Playing God with your iPhone or iPad Video

Playing God with your iPhone or iPad Video Transcript

-Welcome to Tap That App, I'm Josh Lowensohn and this is the show where we cover the hottest apps in the mobile space. This week we are looking at apps that let's you play god. All 3 of them are iPhone games that puts you in complete control of a virtual world where you can do good or bad. Sure, they're time wasters but some of the ones on this list can be just as fun and addictive as full game titles. Let's start off with Pocket God from Bolt Creative, which is probably the best-known god game on the iPhone and one of the best-selling iOS games to date. Since launching in January of last year, it's been updated with 33 content updates all of which have added mini-games and activities you can do with the game's Pygmy Tribe. The games provides a number of ways to end the lives of this virtual people, be it feeding them to the sharks, burning them with a magnifying glass, striking them with a lightning and even harpooning them underwater. And bringing them back to life is as easy as hitting a little plus button on the top left hand corner. But there's more of the game than merciless death, you can help your Pygmies catch fish, fend off bad guys, and past the time by dancing to the beat of your finger tapping the screen. There are also mini-games galore like a spin-off to the popular iOS game Doodle Jump and a cliff jumping game similar to the also popular, Canabalt. Along with the basics, the game offers a number of add-ons that lets you re-skin the characters and the surroundings as well as add new animations. These cost a dollar a pack and are entirely optional but are a nice addition to big fans of the game. Up next is GodFinger from ngmoco. A game that has you micromanaging the lives of your followers who you can get to do manual labor in return for coins. The game has you expanding the world and erecting buildings, terraforming mountains, controlling weather cycles, and creating bodies of water. The aim of the game is to get more and more followers and to keep up the energy of your workers and the building that they're working on, both of which can be replenish with mana. Mana regenerates but sometimes not quickly enough. More can be purchased using in-game currency which is about with real-world dollars. Similar to other ngmoco premium games, GodFinger is free of charge and can be played without spending a penny. Although, if you wanna build up your world quickly and spend less time micromanaging your followers, you can spend a few bucks. GodFinger can be found on both the iPhone and the iPad, but between the two, iPad is both better looking and easier to play. Often times, you'll be pulling a follower from one side of your virtual planet to the other and this has made less of a hassle with a larger place base. It's also easier to see more of the games store items at once. Last on our list is Fingerzilla by Inert Soap. This 2-buck title is easily the most manic of the bunch and puts less of a focus on helping small people survive versus letting you destroy anything and everything on site. In Fingerzilla, you are a destroyer of worlds and you can blow up buildings, automobiles, army vehicles, and just about anything with your finger. Much of the game play depends on you simply mashing your finger on the screen. Though making use of the iPhone's multi-touch screen let's you play with several fingers or a friend to rack up higher scores. There is also a strategy in working on a certain part of the city and its landmarks before the citizens can rebuild them. The game has 7 levels that are ready and willing to be destroyed. As you gain access to later levels, they are larger and there are more things you can destroy. There are also extra levels and power-ups that can be bought including a mutation pack which brings extra destruction and an add-on that gives you more time within levels. At the end of time level, you get a summary on how much damage you cost which includes things like helicopters, buildings, and people that you squashed. iPad users looking to try the game out can pick up Fingerzilla MegaCity which brings the same game play mechanics, but let's you see more of that on the screen at once. So these are just 3 apps that let you play god and based on their success more are likely on the way. Don't forget that if you've got an app that you want us to tap, send us an e-mail at tapthatapp@cnet.com. I'm Josh Lowensohn and thanks for watching.