An astronaut’s spacecraft has crashed and now he must run through the rubble to the warp panel to get home! Galaxy Run may sound like your typical continuously running platformer, prevalent on tablet devices at first, but it’s actually a bit different. The action just takes place on a single screen, with you on the left side and the warp point on the right. And in between is a bunch of obstacles for you to jump over unscathed so you can reach the goal. As soon as you tap on the touch screen, your astronaut will start running. Tap again to make him jump; it’s as easy as that. Well, sort of. Anyway, Galaxy Run is available for iOS, but reviewed for iPad here.

There are hundreds of levels in the game, and depending on how fast you run through them, you’ll earn up to three blue spheres. You can also unlock tougher, bonus levels, too. In each stage you’ll find obstacles to avoid like pits, electric barriers, spikes, and more. If you touch one you’ll have to start the level over again. Scattered about these levels are pickups and other goodies that can help you reach the goal, such as the ability to double jump or run on ceilings. Other environmental helpers including grappling hooks for you to swing across, speed panels to help you go faster and jump longer (just mind the timing of your hops), and more!

The dopey, Saturday morning cartoon style theme song with lyrics that they play at the title screen and menus cracked me up, as did the overenthusiastic cheers of the astronaut when he reaches the warp point. Overall it’s a fun game with lots of content, but it is very hard, so only experienced platformer gamers need apply.

Kid Factor:

Your astronaut can fall off of cliffs and get zapped with electricity, but the violence is no worse than a Road Runner cartoon. If he hits spikes or other objects he just falls off the screen, only to reappear at the beginning, ready for more. Reading skill is helpful for the text instructions, and younger gamers may get frustrated at the tougher levels, even though you get unlimited tries.

Tags: Game Reviews