Jump little alien, Jump!!! Ahoy, ye caught me playin’ this new app called Jumpster. I be tellin’ you, this little game has got me swirlin’. Tis’ got me hooked day and night. And this app pirate has even lost the taste of blood on me cutlass or even rum. Sweet Calypso help me. Har har, aye, the truth of it is I be addicted to this not so new app. And coming from your trusty app pirate, that be a big deal.
Launched in October 2012, Jumpster from G5 Entertainment is one of those apps that will take your imagination by storm. It is a platformer and a puzzler app, which means it will require fast reflexes and some brains from its users. Now, while Jumpster may seem like another rehash in an already overpopulated genre, once you immerse yourself into the game, you will see it in a different light.
The Gist
In Jumpster, you are given control of a little alien whose name is, yes you guessed it right, jumpster. This little fella lost his ship and it is your mission to help him find it by slinging and shooting him across all 80 or so levels in the game. Each level is fraught with a variety of obstacles and elements that will make even the most experience puzzler veteran pull his hair out.
The Gameplay
Each level of Jumpster provides you with unique challenges, elements, and backgrounds, all of which makes the game standout in a genre full of wanna-bes. Most platformer and puzzler fusion apps will often drown you in stages full of the same stuff. In Jumpster, every level is different and its design, which is quite exotic and alien, is superbly crafted with detail. Let me give you an idea.
On each level, you will see a number of platforms ridden with water… in other words, puddles. If you are wondering what these are, understand this – Jumpster, our little alien can only survive in water. Hence, while you may find a lot of other boosting elements such as trampolines, bounce pads, transporters, and cannons, all of which can help you move the alien higher up in that level, he still needs to find safe footing on these watery surfaces, otherwise the mission is lost.
At the early levels, you will find the whole “always be in water” easy to deal with. However, the challenge actually elevates to greater proportions as you move forward to the later levels where nasty obstacles like spikes, strange-looking monsters, and a bevy of surprises are aplenty. As soon as you reach these levels, it will be worthwhile to pause and think about your next moves, especially since that little alien apparently has an energy meter you have to play around with, which depletes on every shot. And there you have it, a game that actually makes you think.
The Drawback
I personally like Jumpster simply because it is challenging. However, some people may not like the fact that it is a freemium game, which we all know is designed to entice users to buy power ups using real currency in-game in order to finish the game or at least a certain mission or level. Well, Jumpster is really no different in this regard. Remember the developers have to earn something out of this, right? Unfortunately, this is the revenue mode they chose as opposed to ads or other subtle sales generating idea. And believe me, there are more than 10 levels in the game that will tempt you to get power ups. And there lies the drawback. The good news is that all the levels can be completed without such purchases if you really put your mind into it and rub a rabbit’s foot or two for luck.
Jumpster is currently available for all iOS devices and has phenomenal iPhone 5 support.
