If you miss the old YouTube app on your iPhone, the Video Tube app may be just what you are looking for. Video Tube allows you to watch YouTube videos with an interface that is similar to the original iOS YouTube app. Though similar, Video Tube has a few extra features that may be of interest, but it also falls short in some important places.

When you open Video Tube you are presented with the “Features” on YouTube. Other tabs, “Popular,” “Downloads,” “History,” and “Search” are available. The “Search” function is simplified and has no auto-complete capability. The “History” tab shows your recently opened videos.

Once you open a video one of two things can happen, you are prompted to play the video and it changes to fullscreen mode, or the video begins to play automatically in smaller form. There is no consistency or a way to tell what the app is going to do. If it is a video that can only play in fullscreen mode, you cannot view the video and read the info/comments simultaneously. While the video is in smaller form (whether playing or paused) you can view the video “Info,” “Related” videos, “More from” the use, and “Comments.” Unfortunately, you cannot log in to YouTube to rate videos or leave your own comments.

At the top of the screen you have options to share the video by sending a link via email, sharing on Facebook, or sharing on Twitter. Also, you have another option to to download the video to your phone. Some videos are not available for download and you will get a message on screen that states that you do not have permission to download the video from YouTube.

Video Tube has ads at the bottom of app at all times, and they can become very intrusive when you are trying to read the video info or comments. A premium version of the app is available for $2.99 to remove the apps.

PROS

• “History” tab that allows you to reopen your recently viewed videos quickly.
• You will like it if you prefer the original iOS YouTube app interface.
• Option to download videos.
• High quality videos and sound.

CONS

• Large ads at the bottom of the viewing screen that makes reading info and comments more difficult.
• Cannot log in to YouTube to rate and leave comments.
• Issues with enlarging videos. If a video can play while viewing the info and comments, then you must tap the enlarge button to watch the video fullscreen; you are not able to turn your phone to enlarge the video. On the flip side, some videos you cannot watch in smaller form, you can only watch in fullscreen.

Video Tube has a lot of useful features and great potential to rival the new Google YouTube app, but the cons are too large to ignore. It does not seem worth purchasing just to remove ads, when you still cannot log in to your YouTube account. Video Tube may never have that functionality, however. Since it is not the official YouTube app, the restrictions on what the developer can do may be holding Video Tube back.

Download and try Video Tube for yourself here.

The post Video Tube iPhone App Review appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

National Geographic Magazine

The new National Geographic Magazine starts with a small tutorial on how to navigate the app. While it may seem silly, because you can figure out how to use it on your own, it’s very helpful and saves you time trying to learn it on your own. Once you are ready to read, you are brought to the Table of Contents where you can choose a story to read or just start swiping through the pages. If you ever want to go back to the Table of Contents, simply tap the yellow box at the top of the screen.

With each large story you have additional features, such as audio and/or video files to accompany it. Sharing options also appear with each story so you can share via social media what you are reading. Every image gallery with each story, in addition to the videos, Table of Contents and extra user features, are in high resolution. National Geographic Magazine makes the most out of iOS.

PROS

• Clean, simple navigation. Users should have no issues finding what they need in the app. Even reading a single story is well maintained; it is broken into sections and scrolling stops at each section to ensure you do not miss a word.
• No charge for the magazines if you subscribe to the print version of National Geographic Magazine. It is a great opportunity for subscribers to enjoy the perks and extras that come with the iOS app.
• Promises of daily updates for users. This includes user content such as Instagram pictures and National Geographic staff picks of National Geographic products and events.

CONS

• Even with the inception of the Newstand on iOS last year, there seems to be some confusion over how it works (free app and purchase single magazines or subscribe in app) which is deceiving to the consumer. A better way to communicate the pricing and in-app purchasing to the consumer needs to exist.
• The app does not yet support the iPhone 5 display. Most apps are still adjusting to the longer iPhone 5 screen, but National Geographic Magazine seems to be taking a little longer than the rest.

Overall, the National Geographic Magazine app is beautiful to look at, well designed and educational. It has more to offer than the print magazine for roughly the same price. Once it is updated to support the iPhone 5 display it will be a near perfect Newstand app for the daily magazine reader. Stay in-touch with Earth, past, present and future, by reading the National Geographic Magazine on your iOS device.

