Cosphoto

Cosphoto App for iPhone
     It's been a while since I did a photo editing application.  So here's a free one you can download if you're interested in Japanese cartoons.  Or if you enjoy dressing up like the animated characters from within those cartoons.
     Cosphoto is a combination of the word Cosplay (Which is a combination of the words Costume and Play), and the word Photo.  You can use the available stickers to help you look like particular characters from the more popular cartoons.  I believe this is supposed to be especially useful for photos of people actually wearing the costumes.  However, you could still just play around with the stickers on your regular photos as well.
     The stamps and stickers can be used in silly and fun ways.  Though there are very few available for free, you can also choose to purchase other packs to add to your collection.
     Let's go through the process of using this application...
     The application is very simple to use.  there's no real bells and whistles.  No frames, no filters, no writing over your photos.  It is just a simple 'add stickers' application.
    You click the "start" button on the main screen and from here you can either use the camera to take a new photo, or load one already in your iPhone's camera roll.
     Then you "add items".  You'll see the free stamps you can add.  You can also click the "Buy" button and view what's available for purchase.
     Now as far as the free stamps go, there are 60 free stamps to choose from.  There are "Naruto" eyes, cherry blossom petals and branches, cat ears, angel wings, staffs, pink eye contacts, glasses, scars and so on.  There are also tiny characters you can add to the photos.

     On to the pay sets.  You have to pay per set.  It's not a one time payment and you have access to all the extra items.  These are the available packs and their prices.
Puella Magi Madoka Magica  Pack 1 (0.99) (Seen above)
Puella Magi Madoka Magica  Pack 2 (0.99)
Puella Magi Madoka Magica  Pack 3 (0.99)
Naruto - Pack 1 (0.99)
Naruto - Pack 2 (0.99)
     Each set comes with only 20 stamps.  If you want them all you'll have to pay 5 dollars for 100 extra stamps.  I honestly wish they'd combine the sets.  I think you should be able to get more than 20 stamps for a dollar.  It just doesn't seem like much "Bang" for your buck.
     When you select the stamp you want to add you'll see it on your photo.  Drag it around, tilt it, resize it.  You can remove it if you decide it's not working the way you want.  You can add as many stamps as you want.
     Once the photo looks the way you want it to, click the last icon on the bottom.  There are 3 options within, Undo, Clear and Save.  Undo will undo the last thing you changed.  Clear will remove all stamps from the photo.  Naturally the save function will save the file to your phone.
     I found the free stamps to be a little limited.  I found the stamp prices to be reasonable, but should include more than 20 stamps a set.  I think that this might be more fun for some people than others.  As for me, I like adding different types on stickers to my photos.  So, though this is cute and fun... I don't feel like it suits my style, personally.  That being said, I feel like people who like making goofy cartoon inspired photos, this will be a fun find.  And it's free to download and try.  So you don't really have anything to lose.  Why not give it a try?  You might just like it.
Rating: 3.5/5

• Free
• Category: Photo & Video
• Updated: Jul 13, 2011
• Version: 1.2
• Size: 30.1 MB
• Language: English
• Seller: HUI KIN MAN
• © KeyFun

Rated 4+

Meowlody Dancing Meow Free

Meowlody Dancing Meow Free App for iPhone
     These cats like to dance.  We all know everybody wants to be a cat.  Because a cat is the only cat... that knows where it's at.  Right?
     Meowlody features a team of boyband/DDR/Parapara style dancing cats.  They need to dance their way to victory!  Where do you come in?  You control the front cat.  If you tell him to kick when he needs to wave... it's all over.  These cats are counting on you to take them all the way!
     This application is connected to the leader boards.  You can rank on the board according to which difficulty setting you are playing on.  These are of course easy, advanced and an extreme difficulty for only the master dancers.
     On the main screen you will see a button to turn the sound off (I suggest not doing this if you intend to play the game.) as well as information about the app and app makers (The cat paw button next to the sound button on the bottom left side)  Leader boards is on the bottom right.

