Today’s first app worth downloading can help you turn your iOS device from a smartphone or a tablet into something else. Called Manything, the app is all about using your iOS device as a monitoring camera, which live-streams the video feed to a cloud-based server, allowing you to see what your iPhone or iPad are seeing even if you leave them elsewhere. We’ve also got two solid games to help you kill the remainder of the week: Lumberwhack: Defend the Wild, a castle defense-type title in which players command an army of animals, and Abyss Attack, a vertical scrolling shoot-em-up that adds endless levels to the genre.
Manything (Free)
What’s it about? Use your iPhone or iPad as a video monitoring camera with the help of Manything.
What’s cool? Manything basically lets you turn your iOS device into a video camera, broadcasting the feed to the cloud so that users can watch it either live or save it for later. It includes a number of useful features for recording and monitoring things live, like motion detection and a sound-activated flash, that help make sure you can capture the video you want even if you’re not around to help. You can also watch your livestreams on other devices, and share clips online through social networks.
Who’s it for? Users looking for a good way to turn an iOS device into a camera to monitor just about anything can do it with Manything.
What’s it like? Check out Pocket Spy Cam and AtHome Camera for more video camera capabilities.
Lumberwhack: Defend the Wild ($0.99)
What’s it about? Defense title Lumberwhack has players commanding armies of animals as they battle against lumberjacks trying to cut down their forest.
What’s cool? Lumberjacks have arrived to cut down the forest, and one monkey stands in their way – and that’s you (no offense). In Lumberwhack, players control a monkey who fights from the trees, throwing coconuts down on attacking lumberjacks to defeat them. Over time, you’ll gain the ability to summon other animals to fight by your side by spending food you gather in each level, and you’ll also be able to upgrade your forces and your abilities to be more effective and unlock special abilities. Lumberwhack includes 66 levels to play through and an endless survival mode in which you can challenge your friends to see who can rack up the highest scores, thanks to Game Center leaderboards.
Who’s it for? Fans of side-scrolling defense titles will find lots of levels, upgrades and soldiers make Lumberwhack a fun entry into the genre.
What’s it like? There are a lot of similar mechanics and ideas at play in Army of Darkness Defense.
Abyss Attack ($0.99)
What’s it about? Abyss Attack takes the bullet-hell shoot ’em up genre and adds endless levels that challenge players to see how long they can survive.
What’s cool? “Endless” is a feature that has come to a lot of genres in mobile games, specifically those like running titles and other side-scrollers. Abyss Attack applies the “endless” feature idea to the shoot ’em up genre, sending players through endless waves of enemies and asking them to fight for as long as they can hold out. You can control your attack sub with either touch or tilt controls in Abyss Attack, and the game includes six different submarines you can unlock and upgrade over time.
Who’s it for? If you’re into shooters and wish they’d never end, Abyss Attack is a game for you.
What’s it like? Other great shooters include Sine Mora and Shogun: Bullet Hell Shooter.
