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Images to art and a galaxy in turmoil: iPhone apps of the week
This week's apps include a unique image manipulation app that turns pictures into art and a vast galaxy exploration game where you pilot a ship and defend the human race.
(Credit:
CNET)
Business Insider uncovered some big news this week regarding an upcoming secret Apple conference designed for iOS app developers. Apparently, the invite-only event will focus on improving the quality of apps at the iTunes App Store, which can only be good news for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch users. To be frank, I have no complaints so far, but any push for even better apps to choose from is great news in my book.
According to the article, this push for better apps is a reaction to the growing success of Google's Android platform that is becoming more attractive to developers because of an easier app approval process and continued growth with Android on several new smartphones.
Whatever the reason, a little competition can only mean good things for the iTunes App Store, and I look forward to the next generation of iOS apps.
This week's apps include a unique image manipulation app that turns pictures into art and a vast galaxy exploration game where you pilot a ship and defend the human race.
Turn a regular picture into a piece of art in only a few minutes.
(Credit: Screenshot by Jason Parker/CNET)Mobile Monet (99 cents) lets you make great-looking hand-drawn and artistic representations of your images. Though there are many photo apps in the iTunes App Store that let you distort and add effects to images, with Mobile Monet you can create truly unique projects using a two-step system. You start with either a photo from your library or you can snap a fresh picture using your iPhone camera. From there, Mobile Monet makes a black-and-white line drawing of your image. Touch the screen to use a spray-can-like tool to add colors back in to your photograph with paintlike effects. You have a number of variables you can adjust, like line width, flow speed, and other settings you can experiment with to see which type you want to use for your project.
Though it sounds like a simple program, Mobile Monet produces amazing results without much work. As you experiment with the app, try only coloring certain parts of the image to bring out highlights for a really nice effect on portraits, for example. But even when you color an image in completely, the paintlike effects give your once real image a good-looking artistic feel. Overall, if you like to experiment with photo effects, Mobile Monet's unique and simple system for creating artistic projects will make a great addition to your iPhone or iPod Touch.
Travel to more than 100 different space stations as you upgrade your ship and bring peace to the galaxy.
(Credit: Screenshot by Jason Parker/CNET)Galaxy on Fire 2 ($6.99) is a fully 3D space trader game with sleek graphics, fun missions, and a engrossing storyline--as long as you can stomach the less-than stellar voice acting. Cut scenes early in the game explain your situation: a malfunction in your hyper drive has somehow managed to warp your ship across the galaxy and 30 years into the future. With only your basic ship and the help of friendly people at various space stations you visit, you'll slowly learn the ins and outs of equipping your ship, buying and selling commodities for cash, mining for minerals, and how to acquire side quests in space station lounges. This latest installment comes with a lot more polish than the original Galaxy on Fire, sporting smooth, beautiful graphics on the iPhone 4 Retina Display. There is an enormous amount of content to explore as you upgrade your ship and go on missions throughout the galaxy visiting more than 100 different space stations.
Galaxy on Fire 2 has several cut scenes as you play, but there's plenty of shoot-'em-up action as well. You get a couple of control options for steering your ship, but I found the accelerometer-based controls to be much more responsive than the onscreen joypad. I also like how the game forces you to experiment with equipment; certain situations require you to use an EMP (electromagnetic pulse) missile, for example, which means you must learn how to unequip other ship parts, buy EMP missiles from a space station hanger, then equip your EMP missiles as a secondary weapon. Similarly, you'll quickly learn that you can't loot an enemy ship without first equipping a tractor beam, forcing you to go through the process for earning the money, then buying and equipping that. These experiences make it easy to understand the interface because the game cleverly requires you to learn the process for upgrades. Even with the smart way the game teaches you how to play, my only complaint is the inability to look at a map while in flight, but I quickly learned to check the map before leaving a space station.
Overall, Galaxy on Fire 2 is an excellent space exploration and trading game that looks and feels like a console or desktop-level game. If you have the time for an involved game on your iPhone or iPod Touch, Galaxy on Fire 2 has plenty of content, shockingly good visuals and audio, and support for both OpenFeint and Apple's Game Center to keep you coming back for more.
What's your favorite iPhone app? Are you amazed at how easy it is to create artistic shots using Mobile Monet? What do you think of Galaxy on Fire 2? Let me know in the comments!
