This week we look at Where To, an essential companion to Maps and Anaconda, the smoothest, simplest Snake game on the App Store.
Where To?
Reviewed by Rémy
Where To was part of the initial 500 apps on the App Store in July last year, so App Store*connoisseurs may have already heard of the app. That said, I thought it was still relevant for reviewing one year later because of the hype surrounding the deluge of full-GPS-app development with 3.0's new APIs. A simple yet highly useful app, Where To is basically a companion app to the built-in (Google) Maps app. It's the simple GPS-style points-of-interest list developed the way it should be.
Now that iPhone OS 3.0 is available, it's easy to say that some of the newer GPS apps already include this functionality, but those are all (as expected) expensive, large, 1GB+ apps for your iPhone. Of course, they do provide an "all-in-one" solution for your GPS needs, but users who don't use the full suite of features that come with these apps will find that Where To is a relatively cheap and beautiful one-trick app for finding the nearest restaurant, gas station, Apple Store or even your local zoo or aquarium.
What I really like about Where To is it's ease-of-use. The application's "claim to fame" is it's virtual click-wheel style category list, where users can find points-of-interest sub-categories based upon a broad range of starting points. The app also features a quick access Favorites list, and you can see your Recents too. Best of all, Where To works all around the world, since it takes you to Maps (using Google) after you make your selection.
When you choose a sub-category, you can choose to search near your current location, near a friend's house or another location of your choice - although the address input in the app can be improved for better accuracy. Other improvements that should be made are the "3.0 updates" that I've mentioned before. The new APIs allow Google Maps to be fully integrated into the app without leaving it first. Aside from a few small fixes here and there, Where To is an app that the developers have obviously put a large amount of effort into producing, and the stunning user interface is striking evidence of this.
Version reviewed: 1.7.3
Price: $3.99
Developer: FutureTap
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Anaconda
Reviewed by Rémy
Anaconda, one of the many Snake remakes on the App Store, is great because of it's total simplicity. While it isn't just a port of the existing game, Anaconda doesn't try to make it over-complicated with silly and clunky graphics - it keeps the same "old school" principles of Snake while optimizing and re-touching it for the iPhone, all without ruining the game. I've tried a few different (paid and free) Snake-style apps on the App Store, and I must say I find Anaconda to be the best that I've seen so far.
Gameplay is logical - players can either tap or swipe in the direction they'd like the snake to move in. There are three types of "apples" the snake can eat: red apples are worth 10 points and make the snake larger, green apples are worth 20 points, are timed and increase the speed of the snake, and yellow apples worth 15 points make the snake move in the opposite direction - that's all there is to it. Anaconda also comes with a few different backgrounds to play with - I enjoy playing it with the (slightly boring but high-visibility) white snake on black background, but it's up to you which background you choose. That's obviously a great opportunity for the developer to include a better background picker so you can choose your favorite photo as a background, but when it comes down to it, the game really is all about simplicity.
The game comes with Facebook Connect for iPhone, so users can publish scores to their Facebook profile with a one-time login, and you can email your score to friends too. There's local and world high scores (which are becoming increasingly competitive!) and sound-effects for the ultimate Anaconda experience. It's a fast-loading, non-battery draining, simple and fun game - just like good old classic Snake. Like the iPhone reinvented the mobile phone, Anaconda reinvents the mobile Snake.
Version reviewed: 2.7
Price: $1.19
Developer: SilverMana Software
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iPhone App Reviews - Where To, Anaconda