App of My Eye » Japanese

Mahjong Fairyland

Art — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 10:28:10 +0000

Growing up in the U.S., you hear about mahjong one of three ways: your Jewish friends, your Chinese friends, or, barring that you are from either of those two groups yourself, your “other” Asian family. While I do fit this last category, I must tell you that everytime I have seen other people play mahjong, the rules are different or has some mind-numbing variations. Yet, all in all, the game is usually played like gin rummy where you hope to get sets of three of a kind or three consecutive numbers in the same suit by drawing, discarding, and/or saving your opponents’ discards. It’s definitely a fun and exciting game requiring both a hint of luck and some skills, which you can improve over time. However, looking for a similar translation in videos games has been difficult as most mahjong games are puzzle/solitaire games, which are not at all the familiar game I know and love since I was a kid. Enter the iPhone: Taiwan-based Joymaster Corp.’s Mahjong Fairyland was released earlier this year, but with marked improvements in their updates as a result of listening to their userbase, the game is now to a point where anyone can learn how to play it in mere minutes. With a fairy tale theme with cute characters, play the classic 16-tile game, which is popular in mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, the Philippines, and parts of Southeast Asia. Excellent graphics, smooth touch and swipe controls, and some light customization will keep any level of player engaged. Price: $1.99.

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ToMaCow

Art — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 08:30:08 +0000

You’re probably thinking, “Dude, another game about aliens abducting cows? For real?” Yes, for real, but honestly, while the theme is similar to another game (Udder Chaos) that we reviewed about a month ago, ToMaCow is much different, especially in regards to graphics and gameplay. Created by the fun folks at mobileFlavour, play as a farmer who has a major problem with aliens trying to abduct and/or eat his small herd of four cows. His solution: shoot an unlimited supply of tomatoes through what looks like an old vacuum cleaner at waves upon waves of enemies knocking them unconcious or ultimately destroying them. Your part: help his aim by tilting your iPhone/iPod Touch into positions that target the right spots to hit the aliens. Does it work? Will you both succeed? Now that’s why we play the game and with this one, you won’t be disappointed as it’s pretty addictive and feels just at home on the device for any occasion. With crisp and cute anime-style graphics, a perfect soundtrack, easy controls and simple objective, it’s quite the value. Price: 99¢.

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VegOut – Vegetarian Restaurant Guide

Art — Sat, 23 May 2009 08:59:48 +0000

Have you ever gotten a bite to eat with a vegetarian or vegan at a Chinese restaurant and ordered a vegetable plate only to find that it consists primarily of celery, bamboo shoots, and water chestnuts? It’s like getting a main course filled with condiments. Well, those dark days are over with this little app, VegOut (powered by our friends at Happy Cow), which provides you with a list of both reputable vegetarian and vegan restaurants as well as restaurants that are vegetarian friendly around the world. With over 9000 listings, dine with confidence at the right places for you, your family and friends. Constantly updated for accuracy, don’t be satisfied with makeshift dishes and instead have a real delectable vegetarian or vegan meal made to order. Price: $2.99.

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