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I now turn my attention to honorariums of the Star Wars franchise.  And by that I mean apps that try to rip off the iconic images and themes that George Lucas used in his original trilogy.  Even the name logo of the app shamelessly steals from Lucas' movies.

Star Words is a marvellous way of simulating the "scrolling text" beginnings of all the Star Wars movies without actually paying George Lucas any money.  Naturally, since no license fees are paid, the text and background feel like a cheap knockoff, but it can be fun if used correctly.

The app is pretty simple.  First off, it doesn't come with any Star Wars music, but it does play any music in your music library.  So, if you can get your hands on an mp3 copy of the Star Wars theme and transfer it to your device, you're good to go.

The app actually begins with some pre-defined scrolling text, but you can alter it with a tap fo the screen.  Once there, you can enter your scrolling text in a textbox.  You can also choose your background music and choose between two types of fonts.

My big complaint about the app is that "Star Words" is automatically the first words that appear on the screen.  If you're trying to swede your own Star Wars movie, that would be a serious hindrance.

Fortunately, the creator figured out a perfect way to prevent Lucas from bringing around a lawsuit: the app is free.  For the price, it's worth the download for any Star Wars fan.

UPDATE: My bad.  The app is, in fact, $.99 and not free.  Watch out for Lucas' lawyers, folks.

Cat Juggling is one of those apps that was offered free for a day in the App Store from a special promotion.  I got it on the basis of its name alone, thinking of a sketch from Steve Martin in the movie 'The Jerk'.

The app itself is cute.  You are a juggler and the objective is to swipe the juggler's hands under the cats as they fall from the top of the screen.  When that is done, the cats will catapult (pun intended) back upwards.  The more cats you keep from falling to the ground, the higher your score.

The app is cute but doesn't quite reach its full potential.  For instance, I would have a cat sound playing at each hit.  The app simply has some annoying background music which I turned off.  I would also make a 'splat' sound whenever the juggler misses a cat.

You can change the look of the juggler or the items juggled (if you aren't into cruelty to virtual cats).  The app also has a button with the names of some cat-related charities, so obviously the cat torture aspect of the game is meant in jest.  As it says in the fine print, "no cats were harmed in the making of this game".

The app is mildly addictive once you start playing.  This is a good app to kill a few minutes with when your waiting for the bus or in the doctors office.  I would recommend picking it up if it's available for free.  If you're a cat hater, it might be worth the buck.

TripTik is AAA's entry into the navigation / GPS app market.

In terms of routing it's pretty straight forward.  You enter your starting point (which can be either your current location or an address) and an ending point.  TripTik then find the path to your destination.  Generating your path is accurate and fast.

As you start your trip, the complete directions are announced.   While traveling along the path, your current location, as you'd expect, is updated.   When it comes time to turn, however, TripTik doesn't announce that a turn is approaching. Likewise, after you make the turn, TripTik doesn't announce the distance until the next turn.   To make it announce the rest of the trip you must push the copilot button or shake the phone.

While testing the app, there were several times when my location would suddenly move to a different road only to return to the correct location in the next second.  I think this may have been due to poor GPS accuracy in the phone, but it may prove to be an issue if you are in an unfamiliar area.

Besides not having turn by turn announcements, TripTik is missing other features found in most stand alone GPS devices. Things like detour mapping, or choosing if you want to use highways, non-highways, or both.

Exploring the maps works as you'd expect--swiping, pinching, etc are app supported and update quickly.

TripTik has quite a large database of points of interest--gas stations, restaurants, hotels, etc. Which could be very handy especially if you are in an unfamiliar place.

For free, TripTik is good replacement for the maps app built into the phone,  but it's lacking many features built into my old GPS, so i think i'll keep that one around a bit longer.

Just one last "Geek Week" review for the celebration of the San Diego Comic Con.  We will now turn our attention on an app based on the British science fiction program "Doctor Who".  This app doesn't appear to be officially licensed, so if you're a fan you may want to download this one as soon as possible.