Download and start reading the National Geographic Magazine here.

The post National Geographic Magazine App Review appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Topia

GAMEPLAY AND CONTROLS

Topia starts with a short tutorial on how to build your first sandbox world. In the tutorial you learn that you can move your finger across the world to spin it and pinch to zoom in and out. If you are editing your world, you must use two fingers to move the world. This can be an issue at times. I found that often the world would become difficult to move, move in the wrong direction or I would accidentally place animals or change the land when trying to use the two finger movement.

By opening the menu you can view all of your building options, such as raise, lower, or smooth land, increase or decrease the brush size (affects the area of land you are raising, lowering or smoothing), and a variety of animals to place in the world (some are peaceful, while others are predators).

When you are ready to play, it is easiest to select a preset world first. When you feel like you have a hang of it and want to be a bit more adventurous select “My Levels” and select “Edit.” In the “Edit” screen you can increase or decrease the “Seed” level, “Chaos” level, “AntiChaos” level, “Smooths” level and change the time of day. Time of day is self explanatory, but the other options are never explained. You are playing a guessing game until you hit “Generate.” Once you are happy with your world you can save it and play in the sandbox.

GRAPHICS AND SOUND

My favorite part of Topia is the graphics. Crescent Moon Games did an amazing job on the details, especially the water effects and the various “time of day” sky effects. You can tell the detail between a large snow capped mountain and land covered in sand, and while the animals are cartoon-like, it gets the job done since they are so tiny on your screen.

There is not much sound in the game aside from a music track, which really sets the world-building mood, and some sound effects for the water and land forming.

PROS

• Gorgeous graphics, especially the sky and water effects.
• Simple sandbox fun. Even with the limited options you have, your world is still different every time you create one.

CONS

• Two finger world movement does not work properly.
• Needs more options, such as volcanoes, waterfalls, and being able to name a world you create.
• Explain world creation options.

Crescent Moon Games already stated that a future update will include more games modes, challenges and online sharing. The game has a lot of potential. With a few minor fixes and additions, Topia can be a top notch world builder on iOS.

Download Topia and begin building your world here.

The post Topia Game Review appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

GAMEPLAY AND CONTROLS

The basis of Kingdom Royale is to build resources by creating buildings and units, and then upgrade these buildings and units to make your kingdom stronger. After creating enough units with gathered resources, you can then attack outlying kingdoms for more resources. Some of these lands are even held by real players.

When you attack a land, you enter a battle phase where you choose which class of unit you want to battle with; you have a choice of magic, melee or ranged. Each class has strengths and weaknesses versus other classes, so choose wisely.

Before you enter battle you can choose to have friends help you by using the Gamevil Online system. This can make the fight much easier. When you encounter a land controlled by a player, also known as a rival, you can invade the land and deploy units and build to protect it from other players.

Kingdom Royale is controlled by simply tapping the screen. Even in battle, you only need to tap the unit you want to attack with, and then tap the opponent you want to attack.

Everything takes time in the game, the higher the level your buildings and units become, the longer it takes for production of these to complete. If any of your units die in battle, it also takes three hours before they are resurrected. This is where “freemium” comes in. You can purchase “crowns” to instantly resurrect units, instantly build buildings and units and purchase special combat items.

GRAPHICS AND AUDIO

The audio in Kingdom Royale is very good quality. The music changes depending on whether you are in battle or if you are in your kingdom. The graphics of the game are consistent with Japanese RPGs (think Final Fantasy style mages and knights), but the graphics look particularly stunning in high resolution on the iPhone.

PROS

• Stunning anime-style graphics
• Freemium game that you do not feel required to pay

CONS

• Consistent “Unstable Connection” message upon opening the game even though I am in an established connection
• Long wait times the higher level your units and buildings get, but that is the price to pay for a micro-transaction based, free game.

Overall, the gameplay of Kingdom Royale is great, and never once have I felt pressured to buy any “crowns.” The “crowns” obviously help speed up the game, but if you are willing to wait and keep checking on your kingdom throughout the day you can easily play the game fully without using any real money.

Download Kingdom Royale and try it for yourself here.

