growing. I really began to follow the sport more during the last World Cup and now older sons play on their high scool soccer team. As I was reviewing this app, I really got excited about the Euro2012 tournament and plan to watch as much as I can. This PTSoccer Euro2012 Android app will be an important assistant to help me keep track of players and teams.

The PowerTable predicts Germany to win, what do you think? Download PowerTable and set up our own predicts and see how you do.

Categories
Reviews Sports Tools

For Fans of the English Football League (EPL) -PTSoccer EPL Android App


App: PTSoccer EPL

Developer:  Catalyst People Limited

Cost: Free

Market: Google Play

Review:

As a big sports fan, I am always on the lookout for Android apps that help me keep up with my teams, players, and sports. I really got into soccer or football as it called outside the US, when the World Cup was center stage a couple years back. The Android app that I am highlighting today is PTSoccer EPL or PowerTable Soccer, an app for the English Football League. If you are a fan of English Football, this free app should be on your Android.

PTSoccer EPL by Catalyst People Limited is a free app that provides up-to-date news, videos, match reports, live scores, and a match event tracker. The free app does have ads but they really do not take up too much real estate. I found the app easy to navigation and well organized. It did not take too many clicks to get to the information I wanted/needed.

The key component of the app is the PowerTable™ . Not being familiar with the term, I contacted Catalyst People Limited to get an explanation.

The PowerTable™ was borne from working with Premier League Managers, Coaches and Players to analyze a teams potential to win a game. The PowerTable™ calculates who brings the most power, resources and best on-field performance to each game.  Using the analysis engine and the study of recent form the PowerTable™ predicts a likely outcome for each match and a set of realistic game tips.

We analyzed every goal scored, every point won from every game since 2000. We created measurements for team performance, individual players in each position, the track record of the Manager and each member of his back-room team. We designed a measurement for the quality of the Training Ground, the quality of the Board, the Finances, the Stadium. Every critical fact or figure that could make a difference to the performance of the team.

A lot of work has been put into the match predictions and their success rate in prediction is very good.  Each week they predict the outcome of each game in the EPL and posted them in the app on Wednesday of that week by 5pm GMT.

Now to access the predictions for each match there is a one time fee of £0.69 or about $1.10 USD. This fee unlocks all of the premium content of the app- the predictions, match tracker, in-game live areas of the app.  If you do not want the predictions component of the app, the other aspects of the app still make it a valuable resource for English soccer fans.  If you want to know standings, stats, schedules, PTSoccer EPL has it.

Finally I asked Catalyst People Limited what the future held.   They are preparing to launch a Euro 2012 app and will be expanding into Cricket and other football leagues for the 2012/13 season. So if you want to keep up the the English Premier League and all of the football (soccer) action, give PTSoccer EPL a try.

Categories
Games Reviews

Deal Me In – Winner Poker

A new poker game has come online recently for Android devices, it is Winner Poker. It you enjoy playing poker and interacting with players around the world, I recommend you give this game a try. Winner Poker is for real poker lovers who use Android devices and enjoy socializing.
App Name: Winner Poker

Developer: Viaden Gaming Limited

Cost: Free

Market: Android

In Winner Poker you can play two types of poker: Omaha High and Texas Hold’em. I am familiar with Texas Hold’em, but I had never played Omaha High.  Overall the game is nicely setup and organized, the interface does not take up too much real estate, and it is very easy to find where you need to go.

The game provides the player with a number of options in the game. When you first log in, you can either create an account or play as a guest. This is a nice option, if you are a casual player and just want to pop in for a few hands.  Most folks will probably create an account. You can log in with Facebook and invite your Facebook friends to play, share achievements and send gifts.


After logging in you are get the option of Play Now, where you are placed at a table based on your balance and Open Tables and Sit & Go Tournaments, both of which you can chose the game, table size, speed, buy in amounts, etc. So you can customize your game play.

Once you are all set up, it is time to play! As I said earlier, I have never played Omaha High. While I was setting up, I looked for some guidance on how to play in the game. After some looking and touching base with the developer, found out that there is no in game help. As the developer put it, “This app provides a real poker experience with no tutorials.”   So if you are unfamiliar on how to play, make sure you read up before going online. Even after I read, I still lost! LOL  🙂

Even if you lose, do not worry, because you will still get some chips! At the beginning of the game you are issued some chips free, and each day you play you are  awarded chips. Of course you can purchase them if you like, if you are a registered player.

Socializing is the main perk of the game. In addition to playing poker, the app allows players to exchange private and public messages, plus exchange gifts and beverages. I usually do not give out a lot of gifts because I am trying to figure out what cards to play!

The last aspect of the game I want to mention is the achievement area. They have a good number of different trophies you can earn, such as money won, tournaments won, hands on, number of friends and more. Having in-game achievements I think add something to the game and I like it when games have these.

Winner Poker provides a very nice poker experience. The graphics are clean and crisp, the user interface very intuitive and easy to follow. The game provides plenty of options to customize the poker game you want to play.  They have done a nice job with the social aspect of the game also.  I found the game play to be smooth and thought there was plenty of time given to play each hand.  It is very easy to raise, check, fold in the game.  (Sometimes the text seemed a bit small, but they could just be my eyes. ) If you have every played Zynga Poker, then you will be right at home with Winner Poker. I would recommend the game for the more experienced players but even newbies should get the hang of it after a while.

So what are you waiting for- should we deal you in?!

Viaden Media has produced a number of apps primarily for iOS, but does have some other Android apps on the market.