The app emulates the Sonic Screwdriver device handled by the main character of that program.  He is called the Doctor and he is an alien time traveler.  Anytime the Doctor dies, he can regenerate into a completely different person, which is why the show has lasted close to fifty years.  The app gives a choice of screwdriver's from the past (David Tennant as the 10th Doctor), present (Matt Smith as the 11th Doctor) or future (from an episode in which someone from the Doctor's future was given a Sonic Screwdriver).

Each Sonic Screwdriver slides out from a swipe on the screen.  If you tap and hold it down, the app makes the pre-requisite sound and glowing color (blue for past, green for present, blue for future).  It's possible to switch between them from the icon on the upper right.  Each Sonic Screwdriver is an artist rendition so the creators probably think they can avoid the lawsuit by having something similar but not exactly the same.  There is an information icon on the upper left, but it doesn't really tell you much.

And that's it!  Is it worth the dollar?  If you're a "Doctor Who" fan, then it's probably the cheapest replica on the market.  If you're not, then it's simply a silly app for a buck that makes a light and sound.  I leave it to you.

GoodGuide is an example of a good idea with a poor execution.  The app is a bar code scanner much like a myriad of other apps such as RedLaser, but once the product is scanned it tells you how well the product meets green standards (how environmentally friendly it is, etc).  Unlike other apps which seem to concentrate on food, this concentrates on any item that has a bar code attached to it.

The scores seem somewhat arbitrary (and this is coming from someone who gives arbitrary opinions on iPhone apps) but it seems to be from a score of 0 to 10 with 10 being the highest.  The app also gives a listing of the products with the best ratings.

One of the major problems with the apps is the limited list of products.  There are only 65,000 products in the database, which may seem like a lot but is only a small sample of the myriad of products in the world.  It is possible to search the database for a particular app if you install on a device without a camera like an iPod touch.

You can also keep lists of products stored on the device, if there are any you prefer due to their "good" rating.  It's also possible to filter products by certain criteria such as product type and their degree of enviornmental friendliness.

The other annoying aspect of the app is that it seems to automatically sign a person in using their Facebook ID.  Haven't these people heard of privacy?

I give the app a resounding "eh".  Once again, it's a good idea but the developers definitely need to work on this one some more.  Good ideas would include a good help menu and a definition of each score type along with a larger database of products.

Modded Movie is one of those apps that can entertain for ten minutes and then be dropped by the wayside, metaphorically speaking.  The concept is fairly simple.  The app has a set of pre-recorded short movies with various billboards or signs in the background.  You can take a photo from either your camera or photo library and place it in the background of the movie utilizing a green screen effect.  You can also rotate or resize your image to fit the "window" accordingly.

The app was recently made available for free in the App Store.  Due to its limited capabilities, I can see why.

The app begins with adding a new project via a red "plus" button.  Once that's done, you can select a movie and afterwards select a photo to appear in the movie.  Finally, the user can export the final product to a movie of itself.  The app comes with a fairly clear set of instructions on doing all this.

Through the preferences, the user can choose the rendering quality (low, medium or high).  The app is also interactive with Facebook so it's possible to directly upload a created video to the social networking site.

I like the concept but the execution seems limited.  It would be nice if the user can upload their own videos, choose a green screen area and insert their own photo or video into that area.  That would be a very powerful tool for the palm of your hand.

But, if you just want to put a person's face on a wanted poster or billboard in the background of a pre-made movie, then this app is for you.  I'm waiting for the Star Wars edition where you can insert your own image in famous scenes.

It is an unwritten rule that when a game is successful in the App Store, then others try to copy it.  I just didn't think the Star Wars franchise needed to copy anybody.  However, Star Wars: Cantina is simply a science fiction version of the game Diner Dash.  Mind you, even SpongeBob has his own version of the game, so one cannot fault the Star Wars franchise of trying for a piece of the action.

