Developer/Publisher: Semi Secret Software
Genre: Action
Price: $2.99
Acquired: Review Copy Provided
Verdict: A fantastic port of the original flash version, now portable.
Pros: Addictive, stylish, runs perfectly on the iPhone, has online leaderboards
Cons: You will be playing this game instead of doing productive activities, $2.99 cost may make some reluctant to pick up the game
Canabalt is a simple game – you play as a guy running along rooftops of buildings, trying to survive while the sky is falling and bulidings are collapsing all around him. You have one action – jumping by tapping on the screen, although the longer you hold down the higher your jump. That I mention this in the review means that it’s actually an important factor, unlike in other games where it’s a feature – you actually need to use this, particularly since you may need to make a short jump over an obstacle, or want to make sure you jump precisely through a window, instead of smacking your face in the side of a building. Of course, I could keep telling you about the game and the way it plays, or I could tell you to just go to http://canabalt.com and you can play the flash version for yourself on your computer. Go do it, I’ll wait here for you.
That was fun, wasn’t it? Don’t you feel like you need to have this game now whereever you go? Can you imagine visits to the doctor being a bit more fun now that you can jump through windows without people looking at you weird? Can you imagine enjoying the game’s simplistic yet stylish graphics, with its mysterious activity-filled backgrounds, hinting at the unknown reasons why your character is trying to run, while you eat lunch? Can you imagine listening to the game’s stirring soundtrack with you while you take a bath with Dr. Rubber Ducky, Ph. D? If you can, then know that this dream can be realized for a paltry sum of $2.99.
Yes, that may seem like a bit much for a ’simple’ flash game ported to the iPhone, and you can freely accuse me of hypocrisy, having been reluctant to shell out for the game until I got a copy to review. I regret not purchasing it sooner, as everything here is great. The game runs perfectly, has online leaderboards, and the ability to tweet your results to friends, because a life where your friends aren’t tweeting about how they ran 3481 meters before crashing into the side of a billboard. Maybe that’s why our anonymous player character is running – none of his friends tweeted Canabalt results, and he got fed up with his miserable life.
Don't do it!
So here’s what, chumps – go play the flash version of Canabalt, and if you enjoy it, then go pick up the iPhone version. You will not regret it.
