Freeverse, Inc.

Our refrigerators are becoming increasingly bare with the decrease in travel postcards and increase in Facebook photo uploads. There are several easy to use and extremely inexpensive apps to document special moments in life and share it via snail mail, email, or social media–and sometimes all of the above. We’ve reviewed several here to help you identify one that best suits how you care to share with your loved ones, your social circles, and potential clients. These apps are great for sending out postcards to friends and family using your iPhone over the holiday season. Price: Free The Postagram app for iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad app could be the only postcard app you need. The download is free, and custom postcards are delivered worldwide for the low, low price of 99 cents each. The set-up for the app is quick and simple. Postagram syncs with your photo library, Instagram, and Facebook albums, so you have several resources just a click away. You pick a profile photo that is printed like a return label on your postcard. When you create your postcard, you can customize text for each. Grandmother needs to hear from you in a very different way than your college roommate. You pay for the postcard with a secure credit card entry from the screen. You can also manage your address book and payment options online via the app’s developer Sincerely Inc. The Postagram app for iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad uses technology to connect with friends and family in a very old-school way. Price: Free The shoot it! app for iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad may be a free download, but the cost of the postcard and frustration of dealing with the app make it feel expensive—and not the good kind of expensive. The process for setting up the app is laborious, and you are required to input credit card information before you get a chance to check out the app. There are a lot of case sensitive requirements for usernames and passwords, so you have to guess at what parameter you may not have addressed. That’s frustrating. Fortunately, you can quickly sync to your camera libraries and choose a picture. The next step is choosing recipients, and it did not go smoothly. I simply could not make my sister’s address work, and I don’t know why. After the app crashed and a bit more fiddling about to Read More

Watch where you tap your fingers! Halloween is around the corner and zombies are running headless around the App Store spewing blood thirsty for your 99 cents. Here is a list of the most popular iPhone games with a zombie theme. These games mostly have the same storyline as you would expect. Survive! Don’t be killed and eaten by a swarm of the flesh eating living dead. So go ahead, grab your iPhone, step into the darkness, and start killing some zombies. Just don’t run into any dead ends. Price: $0.99 On a dark and dreary night, you find yourself in the middle of a cemetery where an endless supply of zombies rush towards you. You’ve brought four weapons and try to survive the never-ending onslaught. Read Full Review Price: $0.99 The objective of Zombie Street is to defend yourself in each level from hordes of zombies until they are all wiped out. You stay deployed in a small corner and have to shoot and kill approaching zombies. Read Full Review Price: $1.99 The main goal of the game is to survive hordes of zombies chasing after you. Your character runs throughout the whole game and you just blow up whatever zombie that approaches you. Read Full Review Price: $2.99 Age of Zombies by Halfbrick Studios is zombie killing app for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and the iPad. You play as Barry Steakfries who travels back in time where zombies have taken over and do whatever you can to wipe them out of existence. Read Full Review Price: $2.99 Zombie Crisis 3D by KONGZHONG CORPORATION plays just like the house of the dead. You start out with a single pistol in hand on a mission to cure the world of the zombie infestation. Read Full Review Price: $0.99 Angry Zombies is a real-time strategy style game developed by HighMind where you control hordes of zombies and your goal is to wipe out all the humans in each level. Read Full Review Price: $0.99 Something new for your zombie killing pleasure, a soccer ball instead of snow peas. Pro Zombie Soccer from Chillingo stars this kid named Jax who gets bitten by a soccer zombie Julinho humorously named to sound like a Brazillian soccer star from SC Marcelona. Read Full Review Price: $0.99 Zombie games have basically dominated the App Store for ages now, so I was actually pleasantly surprised to discover Read More

