Dead Trigger 2

Dead Trigger 2

(Free with In App Purchases )

MADFINGER Games does it again with the newest installment of Dead Trigger which not only holds true to the amazing work of the original but most certainly surpasses it and keep going as they continue to update Dead Trigger 2.  I know I've reviewed the original and it was great but is meager and squandered by that of the second iteration so much so that the original has been deleted off all my devices and has been replaced by DT2 which like many of my favorites has achievements and controller support (MOGA Pro is what I use) but it also has the ability to create an account which will sync your save data so you're not left fretting if you change devices.

The big no-no of many people looking into apps is the IAP's (In App Purchases) but in this game it honestly doesn't hinder it although I think some of the wait times of weapon building could be faster I've never felt like I needed to buy anything although I have.  I saw that there was a permanent double money boost which I believe was $2.99 and I had some spare credits on the Play Store so I went for it and it's helped but wasn't truly necessary to enjoy the game.

You begin first thing into a mission which is relatively easy and once completed you go to your "base" which is where everything outside of missions happens.  This is where you eventually build up your guns, special weapons, health packs etc as well as your "tech" so that your medic, gunsmith, engineer and smuggler "workers" can be upgraded and therefore your gear can be upgraded to give you more of what you need to survive the apocalypse while you help out the "Resistance" to fight off the hordes and relinquish the undead's stronghold on each city.

There are several different mission types.  Some are for the sake of the story line and there is no need to worry about running out of that as each update adds more story line but there's also a smaller plot line of going to each city and ridding the city of the walkers by doing a plethora of style of jobs each of which counts towards different achievements as does using different weapon types.  There are currently 8 different missions that can be played:

"Operations" involve performing several tasks within a time frame.

"Escort" missions you find a survivor and help bring them back.

"Defend" is exactly as it sounds...you protect yourself until an extraction team comes to get you.

"Sentinel" missions place you in front of an entrance which you must keep the undead from entering and you get 2 freebies but you lose if a third enters the entrance before you can kill them.

"Supply - Run" is another obviously named mission where you must find several resources and bring them back to a central location one at a time.

"Seek & Destroy" is a mission where you must seek out blaring speakers going by a noise meter and destroy them.

"Assault" is a mission of absolute destruction and murder.  You are given a goal of so many undead you must make dead once again and once you clear that number you're good to go.

"Power - Run" is a mission of finding fuel tanks and refilling a generator until it is filled again.

These missions can now be played out on several continents in several countries going city to city although as each city is cleared you get special perks and it's closed forever as far as I can tell.  Although even after each city is cleared you can play some side missions in places including: the USA, Northern Africa, China and currently the all the players are working the way through the European Union.

The story line starts in the US and goes to Africa followed by China which is where the main plot currently has stopped until the next update which I cannot wait for but until then I'll keep plugging away at the cities building up my kill count stats and my hideout rankings.  I have as I do most games play a few rounds without the controller to see how it would work for everyone and it's nice.  The graphics are amazing and the gameplay is fluid.  The AI that you have in some missions that are by your side could be a little smarter as they will just stand there getting hit and won't move very fast so make sure to keep an eye on them.  Other than that I've been loving and playing my fingers to the absolute bone with this game more than any of the others on my list of current games I'm digging.  So grab your device and make sure to have only about 500 MB's of space on your device and be ready for hours of fun.

Au revoir,

Tree

AVP: Evolution Review

AVP: Evolution Game Review

($4.99 on Play Store)

Here comes another game review.  This time it's Aliens Vs. Predators: Evolution another MOGA compatible game and definitely a joy to play.  You get to play both as you go through level after level of destruction as well as a few side missions all of which add up to give you hours of play time.  Besides having controller support that honestly works really well out of the box I love (as always) that this game includes the wonderful addition of Google's Play Games achievements because honestly I'm a sucker for achievements.  I've played this game a lot and while I haven't perfected it yet I've gotten more points than I know what to do with but some of the achievements include getting all the side missions completed on hard which I'm still working on but have a slew of other games that keep me sidetracked.

