iPad App BreakDown: Hangman RSS HD & Azkend HD
Hangman RSS HD (for the brave only ~ play with real-time news ;) ($2.99) by Finger Arts is a hangman based word game where you guess the missing words in national news headlines. The game is an HD version of the iPhone app that gives you a much more deluxe interface.
The game itself: Hangman RSS HD is an amazing game that has you guessing news headlines rather than silly old phrases and words like usual hangman games. Each puzzle gives you a headline with a certain number of words missing as well as a brief excerpt from the article. The app has four difficulty modes with each progressively difficult mode giving you more words to guess, and less of an excerpt.
The game gives you a beautiful interface which is reminiscent of reading the news paper on your coffee table. The best aspect is that you'll never play the same puzzle twice because the headlines are always changing as it gets new articles each time you launch the app. There is nearly infinite replayability as the news changes all the time.
Hangman is always a fun style of word game, and each missing word gives you the entire alphabet, but every mistake adds a limb to the one hangman. Once you guess an article correctly you then can read it right in the app without having to take you to some different one. One nice features is that it downloads a bunch of articles when you are connected so you can play when you're not connected.
Reading the news is one thing, but playing the news is so much better. This isn't only the best word game for the iPad, but the best news reader for the iPad, and is a must buy for $2.99.
If you own the iPhone version: If you already own the iPhone version, you already know the greatness of this app. Do yourself a favor, and buy the iPad native one. The iPhone version at 2x looks pretty bad with blotchy letters, and making the articles tougher to read in app. The iPad version looks amazing, and it's definitely worth $2.99 on top of what you already paid, as the looks are important to usability.
If you only own an iPad: If you only own an iPad you can get a great word game, and a great news reader for the price of one at only $2.99. This is one of the better purchases you can make in the App Store to have fun with an infinite supply of news headlines. Then you can read the headlines that interest you, all aggregated from the top news sources.
If you never bought the iPhone version: If you never bought the iPhone version you may have missed our review or didn't have money to spare at the time. Hopefully that changes as Hangman RSS for the iPhone is a must buy for only $1 giving you a great word game, and a news reader designed for the smaller screen.
Azkend HD ($4.99) by 10tons Ltd is a match three game where you draw over the matching tiles. When a tile is part of a match it makes the piece it was on blue, and your goal if to turn the entire play area blue. Once that is achieved a piece of the special power up known as talisman appears, and you need to make matches below it for it to reach the bottom of the board.
The game itself: Azkend HD provides the classic fun of the match three, but incorporates the unique qualities of the iPhone. Rather than tapping and swapping you glide your finger over the screen to register the matches. What really makes the game great is all the special power ups occurring quite often.
When you make five different matches that turns at least one tile blue you get a lightning storm that changes other tiles blue. When you make a match of at least seven there is a lightning strike. Also included are eight different talismans that when you make a match of four use the special power whether its bomb, hammer, of light ray.
The match three gameplay mechanic is outstanding, but what makes Azkend even better is the included story. There are 70 levels in adventure mode that progress through the story of the main character returning to far east Asia to bring back the relic he took. Survival mode is also included where you try to survive with one of the talismans through ten levels in a given amount of time.
The game is simply magnificent looking with the HD artwork backgrounds, and all of the finely detailed tiles in the foreground. Then there are all of the action animations including the lightning bolts and bomb blasts. The included soundtrack is a zen mix that is intricate to the entire amazing experience making it much more than the typical match three. The amount of time spent with this title is one of the highest in the App Store just to get through the seventy levels which you will enjoy every one of.
Azkend HD is the best match three game in the App Store, and may be the best match three game anywhere. Azkend is a must buy for idevice owners, and you can't lose with the iPad or iPhone version at $5 or $3 respectively.
If you own the iPhone version: If you already own the iphone version of Azkend then I suggest you play it on the iPad. The iPhone version at 2x fills the whole screen, and is a whole new way to play without too much degradation of the visuals. The iPad version is the same exact game, but with upscaled visuals.
The upscaled visuals though leave the game board in the center of the screen, so it seems like the same size as the iPhone version. If you've beat all of Azkend you will find nothing new in the iPhone version. Azkend is one game where the iPhone version plays great on the iPad.
If you only own an iPad: If you only own an iPad Azkend HD is the best match three game you can buy, so if you like match three you will love Azkend. If you're not a big fan of match three, Azkend has enough to make you a fan of it even if you don't like the genre as a whole. The iPad version is $5 compared to $3 for the iPhone version with only a difference in visuals.
The iPad experience is better, but it's up to you if it's worth a $2 difference as the iPhone version plays just fine. Pp
If you never bought the iPhone version: If you never bought the iPhone version, it's an absolute must for $2.99 especially anise it's been $4.99 for so long. It's the best match three you can get on the iPhone that is great from the first to the last level that will provide so much enjoyment.
