Become a Fan, on Facebook!

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For the first time, MyAppSource is on Facebook! Help us out, and let the world know you read our stuff by hitting "Become a Fan!". The team would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our developers and readers (that is, you!), for all of their support since MyAppSource was created.

Also, apart from having our own page, you can now click the "Share on Facebook" button at the top of any page of our blog, to share the particular page you are reading with the world! (We recommend you do this, it will make you a little more awesome.)

We will continue to do our best in bringing you reviews of available apps (and possibly previews of apps that you can't buy yet, how exciting), that you have come to love over the last few months, as well as app giveaways every so often! So keep reading, you wont be disappointed.

Take Her For A Spin!

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Sygic Mobile Maps Australia and New Zealand (AU$79.99) is the ultimate driving companion, especially if you are prone to getting lost, or just love to go out for a Sunday drive, and need a means of getting home. This review has been based on the Australia and New Zealand version, althought everything exept the maps themselves, is the same no matter what country's version you are using. In this review I will not be comparing a GPS app to a classic street directory, nor will I be comparing it to it's various competitors, but I will be providing you, yes you, our valid readers with a comprehensive list of features, and all the little things that I found, which earn Sygic Mobile Maps a place on my home screen.

First of all, set the price aside. The GPS app market is expensive. However, Sygic's prices have been very competitive. You cannot expect to find a good quality GPS app, with all the bells and whistles for under $10. If you only need to overlay directions on a 2D map, there's already an app for that, and it came with your phone! However the hefty data charges it incurs whilst being used are more than a put off. This is where Sygic Mobile Maps begins to shine. The large file size of the app isn't without it's benefits. You are actually downloading the complete map, full of points of interest, straight to your device. I'll say this now and make it clear, Sygic Mobile Maps has absolutely no data fee's.

After thorough testing, and miles on the road, I have found a few things about Sygic Mobile Maps, that really sell it to me.

We all know that GPS signals can be slightly unreliable at times, depending on your location. This is because, to work successfully, your phone needs many satellites in it's line of sight. Simply, the more GPS satellites in sight, the stronger the signal and vice versa. Thankfullly Sygic has gifted us with numerous ways to begin tracking a route. You can elect to start from any location, or point of interest (POI), or choose to wait or a valid signal. This means that you can get going without a wait, unlike some more unreliable GPS solutions.



But the real zinger of Sygic Mobile Maps is the turn-by-turn voice navigation it provides. You can select from a multitude of voices, in many different languages, to let you know where to go without the distraction off picking up your device. My favourite voice, which I personally recommended is called "English UK (Simon)". Try getting a street directory to talk to you in the same way (not now, keep reading!). You won't be able to.

The interface also rotates depending on the orientation of your iPhone. So if it us docked (which I highly recommend for extensive use, all GPS apps drain battery like there is no tomorrow) on it's side, the view will switch to landscape mode, providing you with a much wider view of your surrounding area.

The highly configurable "dashboard" allows you to display all the information you need, and remove what you don't. Possibilities include GPS signal strength, time you began, estimated time of arrival, your current speed or direction, how many minutes you've been on the route for, and how many minutes are left before you reach your destination. You can also change the map between a 3D and flat mode to suit yourself, as well as change the colour scheme to (or automatically) change between day and night variants. The interface also tells you the current speed limit, and warns you if you have exceeded this.



Now onto the fun stuff. Planning a route is simple an quick. You can select a destination from an extensive list of POI's, 'favourited' locations, your phones contacts, or enter one manually. You can then select a starting point. Whether this is your driveway, or your current location is up to you. You can also elect detours, or add in another destination on the go, althought neither I, Sygic nor your local authority recommend operating this while driving. You can also choose to avoid toll roads, and set automatic route planning methods to the fastest, shortest or most economical route depending on your needs.

But what happens if you don't follow the exact route Sygic Mobile Maps gives you? Maybe you missed a turn, or maybe you (wrongly) think that another route is shorter. Either way, Sygic has you covered! Your route will be recalculated to get to your destination according to the settings in use.

In short, Sygic Mobile Maps is all about you. Not only is it the top grossing app, (in the Australian App Store anyway), but its highly configurable interface and route options allow you to get to your destination with ease, and hey, when you're told when you're speeding, and shown where all the speeding and red light cameras are located in the current area, as well as being provided with audible turn by turn navigation, and quick re-routing options in the case of a wrong turn, Sygic Mobile Maps is the back seat driver you've always wanted.

