Brake For Frogger!

The very, very first thing that drew me to Doodle Jump, other than the recommendation of a friend, was its app. store blurb. Stating that Doodle Jump is to the iPod what Mario was to the NES, was a claim, I thought, far too high to aspire to. There was no choice in the matter, I had to find out for myself and at a mere fifty nine of my hard earned pennies, I simply couldn’t resist.

Doodle Jump is the intricate story of a Russian farmer and his struggle with the ongoing economic depression. His wife has left him and the rains don’t come in as often as they used to. His world is crashing around him and his only friend is the bottle… Of course, I’m joking. Doodle Jump is, at first glance, as basic a platformer as you can get. You play a roughly semi circular creature armed with some pretty powerful legs and a trumpet like nose and your aim is to get as high as you can without falling to your doom. Sounds easy enough.

Your sprite (whom is apparently called ‘the doodler’, but that I will refer to as DJ for the remainder, purely for ease) is constantly jumping and the jump is limited to a constant height. The platforms that DJ is aiming for are roughly twice his width and are dotted randomly giving multiple paths that he can use in his ascent. What will usually result in your last jump is that any of these platforms that drop below the bottom of the screen no longer exist. To control DJ involves tilting your device from side to side, angling his jumps to land on these platforms and just to mess with your head somewhat, jumping off the edge of the screen brings you back on the opposite side. Now I’ve never been a fan of tilt style controls, call me a control freak if you like but I’ve always found them to be somewhat inaccurate and prefer the controls to be at my fingertips. However, this works really well; the movement is responsive and approachable without being twitchy.

Unfortunately for DJ life isn’t all bouncy-bouncy. There are a number of obstacles in his way ranging from fragile platforms that snap as he lands on them, to black holes that, if he strays in front of, will pull him in, ending the game and sending him somewhere that probably only Stephen Hawking understands. There are also flying or floating nasties that, if touched, hurl DJ to his death. However DJ isn’t totally helpless. In true platform style, if he manages to land on one of these critters then they’re destroyed but his real tour de force is that trumpet like nose. This will fire a projectile anywhere the screen is tapped, vaporising enemies and allowing him to be on his merry way. He can also utilise a few power ups as he goes, ranging from a rocket pack, springs for his feet, a shield, or, my personal favourite, a helicopter hat, to name but a few.

Doodle Jump looks and sounds great – It really does look like something you could jot down on paper whilst waiting on the phone for some customer services department to answer- the background even looks like graph paper. It’s very colourful and cute in rather a disjointed, abstract way and though the ‘doodles’ do look like something a ten year old may invent that only goes to add to its charm.

When I first loaded this up I’ll admit it wasn’t what I was expecting. I thought it may last the length of time it took me to get an idea for writing this, but then it would be doomed to the recesses of my iTunes account, never to grace out again. Then forty five minutes later, I realised I was still playing, over and over again. I had died, a lot, but DJ is a trooper and will keeping running up that hill as long as you want him to, and believe me, you will want him to, a lot. This is one of the most addictive games I’ve played on this platform. I can’t say I’ve had much previous experience with the producers, Lima Sky; however it would seem that they have discovered a way to make gold with this little guy.

To add a little extra competition to the title, you also get little marks on the background as you advance upwards that show where your previous scores have been, or better yet, where local user’s scores have been. Every mark you pass makes you feel a little better, making you push that extra few inches to the next. Then once you fall, which you will, you can post your score to your facebook or twitter account, just to make sure your friends know that DJ is safer in your hands than in theirs. Even if you don’t have either of these applications, your top 10 scores are saved to the stats and scores menu, along with some maybe slightly more embarrassing information on how you tend to best extinguish DJ’s sweet little light.

Just to add a little festive cheer, there is a ‘snow’ mode included which, once turned on, turns the platforms into blocks of ice, the power ups into presents and the enemies into Christmas trees and icicles. The background turns into a snowy white wilderness and DJ gets dressed up in a charming little Santa suit. Also hidden in this version of the app, and opened by altering your name, are a couple more themes that I’ll let you find on your own; including a Halloween spin and some character changes – don’t worry, DJ won’t be offended, bless his little face.

To conclude, I understand fully why this is the highest ranking (paid) game on the app. store at the moment. Its simplicity and addictive nature instantly draw you in; within minutes you can be completely hooked. I even tried handing this over to my non gaming girlfriend, and though DJ didn’t know what hit him, each time he fell (to a chorus of swears I didn’t know she was capable of, I might add), he was instantly reborn to try again. I think that the claim of being the next Mario was a shoe ever-so-slightly too big for DJ to fill. But he’s only small at the moment, give him time to grow and I think the mushroom chomping Italian better watch his back. Go and get it.

(This review has been written by BfF’s newest addition and regular contributor, Andrew Curson (aka ARC1984 on PSN). His addition to the Bios. page will be forthcoming.)