     Push the start game button to proceed to the difficulty select part.  Once you select your difficulty, the game begins automatically.
     For easy mode there are 2 buttons to push.  Left and right arm moves.  If you chose advanced, you'll also have left and right lower body moves added in as well.  The last mode is Crazy mode but you will have to pay to pen that mode.  I would see how well you fair on the other too difficulty levels before trying that one out.
     The black cat will start you off.  It will do a simple move combination.  For example: Left, right, right, right.  Then the white cat will repeat these moves.  You're up next.  Do the correct combo.  However, you need to also maintain your rhythm.  You need to use the same speed and rhythm that the other two cats used.  If you succeed in completing the move correctly... the black cat will begin a new set.  Try to memorize and complete all of the moves to get the highest score.
     If you are too early or too late with your moves, it's game over.  No second chances.  You'll have to start over again from the beginning.
     When you finish, you'll get a final score.  If you do well enough you'll get a nice trophy.
     I suggest starting with the easy mode and working your way up.  The combinations can get very long and difficult to memorize.  It's less daunting to start with just the two button options.
     If you are particularly good at this game and want a greater challenge you can purchase the full version for only 99 cents.  This version will unlock the last mode (Crazy Mode) to really put your memory and rhythm skills to the test!
     The graphics are cute and the cats are adorable.  I like the catchy little music and memory games are always fun.  I really enjoyed this game, and I think you will too.  I only wish the music could be changed up sometimes.  Dancing to the same song over and over can be a little rough after a while.  Because of this I suggest playing this game in many small doses, rather than for an hour straight.
Rating: 4/5

• Free
• Category: Games
• Updated: Jul 28, 2012
• Version: 1.0.2
• Size: 23.7 MB
• Languages: English, Bokmål, Norwegian, Chinese, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Vietnamese
• Seller: Mad Head Limited
• © 2012 Mad Head Limited

Rated 4+

Be A Surgeon Free

Be A Surgeon Free App for iPhone
     I would like to start off this application review by discussing something that will initially seem completely unrelated.  However, bare with me.  I assure you, they are related (At least to me).
     Are you familiar with Zero Wing?  A popular old school game that, itself, was not all that impressive.  however, it gained great fame for it's terrible English.  The way the characters spoke (Via text) was so humourous that the game and many of the phrases from the into because memes.  Even if you are not familiar with the video game, you may have heard the phrase "All your base are belong to us".  You can thank Zero Wing for that one.  I have attached a video (Thank you, Youtube) of the intro from Zero Wing, to the bottom of this post.  Watch it to get a sense of what I mean, if you have not previously seen it.
     Now, you may be wondering what any of this has to do with this game.  it's not in space.  It's not an old school game... Oh wait!... Yes... You guessed correctly.  It's the way the characters speak.  I believe this was initially a Spanish application.  It was translated to suit the English speaking audience it was being sold to.  However, much of the English is choppy.  But not in an annoying way so much as in a funny way.  I would go so far as to say that this game's so bad, it's almost good.
     The game graphics are bad... The artist could certainly use some work on game graphic design.  But they aren't 'terrible'.  The characters are predictable and the situations can seem quite unreal.  The game play itself is easy, though sometimes requires a good bit of memorizing what to do and what order to do it in.  As you get to the later stages, it's much more challenging.  Almost to the point of frustration.
     Let's go over some of the elements of this game.  First off you can choose to play in either Spanish or English, which is a nice feature.  Somehow I feel like Spanish mode would not be as amusing.  You can start a new game.  Continue a game where you left off or choose to do an operation.  If you choose an operation, it can only be one you have already successfully completed.
     In the game you have several scenarios.  The dialog scenes which add to the story.  It features images of the characters against a background and dialog in a box below (You have no control over how these scenes go).  Sometimes it will be a full drawn scene, and not just the character background setup.  Second are the "before the game play" bits.  These are where you look at the chart of the person and find out what to do, what order to do it and so on. Of course next is the game play.  You can play with left or right handed mode, which is a nice feature.  You cut people open, remove fragments, give injections, disinfect, stitch wounds and bandage, among other things.

