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DARKLINGS

So when the boss handed me this game and told me to play it and review it, I had no idea I’d like it as much as I did! I don’t normally download games unless someone recommends it to me, then I go through this period of obsession over the game – which slowly results in me having to go to AA (app-aholics anonymous). Darklings is a really basic and creative game, I love its dark, black forest theme and cute little characters. When I first opened it up I didn’t know what to expect and when the music came on I thought “oh wow sounds like harry potter!” and I have to admit it does have that harry potter dementors/death eaters kind of theme to it which just makes you feel nostalgic! 

Once I got over the music I clicked play, now I have to say that I wish they’d explained properly what you’re supposed to do at the beginning of the game. I played it about 5 times before I figured out what the aim of the game was! Now I’ve started playing I feel a bit silly for being so confused because it is really simple! 

The main characters in the game are called “LUMS” which I’m guessing is short for luminous, you can unlock more characters as time goes on but the first one is a cute little bright white creature in the middle of this dark forest. Straight away these creepy looking creatures start to walk towards you, each creature has a shape above their head which you have to recreate to “possess” them. Possessing them essentially kills them and gives you stars which you have to drag to gain more points, the more stars you collect will allow you to revive yourself if you get killed or buy things from the “DarkStore.”

I hate games with controls, that’s one thing that really annoys me about some games where you have to click buttons to move and jump, with darklings you don’t have to do anything except draw shapes. It does get harder, more creatures start to appear as the levels go on and the harder the shapes start to get, the bad thing is when you possess a creature you take their place which moves you closer to other creatures so you instantly have to make a shape again to kill the one next to it. My brain can’t process all the shapes fast enough and I panic, which ends up with me dying! Sometimes the shapes are so hard to create and my interpretations of them are awful, so I find it hard to get past level 3! 

I say simple because Vine’s new update has made it even more easier to create videos! There are new buttons on the record screen like the grid button to help frame the shot and a focus button so you can easily pinpoint objects you’re filming and lock the focus on them. However you can only use the focus on the front facing camera, so all you video “selfie” lovers will have to do without manual focus!  My favourite feature is the “save the clip” button which lets you store the video to come back to later on! For all you people that like to make stop motion videos, you can now select the ghost button which essentially leaves a “ghost” of your last frame so you can line up the next shot from the old one.

You also have boss levels once you get past a couple of levels and that requires you to quickly draw shapes and hit the boss when you possess the creatures he’s throwing at you. The game has a lot of promise and it will keep you captivated for a while, I do find myself going back to it occasionally while I’m bored because although it requires some concentration, it is an easy-ish game to play. However it gets fairly repetitive, I got a bit bored once I kept dying and the same shaped creatures kept appearing, but I suppose the more you play the more creatures you’ll unlock. You can also practice your shapes on the home page by having a look in “souls” which shows you what creatures you have unlocked and what shapes they have – practice makes perfect!

So in conclusion I think I'm going to give this 3 Taps!

3 because although it is a visually stunning and really easy to use game, for someone like me who has the same attention span as a 5 year old and really doesn't want to have to use their brain that much this game is a bit too much. The game doesn't hold my attention at all and it doesn't have anything that makes me want to come back play again and again. Check it out on the app store, you might like it but it just wasn't for me! It gets a little boring with no actual progression and some of the shapes are far too complicated – but hey I suppose that’s the challenge of the game? Let us know if you unlocked any cool new characters because I never got that far before I gave up! 

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VINE

See and share life’s greatest moments in motion – More like spend hours of your day laughing at your phone and gasping at ridiculous videos!

Since its debut on the app store in January 2013 vine has become a phenomenon in the world of social media, by April 2013 it had become the most downloaded app on the app store and has been at number one many times.

If you don’t know what vine is by now, then you’ve either just come out of a coma or come out from living under a rock. Where have you been for the past year? Do you realise how much you’re missing in your life?

Vine is a free app owned by twitter which lets users make videos for six seconds on a loop and can be shared to social network sites.

