Ninja Runner - 4 Stars

What is it?

Ninja Runner is a game with the aim to get your Ninja to travel as far as possible across roof tops without falling off. Your score is measured in the form of how many metres you cover during the run. 

The game is very simple to operate you simply tap the screen when you want your Ninja to jump. The further you get with the Ninja travel, the quicker the game gets. The roof tops vary in size and the smaller ones together can be tricky to get across.

Throughout the game Double Jump tokens are dropped (in the form of Ninja stars) from the top of the screen. When you collect one you can use it as much as you like until its time runs out then you need to retrieve another for the ability.  The Double Jumps are really needed for the smaller roof tops all positioned together when you get past about 500 meters as the screen gets faster and faster. 

This game was a hit at home as we had mini competitions. The game doesn't take long unless you are pro. When I first started to play the game it took my eyes a while to adjust as the background and the speed of the Ninja made me go a bit cross eyed, but the more you play the less you notice it. 

The game is a little bland in colours and the back ground never changes. It may benefit from some brighter colours  just to make it look a but more interesting, but it wouldn't stop me playing. 

I was shocked that there are no sounds on the game, which is good for me as I always turn this off but I imagine this may put some players off. 

The game is on the Game Centre, which I like, and I have managed to get to 5th place with 950 meters, but I am behind my partner who is 2nd with 1120 meters! 

In summary, I like this game and, like Fist of Fury, I keep finding myself having quick plays to try and improve my score!

Now for some ratings.....

Ease of use - 4

This game has one control, tap to jump, and instructions are provided. This is a really easy game to play once you stop feeling dizzy from the screen movements.

Price - 5

This is a free game with no in app purchases. 

Adverts - 4
The only adverts in the game are in the banner at the bottom of the screen, and they really do not interrupt game play at all, so pretty good.

Overall Rating - 4

I like this game, its easy to learn and simple to play. The game would benefit from a few more injections of colour and maybe some sound, but it wouldn't stop me playing it!

Keep, jury is out or delete - Keep

Keep, I like this game for an easy but addictive break from work!

Where to find it:

Apple: https://appsto.re/gb/1P0l3.i

The Gopher Chase - 4.5 Stars

What is it?

The Gopher is a fast paced flappy bird-esque game where you get points for moving a Gopher through a never ending course. As you go forward, left or right, you get a point each move, whilst avoiding rocks and running out of time, as you attempt to go the furthest distance. This is a brightly coloured game which is easy to learn but difficult to master. 

When you first open up the game you are greeted by a lovely bright menu with a cute Gopher dancing in the middle of the screen and flappy bird-style fonts. From this screen you can 'Rate' the app, tap 'Top' to see the leaderboard or press 'Play' where you choose from a range of game modes.

From the 'Play' button you are taken to an option screen where you can choose from eight options, some that are time-driven and others that are points-driven. I started on Classic mode as that seemed the Normal, or Standard, mode! 

The game screen is split into two parts. The bottom of the screen is taken up with a left, right and up arrow with the main body being the game. The game is green in background with a scattering of rocks. The aim of the aim is to go as far as you can without hitting a rock. I kept dying without hitting a rock so was getting a little annoyed...then I noticed the timer bar at the very top of the game.  Basically you have to keep going as quickly as possible and it keeps your timer charged up, if you delay for even a second the timer runs out.

One thing that did bug me about the games is that once you have selected a mode you can't get back to the main menu to change to another. To overcome this I had to force close and re-enter the app.  This was a little annoying but I am sure not too complex to fix. I will say that after a few plays of this, I found that if you hit the pause button, you can return to the main menu, but i would have thought this would be available from the 'Game Over' screen.

As I (I should say we as my partner loves this game!) was reviewing the app I wanted to look at all the game modes, and although it was frustrating to force close the app, it was worth it. So here they are:

10 seconds / 30 seconds mode - these are speed modes where you have to gain as many points as possible within the selected time.

Marathon mode - score as many points as you can within 100 seconds. If you die before the 100 seconds is up then it is 'Game Over' but its a great opportunity to test your tapping speed and agility to move around the screen. 

Impossible mode - as you tap the buttons to negotiate the course, they randomly change directions, i.e. the up button becomes the left button, so you have to take it slower to get a lot of points here. It's a good twist to the game as you have to pay attention and be very quick...I am rubbish at this mode!

Stop and Go - is a mode that's a little like musical statues! Basically you play as normal but the screen will flash up STOP and you've got to resist hitting any buttons or you die. When the screen flashes GO you can resume play. Obviously if you hit a rock you still die (which I did often!). 

