Here’s my Metro Reviews for the week of April 7th.
The Massey Lectures
By House of Anansi Press
iPad
Three Stars
This iPad art book elegantly packages the recordings and transcripts of the CBC series into an eBook collection where fans can take notes, join online discussions, and access free interviews. Lawrence Hill, Margaret Atwood, and Neil Turok are among the first six captivating speakers presented, but so is Margaret Somerville, considered to be a stumble in the otherwise brilliant series.
PaoFit
iPhone/Android
Free/$3.99 per trail
By measuring vibrations from your treadmill, this app matches your speed to video scenery of beautiful parks and trails from around the world, adding avatars for you and connected friends.
Filibaba Egg Timer
iPhone/iPad
Free
This egg-shaped kitchen timer offers a fun, mechanical ticking sound and animated buzzer that goes off even if the app is closed. Custom themes include Easter, Christmas, and golden finishes.
Gaultier: His Fashion World
iPhone/iPad
Free
From sailor stripes and corsets, to virgins and rabbis, this interactive lookbook of Gautier’s fashion career includes audio insights from curators currently exhibiting his couture at the Barbican in London.
LEGO The Hobbit
PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii U
Rated Everyone 10+
5 stars
You’d think another LEGO Hobbit game would be tiresome, yet this new entry, based on the two recent films, admirably finds enough fresh ideas to make you feel the joy all over again. There’s dwarven mining tasks, a dish juggling mini-game, LEGO Riddles, and an astonishingly epic run through the Goblin Caves. The considerable creativity that must have gone in to make everything new, to make each dwarf unique, to give even the background characters their own animated charm, stands out and will leave you shaking your head in wonderment.
