(REVIEW)
Sonic Jump practically jumped out at us, so to speak. It was announced, priced, and released all within the course of one week. Due to this, not much hype could be gathered.
But does it deserve a lot of hype, or does it fall short of small expectations?
Sonic Jump practically jumped out at us, so to speak. It was announced, priced, and released all within the course of one week. Due to this, not much hype could be gathered.
But does it deserve a lot of hype, or does it fall short of small expectations?
Well, let's start with some background. Sonic Jump was originally released in 2005 for a few select phones, and, too put it bluntly...it sucked. So I can see why some would be reluctant to get this revamp.
Don't worry, though: this version of Sonic Jump doesn't suck!
The gameplay is incredibly fluent and addictive, and the art style is downright awesome. The animations flow nicely, and although the music is completely new (even for Green Hill Zone), it's still incredibly catchy and pleasant on the ears.
The game has two modes: Story and Arcade. Arcade is a lot like Doodle Jump; all you have to do is see how high you can jump before dying. Story Mode, on the other hand, has (currently) 3 Zones, each with 11 Acts and a boss act. The Story Mode is a lot of fun, but to be perfectly honest, it's sort of lackluster. The levels can be tough and the object placement can get extremely annoying (especially the fans in Mountain Zone), and the Boss Acts are all pretty bland, with Eggman behaving the same every time. The comic book style cutscenes presented between Zones are very well-drawn, and are a cool concept...until you realize they're all exactly the same. Seriously, Sonic is even in the same pose every time! Besides this, game is still a lot of fun, and the Red Star Rings, Missions, and the ranking system coax you into replaying old levels. In fact, the game rewards you for virtually everything. Leveling up (which is achieved through completing Missions) allows you to buy more powerups and characters, making it easier to complete said Missions, so playing over and over again is encouraged. Missions usually have you do something a certain number of times, such as destroying enemies, double jumping, or using a certain powerup. Some other Missions require you to complete a Boss Act, beat an Act under a time limit, or end the Act with a small amount of Rings.
The powerups seem pointless at first, but are actually incredibly helpful. The Bomb destroys every on-screen enemy, the Shield protects you from one hit, the Magnet pulls Rings in from a distance, Bounce Back allows you to keep going even after you've fallen off screen, and Ring Time turns enemies that Sonic touches into Rings for a short time. There's another powerup that I haven't leveled up enough to get called Blast Off, which, judging by the icon, is just a regular boost. Most of the powerups can be upgraded by buying them with Rings, and every powerup except for Ring Time can be purchased and put on reserve to be used at any point in the Act (granted you've leveled up enough for them). Every powerup but Blast Off can be picked up during Acts as well by hitting Item Monitors.
So far, there are only two unlockable characters and three available Zones for Story Mode, but more are apparently going to be added with free updates. An image in the settings suggests that Shadow and Amy will be included later, which would be fantastic. More levels should be the main focus, though, because with only three Zones, the Story Mode is completed relatively quickly. A "Coming Soon" image shows up if you scroll past the last Zone, so more are obviously going to be included, but it's the stuff in the background of the image that interest me: there are hot air balloons. The last time I saw hot air balloons of that style were in the Sonic Generations version of Rooftop Run, so (this is just speculation) they might be adding Zones from older games. I wouldn't mind that at all, because it's a little strange to transition from the famous Green Hill Zone to the Jungle and Mountain Zones. I'd like to see what they would do with Zones like Speed Highway or Chemical Plant, so we have something else to jump around in that isn't a nature area.
Sonic Jump isn't anything special, but when it comes down to it, it isn't meant to be. It's just an iOS game built for pointless fun for when you get bored, or feel like you need your fill of Sonic while on the go. Sonic Jump is currently priced at $1.99 on the iOS App Store. Try it out if you want, and let me know what you think about it in the comments.
Don't worry, though: this version of Sonic Jump doesn't suck!
The gameplay is incredibly fluent and addictive, and the art style is downright awesome. The animations flow nicely, and although the music is completely new (even for Green Hill Zone), it's still incredibly catchy and pleasant on the ears.
The game has two modes: Story and Arcade. Arcade is a lot like Doodle Jump; all you have to do is see how high you can jump before dying. Story Mode, on the other hand, has (currently) 3 Zones, each with 11 Acts and a boss act. The Story Mode is a lot of fun, but to be perfectly honest, it's sort of lackluster. The levels can be tough and the object placement can get extremely annoying (especially the fans in Mountain Zone), and the Boss Acts are all pretty bland, with Eggman behaving the same every time. The comic book style cutscenes presented between Zones are very well-drawn, and are a cool concept...until you realize they're all exactly the same. Seriously, Sonic is even in the same pose every time! Besides this, game is still a lot of fun, and the Red Star Rings, Missions, and the ranking system coax you into replaying old levels. In fact, the game rewards you for virtually everything. Leveling up (which is achieved through completing Missions) allows you to buy more powerups and characters, making it easier to complete said Missions, so playing over and over again is encouraged. Missions usually have you do something a certain number of times, such as destroying enemies, double jumping, or using a certain powerup. Some other Missions require you to complete a Boss Act, beat an Act under a time limit, or end the Act with a small amount of Rings.
The powerups seem pointless at first, but are actually incredibly helpful. The Bomb destroys every on-screen enemy, the Shield protects you from one hit, the Magnet pulls Rings in from a distance, Bounce Back allows you to keep going even after you've fallen off screen, and Ring Time turns enemies that Sonic touches into Rings for a short time. There's another powerup that I haven't leveled up enough to get called Blast Off, which, judging by the icon, is just a regular boost. Most of the powerups can be upgraded by buying them with Rings, and every powerup except for Ring Time can be purchased and put on reserve to be used at any point in the Act (granted you've leveled up enough for them). Every powerup but Blast Off can be picked up during Acts as well by hitting Item Monitors.
So far, there are only two unlockable characters and three available Zones for Story Mode, but more are apparently going to be added with free updates. An image in the settings suggests that Shadow and Amy will be included later, which would be fantastic. More levels should be the main focus, though, because with only three Zones, the Story Mode is completed relatively quickly. A "Coming Soon" image shows up if you scroll past the last Zone, so more are obviously going to be included, but it's the stuff in the background of the image that interest me: there are hot air balloons. The last time I saw hot air balloons of that style were in the Sonic Generations version of Rooftop Run, so (this is just speculation) they might be adding Zones from older games. I wouldn't mind that at all, because it's a little strange to transition from the famous Green Hill Zone to the Jungle and Mountain Zones. I'd like to see what they would do with Zones like Speed Highway or Chemical Plant, so we have something else to jump around in that isn't a nature area.
Sonic Jump isn't anything special, but when it comes down to it, it isn't meant to be. It's just an iOS game built for pointless fun for when you get bored, or feel like you need your fill of Sonic while on the go. Sonic Jump is currently priced at $1.99 on the iOS App Store. Try it out if you want, and let me know what you think about it in the comments.
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