Our fresh apps today are all about helping users become more effective rappers (among other things). Up first is AutoRap by Smule, an app that sets your spoken words to various beats and even lets you have “rap battles” with other users. Following that is Rhymer’s Block, an app for finding rhymes and near-rhymes that’s great for writers, whether lyrical or poetic. Finally, Across Age 2 takes players back to the time-traveling story of Across Age for another action-heavy Japanese-style role-playing experience.
AutoRap by Smule update (Free)
What’s it about? Turn yourself into a rap star (or at least a less terrible rapper) with AutoRap by Smule, an app that turns your speech into raps and corrects your rhythm automatically.
What’s cool? AutoRap does what it sounds like it does: It takes your spoken, recorded speech and sets it to a beat, creating a rap out of it. The app breaks up what you say by syllables to match them to the beat, instantly changing what you say into a rap, on the fly. You can use the app to save and share your automatic raps across social networks, and you can also practice your flow skills by rapping along with real songs. AutoRap’s latest update adds a new “Rap Battles” feature, so you can challenge friends on your Contacts List to battles, in which you both take turns rapping while the app weaves your flows together to create a single track.
Who’s it for? If you wish you could rap but find you don’t have the skills, AutoRap can be a fun way to fix the problem.
What’s it like? Try more music-making Smule apps with I Am T-Pain 2.0 and Sing! Karaoke.
Rhymer’s Block (Free)
What’s it about? Need help coming up with a rhyme? Rhymer’s Block can help by providing users with real-time rhyme suggestions as they’re writing.
What’s cool? Finding the right rhyme when you’re writing a poem, rap, or whatever can totally stall you, which is what Rhymer’s Block is for. The app lets you open its “Rhyme Book” and start laying down whatever it is you’re writing, with the app providing real-time rhyme suggestions, and even words that might sound like they rhyme but aren’t perfect rhymes (“heart” and “dark”, for example). Rhymes in your entries are color-coded so you can easily see them as you’re editing text, and you can save your work to the cloud or work offline. Rhymer’s Block can even keep track of your word usage frequency so you don’t get too repetitious.
Who’s it for? Writers who could use help rhyming can get what they need fro Rhymer’s Block.
What’s it like? Other apps that can deliver useful rhymes include Rhyme Lite and Rhymer.
Across Age 2 ($3.99)
What’s it about? Action-role-playing title Across Age 2 draws its inspiration from top-down RPGs such as Final Fantasy, putting players into a lengthy story with plenty of action.
What’s cool? Taking a page from 16-bit Japanese RPGs of the 1990s such as Secret of Mana, Across Age 2 puts players into a top-down fantasy world in which they must battle enemies with fast-paced combat. The game picks up where the time-traveling story of its predecessor left off, with players getting access to four different characters and working through a story that clocks in at about 15 hours of play time. Across Age 2 also includes cutscenes in the style of Japanese anime to help tell its tale.
Who’s it for? Fans of old-school action-RPGs from the classic days of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and Sega Genesis should snag Across Age 2.
What’s it like? Don’t forget to catch up on the story in the original Across Age as well.
