Don’t Run With a Plasma Sword
Platformers are hard to do on an iOS device without resorting to fake (and stupid) joysticks or buttons. Don’t Run With a Plasma Sword bucks this trend by combining the essence of a platformer with the approachability of an endless runner. Your character auto-runs forward, but you still have to tell him when to jump, slide, and attack. It is so well-executed, though, I’d say it even trumps Jetpack Joyride. It’s that good. Yes, there’s the typical endless mode with different achievements to work towards, but there’s also a story mode with finite levels and boss battles. I find myself switching between the two modes a lot, as the difficulty does get intense in each. The difficulty curve is fair, though, and experience points you earn can be spent on upgrades and additional skills that are, one, very useful, and two, actually attainable without having to spend real money. The game also has a great style and sense of humor, giving advice on other things not to do with a plasma sword in between levels. As platformers and runners go, this is definitely one of the iOS market’s better offerings.
While this game is fun and the gameplay is more involved than Jetpack Joyride, I’m not even close to enjoying it as much. I like that alI had to do was dodge stuff in JJ, it felt like I could go on forever. This game has so much going on that I always feel like I’m gonna die, it’s just inevitable.
I’m just not into games that go on forever. I need goals. Jetpack Joyride does have goals, which made it fun, but I also like how Don’t Run has a story mode with checkpoints and different environments.