At a San Francisco preview event yesterday, Sega announced that they would be bringing their classic fishing franchise Sega Bass Fishing to iOS this Fall. Sega Bass Fishing originally launched in arcades back in 1998, but most people will likely remember it from its days as a Dreamcast launch title complete with wacky fishing rod-shaped controller. Since then, it’s been rereleased in various forms over the years, and – perhaps most appropriately – as a Wii title using the motion controlled Wiimote. The iOS version will be based on the 2009 arcade game Sega Bass Fishing Challenge, which was an updated version of the original, hence the “Challenge” in the title. The game is still at an incredibly early state, though it’s looking really nice so far. As with most fishing games, you’ll be able to cruise around the waters in your boat in various worldly locations, cast your line, and hope to entice a huge fish to take a bite. You control your boat from a third-person perspective, but once your line has been cast, things switch to an underwater view. Here is where you can get up close and personal with your future prize catch while you orchestrate a careful balance of reeling the bugger in without snapping your line or letting him off the hook. The underwater view really showcases the impressive visuals in Sega Bass Fishing Challenge, with detailed fish models that swim, wriggle, and fight you in a very realistic manner. The build we were shown today worked well with onscreen virtual controls, but the final release version of Sega Bass Fishing Challenge will incorporate the motion control capabilities of iOS devices, similar to using the fishing rod controller of the Dreamcast original. These motion controls weren’t implemented just yet, but I’d imagine they’ll work equally as well as other iOS titles that have utilized them like Flick Fishing [99¢/Free] or Fishing Kings [$4.99/Free], and add another level of immersion to your virtual fishing endeavors. Sega Bass Fishing Challenge is vaguely set for release sometime this Fall, and we expect to have more information on the title in the coming weeks. Based on what I’ve seen so far, if your were a fan of the original, or just a fan of fishing games in general, you should be in for a treat when the game hits the App Store later this year. Amazing game, and I Read More

By Chris Kirby on August 14th, 2011 This week, August 8-12, Graveck co-founder Matt Gravelle shares the secret of his app store success, the October App Developer's Conference is announced, and GiggleApps shows you the trick to teaching your child to draw. This week, August 8-12, 148Apps interviewed Matt Gravelle, co-founder of Graveck, the developer behind one of the most successful and addictive iPhone games – Skee-Ball. Interviewer Gianna LaPin writes, “Graveck has recently started developing for the Android platform; this, combined with all the recent advances in the iOS world, is enough to make Matt’s head spin. Looking forward, he sees steady, predictable advancements in the mobile computing field instead of major breakthroughs in the near future. Specifically he agrees with Apple’s move towards creating a more seamless, cohesive user experience between devices by leveraging cloud storage, and Graveck plans on adopting that same philosophy.” $0.99 Released: 2009-09-22 :: Category: Games Over on 148Apps.biz, founder Jeff Scott announced the upcoming App Developer’s Conference in Santa Clara, CA: “The App Developers Conference is the essential event for everyone building and selling apps for emerging devices. From smart phones to smart cars, applications and connectivity are driving the consumer application market forward at warp speed. This event brings development professionals together with the platforms, tools, services, and brand marketers that are working to connect people, places and things.” The fine folks at GiggleApps reviewed an app designed to teach kids the basics of drawing, appropriately called How to Draw. Reviewer Amy Solomon writes, “How To Draw is a creative and fun application that explains, step by step, the elements used to draw simple pictures how and to re-create these drawings themselves. Although universal, this app best performs on the iPad when one is following along, drawing within this app, but this app also included is a very nice section which allows the viewer to just watch these images progress as well – something that can be enjoyed on either iPad or iPhone.” FREE! + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad Released: 2010-04-13 :: Category: Education Finally, no weekly wrap-up would be complete without a visit to our 148Apps Lists. Stop by to see the newest 148 apps on the App Store, the Top 148 free apps and more. Plus, keep track of all the latest app developments by clicking “Like” on our Facebook page, or following us on Twitter. That’s Read More

