App of the Week: ZombieBooth 2

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ZombieBooth 2 LogoTitle: ZombieBooth 2
Cost: Free (for Lite version; Pro version costs $1.99)
Platform: iOS (an earlier version of the app is available for Android)

Just in time for Halloween, ZombieBooth 2 will give you the power to see what you or any of your friends (or even pets) would look like as a Zombie. Using an image from your device’s library, camera or even your Facebook account, this app will create a fully animated zombie. The results are actually surprisingly believable and slightly disturbing!

Once you have selected an image, you will be asked to line up the eyes and mouth with a prompt from the app. This helps the app to detect the location of key facial features and allows it to replace the eyes and mouth with animated, zombified features. The result is a moving image with bloodshot eyes, a gaping bloody mouth and a senseless, zombie moan. If you swipe your finger around on the screen, the eyes (and mouth) will follow you. If you make the mistake of getting your finger too close to the mouth, you might even have a bite taken out of you.

You can also edit the image to change the appearance of the mouth or eyes or to add additional facial wounds and accessories (such as a cleaver in the head or glass shards). You can also add filters to the image to change the look of the image. The resulting image is recognizable as the subject of the original photo but altered just enough to look like a zombie from your favorite zombie movie.

Once you are satisfied with your new zombie, you can take a picture or even capture of a video of it moving around to share on Facebook, Twitter or via email. Whether you are looking for a fun project for Halloween, need an app for use in a zombie program, or are just a zombie enthusiast, this app is well worth a try. Check it out in action in the video below.

For more app recommendations visit the YALSA App of the Week Archive. If you have an app you think we should review, let us know!

App of the Week: Plants vs. Zombies 2

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pvz2Title: Plants vs. Zombies 2
Cost:‘ Free, with in-app purchase options
Platform: iOS (so far)

 

The original Plants vs. Zombies was one of my first app reviews for this blog.’ ‘ Over the past couple of years the game has gained ‘ popularity; it has plush toys, cosplayers, and tons of accolades.’  The strength of this franchise is in its world building.’  All of the details of design, music, and comical backstory, come together to create a consistent look and feel. In the world of this game, an army of plants is obviously the best way to defend your home from zombies.’  A sequel was only a matter of time.

Time, as it turns out, is the theme of the sequel, the full title of which reads: Plants vs. Zombies 2 “It’s about time.” Crazy Dave, your neighbor and zombie fighting mentor, has found himself a time machine and gotten you lost in time and space in pursuit of the experience of eating a recently consumed taco again. You find yourself traveling through Ancient Egypt, Pirate Seas, and the Wild West, each decorated in typical Plants vs. Zombies style and populated by thematically appropriate zombies with thematically appropriate powers of destruction. But not to worry, you have plants: some old some new, and all with exciting power-ups.

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Teen Read Week – Horror is in the House

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As you know, this year’s Teen Read Week theme is IT CAME FROM THE LIBRARY. This theme brings to mind all kinds of monsters and scary situations and one of the scariest monster situations I can think of is a zombie apocalypse. Just think, someone you have lived with all your life or gone to school with for years all of a sudden turns on you and attacks. All it takes is a bite or a scratch and you become infected. Scary stuff. ‘ Here is a list of some of my favorite (scary) zombie books just in case you haven’t found them yet.

THE INFECTS by Sean Beaudoin
Seventeen-year-old Nero is stuck in the wilderness with a bunch of other juvenile delinquents on an “Inward Trek.” As if that weren’t bad enough, his counselors have turned into flesh-eating maniacs overnight and are now chowing down on his fellow miscreants. As in any classic monster flick worth its salted popcorn, plentiful carnage sends survivors rabbiting into the woods while the mindless horde of “infects” shambles, moans, and drools behind. Of course, these kids have seen zombie movies. They generate “Zombie Rules” almost as quickly as cheeky remarks, but attitude alone can’t keep the biters back.

ASHES and SHADOWS by Ilsa Bick
An electromagnetic pulse flashes across the sky, destroying every electronic device, wiping out every computerized system, and killing billions.

Alex hiked into the woods to say good-bye to her dead parents and her personal demons. Now desperate to find out what happened after the pulse crushes her to the ground, Alex meets up with Tom—a young soldier—and Ellie, a girl whose grandfather was killed by the EMP.For this improvised family and the others who are spared, it’s now a question of who can be trusted and who is no longer human.
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App of the Week: Plants vs. Zombies

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Title: Plants vs. Zombies
Platform: iPhone, iPad, Nintendo DS, XBOX Live, Windows, Mac and online
Cost: ranges from free online version to $19.95 for the Windows version. The iPhone version is $2.99

Happy Teen Tech Week! We haven’t had a game for our App of the Week a little while, so I decided to write about a favorite cross-platform game of mine: ‘ Plants vs. Zombies.’  It’s a puzzle game where you organize an army of plants, each with different abilities, to defend your house from the oncoming zombie hoards. ‘ The zombies, too, come in many types, each with their own styles and talents.’  The game’s bright colors, amusing design, and catchy music all contribute to making it seriously distracting.’  Gameplay is simple, but presents a variety of challenges as you advance through the levels.’  You can play in short bursts, just a level at a time, or get caught up and while away hours defeating level after level of zombie attacks.


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