AppReviewToday- AppReviews

Oh…Sir! The Insult Simulator ($1.99) by Gambitious Digital Entertainment is the follow-up to the developer’s original insult battle game, Oh…Sir! (Free), which came out last year. The original Oh…Sir! only had local multiplayer mode, so if you want more, then the sequel takes the original concept and expands on it greatly. If you love British-themed insults and arguments, then Oh…Sir! The Insult Simulator is a game that will be right up your alley.

Since I come from an Asian family, I honestly did not have much experience with anything that originated from Britain as I was growing up. However, once I got my first job and became friends with my coworkers, I began to expand my horizons in terms of the things I knew about the world. I got into music and one of my favorite bands is from Britain (Muse), and later on I discovered great British television like Doctor Who, and talent like Gordon Ramsay. Ever since then, I’ve grown to love the British as a whole, as well as their fine cuisine and rich cultural history (always something to learn). I also find English arguments to be rather hilarious, such as this one between Gordon Ramsay and a chef (some language is NSFW). Naturally, when I saw Oh…Sir! The Insult Simulator on the App Store, I had to stop everything I was doing and check it out for myself. Needless to say, I’m not disappointed by what this game offers.

Visually, Insult Simulator features a retro aesthetic thanks to the stylish pixel-art graphics. The characters feature a unique, jagged patterns that give them more depth, thanks to the shadows. They all have their own distinctive appearance as well, complete with fashionable British garb. Colors in The Insult Simulator range from bright vivid hues to darker, gloomier tones, but no matter what you’re looking at, there is a good balance of contrast with all of the visuals. All of the character models are bouncing with personality and charm, and each of them have their own voice acting, which is incredibly well done. Animations are smooth and fluid, so I had no issues with lag or choppiness on my iPhone 7. The game has a fun and patriotic tune in the background, and each scenario has its own musical track as well. And to top things off, the sound effects as you land mighty insults are just downright fun to hear.

There are two modes that you can play in Insult Simulator: Insult CPU or Insult a Human. If you choose to go against the CPU, you can go with the Instant Argument or Tournament mode, and for beginners, there is a tutorial that shows you the ropes. If you prefer to play against a human, you can go either locally (same device) or online through Game Center. But regardless of how you choose to play the game, the objective remains the same: an argument ensues between your protagonist and another British character, and to settle the argument, you engage in a fight of words by slinging insults at each other. The first one to knock the opponent’s hit points (the bar above them) to zero wins the argument.

So how do you play The Insult Simulator? Before you start, make sure to choose your favorite character as your protagonist — you start off with three, but more become available as you play and unlock them. Then you pick your scenario, or if you’re in Tournament, you’ll have to go through five scenes in succession. Each scenario takes place in a chosen setting, such as The Pet Shop, Train, or even The Afterlife. Your protagonist encounters another Brit and the conversation plays out, resulting in some kind of disagreement between the two. Now that you’ve engaged in the argument, the only way to settle it is through clever wit and insults.

For the insults, each player takes a turn picking a word from the pool. The pool consists of nouns, verbs, phrases, and conjunctions. You also have two extra options in your “hand” that you can use if nothing good is left in the pool, and you can tap on the “sip tea” button to discard those two cards and get two new ones, though this can only be used once per turn. Your job is to construct a full sentence out of these words that also serves as an insult to your opponent. Once you are satisfied with your insult and feel like nothing can add to it, just tap on the “!” button. Your turn also ends automatically if you use words that end in an “!,” so make sure to use them wisely. If your sentence combination is not grammatically correct, you lose a few health points and that card can’t be used again.

Insults are scored by how insulting they are, but don’t make it so ridiculous or weird because you won’t get as many points if it is too implausible. You get bonuses for insulting the opponent’s family, age, or even country, and using the cards that end with “!” can net you some bonuses like style. And the longer and more elaborate your insult is, the better chances you have of dishing out a “combo” and doing more damage to your foe.

I only managed to start playing Oh…Sir! The Insult Simulator this morning while having my coffee, but it’s becoming one of my favorite new word games lately. I’ve laughed more during one round of The Insult Simulator than many other games I’ve played through, and it’s definitely a great game to play with friends as well. Plus, the graphics and music are delightful, and all of the characters have their own charming traits and wit. Oh…Sir! The Insult Simulator is one of the better games I’ve tried recently, and this will be staying on my device for a while, especially when I need a good laugh.

I recommend checking out Oh…Sir! The Insult Simulator if you’re a fan of British themes and want to try your hand at cleverly insulting your way to victory in an argument. You can find Oh…Sir! The Insult Simulator on the App Store as a universal download for just $1.99. There are no in-app purchases. You can also grab it on Steam for your PC, Mac, or Linux machine for 10 percent off until Nov. 1.