I love vine, it has to be one of the best and most used apps on my phone, whether I’m on a train or up at 5am with insomnia I always use vine to fill my boredom. Vine is basically a mixture of Instagram and twitter but a video version. When you first sign up you can either sign in with twitter or you can create a new account using an email address. Now the fun begins!

So by now you have your account set up you might as well quit your job, get a divorce or drop out of university and college because vine will seriously take over your life – it did mine! Vine recently updated the app and has made it much more user friendly so don’t worry if you don’t know what you’re doing it’s pretty easy. With the recent update came brand new settings, I’m loving the fact that you can now make your profile private – “ain’t nobody got time” for people seeing you’re private things! You can now also select from a range of different colours which makes your profile feel a lot more personal now! 

The thing I love the most with the new update has got to be the messaging option, you can now send video messages to your friends and to vine users! It’s cool because unlike twitter you never really get to emote how you feel when about your favourite celebrity (cue crying 15 year old girls over Justin Bieber) and with a lot of celebrities jumping on the vine hype, you can now send them a video message telling them how much you love them. Think about it. They can actually see you. Well you and 5 million other followers! Not just that, you can video message your friends or send them funny videos a lot easier now. It’s really easy to share with Facebook and twitter as well so any video you make or like it’s now easy to upload to twitter and Facebook with a couple of taps.

So let’s say you want to record a video click the record button and hold the screen to record, if you want to pause – let go of the screen. Simple.

I say simple because Vine’s new update has made it even more easier to create videos! There are new buttons on the record screen like the grid button to help frame the shot and a focus button so you can easily pinpoint objects you’re filming and lock the focus on them. However you can only use the focus on the front facing camera, so all you video “selfie” lovers will have to do without manual focus!  My favourite feature is the “save the clip” button which lets you store the video to come back to later on! For all you people that like to make stop motion videos, you can now select the ghost button which essentially leaves a “ghost” of your last frame so you can line up the next shot from the old one.

However, if you’re like me and severely camera shy *Hah! Get it?* you can just click the explore button from the options and search from hundreds and thousands of videos!

Confused on what to watch - You’re in luck! The new update has added the option of selecting any topic you like from comedy, art and experimental, cats, dogs, family, beauty and fashion, food, health and fitness, nature, music, news and politics, special effects, sports, urban and weird. I usually find comedy to be the best sort of entertainment with the “Vine Celebrities” Britney Furlan and her sketches, Nash Greir and his boyish charm and pranks, Kingbach with his ghetto humour or Jerrome Jarre with his “selfies with strangers” pranks. However if you’re a cat lover (no I’m not judging you) or love special effects then click those options!

If like me you’re just bored and want something to watch you have are “popular now” and “on the rise” which are usually your best source if you want a random selection of videos that are popular or are trending. However if you’re looking for a specific type of video you have the search bar to type in certain hashtags like “selfie” or “prank” to get you what you want.

One of the let downs with Vine is that you can’t add your own videos like you can with Instagram, so if you didn’t use vine and want to share a random moment you caught by accident on your camera, you can’t, unless you record it through the vine app you can’t upload it. I’d like to see an update where that feature is added in because with vine becoming so big it stupid that feature isn’t included? Perhaps you can - and I just haven’t figured it out yet? If anyone reading this knows how to do that, write a comment below or on our Twitter/Facebook pages and let us know!

Another thing that I find a little frustrating is “re-vines” – like twitter and its retweets and with the rise of vine celebrities all the people you love to watch have now started to “re-vine” either adverts or other “viners” that they’re trying to promote. It’s not too bad on twitter because you can scroll easily past a status but with videos they take up the whole screen and then my home page is full of videos of things I have no interest in? Ideally I would like it if there was an option to watch all the people you follow by uploaded videos only not “re-vines” so that way all the things you don’t want to see don’t come up and you could watch just the videos made by them– however that’s just wishful thinking and I’m just being fussy!