MyAppSource Rating: 5 Stars!


Spaced Out

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Space Rush (US$0.99) is one of my (and the rest of the MyAppSource crew's) favourite applications. The other members of the team loved this app from their first turn. However, it took me several attempts to fully embrace the greatness of this simple, yet incredible, application. The first several times I used Space Rush I though it was a solid, if not spectacular game. This was mainly because I wasn't very good at it. After some practice and other members of the MyAppSource team throwing down the Space Rush Challenge gauntlet, I was addicted. This application, much like Volley, proves that applications with a simple theme and entertaining gameplay are often much better than their more theme-rich, yet poorly designed counterparts. This app was developed by Nicholas Patrick. There is also a Lite version of Space Rush, for all you cheapskates who want to try before you buy.

I often wonder what makes an application (or anything, for that matter) addictive. Is it personal preference? Is it the ability to separate a person from reality and immerse them in the much less harsh world of gaming? Is it the way an app makes you feel? Or is it simply because it is fun? I believe that the level of enjoyment and addiction (for lack of a better word) is caused by all of these factors meshing and making one big meshy ball of entertainment. Space Rush targets the last three questions. Space Rush can be a great stress release because it is you versus space and no one else can interfere. I find that Space Rush often has me at the edge of my proverbial seat due to the thrilling nature of its gameplay. It is definitely fun and hugely enjoyable, this certainly adds to its allure. All of these factors certainly help an application become popular and addictive, but it is the non-quantifiable factors which help to really set the great applications apart from the rest. Space Rush has this X-factor by the truckload. The prospect of besting your high score is enough to keep me playing for hours, now add the fact that OpenFeint can be enabled and I'm hooked.



The only thing that I could find which may need to be altered is the inability of the app to save the high scores without OpenFeint being enabled. This will particularly effect poor souls like myself who rarely have access to wi-fi, this means that OpenFeint is useless to us. I would love to be able to see the global high scores because on the screenshot I was sent the Global High Score was just over 1.8 million. My highest score is a touch over 3.4 million and I really would like to see how I rank globally. Not to boast too much about my almost superhuman ability to succeed at Space Rush, but I came out victorious in the MyAppSource Space Rush Challenge by approximately 3 million points. (Man, the rest of the team is bad). If the ability to save personal high scores without OpenFeint was added I would jump for joy (don't hold me to that). Enough about me, back to the review.

I am telling you from the goodness of my heart that you NEED to purchase Space Rush. You can be a pansy and trial it before you buy the full version, but believe me you won't regret it. Space Rush ticks all the boxes. It is cheap, great fun, addictive and you can compare high scores with anyone from anywhere (with wi-fi). Space Rush is one of the best apps out there and you simply must buy it. You can swing around to our Flickr and YouTube accounts to find some more screenshots and a helpful gameplay video (Be careful, the video involves lots of quick turning and movement. It may leave you a bit queasy.)

MyAppSource Rating: 5 Stars!


Simple Idea, Wonderful App

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Volley (US$2.99) was an application, which initially, I did not expect too much from. What I quickly realised when I first began to use the app was even though there wasn't too much ground being broken in Volley (in terms of themes and gameplay goals) the app still managed to draw you in and make you play longer. Volley, which was designed by the great people at Tapelicious (the developer's blog can be found here), executes the idea of making a seemingly simple application deceptively thorough and addictive, perfectly. If only more apps would cut out some of their filler and replace it with useful and helpful features.




There are many applications out there in the app store (both free and paid) which attempt to use a relatively simple goal as the central purpose and then build on this goal to make the the application enjoyable and less theme-shallow. Few applications have done this as well as Volley. Volley is a simple volleyball game in which two dome-shaped characters square off in a battle, where the first player to six points wins. Volley is almost identical to the classic SlimeVolley. That does not mean that Volley is any less enjoyable or effective, it just signals that Tapelicious did not take too many risks during the production process and stuck to a tested and popular app design idea. Volley does have a few differentiating factors which help it stand apart from SlimeVolley, these include: much cleaner, crisper and overall much more immersive graphics, which include both the environment and the characters themselves. Another point of difference is the control mechanism. Volley uses a slider to control the character, rather than the 'out-dated' arrows of its competition.