     During the game play mode, you have the patients heart rate meter active.  If their heart rate drops, they could die.  it is important to work quickly and not to make mistakes.  You have more leeway with this in the earlier stages, where you are still learning the game and have the nurse's assistance.  In later stages you almost start to think these patients are really just trying to die.
     After the game play, if you successfully complete the level you get your end of level data and it's back to more dialog and character interaction.
     I will add some screen shots below of some of the funny things people in this game say.  Feel free to click on the smaller images and expand them for easier reading.

 

     If you enjoy this game, these is also a paid version.  There is also a lite version.  The paid version is the same, but removes the ads.  granted the ads were a bit annoying since they sometimes cover a part of the play screen you need to interact with.  The lite version isn't the full game.  The free and paid versions both have the same levels.  I finished the first 3 chapters.  There are 14 chapters in total, listed.  I didn't enjoy it enough to want to continue to play it quite that far through.  Plus chapter 04 was frustrating for me.  Bloody patient kept dying over and over.

     So in closing... Bad graphics, semi-interesting plot, predictable characters, funny (accidentally) dialog, challenging gameplay (NOTE: Sometimes frustrating when doing tiny detail work because it's difficult to point to one specific tiny area on your phone screen with your finger.  A small stylus may be better for playing this game).  It's not a bad game, but it's not great.  Honestly my favourite part is just reading the terrible English.  I am not insulting the translators of this application.  Honestly, I think if they had done a better translation job, the app wouldn't be as entertaining for me.  So I am glad it turned out this way.

     My biggest disappointment with the application is the art style is sometimes painful for me to look at.  It's not 'terrible'.  However, it looks like art from someone still learning the ropes for drawing.  And it doesn't feel like 'game art'.  The game play mode art is fine.  The backgrounds I think are perfectly fine.  It is just the characters themselves.  The style for drawing and colouring of them just annoys me a bit.  But I find myself to be a very visual person.  I like when things look clean and professional.  So it's really more of a personal opinion. But for me, a game's art is very important.

     Before I forget, here is that Zero Wing video I promised.

Rating: 3/5

• Free
• Category: Games
• Released: Aug 04, 2012
• Version: 1.0
• Size: 133 MB
• Language: English
• Seller: Ruben Pecellin
• © Ruben Pecellin

Rated 4+

Anti-Joke Chicken Meme

Anti-Joke Chicken Meme App for iPhone
     Remember the Successful Cat Meme application I reviewed earlier?  This Meme application comes to you from the same provider.  This application is for the popular Anti-Joke Chicken Meme.
     "Why did the chicken cross the road?"  Sound familiar?  Well this chicken is tired of all the jokes.  This meme features a chicken that will start off telling a joke... But the punchline is... a bit anticlimactic.  Because anti-joke chicken doesn't tell jokes.  Anti-joke chicken makes statements.
     I enjoy the anti-joke chicken meme, itself.  However, not unlike the successful cat one, this app is simply not set up well  All of the issues I reported in my review of Successful  Cat meme are present in this application as well.  Disagreeable, visually... And with a few minor bugs.
     You can favourite the anti-jokes you like best.  Side swipe through all of the different ones that are present.  You can tweet, facebook and email the ones you get a chuckle out of.
     I'm going to post some screen shots of some of the anti-jokes below.  Feel free to click the smaller images to expand them for easier reading.

     The memes are good (Well some of them.  They can be hit or miss like many of this sort of meme), but I just can't get over the low quality of the app itself.  This is pretty much on par with this application maker's Successful Cat meme app.  I appreciate them taking the time to collect the memes... I just wish they'd put more effort into the coding and overall user friendliness of the applications.

