Michal Ždanský It may be bold to say that the iPhone changed handheld gaming, but the reality is that Apple's phone, and by extension the entire iOS platform, turned the industry upside down. iOS is currently the most widespread mobile gaming platform, leaving other handhelds such as PSP Vita or Nintendo 3DS far behind. iOS also gave rise to completely new genres thanks to the touch screen and built-in accelerometer (gyroscope). Games like Canabalt, Doodle Jump or Temple Run have become pioneers of new casual games that have seen unprecedented success.
It is precisely the unique control concept that attracts players and causes a kind of game addiction. All three concepts of the named games have one thing in common – endless playability. Their goal is to get the highest score, but that can get a little boring after a while. After all, the classic campaign gives the games a certain stamp of originality, on the other hand, it threatens the limited length of play, which is getting shorter and shorter in big games.
Canabalt, Doodle Jump and Temple Run have also been tried by many to imitate or create a completely new game based on a similar principle. However, in recent months, games have emerged that stylize old heroes from titles we now consider classics into these new genres. What can such a mix of classic games and new concepts look like? We have three great examples here - Rayman Jungle Run, Sonic Jump and Pitfall.
Canabalt > Rayman Jungle Run
The first ever Rayman game was a cute multi-level platformer that some may remember from the MS-DOS days. Playful animations, great music and excellent atmosphere won the hearts of many players. We could see Rayman on iOS for the first time as the second part in 3D, where it was a port made by Gameloft. However, Ubisoft, the owner of the brand, has released its own title, Rayman Jungle Run, which is partially based on the console game Rayman Origins.
Rayman took the gameplay concept from Canabalt, a running game where instead of moving you focus mostly on jumping or other interaction to avoid obstacles and enemies. For this type of game, the model figure without visible limbs is perfect, and gradually over the course of fifty levels he will use most of his abilities, which have been inherent to him since the first part, i.e. jumping, flying and punching. Unlike Canabalt, the levels are predetermined, there is no endless mode, instead there are over fifty detailed levels waiting for you, where your goal is to collect as many fireflies as possible, ideally all 100, to gradually unlock bonus levels.
Jungle Run uses the same engine as Origins, the result is top-notch cartoon graphics no less cute than the first part, the port of which many are still waiting for and hopefully will see it. The musical side, which is also characteristic of Rayman, also deserves praise. All the songs complement the atmosphere of the game, which quickly became the number one of its genre. The only downside is the slightly shorter playing time, but if you try to get all 100 fireflies in all the levels, it will definitely last you a few hours.
[app url=”https://itunes.apple.com/cz/app/rayman-jungle-run/id537931449?mt=8″]
Doodle Jump > Sonic Jump
Doodle Jump was a phenomenon even before the advent of Angry Birds. It was an incredibly addictive game where you beat yourself and other players on the leaderboard. The game received a lot of different themes over time, but the concept remained the same - tilting the device to influence the character's movement and jump as high as possible.
Sega, the creator of the legendary hedgehog Sonic, who became the central character of the new game Sonic Jump, took this genre to heart. Sega is no stranger to iOS, having ported most of its Sonic games to the platform. Sonic Jump is such a step aside from the well-known platformer, however, the combination of a jumping game with a blue hedgehog character goes well together. Sonic always did three things - run fast, jump and collect rings, occasionally jump on some opponent. He doesn't run much in this game, but he really enjoys jumping.
Everything you know from the Sonic series can be found in this game, rings, enemies, protective bubbles and even Dr. Eggman. Sega has prepared several dozen levels that you go through, the goal is to get the best possible rating in each of them while collecting three special red rings. However, there is no reward in the form of special levels. At least sega has promised more levels in upcoming updates. In addition to the story part, in Sonic Jump you will also find the classic endless mode, as you know from Doodle Jump. If you're a fan of the blue hedgehog, Doodle Jump, or both, you shouldn't miss this game.
[app url=”https://itunes.apple.com/cz/app/sonic-jump/id567533074?mt=8″]
Temple Run > Pitfall
Pitfall is a very old game from the Atari days, when good games were scarce. Pitfall was actually not one of the best, it was very boring by today's standards, it had practically no goal, just to pass as many screens as possible with various traps in a certain time. The second part was a bit more imaginative and several other games were released in this series, for example The Mayan Adventure on the Sega Megadrive. The iOS game has little in common with the original platformer concept.
Pitfall has been completely redesigned in 3D with imaginative graphics. Instead of a platform, the protagonist, who is practically the only link to the original game, runs along a randomly generated route with the goal of going as far as possible. The game Temple Run came up with this concept for the first time, where the hero escapes along a marked path and gestures to make various dodges, change the direction of running or jump, while collecting coins. The exact same control method can be found in the new Pitfall.
Although the concept of these two games is passable, we can also find several interesting things here, such as a dynamically changing camera, a complete change of environment after running a certain distance, riding in a cart, on a motorcycle or on animals, or eliminating carpets with a whip. The remake of one of the oldest platformers has really succeeded, and although the game is excessively riddled with optional In-app purchases, it is a pleasant addictive game with nice graphics and a bit of the sentiment of gaming prehistory.
[app url=”https://itunes.apple.com/cz/app/pitfall!/id547291263?mt=8″]
After spending many hours playing all the mentioned games, both original designs and remakes of classic games, I have to admit that in all three cases the bet on proven game concepts paid off and the new games from the old matadors not only achieved the same qualities as the pioneers of the genres, but even they easily surpassed them. And it's not just that sentiment from the past, but also the sophistication (especially with Rayman Jungle Run) and partial originality that the classic heroes brought from their original games.
