hideNtweet – Hide & Seek For The iPhone And Twitter

update Jul 5: hideNtweet is now available for FREE via iTunes – click here to download

(written by guest author Tim Giron. follow Tim on Twitter @timgiron)

hideNtweetLogo11 It’s 10:15 on a Sunday morning and I am crouched in one of the many alleys in a small neighborhood near Arizona State University.  I check my iPhone map display and see a red plus sign moving in my direction; it’s the seeker blocking my path to the home base.  Blue dots indicate the positions of the other players, full grown men experiencing a high tech version of the classic playground game.

cthurst_capture11    IMG_0009_11

This is hideNtweet and we’ve been invited by the developer, John Ellis of Dove Valley Apps, to take part in a beta test.  Realizing that the direct approach is not going to work for me, I move off a ways and wait for John, who is currently "it", to chase after somebody else.  Once he does, I loop around and head for the base location, which is thankfully near a hammock in the shade.  For the next round, I choose to be "it" and the chase is on again!

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hideNtweet creatively utilizes the technologies available on the iPhone to fuse the virtual and physical worlds.  The camera is used to identify a home base and to tag other players as caught.  The GPS and map, complete with sweeping radar indicator, shows all of the player positions.  And, to top it all off, the app uses the online Twitter service to announce threeGhostsWhite11 significant game plays to the participants.

While it is much more fun to play with others, the game also has a "solo" mode where 4 ghost characters will try to evade and outwit you.  Ingeniously, the ghosts move through the camera view when you close in for the capture.

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If you’re interested in joining in the beta test hijinks, gather up a few friends and head over to http://hideNtweet.com to apply.  Please note that since the application is currently in beta test, some of the screens may change before release.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Wow! Talk about a unique gaming experience for the iPhone … totally looking forward to the release of this app. With all the garbage and repeat apps (how many tic-tac-toe apps? – too many!) in the App Store, we applaud Dove Valley Apps for thinking outside the box and working on something truly creative and first of its kind. Rock on guys!

And don’t forget to sign up to be a beta game player … DO IT … it’s fun, free and will make you feel better. Click Here to sign up now.

May 30, 2009 | Filed Under anti-KRAPPS, Games | 4 Comments 

Kittens & Puppies Suck – Just Kill Them

CrazyiPhoneDeveloper2 The sheer volume of completely whacked out apps never ceases to amaze us. It’s like cruising through the developer nuthouse where every programmer is completely psycho. Seriously – we’re thinking these devs are hopped up on nitrous oxide or just sniffed too much glue in elementary school.

How else can you explain Poop apps? Before the iPhone, we would have never thought of looking between our legs and studying our scuba divers.

Then there’s the Bikini Fart app. If hearing and smelling farts from a chick in a bikini brings you joy … DUDE … you have ISSUES!

Vomit, Urine, Spanking, Lice, Sex Algorithms … the list of freak show apps goes on and on.

One of the most bizarre apps we’ve covered is Sexy Alphabet … targeting individuals who get pleasure from hearing the alphabet recited by a sexual way. Uh hello CRACK HEAD … we don’t give a shiat who’s saying them … the ABC’s are NOT SEXY!

And surprise surprise … from the same developer of Sexy Alphabet (dude call himself  “theM”), comes these two latest classics:

Angry Kittens Attack and Crazy Puppy Massacre 

 

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I know this is getting old and tired … but as Apple likes to say …

Want To Kill Kittens And Puppies?
There’s An App For That!

Yeah sicko … welcome to the App Store Asylum. No need to push and shove – there’s plenty of sick and mentally unstable material for everyone. Even those who get off killing kitties and puppies … ha! ha! ha! … APPLE is so brilliantly EVIL!

Kitty22    Puppy33

May 28, 2009 | Filed Under Games | 24 Comments 

Cows, Poop And Fire – Leave It Alone Dad

So did you hear about the new iPhone game Moo Cow Fury? Yeah, it’s pretty hysterical -involving racing cows, poop and fire. Sure it doesn’t come close to competing with EA in terms of polish and shine, but with an amusing premise and decent enough gameplay, we can think of worse ways to spend a buck. Click here to check out a gameplay video or visit the App Store to download Moo Cow Fury … two versions: $0.99 [iTunes] or Free ad-supported [iTunes].

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Argh! Wish we could stop right there. But we can’t … oh daddy, what were you thinking:

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Yeah, we get it … daddy is a very proud parent and encouraging young Nicholas. Seriously, that kind of support is awesome! There are so many 100% suck deadbeat dads in the world and it’s a breath of fresh air seeing that Nicholas has a great dad (yo Nicholas! – don’t forget – Father’s Day is June 21 – do something nice for papa!). But to throw the 12-Year Old Kid card into the title of the app … well, just a tad over-the-top. Then to lead off the game’s description with this detailed explanation of Nicholas’ quest to learn Objective-C and produce an iPhone app … well, yeah … it’s over-the-top.

