96 February 2013 www.bahrainthismonth.com downtimeapps Lights, camera, FX! APPS OF THE MONTH Steampunk Racing 3D Zoom across industrial landscapes in twisted versions of vintage vehicles in Steampunk Racing 3D. Set up your machine of death with 30 weapons/abilities and obliterate your foes instead of just leaving them in the dust with the super responsive tilt-based controls. The game sticks to the typical ‘kart racer’ formula and has 10 quirky vehicles ranging from a tricycle to a bulldozer. It’s a lot of fun if simplistic speeding and vehicular combat is your cup of tea. Joe Danger Pull off death-defying stunts in Joe Danger a quirky little game for the iPhone and iPad. Control crazy daredevil Joe Danger as he jumps over raps and dodges obstacles in addition to completing the random objective. Varied level design keeps the gameplay engaging although you are performing mostly repeated tasks. Saving up for different suits which give you bonus attributes is another rewarding experience. With over 50 levels, Joe Danger is set to capture your attention for a long time, making it well worth its US$2.99 price tag. Get started on your big-budget Hollywood sci-fi dreams with this nifty app. Also to be found are vintage vehicles and a cute little stuntman. FxGuru: Movie FX Director RATING: WHAT IS IT? Who wouldn’t want to spruce up their videos with a bit of Hollywood magic? Look no further than FxGuru for adding in sci-fi and action movie special effects to your videos — direct explosions and alien invasions are added with ease. Sometimes a violent explosion is all you need to make a boring family montage exciting. Around four effects are included in the download, while others have to be brought at the rather modest price of US$8.99. THE GOOD: FxGuru makes it easy to add multiple effects linearly, although you would have to record with the app instead and not previously recorded videos. The quality of the effects is quite stellar for a free product, though the explosions look a bit cheesy. But its more than enough to impress your friends. THE BAD: The biggest letdown is the inability to add effects to your recorded videos. You have to buy the app to experience its capability fully, given the limited number of free effects. Only 12 seconds to record your video and the absence of finer editing tools severely limits your scope. VERDICT: Get it before embarking on your sci-fi directorial debut.
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