Perhaps the best feature available in Volley is the almost perfectly set difficulty level as the user progresses through each stage. As the user clears stages they become progressively harder. During gameplay it is easy to see this rise in difficulty level as the old tricks that enable the user to complete previous stages are no longer sufficient and new tactics and skills must be learnt in order to continue progression through the stages. I have noticed that as each stage becomes more challenging your skills increase and this increase is easily visible. When I first began using Volley I wasn't very good at all. I had a lot of trouble completing the fifth level (why is it always number five?) because I wasn't changing the way in which I went about playing the game, while the AI player drastically changed their playing style. This forces the user to develop new ways of playing in order to become victorious. This forced changed may sound a little violent, but it is this that makes Volley so much fun. The fact that the user must change their methods means that by the end of the game the user will have mastered all aspects of the game.

Volley is an application I would definitely recommend to anyone (and everyone). Volley is one of the rare apps that makes the absolute most out of its potential and this is great to see. At just under $3 (US) I save seen (and heard) people complain about the price being a little too steep for what the app offers. Many of the people that wish for a drop in the price have not yet tried Volley and, therefore, are unable to understand many of the subtle and intangible features that are present during gameplay. The MyAppSource team would also like to thank Reinhard from tapelicious.com for supplying us with many videos and screenshots to use in this review. We are unable to post them all here, but, they will all be available through our respective Flickr and YouTube accounts.

MyAppSource Rating: 4 Stars!



Burn Baby, Burn!

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Against the Fire! (US$0.99), ia rather ominously named adventure application developed by the team at Meridian. Meridian are also responsible for the excellent RPG app Alive 4-ever, of which Against the Fire! bares more than a slight resemblance to. Meridian have stuck to their winning design and gameplay formula in Against the Fire! The basic gameplay premise in Against the Fire! is almost exactly the same as Alive 4-ever and this is not necessarily a bad thing. Both apps offer similar thrills and spills, but come is vastly different visual packages.



Against the Fire! is an adventure application which bases itself around the fact that your character (Andrew, an amateur fireman), must rescue helpless civilians from a hotel which is being invaded by "Fire ball monsters". The idea is great and I was excited to have the responsibility of reviewing this app. Meridian has managed to differentiate this application from the many RPG shooter games out there, both on iPhone and non-iPhone platforms. Against the Fire! is cleverly disguised as a fun and innocent heroism-based app, but if you swap the harmless fire-hose with a loaded a gun and the Fire ball monsters with a living enemy (Zombies, anyone?), this app is RPG shooter to the core. In my mind, this kind of differentiation should be applauded, as it adds depth to a very theme-shallow genre and invites new fans into the RPG world.

Aside from the fantastic premise and inviting aesthetics, Against the Fire! still has some catching up to do before it is on par with its big brother (or sister, depending on what you're into) application, Alive 4-ever. The area which lags behind the most is the actual enjoyment that is received via the gameplay.  I don't like saying this, but, I did not find Against the Fire! particularly enjoyable, which is a shame, as it is loaded with potential. The two main issues which caused this unfortunate letdown are; that I found the character's movements difficult to control and that after the first five levels the game becomes ridiculously difficult. Other members of the MyAppSource team agree with me on the sudden jump in difficulty but not necessarily on my lack of manoeuverability during gameplay.



Luckily, the team at MyAppSource is full of ideas men (or women, depending on what you're into) and we have come up with some simple ways in which Against the Fire! can be altered to make this review redundant. The first idea we had was, if the difficulty of the levels (at least for the first seven or so) be toned down a little so that users can get a better feel for the game and not consider themselves hopeless when they are unable to complete the fifth level. The next, and perhaps most mind-blowingly revolutionary idea we've had, is to change the means of controlling the character. The directional pad is a bit small for my grown-man fingers and I believe that Against the Fire!'s gameplay would only stand to improve if the character was moved by 'tilt' control. Tilt control in this app would, in my opinion, make the gameplay incredibly entertaining and provide another point of differentiation for Against the Fire! as I have not yet played, or witnessed, any accelerometer controlled RPG apps.

All in all, Against the Fire! is not a lost cause by any stretch of the imagination. With a few minor adjustments this app would drastically improve. At less than a dollar and with many positive iTunes Store reviews this app is worth the purchase, if only to prove me wrong in my assertion that the gameplay is a little too tough. Don't hesitate to send us an email or drop us a comment about how hopeless we are at Against the Fire!, and to tell us that the level's aren't that hard, we'll probably ignore you, but it's worth a shot.

