We all might be a bit on the twitchy side waiting for WWDC, but here at Macgasm we’re still collecting great apps for you to try. On the Mac we have a window manager to ease the pain of organizing your workspace. For the iPhone we have an app that can help guide your Summer trip. On the iPad we have a game that allows you to play poker with a psychotic AI for a dealer. Finally, we have a pair of classic games that have made their way to the iPad.
Table of Contents
Moom
Say what you will about Windows, but in Windows 7 the Window management got really simple. They added the ability to push a window to the edge of screen to have it snap to a specific layout. Moom not only recreates that effect, but surpasses it in a way that fits the user’s preferred control style.
Moom’s basic mode is to create an overlay for the zoom button, the green button of the stoplight, that allows you to choose the way your Window fits the display. You can also recreate the Windows 7 functionality and allow you to drag the Window to the edge of the screen, and you can set up hot corners to achieve the effect. This function doesn’t seem to play nice with multiple displays, but would likely be a good fit for laptop users. Keyboard shortcut junkies can get their own set up as well, allowing you to completely control your windows after pressing a shortcut.
Moom has a trial that lets you to use it 100 times, and then it’s only $10. You can download it from Many Tricks.
City Guides
With Summer coming in the Northern Hemisphere, many people’s minds are drifting toward planning their vacations. National Geographic and Rally Interactive have collaborated to help you plan your trip with their City Guides app. The app currently has guides to London, New York, Paris, and Rome.
The free version of the app has basic info about each of the cities. You can get some basic trivia and look at photos to get a general idea about each city. This app, being from National Geographic, has a great look to it. Heck, they even include the basic “when to visit” tips along with other facts like passport and cultural information. If you find a destination you like and want to dig in, then you can unlock each guide for $4.99, or all cities for $12.99.
CIty Guides is free on the App Store
Poker Night At The Inventory 2
Telltale is usually known for their adventure games and great writing. So it was a bit odd when in 2009 they created Poker Night at the Inventory. The game allowed you to play Poker with a variety of video game characters with full voice acting. Recently they released a sequel with an all new set of characters for the iPad.
Poker Night 2 features both Texas Hold ’Em and Omaha Poker games. Your opponents are Brock Sampson from Venture Bros., Claptrap from Borderlands, Ash from Evil Dead, and Sam from Sam and Max. You’re also playing for science as the dealer is GLaDOS, the psychotic computer from Portal. All of the voices are who you would expect with the exception of Ash, who is voiced by an impersonator. While this would be a nice novelty, the actual poker itself is well done. Each of your opponents has different betting strategies, and they adapt as various players fall out of the game. As you play they adapt and change, making sure that it always feels fresh when you’re playing. The dialog can get somewhat repetitive, but the gameplay is very dynamic.
Poker Night at the Inventory 2 is $4.99 on the App Store.
Ace Attorney: Phoenix Wright Trilogy
In the heady days of 2005, when portable gaming involved carrying a backpack full of consoles, games, and chargers, Phoenix Wright was an early hit in the hey day of the Nintendo DS. It spawned a couple of sequels and spin offs, and the original three Phoenix Wright has been collected for iOS.
If you missed out on the original games, just go grab this now and play through the initial cases included in the free download. You take the role of a defense attorney and are charged with finding contradictions in witness testimony to free your client. There is an investigation portion to the later missions, giving this the flavor of an old school adventure game. The art is fantastic, this game feels like an interactive manga. Even if you played these on the DS it’s worth revisiting, as the games have aged rather well. You can even keep that dual screen look by playing the game in portrait mode. Playing it in landscape lets that great art take over the entire screen. That’s upgrade enough to warrant the second play through.
To unlock all three games is $16.99 or you can buy each game for $6.99, you can also try the first few cases for free. Download the game from the App Store
Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic
Trying to put Knights of the Old Republic into its proper place in gaming history is a bit difficult. On the one hand, it’s probably the best Star Wars game, one that people who don’t even like the franchise can enjoy. On the other hand, it’s one of Bioware’s early classics, and the game that launched them to fame, giving them the ability to make their original content. Whatever the historical merit, this is a classic game worth revisiting.
Originally released for the Xbox, the game has aged a bit. The graphics are a bit rougher than what you’re used to, but the game was given some control and UI upgrades to make it easy to play on the iPad. You can create your character with some serious customizations, allowing for a lot of replay value. This is the full game, and it’s as in depth as a console game, so you’re going to get your money’s worth. The story is well written, and you’re given a lot of control over how your character responds to situations.
You can grab KotOR for $9.99 on the App Store
