Sonic Jump™ Review
PROS
- Surprisingly adept at capturing the feel of a Sonic game minus the running.
- Packed with tricks and traps that scale the challenge smoothly.
- Robotnik/Eggman stages provide a novel distraction from the standard gameplay.
CONS
- Only three zones that stretch on seemingly forever; makes for a monotonous experience.
VERDICT
Despite reducing Sonic to only jumping, Sonic Jump does almost a better job at feeling like the hedgehog in its hey-day than other iOS releases; if only it didn't bring along the same baggage of similar vertical jumpers too.
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Doodle Jump remains a stalwart casual-gaming superhero for the iOS platform, elegantly combining dead-simple controls unique to the iPhone with an addictive challenge that spurs you on to keep reaching higher. Sonic Jump by SEGA attempts to repackage the whole platforming experience of its bigger platformers in to a basic jumper, and surprisingly, it fits perfectly.
Some may think this sounds odd, especially as the original titles involved jumping, but also a LOT of running too - so how can one take out half the game and retain the same feel to the game? Quite easily, as it turns out, as long as you keep everything else intact and throw in a few power-ups to even the odds.
Sonic will automatically bounce on a platform, moving back and forth with a tilt of the screen and performing a double-jump with another tap. Familiar enemies populate the stages too, however Sonic only 'spins' when jumping upwards, meaning you'll need to hit them from below or face the consequences - notably losing any rings you've collected. Much like the platformer a single ring will keep you from dying from a single hit, but you'll need every ring you can get if you want to purchase and use upgrades or alternative characters.
Thankfully these items aren't available without some amount of effort on the part of the player, with missions needing to be completed to earn more rings and experience to earn the right to buy them. Some backtracking may be required, but for the most-part missions are completed without much effort on the part of the player.
If there's any real complaint to levy at the game it's the lack of variety in the stage designs - while the challenge may change, the environments make the experience feel monotonous. It's hard to shake the deeply ingrained sense of '2-3 Acts then Boss Stage' that comes with most Sonic titles.
In the very least removing the 'endless' element makes for a tighter challenge where players can get used to new concepts without being punished for it. If you enjoy your jumpers and the infamous blue hedgehog, you'll get a kick out of Sonic Jump.
Screenshots
$2.99