Rating: 2.5/5

• Free
• Category: Entertainment
• Updated: Jul 16, 2012
• Version: 3.2
• Size: 3.8 MB
• Languages: English, French, Hungarian, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Tagalog
• Seller: ANA F DUBCOVSKY
• © Frenys 2012

Rated 12+ for the following:

• Infrequent/Mild Alcohol, Tobacco, or Drug Use or References
• Infrequent/Mild Mature/Suggestive Themes
• Frequent/Intense Profanity or Crude Humor

Block Bear Free

Block Bear Free App for iPhone
     First off I want to say that the icon is from the full version, but I am reviewing the free version.  Please don't get confused by the icon!  (I also apologize in advance for the choice of screens I captured.  Not the best examples of the game)
     This is a puzzle type game.  Basically a "make you think" application.  Right up there with "Draw the Line", "Where's the Water" and "Cut the Rope".
     What the basic idea is, is that you have one or more small bear blocks (Bears in the shape of a block... those poor tortured souls).  These blocks have no ability to move on their own.  And somehow they have found themselves in a very dangerous place.  Be it on the top of a poorly stacked tower of boxes and balls, or teetering on a well balanced rod.  Your job is to get them to safety.  Where would that be?  Well on the ground of course (Though sometimes it's a pedestal or a honey pot.  You'll know if there's a particular place your bear is meant to be).
     In order to do this you can remove one item at a time by tapping on it.  Tap on a box, it disappears.  This absence will create the stack to shift (If it's part of a stack).  The bear will also shift with the stack.  Tap another piece and it too will be removed from the puzzle.  Eventually the bear will reach the ground where it is no longer in danger of falling to it's untimely death.
     Now, this sounds simple enough, right?  No challenge with that, right? Well, no... As you go along through the levels, the puzzles get more and more complex.  If your bear falls into a pit, it's game over (Epic Fail).  If you time the pieces you remove wrong.  Or even the order of them, you could lose the level.  Also, if you have multiple bears and they don't all make it to safety, it's game over.
     Once your bear is safe on the ground it will check (Say "Checking") and end the game if the bear doesn't suddenly slide into a hole (Which has happened before).  If all if well, you win the level (Epic Win)!
     There is no scoring system.  No stars.  No "Tweet my awesome score" feature.  You just go straight from one level to the next.  You can replay a level or go back and do previous levels.  Sadly there is an absence of a tutorial or how to, however.  Which can be problematic, if you've never played this sort of game before.
     There are 10 levels in the free version of this game application.  If you enjoy the game, and choose to upgrade to the paid version, you'll get over 200 levels to play.  The paid version also has 5 game modes, each with a different story line.  The free version has one mode only.
     The free version is like a sample taste.  You get a basic feel for the game.  If the free levels are too complex or frustrating for you, you know not to buy the full version.  If you find yourself being particularly good at physics based games, then you may choose to pay for the full version of the application.  The full version being only 99 cents, which seems very reasonable.
     I really enjoyed it.  I wont be buying the full version.  Not because I found the puzzles hard or think it costs too much.  I wont be getting it because this simply isn't the sort of game I find myself wanting to play when I'm bored.  I do think it's a well made, cute and fun game though.  And if you enjoy this game style, I think you should give it a try!
Rating: 4/5

• Free
• Category: Games
• Released: May 18, 2012
• Version: 1.0
• Size: 9.9 MB
• Language: English
• Seller: Alejandro Garcia
• © 2012 Alejandro Garcia

Tickling Cat

Tickling Cat App for iPhone
     Don't get confused... This application is not a cat that tickles you, as the name would imply... But in fact a cat that you tickle.  Which should truly be called 'Ticklish Cat' or 'Tickled Cat', 'Tickle the Cat', 'Tickle a Cat'... or even 'Tickle cat'.
     The application is really and truly very simple.  You poke/swipe the cat in the belly... It wriggles about in glee.  The bar at the top fills.  At the end the cat gives a response to your tickles.
     The two responses I have seen seem to be exhaustion and friskiness.  They are depicted by the screen captures I have provided below.
     I'm not entirely sure what the point of this application is.  There's no challenge or goal, other than just "tickle the cat numerous times to fill the top bar".  In my opinion it is very cute... but also quite boring  But this is of course my own opinion.  Perhaps you truly enjoy watching a simple animation of a cat roll from side to side, over and over again.  Perhaps it could give you hours of entertainment value.  But chances are, that is not the case.

