New Apps & Games

If Gunner Z is half as good as the trailer…

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 18, 2013

In a flurry of unimaginative iOS games releases every now and then a brave developer comes forward, daring to change the status quo.

While the premise of BitMonster's upcoming shooter Gunner Z may revolve around milking the zombie theme for all its worth, top-notch execution will make it worthwhile, courtesy of the all-powerful Unreal engine.

At any rate, you have to give it to BitMonster for the novel night-vision turret combat style. If the game is half as good as the trailer, I'm definitely sold...

VLC media player makes a comeback, following a 2-year App Store hiatus

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 18, 2013

Following a range of issues with copyright holders that had forced the team to pull it from the App Store some two years ago, the popular video player VLC has returned to Apple's platform as a brand new iPhone and iPad app.

Re-written from the ground up to take advantage of modern technologies, the new VLC brings with it a refined user interface that's reminiscent of the original release and features such as subtitles and support for multi-core decoding and a bunch of iOS-unfriendly media formats, including .mkv files.

Jump past the fold for the full reveal...

Leisure Suit Larry: Reloaded graces the App Store

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 17, 2013

Readers over 30 need no introduction to Sierra's Leisure Suit Larry series of adventure games. Back in the 1980s, when computer games were all blocky, the concept of point-and-clicking one's way through the game was still in its infancy.

It was then that programmer Al Lowe had set out to create Larry Laffer: a lovable, balding virgin character in his 40s.

Each game in the series featured a simple premise: Larry had to talk young women into having sex with him. Two years ago, Replay Games acquired a license for the whole franchise.

Following the successful "Make Leisure Suit Larry come again!" campaign on Kickstarter (14,000+ fans chipped in to bring Larry back to life), the small development studio has started re-releasing Larry games on a number of platforms.

And thanks to Kickstarter crowd-funding, Replay was able to basically write Leisure Suit Larry: Reloaded from scratch and update the game's appearance for the 21st century technology...

Deus Ex update issued, removes weapon-firing restriction on jailbroken devices

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 12, 2018

Square Enix drew lots of heat for itself after it was discovered that its new premium iOS game, Deus Ex: The Fall, contains a restriction preventing weapon firing on jailbroken devices, making it impossible to progress past the tutorial without applying the xCon tweak from the ModMyI repo in Cydia.

Square was quick to apologize and attribute the risky decision to a bug, promising to remove the odd limitation in a future update. Making good on its promise, the company has just released an update to The Fall which does away with the anti-jailbreak measure...

Microsoft turns Outlook Web App into a native client for iPhone and iPad

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 16, 2018

Despite the ongoing iPad-bashing in television commercials, Microsoft over the past month has managed to release brand new Office 365 for iPhone (check out our review) and SkyDrive Pro apps, while revamping and enhancing a cross-platform note-taking software, OneNote.

Today, the Windows giant has added another productivity app to its stable of App Store offerings, the Outlook Web App for iPhone and iPad.

Despite what the name might have you believe, it's a native app. The software offers the same email, calendar and contact functionality you get in Outlook Web App on the browser, "but with additional capabilities that are only possible through native integration of the app with mobile devices," such as notifications, Microsoft argues...

Apple releases brand new Logic Pro X with Virtual Drummer, updates MainStage

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 9, 2016

Good news for fans of Apple's pro audio software as the company has just announced this morning an update to MainStage 3 and a major new version of Logic Pro with Virtual Drummer and Flex Pitch features, plus an iOS Remote application to go along with it. Apple pulled a Final Cut Pro X here as Logic Pro X appears to be a reboot of the previous version.

The next-generation audio editing for the Mac, according to Apple's global marketing chief, features a set of advanced tools and a modern new interface designed to streamline the process of creating professional quality music. "Musicians are going to love creative new features like Drummer, Flex Pitch, Track Stacks and the Arpeggiator," he was quoted in a press release...

Popular PC game Transport Tycoon coming soon to iOS

Cody Lee ∙ July 15, 2013

Fans of Transport Tycoon will be happy to hear that the widely popular PC game is going to be making its way to iOS soon. The title, which was originally released in 1994, is still highly regarded as one of the better simulation games of all time.

Even better, the remake is being both designed and directed by Chris Sawyer, the creator of the original TT. And he says that the game is being "painstakingly revised" for the touchscreen, while still retaining all of its best gameplay elements...

Rovio announces Angry Birds Star Wars II coming September 19

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Just a few days after teasing Angry Birds Star Wars II, Rovio has announced today that the highly anticipated sequel will land in the App Store on September 19. As aforementioned, the game will tackle the prequels and feature a wide roster of new characters.

The Finnish developer says that gamers will get to play with 30 never-before-seen Angry Birds Star Wars characters, as well as choose their side—the 'Pork side' or the Empire. And the game will launch alongside new interactive toys from Hasbro called Telepods...

Tangent transforms your photos with shapes, colors and other effects

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 27, 2019

Watch out Instagram, there's a new photo editing app out that uses one-tap effects to enhance photographs taken with the iPhone. It's called Tangent, and it promises to transform your photos into amazing works of art.

The app doesn't use your typical filters though—you won't find Earlybird or X-Pro II here. Instead, it uses scalable shapes, color fills, light blends and other effects to allow you to customize your photos like never before...

eBay Exact launches on iOS, lets you buy customizable 3D-printed merchandise

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 25, 2018

The online auctioning giant eBay on Friday launched a brand new iPhone application called eBay Exact, designed to let customers buy customizable 3D-printed merchandise on the go.

3D printing with eBay (a first for the firm) is as easy as selecting a product, choosing from a variety of materials (including plastics, wood and metals) and designs and using customized engraving to add your own personal flare to create a unique item.

eBay partnered with 3D printing leaders such as France-based Sculpteo, Brooklyn-based Makerbot and Canada-based Hot Pop Factory on a cherry-picked selection of products that include iPhone cases, figurines and jewelry...

Beautiful calendar app Cal by Any.do lands on iOS

Cody Lee ∙ July 11, 2013

Tired of the stock Calendar app in iOS 6? Can't wait for iOS 7 to launch this fall to change things up? Well lucky for you, there are a number of Calendar alternatives available in the App Store: Tempo, Donna, Calendars+ and Fantastical, to name a few.

And today, we're adding a new one to the stack that has been causing quite a commotion in the tech world today. It's developed by Any.do—the same team behind the award-winning task list—and it's called Cal, a simple, beautiful calendar for iPhone...

Tiny Thief by Rovio Stars arrives

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 23, 2018

True to its promise, Rovio's third-party publishing arm Rovio Stars released Tiny Thief on the App Store, a medieval adventure game developed by Barcelona-based 5 Ants Studio. In Tiny Thief, you're tasked with solving thirty stealth-based puzzles. The game includes five distinct chapters, over 85 hidden items and a host of colorful characters, including The Pastry Chef and Ferret (your most loyal companion). Go past the fold for a gameplay video and additional tidbits...