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Pick Me

5 apps worth downloading this week

Featuring a photo editing app that layers your photos and videos, an easy way to create stop motion videos and a game that’s all about drawing under pressure.

EACH WEEK, WE highlight five apps that are worth downloading for your smartphone and tablet. There are a lot of apps released on a daily basis, but not all of them are worth paying attention to.

This week includes a photo editing app that layers your photos and videos, an easy way to create stop motion videos and a game that’s all about drawing under pressure.

Fused: Double Exposure
For: iOS
Cost: Free (€3.59 for full version)

- Here’s a photo app with a twist, where two different images are combined to create one layered image.
- Fused allows you to blend together photos, videos or both to create something a little different.
- It’s incredibly easy to use. Import a background or foreground photo, choose from your camera roll or take/shoot one and preview.
- The user interface is lovely and it’s very easy to edit and blend your photos/videos together. You won’t get it right the first time, but experimenting is part of the fun.
- For those who want to make their photos and videos a little more artistic.

Fused Double exposure Fused: Double Exposure / App Store Fused: Double Exposure / App Store / App Store

Impossible Draw
For: iOS, Android
Cost: Free

- How can drawing basic shapes accurately be so addictive? We’re not sure ourselves, but it’s taken up a lot of our time this week.
- Impossible Draw is somewhat like Smash Hit in that you travel through tunnels trying to clear paths for yourself. But instead of smashing glass, you’re opening doors by drawing the shapes on them.
- It sounds simple but the catch is you have to draw them as accurately as possible and if you haven’t guessed, that’s pretty tough. Even more so when it’s against the clock.
- Slowly you get used to it, your drawing become a little more steady and before you know it, you’ve wasted a good hour playing it. That’s not to mention the different game modes you can unlock as well.
- A fun and surprisingly challenging game that’s perfect for larger screen devices.

istomgames / YouTube

FlashChat
For: iOS, Android
Cost: Free

- Instant messaging has become the new “there’s an app for that”. Any idea you can think of, you will likely be able to build an instant messaging app around it.
- The latest one to appear on the scene is FlashChat, a messaging app that’s based around chatting to people using the same WiFi connection as you.
- The app automatically creates a different sort of chatroom, exclusive to those who have access to the same WiFi name.
- Alongside that, the focus is on privacy as all messages will disappear from the app and server shortly after you leave the WiFi network.
- Should you be looking to add another messaging app to your collection, this one has enough unique features to warrant a look.

FlashChat / YouTube

Stop Motion Studio
For: Windows Phone
Cost: Free

- Ever wanted to create your own stop motion videos but wasn’t sure how? You did!? Well, you’re in luck.
- Stop Motion Studio does exactly what it says it will do, allowing you to create a video pretty easily.
- It’s easy to set up, with visual and audio prompts to let you know what’s happening, and the basic version has enough features to get you started off.
- You can upload your creations to YouTube if you wish and look at other people’s creations. There’s also a premium version which includes themes, music and sound effects and importing images.
- A fun app that will put your Windows Phone camera to good use.

249e0e9a-440f-4bf6-8438-b195e5e95a31 Stop Motion Camera / Windows Phone Stop Motion Camera / Windows Phone / Windows Phone

Platform Panic
For: iOS, Android
Cost: Free

- Maybe it’s the pixel graphics, but Platform Panic will remind you of the old Amiga/Atari ST games that a certain generation used to play.
- With an old-school look, Platform Panic manages to combine two genres: the endless runner and the classic one-screen platformer.
- Your character moves continuously, but you can control the direction they run and their jumps by swiping.
- The levels follow the same format, but the order they come in, and the placement of enemies and coins, is always different.
- A surprisingly intuitive platformer that gets addictive very quickly.

Nitrome / YouTube

Read: 5 apps worth downloading this week – 27th Dec >

Read: Sony is hoping discounts and extensions will make up for PSN’s Christmas outage >

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