MyAppSource Rating: Three Stars!


Free Stuff (As Promised)

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Told you that we were feeling frisky. Here are some random codes. We're not going to tell you what they are, but if you get to them first, you will find out.

6N6XPXX9TE69                                            HX4R7YW664Y6
PAT6AHPFTHMW                                         KXNXTJPH6HEJ

We don't want one person to redeem all of the codes, so a give away this simple won't happen too often.
Make sure you follow our twitter account as many of the give aways will be undertaken via twitter.

Missing in Action

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The team at MyAppSource have not posted too many reviews as of late, as much as we regret it, it is necessary. We aplogize to both the developers of the applications we are required to review and the fans of MyAppSource (we know you're out there. . . somewhere). Unfortunately, MyAppSource may not be posting many (if any) reviews for no less than a week from today.

We are taking this short break, to review the management of the site and our twitter account and are looking for ways to improve. You can say that this break is a time for the MyAppSource team to reflect on what we've accomplished and see where improvements in both efficiency and quality can be made.

Here is a taste of the apps we will be reviewing for your scrutinous pleasure when we return:

* 23 Ways to Destroy Your Defender: Basketball Instruction

* StockPlay

* Against The Fire!

* Galaxy On Fire 3D (lite version here)

* Zyrx

* Space Rush (lite version here)

* Volley

If we're feeling frisky (and that's higly likely), we will be giving away promotional codes for apps we have reviewed and even some apps in the previous list (see previous list).

If you have any ideas regarding how MyAppSource can improve, don't hesitate to tell us via the comments section, our email or our twitter account.

Chronicles of Inotia: Legend of Feanor

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Chronicles of Inotia: Legend of Feanor (US$0.99), is a superbly designed application, with an almost limitless amount of game play capabilities. I will be calling this app 'Inotia' from here on out, because, the full name is quite a mouthful and typing it several times will be rather annoying. This app is similar, in many ways to Zenonia. Zenonia is a great app, and Inotia is as well.

Inotia is a fairytale based story in which your character, Feanor, must bludgeon his way through thousands of enemies and many difficult missions, known as 'Quests'. For each enemy you eliminate you gain EXP points, these points accumulate, and when you have a certain amount Feanor moves up another level. The quests range from collecting a certain object (eg: Magic Dust) to saving Elven Queens. The quests are often quite challenging and time consuming. These quests, on completion, make you feel quite proud of your achievements due to their difficulty.

Aesthetically, Inotia is very good. The design and map layout is simple to navigate and is similar to popular games of the past, therefore, users already have a base level of similarity which eliminates some game play confusion. Feanor, your character is well crafted and detailed. The other characters regardless of their overall importance in the completion of the game are similarly well designed. Almost every aspect of Feanor is customisable, though this does not often show on the character's game play image. All weapons, armour and clothing can be modified to the heart's content, this adds a personal connection between you and your custom version of Feanor.



The only drawback of the app is that it is quite difficult to pick up the jist of the game. The maps may be easily navigatable, but there is very little instruction on what you must do and how you must do this. This lack of a tutorial makes the intial part of the app an incoherant mix of quests and enemies. Once, you have learnt the ropes (by yourself) confusion is no longer an issue. Another member of the MyAppSource team had absolutely no idea as to how to correctly use the app, so a tutorial or instruction use as necessary in the beginning stages, would be very useful.

Inotia is very intricate and filled with testing challengies and an increasingly difficult standard of enemy. These intricacies are evident in the entertaining quests, which can keep you glued to the app for hours on end. The increasing difficulties of enemies help keep you on your toes because you never know if your next battle will be your last. Add a tutorial and the app would be excellent. But for now, Inotia will have to wait on the very good level. For less than a dollar this app is great value, so buy it! . . . Don't worry, I'll wait.

MyAppSource Rating: Four Stars!


Surprise Mania

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Car Mania (US$0.99), is an application that has really grown on me since I first picked it up. Car Mania is another superb application from the developers at Origin8. Car Mania takes a simple premise and shakes it up into a challenging and exciting multi-leveled traffic dodging experience. Ironically, it seems as though applications with simple objectives (rather than complex storylines) are often much more addictive and enjoyable than their convoluted counterparts, and Car Mania is no exception.