Overall I’d say it’s the holy grail of video sharing – but then, perhaps that’s just me! I give it 4 Taps! I love the app but it missed out on 5 taps because of its inability to allow camera videos to be uploaded and with annoying “revine” button – I might regret that if things are changed when it updates again but for now I stand by 4!

Go check it out on the app store! Get back to us and let us know what you like about the new update and if you’re new to vine let us know how you’re finding it!

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MONUMENT VALLEY

Okay, here goes. I first logged into the App Store 6 years ago this year, during this time I have downloaded hundreds upon hundreds of games. Games that would keep me busy for days, some for weeks, and some for months. Most of them have been freemium, with the big releases getting my hard earned cash. As I try to recall what these paid for games were – my mind goes blank, besides maybe GTA 3 I can’t remember any of the games that I have paid for. That is until now – a few days ago I paid for the best game that I have ever played on an iOS device.

  The mechanics, the graphics, the animation, everything to the way the buttons are presented is pure beauty. The game itself has a deeply rich narrative that pulls you into this dark universe, I am left wondering, is Ida, the main character, the protagonist or antagonist? Why do I not have a totem pole as my best friend? Why am I suddenly afraid of crows? Don’t just take my word about this game, experience it for yourself and be pulled into a story that will captivate you and leave you smiling from ear to ear.

I give Monument Valley 5 TAPS!

What can I say about this game, I normally don’t download games but when I saw this on the app store I was so desperate to have it. Firstly I LOVE the game, I think it is visually stunning! I was so impressed with it; I'm extremely fussy when it comes to games. I play them for about an hour and then get bored, but this game I couldn't stop playing! I genuinely can’t put into words how beautiful I found this game. The way in which the things moved around in the level had me going “OH MY GOD! DID YOU SEE THAT! OH MY GOD!” to myself! Each level brings its own beauty and I love the simplicity of the game! That’s what makes this game so perfect, no bonuses, no paid extra’s, no stupid coins or tricks I mean the princess doesn't even have a face!

My fear is the more popularity this game gets the more it move away from the simple game that it is by adding things like adverts, tips, tricks, buy skip levels, buy points etc. But nevertheless it’s so clever and has some very dark themes – like the blue witch thing – now that’s creepy! I didn't really understand the story, it had to be explained to me 9 times but I didn't care much for that, I just loved the levels and how they all move around and go from being one way to being another way! (That will make sense when you play it).

  One criticism I do have of the game was how incredibly short it was? It took me a lot longer than it will most of you, but then again – everything takes me a little longer. It ends after 10 levels and to be honest I was gutted! I hope “US TWO” the makers of the game stick to the simple game that it is and don’t over complicate it if they make a second part! I hope they make more levels and don’t make it too hard because I start to give up when games get hard!

I’m going to give this game 4 taps just because of how stunning it is, it has missed out on 5 due to it being too short but apart from that, although it’s a little steep at £2.50 I definitely think it’s well worth a £2.50 spend! Check it out on the app store! You really will be amazed!

I'll keep my review short and snappy as the two fan girls above me have pretty much said it all. What more can you ask for in a game though? you've got great use of the swipe feature throughout the levels, beautiful graphics and a really cute story to go along with it too.

  I do agree that it may have been a little short but I think that is part of it's USP. The fact you only get ten levels to work your way through the story keeps you interested and on your phone working hard to finish it. I know I wasn't really doing it for the game side of it as oppose to finding out what happened to the girl. I really do love everything about it though, I can't find a way to fault it. Hopefully the designer will have more games like this one up their sleeves with even more beautiful stories and graphics.

I'm giving Monument Valley the big one, 5 taps from me!

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DISCOZOO

Ever dreamed of having a zoo in which you could have 16 hippo’s, 8 rabbits, 12 lions and 5 griffins, just for good measure?

Well your dreams are about to become reality.