The objective is to take orders from various Star Wars aliens, fulfill them at the bar and then deliver them to the table.  Things get moving fairly quickly around the Cantina, so speed is of the essence.  The characters are done in a cute, manga-ish style so the Cantina is no longer the wretched hive of scum and villainy it once was.  Even the Stormtroopers look cute.

Game play is fairly simple.  The app is obviously geared towards children.  You simply tap certain sides of the screen to take customers to their tables, get their orders, fulfill them and let them finish their drinks while leaving a decent tip (tip size depends on the speed at which all this is accomplished).  There is a good tutorial provided in the game for learning the basics.

The game is decent but underwhelming.  It also commits the cardinal sin of mucking with my memories of the legendary Star Wars movies before Lucas got a big head and ruined it starting with 'Return of the Jedi'.

I'm both pleased and horrified to announce that George Lucas is not done raping the Indiana Jones franchise.  He has now lent the name to a underwhelming puzzle game that really didn't need to be made.  Or if it was needed, the Indiana Jones name could have been left out.

Obviously, the game is geared towards children.  I yearn for the day when a game of the franchise is released with adults in mind.  It's a simple puzzle game in which you have Indy jump around a set of adjacent square blocks of differing colors and Roman numerals.  The more similar blocks that you hop on in succession, the more points you score.  You simply have to tap on the block in question for Indy to hop on it.  You can only go to blocks that are adjacent (horizontally, vertically, or diagonally) to the current block he is standing on.

This game is disappointing on many levels.  Even the graphics are somewhat low quality (they probably didn't want to pay for the use of Harrison Ford's image). The Indiana Jones theme blares as the game progresses, but that as well as the sound effects can be shut off in the Options menu.

The game does have unlockable levels and there are "stories" that one can follow to give it some sense of progression and not the same blocks over and over again.  There is a decent help menu for those who can stifle a yawn and play.

In short, I'm all for an Indiana Jones game for the iOS.  Just not this one.

The sheep and the wolf--it's a classic conflict; and Saving Private Sheep builds on that conflict.

You are in control of Private Sheep--you must get him to safely land on the platform as quickly and in as few moves as possible.  If private sheep falls off the wolf will get him.  If you take too long to solve the puzzle, you may have to do it again.

The graphics and interface are well done, the actions are smooth and the controls work well.  The animated wolf popping up every now and then always made me chuckle.  

In many respects, Saving Private Sheep reminds me of Tiki Totems Premium in that in order to solve the level, you need to tap on the pieces to remove them; with various types of blocks that each have their own special attribute. (For example, certain blocks can’t be removed, while others can.)  

Each level is ever so slightly more complicated than the one before it—the difference is so slight, you might wonder if there’s any change in difficulty whatsoever.  And while some people see the gradual increase in difficulty as a plus, I thought that it dragged out the pacing of the game and made it boring.

Saving Private Sheep is good, but unless you are really into this type of puzzle game, you might not play it often.

Tiki Premium is a light hearted physics based puzzle game.  The goal of the game is to remove various blocks from the screen while  keeping the yellow Tiki from touching the ground at the same time.

To make things a little more “interesting” there are various types of blocks—the regular blocks where you tap them and they disappear, blocks that bounce,  and purple blocks that that are only removed if they touch another purple block.

The puzzles, as you can imagine, get more and more difficult as the game progresses.  Each screen is only slightly harder than the one that proceeds it; hard enough to keep the game engaging and challenging, but not so difficult that you’ll get bored.  This is especially important as there are so many screens.  So far, I’ve only finished the first “pack” of screens which is 16 boards, but with over 140 total levels, this is a lot of game for only .99.

Tiki Premium ties in with a leaderboard and well as Facebook—so you can share your scores with the world.  

When all is said and done, Tiki Premium is an ok game—nothing I’d run out for, but now that it’s on my phone, I won’t be rushing to remove it either.