Relay mode - is split into two stages 'Easy' and 'Hard'. In the Easy version you are given 8 seconds to get a score of at least 40. If you do, then you are given another 8 seconds, and so on until you do not hit 40 within the 8 seconds. In the Hard version you need to get 50 to get another 8 seconds, and this really is difficult to do unless you have an insane tapping action. You can still die in either mode if you hit a rock.

I did notice that the GameCenter only records the Classic and Impossible mode score and a collective total, which is a shame as we have had great fun trying to beat each other on the various modes. 

I enjoyed this game, its strongly addictive but highly frustrating!

Now for some ratings.....

Ease of use - 3.5 

This game is simple to use, once you figure it out. The game would really benefit from providing some instructions or a tutorial for the first time user. There are no descriptions for any of the modes within the game itself, but I did find them on the App Store, which I rarely read. 


Price - 5

This is a free app and I didn't notice any in app purchases. 

Adverts - 3
There are ads in this game. They tend to appear every third game play but are easily closed.  The please rate me window also appears as frequently and doesn't have the option to stop asking. 

Overall Rating - 4

There are a couple of things that have stopped me nudging this to a five, but I do really like this game! The inability to change the mode of play from the game over menu is frustrating and it did take us two days to find the option from the pause menu. The other frustration is the lack of in app instructions or tutorials.  Please don't let these minor items stop you from downloading this app as it is highly addictive and well made. This is a definite hit in my household!

Keep, jury is out or delete - Keep

No doubt about it this is a keeper! We have had great fun with the Gopher and even if you are watching people play it is very amusing, due to the frustrating screams when the timer catches you. 249 is the highest we have achieved in Classic mode, and 515 in Marathon mode... dare you to beat it!

Where to find it:

Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/the-gopher/id947291741?mt=8

Dash Up - 5 Stars

What is it?

I wasn't sure what this was but I stumbled upon it when I searched for 'Christmas Apps' on the App Store and scrolled like a lunatic to find the less popular or featured not offering.  Dash Up  can be compared to the popular follow up to Flappy Birds, Swing Copters. The aim of the game is to tap the screen, navigating a bauble to the top whilst avoiding obstacles. If you hit an obstacle you break the bauble with a shattering smash.

I have been thinking of the best way to describe what the obstacles are and I might be having a slow day but basically they are white blocks that close together like elevator doors. If you hit them whilst closed or get the bauble suck between them then game over. 

I haven't fully mastered this game yet, with my pitiful score of six (which was smashed by someone getting 25 as I typed this review), but I like this one. I found Swing Copters infuriating and I couldn't get past one, much to the delight of who I was playing against! Dash Up on the other hand isn't so brutal and is much easier to play, but do not be fooled into thinking it isn't frustrating! 

What I liked about this Christmas app is that it is festive. When you start there is a little festive jingle that plays that soon builds up into Jingle bells. The app uses bold festive full screen colours with crisp white snow falling and Christmas Trees. The bauble is red and decorated and I really liked the whole package, though I appreciate this may not be to everyones liking. Another nice touch to the game is that when you get past the white obstacles you hear a festive jingly ping.

I will be honest I am not a fan of the flappy phenomena that took the world by storm this year but I am liking this. I think the crisp, although basic graphics, and the absence of the abnormal bird with huge lips instead of a beak has done it. I am not adverse to pixilated games but it is nice to have a game that has a similar format and is modern.

From the main menu there is a 'Mode' option. There are four modes, each of different colour and the one I have been playing is 'Christmas'. I like that the app can still be played after the festive time without the Christmas features.  In the other mode you play with a white ball, and because I am in a festive mode i am going to refer to it as a snowball, but of course the music changes!

The game is on the GameCentre so you can complete ;) You can also remove Ads, if you pay but to be honest there are only banner ads at the bottom which I hardly noticed. 

I think there will be a contest in my home this week with this app which I will without doubt lose at but I will try!  

Now for some ratings.....

Ease of use - 5

Can you tap? If yes then you can play. 


Price - 5

This is free, you can upgrade to get rid of the ads, but I wouldn't bother as they are not intrusive.

Adverts - 4
There are ads, but only banner ads at the bottom and they do not interfere with game play, after a while I forgot that they were there. You can upgrade the app to remove the ads, but unless they do an update to add more I wouldn't bother. 

Overall Rating - 5

It could be my festive mood or the watching of frustration on peoples faces playing this app but I really like it!! It is not often that I like this type of game, so I am very impressed!

Keep, jury is out or delete - Keep

Keep, no doubt about it!

Where to find it:

Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/dash-up!/id910959738?mt=8 

Paint it Back - 3 stars

What is it?

This is a puzzle game, where you re-paint some pictures that have been erased.  The game is based on a grid formation whereby you need to paint a number of squares as indicated around the edges.