When I first used this application, I thought it was a nice time-killer, but nothing special.  However, another member of the MyAppSource team was adamant thats Car Mania is a classic, so, I gave it another chance. Car Mania made the absolute most out of this opportunity. In fact, I had to (reluctantly) put Car Mania down and begrudgingly dedicate myself to writing this review.

The features which altered my initial view of the game are the Time Trial and Road Rage modes. On the first play I did not pay any attention to these modes (BIG mistake! No. 1). These modes help to diversify the application from a one-mode wonder (I'm claiming that term), into a surprisingly challenging (and sometimes frustratingly so) traffic maze. Time Trial mode is as you would expect, complete certain goals within a certain time period. The goals are to direct each vehicle into it colour matched garage. Road Rage mode, takes the initial premise of the app and flips it upside down (literally!). I wont tell you anymore about the Road Rage mode, you'll have to buy it the app to find out, but, it is definitely worth the investment.



Another feature which I did not look into during my initial use of Car Mania (BIG mistake! No. 2) was the extra (and extra difficult) maps. These maps are completely different from the intial map, both in aesthetics and the obstacles that are present. Two of  the obstacles that these extra levels include are a volcano and a train, which passes directly through the centre of the level (and blows up your vehicles). The maps also help diversify the game play and create yet another challenging aspect in the game.

When I first played Car Mania, I though that it would be a three star app, at best (BIG mistake! No. 3). Now, I'm tossing up whether it should be rated four or five stars (Dammit! No half stars). Let's weigh up the pros and cons.

Pros:
  • Entertaining
  • Challenging
  • Action packed
  • Several different and enjoyable modes
  • Crazy maps
Cons:
  • Basic Premise
I thought it would be a four star app, but the Pros have defeated the Cons (by a considerable margin). The Pros won by so much that it can only mean one thing, and that one thing is:

MyAppSource Rating: Five Stars!

Just Tweet It!

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SimplyTweet (US$4.99) is a beautiful creation straight from the ingenious developers that are MotionObj. This app not just another iPhone Twitter client. This app is a well thought out masterpiece of Twitter perfection. SimplyTweet is not a simple iPhone app. It is simple to use, but, 'under the hood' this app is an intricate piece of coding.

The main screen is presented in tab form, with five tabs at the bottom of the screen for friends, mentions, direct messages and more! These can be customised to suit your needs. For example, being the Twitterer that I am, I absolutely love being able to see what is currently trending. This is a feature that is not possible in many of the other Twitter clients available for iPhone. Twitter timeline updates are presented in a column under the "friends" tab, and you are automatically placed at the last tweet you have viewed, to catch up on anything you may have missed. New tweets are also marked with a blue dot (like that found next to unwatched movies in iTunes). Tapping a tweet shows it in a larger form, with options like retweeting, replying, posting a link to the tweet, emailing a link, and tracking the conversation that the tweet is part of (if available).

SimplyTweet has five various themes that can be applied to suit your style. (Personally, I don't like the pink template - black is more my style.) SimplyTweet also incorporates a much-needed feature that is lacking in many other Twitter clients, Push Notifications. Of course, push notifications are only sent for mentions and direct messages. A smart move by MotionObj, I must say. (Seriously, imagine getting notified for each individual tweet in your timeline. Not a pretty sight.)



SimplyTweet garners a handy 'new tweet' button at the top right of the screen, to make it easy to blast out a new update. A character count, and a handy hash symbol shortcut are also present. You can also insert your current location, based on your iPhone's GPS signal, or typing in landscape mode if you wish. There is also support for URL shorteners, text shortening, and photo and video uploading. And just in case you want to don't want to tweet just yet, you can save it for later as a draft.

While viewing a user's profile, you can see their picture (full screen!), check their following/followers count, as well as their update totals and favourite tweets. Perhaps most useful of all, SimplyTweet allows you to follow people straight from the app. Speaking about doing things straight from the app, any links you find in your timeline can be opened directly within the app, so you can come back without hassle.

For people with multiple Twitter accounts (myself included), you can easily switch accounts by hitting the username at the top of the screen, provided they have been set up correctly, which is a breeze. If you have a HootSuite Account, you can import your Twitter profiles directly from that, although I don't have one, so this feature remained untested.



All in all, SimplyTweet is your dream Twitter client for iPhone, and with a new update being rolled out the day of this review, my favourite Twitter client just keeps getting better. Without further ado, I proudly present SimplyTweet with the holy grail of ratings. Well done, MotionObj.

MyAppSource Rating: Five Stars!