The post Game Review: Kingdom Royale for iPhone appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Dungeon Story

GAMEPLAY AND CONTROLS

The game starts with one dungeon and one hero. The game has a small tutorial before you begin, but it contains everything you need to know. You quickly learn that you can unlock new heroes at certain levels and unlock new dungeons once you complete the dungeon quest, which requires you to play through the dungeon until you find a specific item. As of now, you can unlock nine playable heroes, each with their own strengths, and five dungeons.

Hero progression plays a large part of the game. When you are not in a dungeon you have the opportunity to increase your hero’s stats which will make him stronger against the new, powerful enemies you will encounter.

The controls of Dungeon Story are straightforward. Tap a special ability when you need it, and touch and drag your finger across the items you want to match on the puzzle board.

Dungeon Story also has an online “Arena” mode using the iPhone Game Center, which unfortunately I could not play. Every time I attempted to play online, a match could not be found. Perhaps something can be done to make online play more attractive to the players of Dungeon Story.

GRAPHICS AND AUDIO

Most of the time I found myself turning off the sound to the game. I could not listen to the monster sounds every time they attacked, and there is no music while you are in a dungeon. The music that plays while you are in the menus is fitting for the theme of the game, however.

The graphics of the game is where I feel the game falls short. The text and graphics are somewhat generic. Knowing how fun this game is, the quality of graphics should live up to the quality of gameplay.

It would also be nice to visualize the heroes and monsters. If cartoon characters of a wizard, knight, adventurer, etc could be put into the game, that would immerse the player even more.

PROS

• Very responsive touch controls.
• Being able to see how much damage you will deal. This prevents you from overextending damage and wasting puzzle pieces.
• Addictive and fun gameplay of a match three game with character and dungeon progression.

CONS

• Audio that I wanted to turn off most of the time.
• The need to make online play more attractive.
• Graphics leave something to be desired.

Overall, the Dungeon Story is very fun regardless of the few flaws. Pantazis Deligiannis Games is already planning its next update to the game which includes updated fonts, new battle strategies, a new dungeon, and new quests and rewards. As long as they continue to listen to fans and provide updates, Dungeon Story will remain one of my favorite iOS games.

Purchase Dungeon Story from the App Store here.

The post Dungeon Story Game Review appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

When you open the app, you can swipe the main screen to the right to reveal options. You can sign in and view all of your subscribed channels and recommended videos, change your account settings, add channels or choose which category of videos to browse. If you just want to quickly look up a video, you can tap the search button at the top, right of the screen to reveal a search bar to type or speak your search query.

After opening a video, you are able to view the description, suggested videos and comments all while watching the video. If you are signed in to YouTube, you can easily “thumbs up,” “thumbs down,” and add your own comments. Google even added a quick way to add a video to lists and share via multiple avenues, such as Google +, Twitter, Facebook, email and text messages.

PROS

• More personalized to suit your needs. You can manage your account and easily view your subscribed channels, as well as view your suggested channels based on your subscriptions.
• More sharing options are available. Along with the aforementioned sharing options, you can copy the link, add to a “Watch later” list, add to favorites or add to a playlist.
• Better search options are now in the new YouTube with the ability to browse by category or search by voice.
• Cleaner interface than before. The Apple YouTube app was very plain and a bit too simple. The Google YouTube app has spruced up the style to give you all the new features, but in a clean, straight-forward fashion. You will not have any confusion with where certain options are located.

CONS

• The app now can include advertisements. While I, personally, have not viewed any ads on the new YouTube app, Google now has the ability to place ads in the app. Ads are Google’s main source of income, so the change should come as no surprise.
• The transition was not clear and some users may not know about it. The iOS 6 update removing the Apple YouTube app was not made clear.

Overall, the new YouTube app from Google is a vast improvement over the Apple YouTube app, which basically has not changed since it was released. Google makes managing your account, channels and sharing simple and easy, and it looks good while doing it. I would not mind watching some video ads too help Google keep the new YouTube app running well; especially because the app is completely free.

Download the Google YouTube app here.

The post App Review: YouTube for iOS appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

My Dragon

GAMEPLAY AND CONTROLS

Most of the controls involve simply tapping options on screen. Some of the time you are required to swipe to pet your dragon or to train it to do a new trick. Any time swiping is required, a guiding graphic appears on the screen to assist you.

My Dragon starts with a very short tutorial that still leaves much to be learned when it is completed. Coupled with an overcrowded interface, it can take awhile to learn all of the options and things you can do with the dragon pet.