Posted 08/11/2011 at 1:21pm | by Nik Rawlinson and Susie Ochs Believe J.J. Cale, because he knows what he’s talking about: traveling light is the only way to fly. The next time you’re tempted to overpack, remember to take half as many clothes, twice as much money, and your iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch. An iOS device can replace paper maps, books, and travel guides; and the information you’ll find in apps and iBooks is more timely and relevant anyway. Obviously you won’t need CDs or a portable DVD player -- or pricey hotel or in-flight pay-per-view -- to stay entertained. And by posting photos or blog updates about your vacation online, you won’t even have to send postcards. To prepare you and your electronic travel buddy to hit the road, we found the best apps, gear, and know-how to keep you connected. Travel can be tough on your iPad or iPhone, so it’s smart to insure them. Check your existing home, renters’, and travel policies for any exclusions that might leave you out of pocket if you lose your device. Verizon offers insurance for iPhone 4 for $10.99/month, AT&T just started offering a plan for $4.99/month, and if you bought your iPhone at Best Buy, you can add Geek Squad protection within 30 days of purchase. GoCare will insure an iPhone 4 from $69/year, or $97 for two years, but it’s got a 30-day waiting period, so plan ahead. SquareTrade has a free app in the App Store that lets you buy coverage for $99 for two years. But check with your regular insurers first, and always read all the fine print on deductibles, exclusions, and, well…everything. Insurance won’t help you recover your own device if it “wanders off,” so get Apple’s free Find My iPhone app (which also works on the iPad and iPod touch) from the App Store, and follow the directions to register. That’ll let you track your device online, plus remotely lock and wipe it to remove any sensitive data. You should also set the Passcode Lock (Settings > General > Passcode Lock) for the duration of your travels so that nobody can gain access. Stock up on reading material before you leave in case you find yourself without network coverage later. Back up your data by syncing with iTunes before you leave, and consider making an online copy of your essential data. If you have Read More

Posted 08/10/2011 at 11:00am | by J Keirn-Swanson Few games quite bring back that extra special feeling of childhood quite like Skee-Ball. The crashing roll of the balls after you drop your quarter, the swing, the drop in the rings. We spent a good deal of our childhood and our allowance pitching ball after ball up the ol' incline, but we rarely get a chance these days.  We're happy to say, all that has changed if only in a virtual sense. Our first game up is Freeverse, Inc's iOS version of the classic arcade game which comes in an iPhone version as well as a bigger brother iPad-sized version, and it's exactly as we remember it. Big ten point ring with smaller rings inside for the 20, 30, and 40 point increments, with a fifty and two 100 point rings up towards the top. The balls roll down a chute to the left and you flick your finger up the lane to pitch.  Thanks for the tip, now how about a graphics upgrade, Skee-Ball HD? Flick slowly and the ball makes a sad little jump, flick fast and you overshoot the mark. Wherever you place your finger on the lane is where your ball rolls. Shoot through your balls to get your score and, most importantly, your tickets. Give me my tickets! The makers threw in a few extra tricks, one being lights that flash inside the point rings to give you bonus points and the other is pure iOS accelerometer. Tilt your iDevice to the left or right and you can throw a bit of a curve on your shot to goose things along. And with your last shot, the app converts to Slo-Mo to watch your last ball land. This can be sweet victory as you score big or feel like salt in a wound when you miss the mark. BOOM! And it's on, people! And just like in the old arcades, you get tickets for your points. And what can you do with your tickets? Redeem them of course. Take your tix to the store and you can buy such lovely goodies as a whistle, a half-eaten donut (not kidding), a Chinese finger trap, and more. Best of all, play enough and you can redeem tickets for prizes you can use in the game, like a dragon's egg ball. (We haven't won enough to see what it can Read More

You might just lose yourself in the caverns of Spoing [99¢ / HD] Chillingo's newest platformer is a moody affair that sees you playing the titular Spoing, a spiky ball with a lot on his mind. Someone's stolen all the rainbow diamonds on his watch, and he needs to gather them up and find the thief. To solve this mystery, Spoing travels through long, dark caverns and seeks out friends to guide him. He travels by bouncing from one elastic platform to the next, with your help to aim him (similar to the mechanic in Parachute Ninja [99¢], among others). You can also collect green gems that let you create your own platforms. Sometimes the path will be laid out for you, other times you'll be forging your own way through the caverns. Occasionally you'll need to choose the best path from a few different options. You'll need to choose wisely, because your performance is rated by how long it takes you to reach the rainbow diamond at the end of each level. You earn Level Points based on your speed. Getting one or two is pretty simple, but the third is often a serious challenge. To master a level you'll need to earn three Level Points and make it through the level without hitting a wall or a monster. You'll be well-rewarded for your success - each level has its own Crystal/Game Center leaderboard and an achievement for mastery. If gameplay alone isn't enough to keep you going, the lonely environments and minimalistic music might draw you in. While the game offers four built-in music tracks and the option to play your own tunes, you'll be missing out if you don't plug in your headphones and play with the ambient track. There's no rhythm integration, but the music blends beautifully with the sparse piano-note sound effects. It's the perfect soundtrack to accompany your journey through the deep, dark caves of Spoing. Despite all that, I can't help but feel that games2be, Spoing's developers, spent a too much time on building levels, giving us 50 to explore, while spending too little time differentiating them. The difficulty goes up and down by the level so there's no feel of steady progression. And the environments hardly change at all. This wouldn't be too bad, but you may find yourself grinding to hit experience and Level Point milestones to progress at times. Replaying levels Read More