MyKid Come on dad … we’re talking RACING COWS … POOP … and FIRE! Moo Cow Fury kicks butt on its own and we’re buying it because cows that poop while avoiding fire makes us laugh (yeah, we’re whack like that).

Not to turn this into a debate … but with 40,000 competing apps, something had to be done to get the pooping cow fire game noticed … so we guess Apple forced the 12-Year Old card hand. Hopefully it’s an Apple thing and not a delusional bias thing … yes Nicholas – your poop does stink … LOL.

Anyways … no doubt about it … geek 12-year olds who churn out iPhone games rock! And since we’re on the subject of geek kids … don’t forget to show some love to 9-year old Lim Ding Wen and his Doodle Kids [iTunes].

So the only question remains … whose app(s) rocks more … daddy or son Nicholas? LOL – we love you Nicholas dad!

May 23, 2009 | Filed Under Games, News | Leave a Comment 

Hot Dog Down A Hallway – Fun For All Ages

(written by guest author Tim Giron. follow Tim on Twitter @timgiron)

EDITOR’S NOTE: although we detailed the recent controversy surrounding Hot Dog Down A Hallway, we feel it’s appropriate to write a stand alone review to shift focus to what really matters … the actual game. 

HotDogHallwayName Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, step right up and prepare to be amazed by the stupendous stunt wiener! Transformed from pudgy porker to turbo tube steak, it whirls and it twirls as it flies through the air, all for the benefit of your entertainment. Will it catch maximum air and be flung far to fly downfield or will it have its trip cut short by an encounter with a nasty crab? It’s anybody’s guess, each show is completely different from the last. Will you cheer with fists raised high or will you jeer with heads hung low? The fickle finger of fate will decide! Gaze upon the impressive list of achievements which the stupendous stunt wiener has attained. Will you be the lucky audience to witness the awe inspiring "Mile High Club" or will you depart despondent that you only made it to "First base"?

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With a humorous concept and good-natured innuendo galore, Metaversal Studios Inc. has delivered a game which has multiple layers of appeal. Game controls are deceptively simple: you initially control the angle and power of the launch and once your hot dog is airborne, you rotate the phone to make slight course corrections. Utilize the beneficial items in the playing field like the flinging plant and the spinning chandelier and you gain distance. Meet up with the snapping claws of the crab or the wrong end of the blowing fan, however, and your trip ends right there. Even those ignominious ends might be rewarded with an achievement, though. Ingeniously, you can see only the titles of the achievements that you have not yet conquered, leaving you wondering just what you have to do to get them (and what great titles they are, as well). This definitely encourages repeated play. I still have six achievements to clear and have played "just one more round" on several occasions trying to figure them out. Cool, I cleared "Third base" while I was capturing some screen shots, so I just have five more to decipher!

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I definitely look forward to more games from this developer. I know they have recently run afoul of Apple’s approval process with an update to this game. I experienced no issues running the current version and, at 99 cents [iTunes], it’s a steal for the amount of entertainment provided.

 

May 22, 2009 | Filed Under Games | Leave a Comment 

Fun With The Apple Profanity Filter

rooster2 Here at KRAPPS, we tend to slam Apple a bit (right? – its only a teenie weenie bit? – right?). But hey, props to Apple for taking the constructive criticism and implementing change. Take Baby Shaker for example … we wrote … Apple listened … no more Baby Shaker (LOL … and if you believe Apple pulled Baby Shaker solely because of KRAPPS, then we have a great money making opportunity for you on Twitter).

sexyspinnadesc11 Back in March, we wrote about the iPhone love dice app Sexy Spinna. We noticed the “C” word within the app’s description. Hmmm, not exactly the terminology we figure Apple wanted to broadcast via its App Store. So we politely told Apple about the situation (LOL) … Sexy Spinna’s description was revised … and Apple appears to have implemented a profanity filter. You see – constructive criticism resulted in productive change … bravo Apple!

So with Apple’s profanity filter put into action, iPee Drunk is now a safer app to explore. The app’s phrase “check your world pissing position” now becomes a child safe “check your world p****g position”. Fair enough … bravo!

iPeeDrunkFinal

And how about the profanity laced Elephant Song app … you know, that YouTube sensation now turned interactive app – targeted to both kids and adults alike. Great catch Mr. Apple Profanity Filter … no longer will innocent children burn their eyes reading the word
“cock-a-doodle-doo”! Rather a much more innocent experience seeing
“c**ck-a-doodle-doo” thanks to Apple’s profanity filter working overtime … bravo!