NimbleBit makers of, “Tiny Tower” (Free) and “Nimble Quest” (Free) many other stellar IOS originals, have teamed up with MilkBag games to create “Disco Zoo” in which you can realise your dreams of owning a zoo with dozens of animals to entertain your tiny audience. (this pun will be relevant to fans of Tiny Tower)

  The game has a simple mechanic in the fact that all that needs to be done to capture more animals for the zoo is to play a quick match 3 style mini game. This is initiated by visiting your zoo’s Heliport and using the modes of transportation you have unlocked to take you to where the animals lay waiting.

Whether it is a hot air balloon ride to a farm or a helicopter ride to the Savannah, there are in total 7 areas to unlock each holding a collection of different animals. 

The more animals you find for your zoo, the more areas you can visit to unlock even more animals.

and within each area is a “legendary” animal to find which make it even more exciting when you come across one in the field and carefully remove tiles to locate the beast, making it an incredibly satisfying when you see your legendary animal mooching about in its pen back at the zoo. 

The game is free, but don't be quick to label it “Freemium” or class it in with may other of the money snatching titles that crowd the App store.

Much like NimbleBit’s other titles, the player is never pushed or forced into turning on the money hose and wasting money on pointless timers, or those special golden coins that we need to unlock

the next area, with DiscoZoo, I never felt the need to spend money, I can play the game and unlock all the content without spending anything, and that is what is perhaps best with NimbleBit’s games is that if you can choose to support the developer with money or not, either way NimbleBit have created a full game for free with high amounts of polish and charm.

The only problem I have with DiscoZoo is that, with all that I have talked about, that is the length of its depth, you match tiles to find animals to bring back to your zoo, to unlock more areas, with more

animals, and this cycle continues until you have unlocked all areas and then there is nothing more but to look at your animals, swiping through the different habitats waking them up so they earn more coins for you. (which by the way, the only reason to spend coins is to again go to the areas in which you capture animals.)

It is, in a way, an extremely shallow game with not a lot to offer, but I cant shake the feeling that more is to come, and I can see a high amount of potential. It isn't hard to imagine more areas with more animals being added later down the line, or even a store with items to customise your zoo.

If your looking for a simple, free game that contains tons of cute charm and personality, with easy mechanics, not to mention the joy of seeing a collection of rabbits, crocodiles or even unicorns, bounce and fly around their tiny homes, then DiscoZoo comes highly recommended, its a good distraction.

Even if that distraction starts to way thin after a short while. 

3 (Based purely on the content at launch with a definite chance of an increased score if more is added later in any future updates)!

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QUIZUP

If you ever were a part of the draw something hype that came and went you’ll enjoy this game. To everyone who wasn’t and is thinking draw what? Pay attention. Quiz up is a social game which essentially means you need other people connected to the game in order to play it. Don’t worry if you’ve tried to force your friends to download it but they still won’t, because although it’s fun with them you don’t really need them. Quiz up lets you connect to anyone across the world randomly and challenge them to quizzes.

Okay so if you’re like me, awful at general knowledge or just don’t really know much about the world, you’ll love that it lets you pick whatever topic you want! Pick from movies to science or sports to literature, it really is just random quizzes and the best part is each section has its own topics.

So let’s say, like me you have a lot of spare time and watch a lot of TV, pick TV then you can choose from friends, glee, gossip girl, doctor who, house, breaking bad, desperate housewives or loads more! It even has educational topics like science, maths, arts or business so perhaps it might teach you something or just make you look really smart! Once you’ve selected a topic, either challenge a friend or randomly select someone from the other side of the world and begin! You can even talk to random people and make friends!

Now when I first downloaded this game, I played anything and anyone. Then I started realising that I need to play with a strategy, so I started picking topics like vampire diaries, or desperate housewives, which let’s face it, I was going to win. What started out as a time pass quickly became an obsession with trying to get wins, one loss and it felt like my life was over.

It kind of became a bit of an ego boost when I got questions right on science quizzes, I’d have the smug “It’s because I’m a science geek” look although that quickly turned into, “those questions were stupid” when I lost. The most fun I had was playing it on the bus with my friend sat next to me, very antisocial I know… but hey we are the social media generation! We’d both be sat there giggling away and trying to pick topics that we knew each other knew nothing about, he’d pick spelling which ahem, isn’t something I am proud of and I’d pick Bollywood, even though he won me on both.

