Temple Run

The Good
Yes, I am calling this game an instant-classic, a title which one would assume requires a truly marvelous game. However, this is the Android we are talking about and with this system it's already a wonder if the game runs without making the phone kill itself. Smart-phones are good managerial games (Game Dev Story and the likes), but it's odd to see a game like Temple Run been one of the top games on this system. Not because it's an action game, but because it's an action game that actually controls very well. Tilting your phone to move to the sides works very well and using the touch screen for commands like sliding and jumping is also fun to do. The controls never really caused any frustration for me and that's a big step forward.

The game is also very fast, in the sense that there is a lot happening on the screen that requires your full attention. The idea is that your character is running away from monsters, he runs automatically and all you have to do is steer him to the sides and avoid the many obstacles on the path. It sounds simple enough, but the high speed at which the character runs, as well as the many turns you'll have to make, provide a really meaty challenge and forces you to think quickly.

If you make a mistake, this doesn't always mean that you will die instantly. If you merely trip over a small obstacle or make a bad landing, you will be slowed down for a few seconds and the monsters will come closer. If you make another mistake during this time, then you are in trouble, but if not you will regain speed after a while and the monsters will leave again. This is a good mechanic to prevent frustration, because nothing is more annoying than making a slight mistake and instantly dying just before you get a new high-score.

There are also power-ups in the game, which is very entertaining. There is a magnet that sucks in all nearby coins, an invisibility buff, a speed-booster and a large coin just to name a few. It sounds like basic stuff, but by collecting the coins during the game, you can upgrade these power-ups, so that their effects last longer or have a better effect. Another way to invest your coins, is to buy items that work a single time (extra lives and speed-boosters) or save up for one of the extra characters. Gathering money is a nice way to give the player something to work towards and that is what many Android games forget, in my opinion.

The Bad
The framerate isn't always that fantastic while playing the game, something that can probably be blamed on the fact that the game uses a lot of memory while it's playing. This usually results in the game responding very slowly or moving in slow-motion, but one time the game just crashed and froze my entire phone, forcing me to take out the battery and restart the phone.

Some of the traps in the game can be placed rather unfairly, which is what you can expect when content is randomly generated. The most common scenario I run into is a giant tree that requires me to slide, followed by a large jump that I couldn't see because of the tree. There are also a lot of traps that come right after a turn, making it impossible for you to be ready for them.

Talking about the area-generator, it's not really clever. The goal of a system that randomly generates a world as the player moves forward is to create a seemingly endless realm for the player to explore, but here the world literally disappears behind you. This becomes apparent very soon, as the game starts just turn right three times (or left if you want) and I can guarantee you that neither the start, nor any of the paths you have uncovered will be there. This creates the weird scenario where you can just constantly run in circles. and still see entirely different areas.

There is no way to tweak the difficulty, which I find a bit sad. I would have loved to mess with the speed at which you run or turn certain traps on and off.

The Bottom Line
The problem with reviewing Android/Iphone games (and likely the reason why nobody reviews them here) is that there isn't much you can say about them. These games are so far behind in terms of complexity that they literally resemble Atari games, but with Playstation 1 graphics. As far as these games go though, Temple Run is actually quite enjoyable and, like I said, a classic for this platformer. It's fast, it controls well and the developers clearly put some thought into it. There are some issues of course, but some of them are likely connected to system limitations.

If you have very little time on your hand and you find yourself having too little time to play the latest games, then Temple Run might be a good way to still get some gaming done until the next vacation arrives. Little kids might also find this entertaining, but if you are looking for something complex, then I suggest sticking to the PC and consoles.

The Good
Takes one minute to get into. It's not too hard to keep running/surviving for a long time, and you can definitely get better as you play more.

The "Wings" items are the very best highlight of Temple Run. The wings are available for use 30 seconds after you are resurrected. Therefore, the typical devoted Temple Run player will do this: buy a bunch of wings (at least 5, typically 8 or more), run, die, (and here's the key) survive for just 30 more seconds. You only have to survive for 30 seconds. After that, your death will be resurrected by a wing.

The Bad
Very repetitive. The last several goals (missions) are just insane, like, "Run 10,000,000 meters", "Get 100,000,000 coins". Any normal people will just give up. Unrealistic missions like this are either due to the developer's lack of game design skills, or due to their unrealistic narcissism. "We've made a game so good, people will surely play it for thousands of hours!" Sorry, no one will.

The Bottom Line
Temple Run, Temple Run 2, they're all the same. Endless runners in which you die, start from the beginning again, and die again. Nothing more. One minute of watching someone else play it will give you a good idea of what it is.