     Now, mind you... It isn't a 'bad application'.  It's just too basic.  It's not poorly programmed.  The animation is smooth and the artwork is cute.  The idea is interesting and seems original.  I just believe they should have added enough depth to allow for this application to be not only adorable but actually entertaining as well (For more than one minute).
     The fact that such a simplistic application has banners at the bottom almost adds insult to injury, but I try not to judge it negatively too much, as it 'is' a free app.
     So, in closing.  Very cute.  Very boring.  Very free.  Very probably not worth the download.
Rating: 2/5

• Free
• Category: Games
• Updated: Jul 11, 2012
• Version: 2.2
• Size: 2.5 MB
• Languages: English, Japanese
• Seller: INLinePlanning. Inc.
• © inline planning

Cecile-Fumetto

Cecile - Fumetto App for iPhone
     This is a lovely story told in pictures (Comic book style).  It features an artist who learns the ups and downs of falling in love.
     Though this story is entirely in Italian (Which is funny since the app information claims it's in English), you can still enjoy it and follow along without reading (I'd imagine).  Many of the frames don't have any text.  Of course knowing at least a little Italian is useful to get the full details of the story.
     I really enjoyed the art style of this book.  I enjoyed the way it was coloured.  how some bits were shaded, and others in colour.   The characters were also very interesting.  Especially the artist, himself.  Always sketching.
     Below I'll post some of the frames of the story.  This will give you a basic idea on how it looks, so you can decide for yourself if it's something you would be interested in.  At least from a visual aspect.

 
 
     The story is told in days as stages, that act as chapters for the stories.  It's almost like reading through a journal or diary of the main character.  But the character drew everything rather than just writing what happened.  I really enjoyed this aspect of the application/book.
     I found this to be very enjoyable.  Though the ending might surprise you.  I suggest giving it a read.  It's a really good story and really nice artwork.  My only unhappiness would be that this was not translated to English, when posted in the US marketplace.
Rating: 4.5/5

• Free
• Category: Books
• Updated: Aug 15, 2012
• Version: 1.1
• Size: 81.0 MB
• Language: English
• Seller: Severine Lambour
• © PJPL

Rated 12+ for the following:

• Infrequent/Mild Sexual Content or Nudity

21 Girls

21 Girls App for iPhone
     No this isn't a bad porno game... This is an art portfolio for J.R. Tessier.  A book of drawings to show off the artist's skills.
     This application can be viewed in both French and English.
     There are 2 parts to this book.  One part has your basic art pieces.  They are drawn and coloured in a lovely style.  All complete works.  Including an option that shows you the process.  It starts as a sketch, adding colour, more colour, and the finished result.
     The second part is a sort of short story in images (Like a comic).  But it's also interactive, which is interesting.  Try clicking around and see what happens.
     Because this is an art portfolio, the best way to let you know what the application has to offer, is to show you some screens.

     The style is very beautiful.  Large pouty lips and rounded faces.  I really enjoy the artist's works.

     I enjoyed this application and I think you will too.  I like how it's more than just a generic collection of drawings.

 Rating: 5/5

• Free
• Category: Books
• Released: Jul 29, 2012
• Version: 1.0
• Size: 135 MB
• Language: English
• Seller: Emedion
• © 2012 Emedion

Rated 12+ for the following:

• Infrequent/Mild Alcohol, Tobacco, or Drug Use or References