Review: Twas The Night Before Christmas - Moving Tales Does Christmas
by Staff Writer
December 21, 2010
Overview
The classic tale Twas The Night before Christmas gets the interactive book treatment to offer you up a whole different experience than a simple ebook. Now there are moving parts and animations in an app from the makers of Pedlar Lady of Gushing Cross. Every single page offers up a different animations embodying the particular scene in the story.
Features
The text flies in, and you can manipulate it by tilting your device. You an read the story yourself or listen to one of three different voices, plus background music and sound effects are included. You also have the option to record your own voice for every page.
The Good
It’s a whole different experience reading the classic tale with uniquely designed moving images in the background. The story comes to life like never before that combines reading experience with 3D moving images. There is also the option to sit back, and listen to the tale told to you while admiring the images.
The moving images also go hand in hand with the background music and sound effects to provide the total Twas the Night Before Christmas experience. You flip through the pages effortless, and you can always manipulate the words by tilting. You can scroll through any pages with the cover flow type view as well, and there is a well designed UI.
Probably the best aspect is the ability to record your own voice for every page, and then listen to it back when using the app with others. It’s such a personalized experience to hear your own voice over the sound effects, and with the moving images. It’s easy to set up the recording with a couple taps, and it picks up your voice very well.
The Bad
The images can be seen as a bit on the odd side, and borderline creepy. It’s just such a different art style with such an odd looking Santa, and everything more reminiscent of Nightmare Before Christmas. The constantly moving squiggly lines don’t help matters, as it’s an added effect, but just doesn’t look well.
When you think of Twas The Night Before Christmas you think of it with more of a cheerful cute art style. This version is quite the opposite, but is definitely unique, and stands out for that. The art style isn’t for everyone, but it’s high quality, and has it’s own appeal.
Sometimes the words can tilt off the page when you don’t intend them to do so. The voice over cuts out though if the words do tilt, and pick up right where they left off when they’re back in order. There is a little pause when turning pages, and the first time you set up the voice over it can be a bit tedious having to go into the menu for each page, and stopping the other voice over. Also the background music doesn’t really lower so that it can sometimes play over your recorded voice over.
The Verdict
Twas The Night Before Christmas by Moving Tales offers a completely different experience for reading or listening to the classic tale. The art style is unique, but isn’t for everyone, and doesn’t fit the traditional art style of the story. The ability to record your own voice is a great feature, but there are a few problems with the execution of the app.
Twas The Night Before Christmas by Moving Tales is worth considering for $2.99 depending on how the art style appeals to you, and whether or not recording your own voice is a feature for you.