Source link: http://appadvice.com/reviews

Vikings: an Archer's Journey ($2.99) by Pinpin Team is an endless runner that brings archery into the mix. If you enjoyed other minimalistic infinite runner games like Alto’s Adventure and the like, but want to feel like an awesome archer at the same time, then Vikings: an Archer’s Journey is the game for you. It’s pretty much what Temple Run: Brave should have been.

When the App Store first came out in 2008, I remember endless runner games being all the rage back then, but they’ve slowly dissipated over the years. And even though we’ve had a saturation of these games over time, there have only been a few standout ones, such as Canabalt, Temple Run, Ski Safari, and Alto’s Adventure, to name a few. But most of these still just had one core game mechanic in it, which was to just jump and avoid obstacles, and let’s face it — that can still get a bit boring after a while. But what about when an endless runner combines the precise art of archery? Well, that’s what Vikings is, and I was instantly drawn to it. Over the past few years, I’ve developed a liking for archery (thanks to certain movies and games), though I never tried it in real life yet, so naturally, I had to try Vikings myself. Needless to say, if you’re into runners, vikings, Norse mythology, and archery, then you’re in for a treat with this game.

Visually speaking, Vikings is a stunningly gorgeous game. It has a minimalistic aesthetic that reminds me strongly of Alto’s Adventure, except this game is filled with snow, vikings, and evil demons from Norse mythology. The game retains a flat look and feel for the most part, but the dynamic lighting, backdrops, and even the glowing effects give the game a layer of depth that works. Despite the minimalism, I felt that everything was fairly detailed for the art style, and the colors are beautiful as they range from soft pastels to bolder, more vibrant hues as time passes. Animations are buttery smooth in the game, and I experienced no lag on my iPhone 7. The game also has a rather whimsical and ambient soundtrack that is delightful to listen to, and it definitely immerses you into the Nordic setting of Helheim. Overall, I am in love with the visual and audio style that the developers have come up with here.

Even though the game is an infinite runner at heart, the developers have implemented a story to go along with the action. Players will take control of Nott, a Valkyrie that has incurred the wrath of Nordic gods, and her punishment is having her loyal wolf, Oder, sent to the Underworld in a dwelling of the deceased, also known as Helheim. So Nott gathers up her crew and sets out on a journey to recover her faithful companion. As an endless runner, there is only one game mode to play, but since it’s also combined with a “shoot ‘em up” game mechanic, things get interesting and challenging pretty quickly. Plus, each run is procedurally generated, so it’s never the same thing twice.

Controls in Vikings are easy to learn because it’s rather intuitive, but hard to master. Like all infinite runners, your character will be running forward automatically, so you don’t have to worry about that. What you do have to worry about, though, is avoiding obstacles like spikes and gaps in front of you, and to do that, just tap on the right half of the screen to jump. For the archery part, just touch-and-drag on the left half of the screen to aim your bow and arrow, and then release to shoot. It’s similar to the Angry Birds-style slingshot aiming, but can get a bit more complicated since you’re also moving at the same time. As I mentioned, the controls are easy when you look at them separately, but when you have to use both while you’re in motion, it can be a bit hectic as you get further along in the game.

While Nott starts out with a standard, single arrow shot, the game does provide various power-up runes that are easily noticeable — they’re brightly colored stones with glowing symbols on them. To collect these, just have your character run into it, and the power-up is yours to use, though it’s only for a brief amount of time, so use it wisely. The power-ups include formidable boosts like Bullet Time, Multi Arrows, Explosive Arrows, and more.

You can get a score multiplier if you manage to rack up a combo of successive kills, and if you can max it out, you’ll go into the almighty Fury mode, unleashing your rage upon your foes. The game also has objectives (shown at the start of each run) that you’ll want to complete, because the more goals you accomplish, the closer you are to unlocking another member of Nott’s crew to use in battle. Since there is no other way to unlock these characters to call upon their aid in battle, players will feel more motivated to meet objectives and make their lives easier when playing the game.

While I’m enjoying the game a lot so far, I did think that the game difficulty was a bit unforgiving, even in the beginning. However, the developers have told me that the next update (coming this week) should fix the difficulty with enemies and levels, while also bringing plenty of other welcome improvements, so I’m looking forward to that. I also felt that sometimes it seemed like Nott’s movement, especially while jumping over some spikes, can feel a bit slower than usual, so maybe that can be optimized in the future as well.

Otherwise, the game is incredibly fun and one I’m keeping around for a while. The graphics are downright beautiful and look great on Retina screens. The music is captivating and soothing, despite the dark theme of the game. The controls are simple, but do take time and practice to master fully, and I’m still working my way there. It’s been a while since I really got into an endless runner game, but this one has rekindled the spark thanks to the mashup of shooter and runner.

I highly recommend checking out Vikings if you’ve been wanting a challenging but fun infinite runner with precise shooting elements, or just love Norse mythology. You can find Vikings: an Archer’s Journey on the App Store as a universal download for just $2.99. There are no in-app purchases.

Source link: http://appadvice.com/reviews