Readers’ App Reviews – May 2014

May has arrived and you guys really let the apps fly this month. There were 62 submissions this month!

It was a battle to narrow them down this month. After you finish trying the few I found time to review, you’ve got to give the Honorable Mentions a look as well. There were tons of great games and apps I didn’t have time to cover here in detail.

Highlights this month include:

• Games that will make your head spin
• Apps for you and your kids
• Some tools I think all us power users need

What are you waiting for? Dive into over 60 apps from your fellow readers!

Rotatetris

Rotatetris is a tetris style game with a big twist.

As balls are falling, its up to you to rotate your device to control where they land. Match three colors to eliminate them and clear some space.

With three different game modes, GameCenter leaderboards, and powerups to keep it interesting, this gyro-tastic game will keep you moving.

• Author: Daniel Witte
• Most useful tutorial: How To Create A Breakout Game Using SpriteKit
• App Store Link: Check it out!

Quiver: The Programmer’s Notebook

Quiver is a note taker’s dream. Quiver is a Mac app that lets you combine text and code snippets into notes.

Notes can be organized by tags and then grouped into notebooks. You entire note is editable inline anytime and your code snippets can be syntax highlighted in the language of your choice. Quiver supports super fast searching full text searching to find your notes fast.

And best of all, Quiver stores all your notes in plain JSON so you have full control of your content.

• Author: Yaogang Lian @happenapps
• Most useful tutorial: ReactiveCocoa Tech Talk Video
• App Store Link: Check it out!

Rolling Zimro

Rolling Zimro is a game that will have your head spinning!

Zimro is wanted in the galaxy for his unique knowledge of growing wisdom weeds. He’s running for his life from UFOs and aliens trying to capture him.

Rolling Zimro has beautiful low poly graphics across several spinning worlds. Run as far as you can collecting powerups to boost your GameCenter highscore and save Zimro.

• Author: Anup Sarode @XaxistArts
• Most useful tutorial: How to Make a Game Like Jetpack Joyride using LevelHelper and SpriteHelper [Cocos2D Edition] – Part 1
• App Store Link: Check it out!

I Love Vegie Classic

This is an awesome game for your kids. I Love Vegie Classic uses the front facing camera and face detection to create an awesome experience for kids.

The app tracks your mouth while vegetables fall from the sky. You’ve got to move your iPad or your mouth to make sure the vegetables end up in the right place.

Its a supremely fun and unique game that takes advantage of the iPad’s mobility. Everyone should give this game a try.

• Author: Allanunu Studio
• Most useful tutorial: How To Make An Augmented Reality Target Shooter Game With OpenCV: Part 1/4
• App Store Link: Check it out!

sbapix

Sbapix is an awesome app to express your creativity.

Spapix uses a simple pixel grid and color wheel to let you design masterpieces of your very own. Its simple interface and bright colors make for a very relaxing artistic experience.

Spapix offers up any size pixel grid, color theory education, sharing, and a colorful way to use your iPhone.

• Author: Alessandro Chiarotto
• Most useful tutorial: Introduction to C++ for iOS Developers: Part 2
• App Store Link: Check it out!

Jetpack-Jones

Jetpack-Jones is a side scroller that takes us back to the basics.

Jetpack-Jones takes simple controls for thrusting and blasting and sends you on a lunar adventure. Aliens, asteroids, and more stand between you collecting stars while you bounce along the moon’s surface.

Jetpack-Jones takes you back to a pixelated past of simple fun.

• Author: Richard Rabassa @rabassa
• Most useful tutorial: Introducing raywenderlich.com Video Tutorials (Beta)!
• App Store Link: Check it out!

Siesta Testa

If you have kids who refuse to sleep, Siesta Testa is the app you’ve been waiting for.

Siesta Testa is a tool to track your kids batteries using special scanning technology. Show your kids how low their batterie are so they can understand the importance of getting a good nights rest early.

I love the idea of this app. Its a cute app well executed to help kids get to bed on time.

• Author: Andy Sparrow
• Most useful tutorial: How to Save your Game’s Data: Part 1/2
• App Store Link: Check it out!

Robots hate Bugs

Robots absolutely hate bugs, incase you didn’t know.

Robots hate Bugs is a reflex game with three lanes of pain. Bugs crawl down to you and you launch Robots to defend yourself. But don’t launch too many Robots or you’ll blow up everything.

The game offers a unique experience that combines spam tapping with calculated control. Its difficult to master but easy to play.

• Author: Andreas Grütter
• Most useful tutorial: Sprite Kit Tutorial: Animations and Texture Atlases
• App Store Link: Check it out!

Gfx Hotkeys

There are tons of visual creation applications these days and its getting hard to keep up with all their hotkeys.

Just intime GFX Hotkeys comes along as an excellent reference tool to keep track of all your hotkeys. GFX Hotkeys packs over 80 applications full hotkey sets.

With all those different applications its important to have it clearly organized to find what you need quickly. GFX hotkeys delivers with color coded applications and favorites to track your most used applications.

• Author: Bill Kastanakis @gfxhotkeys
• Most useful tutorial: Easily Overlooked New Features in iOS 7
• App Store Link: Check it out!

Rampaging Dragons

Rampaging Dragons are attacking and you don’t want to be on the receiving end of a fireball!

Dodge hurly balls of fire with simple side scrolling controls. Watch out for the dragons themselves, they have something extra sinister for you. Between dodging fireballs find time to tap the dragons to hold back their fire.

Compete against friends’ highscores in GameCenter, but don’t get burned! ;]

• Author: Brandon Jenniges @duffman0987
• Most useful tutorial: Sprite Kit Tutorial: Making a Universal App: Part 1
• App Store Link: Check it out!