After a million attempts and hundreds of quizzes I started getting bored, they have added more topics in but I found most of the topics I wanted quizzes on just weren’t there and my friends were getting annoyed at me doing the same “vampire diaries” quizzes! I’ve stopped playing it now because not a lot of people knew about it so it was boring challenging the same people over and over. Challenging strangers became a little tedious because you couldn’t really show off to someone you don’t know? However I still know all the people I introduced to it who play it and love it because it’s one of those games you can pick up at any time and play.

The only problem is Quiz up is useless when you have no coverage or access to the internet because you’re answering questions on your own and can’t really win until the other person replies, which could be when you get home or find some free Wi-Fi, but by then the moments gone!

I’d definitely recommend it to someone who does love to test their knowledge on topics and at the same time have some fun with friends, but I do question is longevity and whether someone will play as much as draw something. Even if you don’t really play many games on your phone you’ll enjoy this game because it isn’t that strenuous and you don’t really have to think too hard about it  (unless you’re me and it’s a math quiz).

The best part is if someone challenges you who you don’t like; winning them is just the best feeling in the world. Check it out on the app store; you might just learn something new. I know I did. 

Overall I'm giving QuizUp 3 out of 5 taps!

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GTA 3

It’s here.

The game that altered an industry and pushed it into new boundaries of narrative possibilities and gameplay mechanics. With a strong influence from popular culture and the state of society Grand Theft Auto 3 challenged numerous stereotypes outside of the video game industry and touched on real life issues. A satire for and of the modern age.

There have obviously been previous incarnations of the grand theft auto series and while they themselves are fundamental games, it was Grand Theft Auto 3 that started a new era for the series, and even the gaming industry.

Being the first 3D entry in the series, GTA3 had a lot of expectation and pressure riding upon its release, but when it was initially released on the PlayStation 2 back in October 2001 all that expectation was realised, much praise was had, and much controversy was sparked, but GTA 3 was cemented as a pillar for a new modern culture and its influence is still going strong, 10 years on. (Initially being released for its 10th anniversary on December 15th 2011)

So here we find ourselves, after years of this title being ported onto numerous platforms, Grand Theft Auto 3 is available on our IOS devices allowing a whole new generation to experience. Not only has it simply been ported, but it will be the best possible version of GTA 3 you have played too. With a better checkpoint system and enhanced visuals. GTA 3, while looking aged, will still blow your mind that you are playing it on the same device you use to call your mother on a Sunday evening. For those who don't know, GTA 3 follows the story of “Claude” and his descent into the criminal underworld, throughout his struggles Claude will come across the Mafia and the Yakuza crime gangs all in an effort to rise the ranks of liberty city’s most notorious.

The setting for this modern tale is Rockstar’s (The developer of the Grand Theft Auto series) own unique vision and recreation of the grandest city on earth, New York. Who Rockstar have creatively re named as “Liberty City”

You will be able to explore all 3 islands that make up this marvellous city, however not all are open to you from the beginning, the player is first needed to reach certain points in the story in order to unlock access to the all the islands. Liberty City is your oyster.

The player is free to create havoc in a vast number of ways the only limit is your own questionable sanity.

Do you obey the rules of the road playing model citizen? Do you partake in the many side activities such as ambulance driving or police chases. Do you collect cars for you garage. Do you explore the city seeing what sights and mysteries await? Or do you run riot within liberty city stopping for no one until you either get yourself arrested, or killed, using your vast arsenal of weapons to inflict damage upon the unsuspecting citizens of Liberty City.

GTA 3 bounces from strength to strength, whether that be the excellent narrative of the story, offering up a satirical look at society and pop culture, with many Easter eggs and references to movies, other games, and our own very lives. Or whether it is the sheer amount of things to do to occupy your stay in Liberty City.

