survival

Black Friday is rapidly approaching and we all know that means people are going to be hitting the stores both online and at brick-and-mortar locations to grab gifts for friends and family. But if you want to find the best deals, you're going to need a little help, and I have just the right apps for the job on iOS devices.

Whether you plan to brave the crowds on Black Friday or stay home and shop online, these apps will get you the best deals and hopefully make your gift shopping a little easier.

Editors' note: For Android shopping … Read more

I'm not entirely sure what's going on with the Survival Senbei edible iPhone 5 case, but I'll do my best to sort it out despite a limited translation. The case looks suspiciously like a Rice Krispies treat wrapped around a phone, except it's made with a brown rice senbai cracker substance.

It seems you stick the case on your iPhone 5 and wait until you get so dangerously hungry that you're willing to eat a case that has been mixing with your greasy fingerprints and pocket lint. Yum.… Read more

Temple Run is a treasure-hunting game with shades of a few other popular games thrown in. It installs quickly and launches with a short tutorial that teaches the game mechanics in about 60 seconds. Temple Run is a free download, but you'll want to buy some extra coins to buy upgrades and new capabilities.

Essentially, in Temple Run you need to run through a maze of paths, jumping or sliding over and under obstacles, collecting coins or gems as you go, using different swipes of the screen and by tilting the iDevice. There are power-ups and special abilities (like … Read more

You have options when it comes to zombie-slaying weapons. Loud guns may attract unwanted zombie attention. Baseballs bats can require several swats to work. Chainsaws need gas. A tactical ax, however, is portable and effective.

ThinkGeek's Zombie Survival Kit features a stainless-steel SOG Tactical Tomahawk, suitable for close combat or hurling from a distance at the undead. Zombie crime scene tape helps you alert other survivors to danger zones.… Read more

When you absolutely need to make sure your main squeeze -- your smartphone or tablet, that is -- can stay powered when away from a wall outlet, a seemingly never-ending number of external battery options exist.

Few of the chargers, however, look as sleek as the half-inch thick Sony CycleEnergy external battery announced today, featuring lithium ion flavors in either 3,500 or 7,000mAh capacities. The slim aluminum frame weighs up to 6.9 ounces and sports a design that probably makes it easy to bundle along with a phone. … Read more

Most of the time I put together an iOS app collection of the week, but on the momentous occasion of classic console game Pitfall's 30th anniversary (was it really 1982?), I'm going to take a deeper dive into the completely remade game.

Many old-school gamers will remember Pitfall, a must-have on the Atari 2600, in which you would run and jump over obstacles and swing across chasms.

The new version of the game still requires your best hand-eye coordination, but now it is completely 3D and offers a different experience with much more to discover.

If you were ever a classic-console-game fanatic or like escape games like Temple Run, you should check out my review of Pitfall.… Read more

Ski Safari (99 cents) challenges you to swoosh down a powdery mountain to avoid an avalanche, with animal friends and other vehicles along the way to help you with your escape. This distance game quickly became my go-to time-waster on both my iPhone and iPad, so when an update was announced last week, you can bet I was at the App Store immediately. The update adds a new mountain you can choose for your run, a new animal to help you along your way, and added achievements to keep you coming back for more.… Read more

Spellsword is an excellent and almost blindingly fast-paced arena-combat arcade game with addictive RPG elements, super-cute 16-bit fantasy art, and often hypnotic chiptune sound.

At first glance, Spellsword shares some similarities with another great game, Super Crate Box: Both have you dodging enemies and chasing powerups around a satisfyingly cramped playscreen--but Spellsword adds a couple of twists, with a mini RPG-style purchasing system (you collect "rupees," which you can then use between levels to buy equipment and make your powers more effective) and a unique take on power-ups with "spell cards." As you bounce around the (… Read more

What's your favorite doomsday scenario? Epidemic? Nuclear fallout? The Rapture redux? How about the Mayan apocalypse?

None of these will ruin your day if you live in Survival Condo, a converted nuclear ballistic missile silo in Kansas. With supplies of food, air, and water, you can wait out Armageddon underground.

For years, developer Larry Hall, a former software engineer, has been working on a 1960s-era Atlas F missile silo in north-central Kansas, turning it into luxury lockdown residences in preparation for inevitable end-times (see cleanup photos here). He says all units in the complex sold out this month, and there's even a waiting list. … Read more