Remember back when Freeverse used to make traditional games instead of freemium titles? The ngmoco acquisition and the shift to free to play almost seems like ancient history with how fast the App Store moves, but Warpgate [Free / HD] was one of the final gamer games released by the studio. How long ago did Warpgate come out? Well, our review is centralized around it being an original iPad launch title. See, I told you, ancient. Warpgate is a space trading game, and a damn fine one at that. There's tons of content to delve through, and the dynamic in-game economy is something that can basically keep you busy for eternity if you get immersed in it. In addition, there are 35 star systems to explore, 172 different ships, and over 100 main quests. It's also had graphical updates since the initial release to add antialiasing, making Warpgate look even better than before. Be sure to snag Warpgate and/or Warpgate HD while it's free. It's not for everyone, but if it gets your hooks in you, you can dump hours into the game without even realizing it. App Store Links:    Warpgate, $4.99     Warpgate HD, $7.99 (iPad Only) Hi folks, We are happy to announce that our newest build of iHop - Getaway Chicken, v.1.0.1 is now LIVE on App Stores everywhere. This is a minor update, just some bug fixes and image replacements. Nonetheless, we hope it freshens things up a bit for those of you who continue to enjoy hoppin'. So what are you waiting for? Farmer Brown is on his way - so HOP Chicken, HOP! Cheers, NCsoft   #3   Today, 10:42 PM Junior Member iPhone 4, OS 4.x Join Date: Apr 2011 Posts: 6 Quote: Originally Posted by nice graphics! quite simple in the beginning, but I love it! agree. 1st level is pretty slow, and didn't know how to do the combo scores. But once you get the hang of it, it's kinda addictive. I like it. Quote: Originally Posted by Ya, appshopper had it listed as FREE this morning, but the app store said otherwise. I'm not a big Ponos fan (aside from Do Do Egg) but this one looks cool. I think they screwed up because they had put Mr. Space!! and Do Do Egg! on sale for free, likely to celebrate the release of this. I had Mr. Aahh! and thought it was a Read More

I’ve been looking for an iPad game to sink some time into, and thanks to a tweet from Top iPhone Resource, I was alerted to the fact that the Warpgate series of space conquest games have gone free today. This means that you can trek all around the universe, buying new ships, weapons, and other l337 space loot, without having to pay a cent. Warpgate ($4.99) and Warpgate HD ($7.99) look like meaty downloads and from what I’ve seen from a few minutes of gameplay this morning, very engrossing games, to boot. The games are about a year old now, and although the graphics pale in comparison to offerings like Infinity Blade, I’m hoping the sheer depth of the gameplay will more than make up for it. Read More

And best of all, Fantastic Fish is a FREE app. The game mechanic is pretty simple; you just have feed and breed a variety of fish species, from normal fish, to squids, and to even eels and sharks. You can raise them from the egg to adulthood. You can also Collect and populate the Emerald, Amethyst, Sapphire and Ruby Seas and decorate them with all kinds of amazing collectibles and decorations. Notable features of the game include: • Make Friends And Breed For Exotics Use the power of the Plus+ network to find existing friends and make new ones with just one tap, then breed your fish with theirs to make a stunning array of Exotic and Super Exotic fish types you have to see to believe. Keep track of your collection with the easy to use Fishopedia and collect them all! • Magical Sea Creatures Special quests to complete collections and unlock the magical sea creatures of legend: Mermaids, Sea Dragons and more. • Fish With Personality Incredible 3d modeled fish with countless animations and real personality. Customize their Seas, give them names, and follow their progress as they level up and grow. • An Ever Expanding World Fantastic Fish is an ever-expanding world of possibilities, with new fish and decorations added every single week! The adventure never ends. Read More