Nothing against this game as it's amazing but every game I have keeps me sidetracked from another as it's a vicious cycle but this game does indeed remain in that cycle and sometimes I play missions just to replay them.  As you go through levels you are able to buy more abilities, weapons, armor pieces, gadgets, etc which help you in your endeavor of defeating the aliens or predators or humans.



The game was developed very nicely and has played well on my S2, S4 and Note 3 and while the graphics aren't mind-blowing they are nothing to complain about.  I've even played a few times without a controller and while I'm not a fan I had to give it a go just to see how it is and it's not cumbersome at all and those whom don't use controllers will find this game a delight to play especially if you're a fan of the Aliens or Predators series or of AVP.  I did get the game quite a while back while it was on sale but would have gladly paid full price as I've played it more than enough to make up for the price as I'm sure anyone else will.  So go check it out in the Play Store and grab your copy and get to slaying away hours and the game and I hope you enjoy as much as I have.

Au revoir,

Tree

DEAD TRIGGER review

DEAD TRIGGER

If you haven't heard of DEAD TRIGGER or of it's developer MADFINGER Games you're in for a treat.  If you're into FPS games especially if you dig zombie games then you're really in for a good time.  I'd suggest going ahead and downloading this amazing and free game (WARNING: IAP are there but not required).  It's easy enough to use with the on screen buttons but with my MOGA Pro controller it is only better although using the main launch screen still requires touching the screen to move around but I'm ok with that as the game play uses the MOGA to it's fullest.

The game play is smooth and has a good story line to it.  In essence you start in a city in despair.  You have to go on missions to collect supplies, maintain a position and hold of hordes and also to find survivors in order to gain money and points.  The more you level up the more weapons and add-ons you can get.  Also the more you level up the more you can upgrade your weapons.  Every day you start the game you are welcomed with a daily reward of some free chips and even gold sometimes to use and win some extra goodies.  Besides the must do main quests there are other side missions there is an arena to test how long and how many points you can gain in an endless onslaught of the undead.  A nice addition is the ability to have your game play saved online so you can download it to any device and continue where you left of which not many games do.

Overall I have been thoroughly enjoying this game.  There's just nothing like destroying an endless bevy of walkers with a plethora of style of weapons to choose from whether it's a pistol, shotgun, machine gun or even the classic chainsaw or even a special alien gun for blasting the zeds away.  Even without a controller this game is fun so if you have some free time to kill and some space left on your device go give this fun game a go.

Xposed Framework by rovo89

"ROM modding without modifying APKs"

Those who are accustomed to modding and trying out ROMs on their devices may be familiar with Xposed Framework but for those who aren't this is a definite app that you should check out.  By itself it does nothing but with some of the modules it changes everything.  If you've used it before make sure to click the link above to get the newest APK as it's an all in one app now that makes using Xposed much easier as everything is right there for you.  As you can see in the photo on the right this is what now shows up when you first open the app.  From here you can open up right into framework and install or update if this is the first time you've used the app or if there is indeed an update.




If this is your first time (or if you've updated) you will have to reboot and once you do you can pull up the modules tab.  Here is where you can check to use any of the modules you've installed. Once checked you will need to reboot again to enact the module with Xposed. Some of the modules you will be able to click on the description in Xposed and if there's a user interface built in to that module/app (which some do not have) then it will bring you directly there where you can then start choosing what mods you want.  Some mods will require a reboot per setting change (as in Nottach's Xposed app) while others will only require the initial reboot once you've checked the app.

Another nice addition rovo98 has added to Xposed is a download section where you can easily find modules for your device.  This will also show if there's an update to the framework app itself (not just the framework's app_process and XposedBridge.jar files but the app itself) or even if an update is available to one of the modules you're currently using (if supported).  Also it will show you what modules that developers have allowed to be downloaded/updated by Xposed are currently installed because as you can see I have a few more installed than are showing on the downloads page.  There are a slew that show available to download (it's showing me with an additional 55 modules I can download).  So there's definitely not a lack of choices of what you can do.  There are some that are device specific but some of the options may work on any device.

