Friday, July 23rd, 2010
Today, I was lucky enough to get my hands on a copy of the two talking animal games currently released by outfit7. One of them, Talking Tom Cat, has soared up the charts around the world, and is a great investment of your time. It gives you a great idea of what you would be paying for with the other talking animal game Talking Baby Hippo, which has also scored numerous top 10 app store hits including in the United Kingdom. The Talking Baby Hippo is labelled on the app store as good for children aged 2 – 7, but people a lot older can find it entertaining and a funny way to spend their time.
Although there are many different voice changing applications, none are quite as unique as this series here, which is about to be joined by the third animal, which is a bird (submitted to Apple, with a hopeful next week release). I have found myself on more than one occasion annoyed at other voice changing apps because I find you need the option to email, upload to facebook and to YouTube, and this application series offers all of that. I love being able to make quick update videos, which I then post to my YouTube channel, and my subscribers can watch it and enjoy a fun filled laughable video, while still I can get out to them the important message of the video. Plus, I have found since uploading Talking Tom Cat videos, I’m getting quite a few more 5 star ratings from people who find it funny!
In this review, we are going to review the two that have currently been released, and then in a week or two when the third has come out a review will be released for that to. We intend to do this for all the future ones which are created.
Talking Tom Cat’s in the spotlight first and the fact that it’s free is an instant turn on point. The application (like all in the series) support iPhones, iPads and of course iPod Touches with microphones. This is really important for me because I have an iPod Touch, and would be really annoyed if the application didn’t support my device, even though I have a microphone. Anyway, once in the app, which loads very quickly, you have three buttons, and a cat standing in an alley with some dustbins behind him. The cat has a 3D effect to him, and is very well made. The best thing about this app? Nearly everything is interactive.
There are quite a few features to this app, and it is extraordinary that this many features are being given away in a free app! If you talk into the microphone, Tom (the cat!) repeats it to you in a faster slightly more high pitched funny voice, which makes it entertaining to here him repeat you. You can pet his head or body, and wait for his reaction which is a smile type with some movement. Then you can poke him the head belly or feet and see the funny things he does. For example, petting him on the belly makes him take up a stomach ache type pose and hitting him on the head a few times makes him fall over and makes stars appear above his head!
You can pull his tail, pour him milk or forget him. Forget him is a funny feature because if you stop playing with the app for a few seconds he yawns at you or sneezes. Then, my favourite feature, you can record videos (at the minute a maximum of 30 seconds) and share them with friends online via email, YouTube or facebook – or simply listen back to your creation! Or simply delete and start again. To create a video, you simply click the camera button and start talking! This app does have an ad banner at the top, but I really don’t find it a limitation because it has been placed out of our way, as the player, and means you kind of forget its there. Though to thank the great developers for giving us so much entertainment, I like to click the adverts every now and again. The time limitation of 30 seconds for recording can get annoying, but come on guys, it is a free app, and we can’t really expect 2 hours worth of recording for free! Overall, a healthy 8/10.
The other app in the series so far of which we are reviewing today is Talking Baby Hippo. This app is the paid app which is why there is more connectivity and more options. Now, there is a beautiful 3D looking background complete with a dazzling blue sea and palm tree. For some reason, we are with a hippo on an island, which seems kind of weird, but hey, it makes it more interesting. So, once again you can speak through the microphone and the hippo will repeat it. My issue with this is how close the hippo and cat sound, and for a paid app compared to the free cat app, it would make it more appealing if they were at least distinguishable. If I closed my eyes and heard them both I probably wouldn’t know which was which.
As I said, there is more connectivity in this app, as you can tickle the purple baby hippo and listen to him laugh, poke him in the nose or ears, give him some food – in the form of a carrot – make him blow a balloon, give him a pacifier (for those not from the US – a dummy) and send him a butterfly. He interacts with the butterfly as well as all of the other things you can give him, and he even sneezes at the butterfly. It doesn’t actually mention in the handy How to Play: that he also yawns if he is left unused for a few seconds or more.
The other issue I have with this application is the instructions in the app don’t mention that again the recording for email, YouTube or facebook can only be 30 seconds. I think this is an annoying limitation for someone who has had to pay for the app and wants to get lots more for there money. The content is great for the additional cash, but I think the voice should be different and distinguishable and the video limitations should be eased. I understand it wouldn’t be practical to allow 1 hour video making, but maybe 5 minutes maximum? Overall, this second app is a 7/10, but easily a 9/10 once suggested improvements had been made.
So you have read the reviews, now go download the app, and visit the developer’s site at: http://outfit7.com/apps/talking-baby-hippo/