Every single aspect of the game lends itself to the other. The only complaint I have is with this particular version of Grand Theft Auto, and that is with the virtual controls. While I believe RockStar have done their best and offered up possibly one of the best virtual control systems on the App Store, they are still difficult to master, and frustrating, especially during tough story missions or when all the chaos kicks off. 

You can however customise these controls, resizing the several action buttons to your liking, making them easier for your own personal use. But this is a given for a game on a touch device and this is an unavoidable issue, but with the recent release of iOS 7 and its ability to become compatible with the many IOS controllers that attach to your device, you will be able to satisfy your need for physical controls. Only when the game is compatible with such controllers however.

I want to give this game a perfect score. Its brilliant storytelling, how it can touch upon real world issues with an extremely serious tone one minute, then move on to a completely satirical one the next.

The wonderful and diverse cast of characters you come across and the incredible voice talent and acting they dish out.

The openness presented to you is only magnified by the fact you are playing it on a device that fits in the palm of your hand. Grand Theft Auto 3 is a fundamental title as it is, but becomes something even more impressive for this modern era.

I can’t ignore the controls, and while i understand this is unavoidable and RockStar have given it their best shot, they still affect some play sessions and get in the way in a frustrating manner.

Grand Theft Auto 3 has therefore achieved a 4/5!

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TWITTERS FRESH NEW LOOK

Twitter has recently released an update available for iOS devices (iOS5, iOS6 and iOS7 ready) with a brand new look. This review is just taking a look at what’s new and how it looks now. Immediately you’ll notice the App icon has now been changed to fit in with the new iOS7 style (see above) this is a good move, I mean you don’t want a horrid looking icon on your main screen do you? I certainly don’t…

  When you open the app you’ll notice that Twitter has taken on board the new trend of having flat images instead of any other styles it may have used in the past. The main header is now a nice Twitter blue which I personally think is a really nice touch I mean, Twitter has always had the blue in past images and logos but never really used it in past Apps. You’ll see that the Me page is pretty much the same with a few of the images changed to fit in with the new style (flat images).

This also applies to the Home page too, not much has really changed here about from some minor colour changes however you can see that the Thread feature recently released now also looks a lot better with the fresh new look. One of the nicer changes is on the actual tweet page where you can see it fits very nicely with the new keyboard and also has taken a feature of iOS7 with the Cancel and Tweet buttons no longer being buttons but just text instead.

Twitter have made this the perfect companion for iOS7 and it’s worked really well. I give you a great 4 Taps for the new look!

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THE NEW AND IMPROVED SIRI IN IOS7

Siri can now seduce you by simply saying your name.

First of all, I want to say a huge well done to Apple for maintaining and improving Siri. I have had the voice assistant since it’s inception, since then, it’s improved massively!

Now with a new UI and high quality speech, it’s even more beautiful then ever!

Siri can handle even more tasks in iOS7, here are just a few.

Restaurant reviews

Toggle settings

Search for images

Post to Facebook and Twitter (quickest way without the quick posts from iOS6)

Play voice mail

It’s even got a little brainier, it can now learn pronunciation of difficult names. You can change the gender of your personal assistant through “Settings > General >Siri >Voice Gender”.

I’d say for the past 2 years Siri has been in it’s “beta” stage, just shy of it’s full release. Like a boy about to enter puberty. Well, now with iOS7, Siri has exited it’s “beta” and has become man.

That’s all I can really say about Siri. It’s not a major part of my life but it’s nice to have it there, and when I need to bury a dead body, he has the best suggestions!

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HOW TO WORK THE WEATHER APP IN IOS7

Rain has never looked so good.

Okay, so last week I found a really cool weather app on the App Store. It was simple, straight to the point and mostly brutal. If it was raining, it would tell you with profanity. If you wanted to find out more, it would tell you to look outside, because, lets face it, that’s the best way to find out.

