Choose Your Weapon

Title: Jetpack Joyride
Platform Played On: iPhone
Release Date: September 1, 2011
Date Played: January 2012
Time Played: 2+ hours
Completed (Y/N): N/A
Score: 5/5

Opinion:
Jetpack Joyride is a Canabalt clone. However, unlike most other clones it actually constitutes a great package with achievements, unlocks and upgrades, as well as a leveling and power up system.

For those unaware of the genre creating Canabalt, it is a simple one button game in which your character is constantly running to the right, and pressing the one button makes him jump. There are various obstacles that will kill your character, but all of them can be jumped over if triggered at the right time.  The overall objective is to make it as far as you can, which is represented by a meter at the top of the screen.

In a nutshell this is what this game is; however Jetpack Joyride stands out from its peers because of its polish and depth. Most games of this kind feature simple running or gliding animation and a scrolling screen with repeating backgrounds. Jetpack Joyride however features great looking hand drawn art with constantly changing backgrounds, which when coupled with random level generation makes each run feel very unique. On top of that there is a deep and fun achievement / leveling up system, where by accomplishing certain tasks you get rewarded with badges.

Jetpack Joyride is the next level of Canabalt clone; infact it may coin a new term with games of this kind being called Jetpack Joyride clones. Its powerup and upgrade systems dramatically increase its replayability, and add an element of luck to what previously was mostly a twitch skill genre. This luck inturn creates that gambling "oh just one more time" feeling because of the randomness of powerups and level layouts.

Overall Jetpack Joyride is an amazing value on the iOS devices (currently free). I can see myself loosing hours to it trying to beat my friend's scores on the leaderboards. By the way... what a great addition... without leaderboards Jetpack Joyride would be a fun game to play for couple of minutes here and there, but the leaderboards add a whole another layer; where you simply have to beat your friend's score. There is no reason not to get Jetpack Joyride, it is a great game.