Here’s my Metro News reviews for the week of April 6th
The Fifth Heart
By Dan Simmons
Kindle/iBooks/Kobo
Sherlock Homes, a fictional character, and Henry James, a real-life author could never meet and they know it. Their pairing on an American murder mystery triggers an Inception-layered puzzle about consciousness and identity that should be gimmicky, but thanks to Simmons’ deep imagination, instead unfolds with fascinating credibility.
Last Voyage
iPhone/iPad
$0.99
Inspired by the trippiest of scenes from iconic science fiction movies, this package of five mind-bending puzzles uses simple taps and swipes. The challenge initially is to figure out how the puzzles work before you can solve them, a mystery made enjoyable by gorgeous visuals and an atmospheric soundtrack.
Soccer Fitness Gols
iPhone/iPad/Android
Free
Just in time for Spring Training, this soccer-focused fitness program uses animated gifs to demonstrate exercises across different levels of experience, focusing on strength, power, endurance, flexibility, and speed. It details a range of lunges, runs, kicks, and shuffles without the need for equipment and assessments to track your progress.
Egg Timer
iPhone/iPad
Free
From the Egg Farmers of Canada comes this extensive collection of how-to videos, nutrition guides, Easter crafts, and recipes that span an impressive range of meals including sunrise sandwiches, oven pancakes, egg salad sliders, and chocolate bunny bread. The egg timers alone, armed with comedy chicken sounds, are very handy.
Mario Party 10
Nintendo Wii U
Rating: Everyone
Three and a half stars
There’s a surprising number of casino games in this family-driven board game where up to five players compete in mini-games at the roll of a dice. Roulette wheels, one-armed bandits, and slots represent the least-interesting tasks compared to fiery hamster wheels and pinball machines. That one player can rampage as Bowser, destroying everything, is easily the best source of fun.
The game boards are now impressive 3D environments that climb walls and submerge into hidden pathways full of elaborate creature encounters. I like that the character voices change when they go under water along with the constant animated action and effects happening around the gameplay.
While the mix of mini-games may be familiar in this tenth edition of the franchise, the visual presentation has reached a whole new level.