Well, the Weather App given to us by Apple doesn’t tell you that honestly. Instead it tells us through beauty. The whole screen is consumed by what’s happening outside, in real time, if it’s snowing, you will see snow falling on your screen. Everything else is there, like the weekly forecast, your current location and the temperature outside.

It’s not what just meets the eye, if you tap the temperature some additional information appears in it’s place, humidity, chance of rain and wind speed. Knowing which way your fringe will blow is always a good idea. We’ve all been there.

The temperature is now displayed in the Notification Center for your convenience. Nothing else to talk about, the weather is always a good place to start.

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WHAT IS THE CONTROL CENTER?

For those of you who have used iOS6 for it’s full length of release or even older versions of theOS, I promise you that this will be one of your favourite things about iOS7. From this simple swipe up you have everything you need at your fingertip.

If you look through my App purchases on the App Store you will see countless Flashlight apps, all claiming to be better at switching my light on, a simple task, yet these Apps claim to change my life with this light. Well, none of them have. Most of them are free, advert funded apps, some of them are pretty, others are God awful!

All hail, the Torch switch in Control Center. That’s it, that little torch icon on the bottom left. Simple. Quick. That’s all I’ve ever wanted from my Flashlight.

Two other little features that have proven helpful are the Clock and Calculator App launchers, when i’m boiling an egg, I need a timer quick, and nothing does it better than my Control Center! Finally, the bottom right corner has always been saved for the camera app. Why is it in the Control Center though when the app is already on your home screen (providing you keep it there) and when your iPhone, iPod or iPad is locked you can access your Camera App by simply swiping upwards on the right of your screen. I suppose it’s handy for those people who are folder centric when it comes to their organisation, but for me, it’s pointless.

From the top you can toggle Airplane Mode, Wifi, Bluetooth, Do Not Disturb and Auto-Rotate. These are so convenient, they make you question why Apple would keep these from us all these years. Why Apple, why?

Another handy feature for when you’re out in the sun or your led in bed with your iPhone hovering above your face, brightness. Auto-brightness is genius, I agree, but I can’t say that it has always been there to support me. In my minute of need, I need quick precise brightness shifting! I can now finally breathe as iOS7 has come to my rescue. Sometimes I just sit there and adjust my brightness, why? Because I can.

What is AirDrop and AirPlay you ask again?

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WHAT IS AIR DROP?

AirDrop is kinda like Apples own Bluetooth. It allows you to share photos, videos, contacts and anything else from any app that has a Share button. The only catch, that other person has to running iOS7 on their iPhone.

It’s a cool feature and I would say it’s arrived pretty late for the iOS ecosystem.

It’s perfect for students, you’re with a few friends working on a project or some other work and you need to show everyone what you’re working with or looking at? AirDrop is all you need (that is if everyone has an iPhone 5 running iOS7) you just press Share and all your friends will appear under your AirPlay and ZOOM, it’s beamed to them. Yes, that quick too! If you’re still unsure about it, try it out for yourself, actually using it is the quickest way to learn about it.

AirDrop has a cousin – AirPlay. They both share a room on Control Center.

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HOW TO CLOSE (FORCE QUIT) APPS IN IOS7

Want to quit more than one app? Use two fingers. It just works.

Those who are accustomed to iOS6 might find themselves lost when it comes to closing theirApps down from the multitasking screen. Like all things to do with Apple, it’s simple. Alls you have to do is swipe the App upwards and it disappears. It will no longer be working in the background.

  Just like in the picture, there’s no more need for the little red bubbles above the Apps. Just double tap your Home Button and BOOM!

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WHAT HAPPENED TO THE TWEET AND FACEBOOK POST BUTTONS IN NOTIFICATION CENTER?

You searched, found nothing, you searched, you found nothing. It’s a horrible loop. iOS7 takes some getting used to. Don’t worry, Tap This App is here to help you, luckily for you, we have had the pleasure of working with the new OS for several months now.

Throughout today we will be gracing you with the answers you have been searching for. Today we will be your iOS7 God. You’re welcome!

