The phrase “just one more” gets thrown around by a lot of games journalists these days, especially when discussing something from the App Store.
The 99 cent purchase has become a haven for simple and addictive and with more and more dirt cheap games vying for our attention (and, in most cases, our In-App Purchases) it can be pretty difficult to distinguish something that’s actually fun from something that’s merely addictive.
I’m very happy to report that Jetpack Joyride is both.
Like the greatest of the NES games of yore, Jetpack Joyride, previously known as Machine Gun Jetpack, is all about providing a small, tightly designed package that is meant to be played again and again and again.
The basic premise is classic and simple. Using the touch-screen, the player maneuvers Halfbrick Studios’ returning hero, Barry Steakfries, through randomly generated obstacles while collecting power-ups and golden coins. Barry runs through the game’s single, endlessly expanding stage solely requiring the player to touch anywhere on screen to adjust his altitude using the titular jetpack.
Just because the game is simple, doesn’t mean that it’s lacking for content. Power-ups in the form of one-time use vehicles act as part upgrade, part shield while allowing players to take an extra hit. These upgrades provide for the occasional dose of variety while still retaining the airtight yet varying controls you will come to expect. Combine these with a leveling system tied to in-game achievements, a shop full of functional and aesthetic bonuses and a slot machine style mini-game and everyone should find something to chew on.
None of that would mean anything, of course, without the airtight controls. And that’s where I draw the comparisons to classic NES games like Mega Man and Super Mario Bros. The controls really are the star of the show here as they provide an almost pitch perfect connection between play and the player. Simply put: if you die, it’s your own damn fault and you know it.
It’s very satisfying and great for getting players to try over and over again as they attempt to push that little bit further up the leaderboard than last time, all the while collecting slot machine tokens and in-game currency along the way. It’s a feeling that once again brings to mind the 8-bit era. Games of that generation never had the capacity to fill themselves with hours of ever-changing content, so they had to make do with being just so damned fun as to keep players playing the same game a hundred times or more.
Addictive as hell? Oh yes. Fun and rewarding in its own right? Definitely.
All of this content, all of this fun and all of this replayability available for less than a dollar. It’s absolutely unbelievable and will undoubtably make for an instant iOS classic. I’m actually a huge supporter of dedicated gaming handhelds like the 3DS and the upcoming Playstation Vita; hell, I’m even a big fan of the PSP. However, it’s games like Jetpack Joyride that make me see why so many people think that those systems are going the way of the dodo.
Well done, Halfbrick. Well done.
This review is based on a copy of the game purchased by the reviewer.
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