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But alas, the “F” word has super powers beyond anything even Superman possesses. Not even Apple’s profanity filter kryptonite will destroy the “F” word … bravo Trent!

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May 21, 2009 | Filed Under Entertainment, Games, News | 28 Comments 

Apple Gets The Joke Late – Rejects Approved App

Did you hear? Major League Baseball is changing their rules. Any time a batter reaches base safely, they receive an extra bag. So now a single becomes a double, doubles become triples, etc.. And get this … a home run counts as a run scored, but the batter gets to circle the bags and start again from first base.

Why did Major League Baseball change this rule? – we dunno. Guess they just changed Funny McCain Picture their mind. Oh well … sucks for you!

Argh! Sorry … forgot to mention this one. You know how Obama is the President of the United States? Well that’s changed too … guess the US Government changed their mind about the voting process. Why the change? – we dunno … but go ahead and welcome John McCain as our new forty fourth President. Oh well … sucks for you!

Here’s another change – this one is from our friends at Apple.

hotdogicon The whacky and hysterical iPhone game, Hot Dog Down A Hallway [iTunes], has been rejected. Huh? How can it be rejected if it’s still available in the App Store? – we dunno … all we know is that the developers of Hot Dog Down A Hallway, Metaversal Studios, submitted an update to Apple and were given a swift kick to their wiener (see what we did there). The update was technical in nature … user gameplay experience, backend stuff, etc. … but their nut shot was due to Explicit Content. Huh? – we dunno … there were no updates to the content of Hot Dog Down A Hallway … so we can only assume the Explicit Content are the  adult innuendos contained within the game and  the title itself … all originally approved by Apple. Oh well … sucks for you Metaversal!

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Huh? – we still dunno … we are still totally confused. Game is approved … game is rejected due to Explicit Content found in the original approved version … rejected game still being sold in the App Store. Huh? – we dunno … maybe since Trent Reznor has better luck, he can figure this out and put in a good word to Apple for “Hallway Hot Dog”. Go Trent!

Oh and by the way … we changed our minds too. This site will now enable you to Shave Your Yeti. Uh hold on … we changed our minds again … back to KRAPPS. Oh well … sucks for you!

PS – and of course, we’ll have a complete review of the Hot Dog Down A Hallway app KRAPPS-style within the next several days … wait for it. But don’t wait to buy the app as it might very well get banned – after all, it’s been rejected for Explicit Content. Huh?

May 19, 2009 | Filed Under Games, News | 7 Comments 

Squishy Guts And Blood – Gross!

(written by guest author Tim Giron. follow Tim on Twitter @timgiron)

Meanwhile, back at the watercooler, we join in the conversation between Rad, an iPhone BloodLust_LogoGIF developer and his buddy Gyp:

Rad: Dude, I’ve got a great name for my iPhone game.  Get this, it’s gonna be called Blood Lust!

Gyp: Ooh yes, I love vampire games and they are all the rage right now.  I can’t wait to sink my teeth into it, playing the undead master unleashing his legion of minions to slake their unquenchable thirst on the life force of the living.  What, why are you shaking your head?

Rad: It’s not vampires.  It’s…

Gyp: Ooh yes, a frenzy of mixed martial arts and a cast of fearsome characters, each with their own defining finishing move, pummeling their opponent into a bloody husk!  Eh, you’re shaking your head again.

Rad: Nope, not a fighting game.  You play a covert ops trooper, air-dropped into a remote jungle to investigate a crashed UFO, and you’re attacked by…

Gyp: Ooh yes, an alien infestation and I am mankind’s only hope, equipped with a dazzling array of weapons and a super-soldier serum giving me the strength of ten men and the reflexes of a jaguar!

Rad: Close, actually you’re attacked by mosquitoes.

Gyp: The aliens are giant mosquitoes?

Rad: Nope, the UFO doesn’t even figure into the gameplay.  They’re just regular mosquitoes which you have to squish when they land on you.  Eventually, your health deteriorates Mosquito_SmashGIF unexplainably and the game ends.

Gyp: Well, you’re right about one thing.

Rad: What’s that?

Gyp: You’ve got a great name for your iPhone game.

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EDITOR’S NOTE: Ewww – squishy and bloody – we get the heebie jeebies (does anyone even say that anymore) just playing this game. LOL. Blood Lust developer’s, Rad Lab, informed us that an update was just released which includes a very cool Global Leaderboard and faster mosquitoes. Krapp!  Those suckers are hard enough to squish, now they’re faster? Anyways, if blood and squishy guts is your thing, Blood Lust is available for 99 cents in the App Store. Or just follow @radlabgames on Twitter … even Facebook.

May 18, 2009 | Filed Under Games, Guest Authors | 11 Comments 

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