The biggest components of My Dragon are the quests. In unique fashion, the quests are completed by random rolls for collection items. At the end of the quest you keep the items, which are added to critter collections (critters appear daily to give you bonuses after you complete their collection). You must meet certain pre-requisites to do quests, however, which would be your resources.

The resources needed to do quests are energy, happiness, and stash points (costume points). You feed your dragon to increase energy, play with him to increase happiness, and purchase costumes to increase stash points. That seems easy enough, but resources deplete rather quickly and currency runs out even faster.

Very early on in the game you are encouraged to buy currency and items with real money. The other currency, dragon scales, are earned regularly. You can also use hearts, which are earned by visiting friends’ dragons, to purchase costumes.

GRAPHICS AND AUDIO

My Dragon does provide nice visuals which is to be expected from Glu Mobile. The environment, dragons, and costumes are colorful and bright.

The sound of the game is most entertaining with the medieval style music and the cute sounds of the baby dragon.

PROS

• Unique questing style
• Dressing up a dragon in silly costumes

CONS

• Very limited game play time before the necessity to buy currency with real money kicks in
• Crowded and confusing interface

The fact that My Dragon is a free app, I understand the necessity of relying on micro transaction purchases to fund the developer. I cannot shake how early you are pressed into buying currency and items, though. My Dragon is clearly a game geared for children, and that makes me feel even more uncomfortable with how soon micro transactions are encouraged. The crowded and confusing interface, even after completing the tutorial, can make it difficult to understand, as well.

Overall, the game has many flaws. While you can play without purchasing anything, you really only get about ten minutes of game time before you run out of resources. That is OK, if you like that, but I would rather not have a game taking up space on my phone for just ten minutes a day.

Download My Dragon here for iOS

The post My Dragon Review for iOS appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Oh Hi! Octopi! combines retro nostalgia with cute animal characters. With an interesting puzzle design, although Oh Hi! Octopi! sounds like a fun, casual game for any iOS gamer. Unfortunately, that is not the case.

GAMEPLAY AND CONTROLS

Oh Hi! Octopi! is a basic platform puzzle game with a few new mechanics. Waves of octopi will appear and walk slowly around the board. Use your character to hit the octopi with the hammer to stun them, and change their colors, then “smash” the button in the center to create a balloon. The balloon will destroy stunned octopi in groups of at least two matching colors. After clearing one level, you move to the next round, which is the same, but with more octopi. Sounds simple, right?

It is not as simple as it sounds. After going through a tutorial that is too short. Oh Hi! Octopi! suffers a lot from having bad controls. While the developer, kode80, had the players’ best interests in mind, the one-button to control everything only creates for a frustrating experience. You control everything by tapping the screen; everything from moving, hitting the hammer and jumping. This makes your character move around erratically on the screen and when you want to do accomplish one thing, you cannot because your character is moving around wildly. For example, if you want to hit the button that creates the balloon, your character moves around too much for you to efficiently release the balloon.

GRAPHICS AND SOUND

The sound and music of the game, while reminiscent of retro gaming, is very repetitive and you will likely be muting the music after a few minutes of play.

The retro-style graphics and cute octopi of Oh Hi! Octopi! instantly draw you in. It is a shame that the trouble with the rough controls outweighs the charm of the graphics. Also, the scenery and octopi never change, which can get dull quickly.

PROS

• Good retro graphics
• Interesting match-making puzzle idea

CONS

• Music that quickly becomes bothersome
• Too short tutorial
• Very bad controls that create a lot of problems for the player

I wish I could say I enjoyed Oh Hi! Octopi!, but the game is very close to being unplayable due to the poor controls. If Oh Hi! Octopi! had differing controls for some abilities, the character may be less erratic and I may have been able to experience more of the puzzle aspect of the game. This game had the potential to be a refreshing take on a reto-style puzzle game, but it has simply failed to deliver on multiple levels.

Download Oh Hi! Octopi! for $.99 here.

The post App Review: Oh Hi! Octopi! appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

The biggest difference between Legend and the first Blood and Glory game is the addition of a storyline. You are the gladiator, battling through the arena to reach and defeat the Emperor in battle. Follow the story with stylized comic strips between each tournament.