As you progress through the levels the grids get bigger and the answers more challenging. You paint the squares onto the picture with your finger and these appear in black until you have the right answer then the colours appear. The pictures are very pixilated but its in keeping with the picture you have re-painted.

There are three rooms, one of which is a training stage.  The training is helpful but can be a little long winded as once you have grasped the concept it becomes self explanatory but I can understand why they have done this as the game does become a little tricky, for younger players. 

I completed the game in just over an hour as I got a little addicted to see how long it would take for me to lose a level. I completed this game first time so you could argue it should be a little more challenging.  As you get to the last levels the board can be played in normal or pro mode. Pro mode is tricky to paint in the numbers as you zoom in then paint, but I found this temperamental so gave up and went back to the normal level.

I liked this app, but it could do with a few more free levels.

Now for some ratings.....

Ease of use - 3 

This is quite easy to use in the normal version, but sometimes it can be a little sensitive when you paint the squares. The pro version is a little fiddly and I ended up reverting to the normal for ease of use, which was a shame as I liked the challenge of the difficult level.


Price - 4

This is a free app, but with limited levels. You can upgrade but I didn't review this functionality of the app. 

Adverts - 5

There were no adverts in this version of the app, excellent.

Keep, jury is out or delete - Jury is out

I liked this app, but I have completed the free levels and there is no indication that more free ones will be available therefore I am not sure what the incentive is for me to keep it. 

Where to find it:

Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/paint-it-back/id675183907?mt=8

Kids Carols - 4 Stars

What is it?

An app for Christmas released on the 28 November 2014 early enough to get you in the festive mood! This app gives Christmas songs in karaoke style for you to play and sing along to. 

When entering the app it is immediately festive with cartoon drawings of Santa and Rudolf with some animated snow fall thrown in for good measure.  The app does have in app purchases but it is clearly advertised in the App Store and on the app itself. 

When you select a song a festive background is displayed and the song begins. The background changes throughout the song and there are different pictures for each carol. The lyrics to the song are displayed in true karaoke style and the words light up when they should be sung! A good feature of this app is you can control the volume of the choir which fades them out so you can sing solo!

Another nice touch is when you scroll through the song list gold fairy dust appears until remove your finger from the screen. This feature is also available within the songs!

The free songs available are: The Christmas Song, Winter Wonderland and Jingle Bells. - so good classics! There are 10 other songs that can be purchased, either at £0.69 per song or £4.99 for the full collection.

What I did like about this app is that if you click on a for sale item it asks a maths question that a child wouldn't easily know the answer to. If the answer is wrong or the window is shut you are returned back to the song menu without a purchase! This is good for the kids that know your password!

Now for some ratings.....

Ease of use - 5 

This app is really easy to use and navigate around. For the fun service provided it was difficult to fault.
Price - 3

The app is free but does have in app purchases. The cost of the songs seems reasonable when you compare them to songs on iTunes and they come with the karaoke lyrics.  The three songs that come with the app are a good selection and Jingle Bells is one of my favourites. 

Adverts - 5 

There were no adverts in this app which I really liked!

Keep, jury is out or delete - Keep

I liked this app, its a bit of festive fun that isn't difficult to use, has a good free selection of songs and isn't riddled with Ads!

Where to find it:

Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/kids-carols-christmas-song/id740517080 

Android:  Not available.

Minion Goggles - 4 Stars

What is it?

This is a camera app that allows you to take pictures of peoples faces and in the process add a pair of Minion goggles. There are four pairs of goggles to choose from including a evil purple pair! 

When you take a picture the app automatically recognises eyes and adds the chosen pair of goggles. This can sometimes be hit or miss and the goggles can be misplaced on the face.

Both cameras of the phone can be used but i did notice a drop in picture quality using the front camera function. When you take the picture you have the option to save, load to Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. When you do this you are not forced to like a page but the app name is included with the picture, but it isn't invasive. 

There is a banana option in the top left hand corner of the screen. There is a nice note from the developer about the app, free minion wall papers and a selection of three ringtones. The ring tones, if you like bananas and Minions are great! There is an option to send the ringtone via email to friends and to yourself to upload it through iTunes from a PC!

If you don't like Despicable Me then this will not be the app for you. If you do then its a quirky bit of fun with free ringtones and wallpapers.

Now for some ratings.....

Ease of use - 4 

This is a pretty easy app to use as it has limited functionality. The ringtone and wallpaper options have instructions and the rest is self-explanatory. This app could be used by all ages.
Price - 5

This was free and there were no in app purchases observed.

Adverts - 5

I didn't see any adverts in this app!

Keep, jury is out or delete - Keep

This is a bit of fun and while Minions are popular I will keep it on my phone. This is a novelty photo app so I will not be accessing it every day but its good to take a few cheeky pics!

Where to find it:

Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/app/id683927578

Android:  Not available.