Reviews

Looking for a simple photo editor for your Windows Phone 8 device? You will want to take a gander at Fotor.

Fotor is a nicely laid out photo editor that will let you edit new images or pull the older photos out of your Pictures Hub to edit. The tools range from cropping, exposure, to special effects. The best part of it all... Fotor is a free Windows Phone 8 app.

ProFlashlight is a feature filled flashlight app for your Windows Phone 8 device. It not only lets you turn on your camera light to act as a flashlight but it also has a battery level, compass direction display and a Morse code feature.

ProFlashlight also has a handful of themes to choose from that range from a keychain light to a multi-cell aluminum flashlight.  Many of the flashlight apps in the Windows Phone Store seem to be cut from the same cloth but the developers of ProFlashlight did a good job of making their app stand out from the pack.

The era of Gameloft Windows Phone 8 support is in full swing. Already the prolific publisher has graced us with an amazing racer (Asphalt 7), two less amazing but still decent open world games (Amazing Spider-Man and Dark Knight Rises), and a surprisingly enjoyable physics puzzler (Shark Dash). It’s almost like they’re single-handedly keeping the Xbox brand alive on Windows Phone.

Now Gameloft follows up with Modern Combat 4: Zero Hour, the second Windows Phone title with real-time online multiplayer and the platform’s only first-person shooter so far (until N.O.V.A. 3 comes along). FPS games on the phone are new for many of us - including me. Read on to find out how well Modern Combat 4 works as both a single-player and multiplayer game!

Pirates Plunder is a nice Windows Phone game that is very similar to Flight Control but instead of controlling airplanes, you control pirate ships as they set sail to port to unload their bounty. Pirates Plunder 2 is the sequel and while you still have the original game, the developer has added a healthy portion of side games as well.

Pirates Plunder 2 has over seventy missions and, as with the original, is a decent way to pass the time with.

Pic Lock Ultimate is a feature rich photography app for your Windows Phone 8 device that keeps your photos and videos secure from prying eyes.

Pic Lock Ultimate uses a four digit or alphanumeric passcodes, has an anti-intruder system, and a panic warp system to quickly exit the app. Pic Lock is one of the more creative photo/video vaults we've seen but has a few issues that really needs to be ironed out before Pic Lock Ultimate can shine.

Last week Camera360 hit the Windows Phone Store. It’s a very popular app on both iOS and Android (with an average rating of 4.5 on both platforms). So when we launched on Windows Phone we were very eager to play with it. This is another one of those apps that applies filters to your photos, but it does so in a brilliant and beautiful fashion. Let’s check it out.

Sparkle is another enjoyable puzzle/action game from 10tons that is a great way to pass short bits of time with or longer. It has a strong resemblance to Zuma but is strong enough to stand on its own. Graphics are a lot cleaner (less cartoony) and the pace of the game seems more challenging. Zuma is a fantastic game but Sparkle ain't no light weight.

The storyline to the game has you trying to banish Orbs of Darkness and save Crowberry Woods. In doing so you discover various amulets of power that will help you in your quest. Add three game modes, nice graphics and handful of in-game powerups and Sparkle turns out to be a really nice addition to our Windows Phone gaming library.

Go To is a new navigation app for our Windows Phone 8 devices that lets you look up addresses and create voice commands to generate travel directions to that address.

The app is in it's infancy but the foundation present in Go To's initial release is nice. The app supports both Nokia and Google maps with directions generated through the navigation apps installed on your Windows Phone (HERE,  NAVIGON, etc.).

Gameloft has made quite a name for itself as a prolific publisher of core games for smartphones. When we say core games, we mean titles that provide a meatier, more console-like experience than typical mobile games. In fact, most of Gameloft’s lineup consists either of licensed games or clones of popular console games. N.O.V.A. 3 is a Halo clone; Modern Combat 4 replicates Call of Duty, etc. That’s why so many of us love Gameloft – they give us the mobile games that other developers refuse to create.

Still, Gameloft is a big company and it can afford to produce all kinds of games – even a few casual ones – without diminishing its reputation. One such game is Shark Dash for Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8. No, the world wasn’t exactly crying out for another physics puzzle game. But Shark Dash is just fresh, charming, and affordable enough to make it worth a look. And who can say no to easy Achievements?

The Windows Phone 8 app Location Finder is an simple app to find, save and share your current location.

The app was recently updated to version 2.0 to bring a whole slew of Windows Phone 8 features including enhanced voice commands and fast app resume. We decided to a look at things and found Location Finder to be a handy Windows Phone 8 app to record everything from campsite locations to where you parked your car at the mall to sharing locations with friends/family.

One of the oddest pairings in a Windows Phone game has to be found in the game Chickens and Moles. It's a first person styled "Angry Birds" type game where you are tasked with rescuing chickens and moles from Farmer Grumble's cages.  Instead of tossing birds to destroy pigs, you toss boulders (or is it cannon balls?) to free the chickens and moles.

Chickens and Moles has sixty levels where you toss your boulders at the structures protecting the animals in cages. The concept is as the structure crumbles it breaks the cages and the chickens and moles run free.  I wouldn't consider Chickens and Moles a "must have" game but it's not too shabby of a Windows Phone game when you're in the mood for something different.

Zombies just won't go away and continue a strong presence in the Windows Phone Store.  Now they are invading the wild west in the Windows Phone 8 game Cowboy Zed: Zombie Apocalypse.

As you would guess, you play the role of Zed, a cowboy dead set on wiping out the zombie invasion and protecting artificial brains that will cure the zombie hordes. He's got a handful of weapons to use against the undead, even a pet dragon (not sure where he comes into play though).

The story line is a little cheesy, the comic book graphics are good and game play takes a while to get used to but isn't too shabby. Overall, Cowboy Jed: Zombie Apocalypse is a decent game that is a nice way to pass the time with but needs just a little polishing.