GAMEPLAY AND CONTROLS

Defeat each enemy with swipes and taps using well-timed potions and attack combos. One of the keys to winning a battle is knowing when to block, parry or dodge attacks because you have a limited amount of blocks. The opponents are not target dummies; each has strategies of their own that you must learn to defeat them. Thankfully, the response time in-game of your taps and swipes is very accurate, so do not worry when you decide to block last minute rather than dodge.

At the end of each winning battle, you gain coins and experience that increases your level and your ability to purchase items from the store. Coins and rubies are used to purchase gear. Rubies are the hardest currency to obtain; you can only get them via daily bonuses, free offers or buying with real money. With each level you gain skill points which you use to increase your attack, block and health points.

The difficulty of the game increases exponentially around the fourth to fifth tournament. This is where I started to use up all of my resources and even used some of the free offers (such as “liking” Glu Mobile on Facebook) to get more rubies. Sadly, however, your opponents’ health is way higher and they are much stronger; you are no longer earning enough experience of currency to keep up. While it is possible to defeat the game without spending money, it would require daily dedication to acquire the daily bonuses and repeatedly defeating enemies you already defeated.

GRAPHICS AND AUDIO

One of the main draws to Blood  Glory Legend is the astounding graphics. The detailed textures are clearly seen in high resolution on an iPhone. The fluidity of movement in your gladiator and the opponent bring you closer to the battle. To top it all off, the battle music and cheers of the crowd makes you feel like you are in the center of the arena.

PROS

• Amazing high resolution graphics
• Encouraged to use all learned skills
• Encouraged balance attack, block and health point gains

CONS

• “Pay-to-win” is very apparent, almost forced unless you can dedicate a lot of time and patience

Overall, the game is great to look at and fun. I was tempted on more than one occasion to buy currency with real money, which is a testament to how drawn in you become in Blood and Glory Legend. I understand that the game is great for a free game, and the developer needs to finance the game and future games, the feeling like you have to use real money to progress cannot be ignored.

Download Blood and Glory Legend here for your iOS device.

The post Blood and Glory Legend Review for iOS appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Google has decided to challenge the iOS powerhouse that is Safari with the new Google Chrome for iOS app. Google Chrome for iOS is an alternate browser for your iPhone or iPad that includes all of the browser basics, plus some of your favorite Google Chrome features. When I first heardthat the Google Chrome browser was released on iOS, I rushed to my iPhone to download it immediately. My favorite PC web browser available for my iPhone? I could not wait to try it. While I do use Google Chrome for iOS as my main iPhone browser (aside from any link in an app that automatically opens to Safari), it does have a few flaws that keep it from being everything I want it to be. I chalk this up to the fact that the app is relatively new and needs some updates to get it perfect, and Google has been doing just that since the app has released.

PROS

• “Most Visited” sites are visible when you open a new tab. One of my favorite features of Google Chrome on PC are available on Google Chrome for iOS. When you open a new tab, six of your most visited websites on Chrome will appear and you can quickly reopen one just by tapping on the site of your choice.
• Chrome for iOS introduced “Incognito Tabs.” If you want to be secretive about a site you are visiting, you can open the options and select to open an “Incognito Tab.” This hides the tab from your recently visited list and from your browser history.
• If you sign in to your Google account, your last pages visited after closing or after a crash will automatically reopen.

CONS

• Sometimes the browser can be slower than Safari, but again, that could just be bugs that have to be worked out on Google’s end. The current version, 21.0.1180.80, is significantly faster than the release version.
• The fact that the browser lacks a refresh button is bothersome. I am not sure if it was an oversight, but it is inconvenient to have to tap the URL bar, have the keyboard open and the screen change just to refresh a website.
• Google Chrome for iOS does not have the same sharing options as Safari. While you can email, Tweet or Facebook a link, you cannot print a website from browser, which is a highly practical use.
• Chrome for iOS is still having some mobile site compatibility issues, per user reviews as of the current version, but future bug fixes and maybe some changes from the website developers’ side will change that.

Overall, despite its flaws, Google Chrome is still my browser of choice on my iPhone. Google has consistently updated when needed since the app has launched, and I have faith that they will continue to do so. Besides, if you are unsure if you will like it, Google Chrome for iOS is free from the App Store. There is no harm in not trying it out. Get the app here for iOS.

The post App Review: Google Chrome for iOS appeared first on Mobile Magazine.