  First thing, I see a lot of searches for the Tweet and Facebook post buttons that were at the top of the Notification Center in iOS6. They allowed you to quickly post what was on your mind with a single swipe down from your iPod, iPad or iPhone. Now, they’re gone, so how can you post or tweet quickly in iOS7? Where did they go?

Harsh truth. They were trashed, thrown into the oblivion never to return. Let’s face it, they didn’t belong in Notification Center, they’re actions. They were out of context.

iOS7 does come with a new control center though, maybe this could be the new home for the quick posting buttons many of us probably never used. Maybe they will be there in the next update, we never know. However, they would fit perfectly, is a way, it’s about control. You control your Facebook, you control your Tweets and what better way to access them then through Control Center.

Need an alternative? Use Siri, simply say “post to Facebook” or “post to Twitter” and then dictate what you want to say. It’s incredibly fast, and if you’re in a situation where you can talk to your iPhone, iPod or iPad you’re sorted! A word of warning, not everyone wants to know what you Tweet though, so for you serial Tweeters, stick to using the App.There you have it, you now know why Notification Center no longer has quick post updates.

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ROLL

Everyone loves those simple games that just get you fuming in less than a minute of playing them right? me neither. Roll is a Free App available from the App Store and was brought to us by Gourmet Pixel Ltd. I decided I’d download a random App to review today and wow this one really pissed me off. I thought it’d be something simple to keep me busy when I was travelling to work or something but…No, The game infuriates me which would never be good in the back of a taxi.

  Why does it infuriate you so much Nathan? Well I’ll tell you why and lets be honest It’s not going to be pretty. The game starts off with two balls which you need to put back into their original slots by tilting your phone around, sounds simple enough? well the first level is easy and you’re loving life. Then the madness happens they add another ball and the game suddenly becomes a challenge, not to mention the timer ticking away at the side of your screen.

There is nothing I hate more than a timer telling me how long I have to complete something which is slowly driving me insane. I wouldn’t mind but when you do get the balls in the right slot you can knock them out with another ball but alas if you put the wrong colour in the wrong hole the game is OVER and you must try again?! I think I got up to level 3 or something and got too annoyed to play any more. This game might be right up some of your streets but it certainly isn’t up mine.

I’ll not be playing the App again for the good of my health, Roll you’ve scored a very annoying 2 taps from me.

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DUMB WAYS TO DIE

Dumb Ways To Die is a game brought to us by Metro Trains Melbourne Pty Ltd. The App is free from the App Store so you won’t be needing to pull out your wallet any time today ;)The game it’s self is very similar to the old Idiot Test on the internet/iPad. You go through stages in which you have to react quickly before the timer at the top of the page runs out.

Now I’m always dead awful at these games as they require some sort of precision but this one is brilliant. The game starts off slow and your aim is to gain points. The more  you gain the better the prize gets that you unlock, from new characters on the start screen to music videos and much more.

You can gain points by completing stages fast and also by doing absolutely nothing the game sometimes rewards you. The more you play the faster the game gets and you’ll find yourself having to move your finger to clean up vomit from your screen at a super fast speed, everyone’s dream right? I knew it. The levels are well designed and always have a fun idea behind them, like having to duck from a bear attack or simply tapping away some wasps wanting to sting your face.

This App is right up my street and for that I’m giving it a great 4 Taps. You’ve got to download it and give it a try, it really is addictive!

I have to say Nathan, you really do pick your games. Definitely think they designed one of the characters after you ;).

Enough of the virtual flirting and back to the reason i’m here. Dumb Ways To Die was kind of a flash in the pan for me, I tried it when it first appeared on the App Store and I loved the quirkiness. After a while though I felt the game lacked any sort of continuous excitement, the levels were just the same, but faster, like everything was playing in a loop. Loops get boring.

On a positive note, I liked the UI and the animations were smooth and fluid, entirely from a design perspective, the game looks great.

Maybe I just don’t like death or I’m being unfair, I challenge you to make your own decision and try it out. Sorry DWYD, you get 1 tap from me. Peace.