As always folks backup backup backup (in recovery) before doing any modifications because you never know what may "break" things and make your device somewhat to completely unusable.  When you initially install the framework a disable zip is also downloaded to your files so you can also just flash that to completely disable Xposed.  So as I have done just go in small steps enabling and modding so you can know what is breaking things and you can simply just not use that tweak.  So for all you modders and tweakers out there check it out and enjoy even on stock ROMs as I have done because you don't have to use your device as the OEM's say you should.

Pressy - The Almighty Android Button

Pressy

(on KickStarter)

The little button that could.

I normally wouldn't write about something that isn't out yet but there's an incredible hype going with this product (and with good reason).   Along with the actual button you can get a keychain holder to hide it away if you want to use our headphones.  This little bit of niftyness adds a much needed extra button that can be used for so many different things and also multiple things (depending on how long or how many times it's clicked).

From the photos and videos I've seen the app looks to very clean and easy to use and I know we all love a good simplistic UI.  Plus there's a plethora of options of what each kind of press can do.  It could severely cut out lots of time doing simple tasks we do multiple times a day from turning on the flash (which I know rooted users can do with the screen off but now it's possible without root) to calling or texting that one person you are in contact with all day to just opening an app or a setting (muting, wifi, data, etc etc) or even taking a photo or video.  There's so many options I'm not sure what I'll do with mine when I get it.  In addition to all these actions you can set Tasker to initiate actions with Pressy for even more ideas and I'm sure eventually developers will start to incorporate Pressy into their apps using the API.  So things can only get better with this already amazing little device.

 On top of options of what it can do there are a few option of colors.  There's the basic black but also blue, white and red.  If you want to pay a little extra there's even a gold edition.  To top it off they just added a special KickStarter Edition in KickStarter green.

So I know I'm getting one but now it comes down to which one.  I'm looking at either the white or blue myself since I personally like blue but have a white phone so that's my next decision but either way I will be definitely backing this project that's way beyond needing it anymore.  Although the more funding they receive the more features they are looking to be able to implement.  So head over now and take a look.  You'll be glad you did because I know I will be.  Just can't wait to get that little guy in the mail and now to start thinking of all the things I want to make it do especially since I am a Tasker user but that's a whole other story.

It's been awhile...but I'm back.

So I got my new S4 which I've been enjoying immensely.  So needless to say I've been a little busy playing with my new toy.  I'm at a point now where I'm somewhat done modding it and am quite comfortable where it stands.  At first I was very displeased that my carrier didn't and still hasn't carried the 32 GB version but I've come to terms with that and I just haven't been able to have all the apps I like but then again I'm quite the app hoarder and love having lots of choices of games to play on my phone especially with that new beautiful and crisp 5" screen.  So hopefully now that my toying around has been satisfied I can start doing some more blogs in my spare time between the work thing and the at home/family thing.

Trident Aegis Case for the Galaxy S4 review

Trident Aegis Case

(or from Amazon where I got mine)

I previously had the same style case for my Galaxy S2 and loved it so naturally I found myself having to order one for my S4 as well as some other cases because for a phone this nice you just can't have enough choices for your protection.  It's a great case and doesn't add too much bulk.  It feels pretty good in the hand but ultimately it wasn't the case for me out of the ones I bought.  Very nice indeed though.  The case fits perfectly on the device and there's no wiggle room.  Everything aligns nicely as you can see.  

All the buttons were easy to use and had no issues at all with using them.  Quite possibly my only gripe would be that the Aegis on the S2 had more of a grippy feel on the back while the back on the S4 Aegis case was very slick.  I do think this case would look much better on the darker variants of the S4 as for me the white phone in this case just doesn't look good for me.  My preference is just that too because the case is made very well and if it holds up anything like the one on my S2 it'll last long beyond the time of upgrading to your next device.