Most continuous running games that run rampant on smartphones and tablets are geared toward casual gamers.  But now there is one that is just for retro hard-core gamers who grew up on tough-as-nails 8-bit challenges.  In Jump ‘N’ Shoot Attack, the president of Earth 4 has been kidnapped by aliens, and it’s up to Louise Lightfoot to stop them!  You can download this game on iOS and Android devices as well as Windows phones, but it’s reviewed on iPad here.

Play control is easy to learn, but the game sure isn’t!  Louise constantly runs from left to right, stopping only if she hits a wall.  She’ll automatically slide under low spaces, too.  Press the left side of the screen to make her jump, and the right side of the screen makes her shoot.  Power-ups you can pick up include upgrades for your weapon, extra lives, and if you collect three diamonds in an area, you’ll earn a 1up as well.  But you’ll lose your upgrades on the next stage so you have to pick them up again.

You can tell that this game drew inspiration from 8-bit classics.  Louise herself looks, walks, and shoots like Mega Man, and the graphics look like they were lifted straight from a Metroid game.  Even the music sounds like a mix of high energy chiptune beats from Contra, Journey to Silius, and of course, Mega Man titles.

Unfortunately, I wish I could tell you more about the game, but it was so gosh darn hard I didn’t get very far.  Part of the problem is that continuous runners usually let you start close to where you left off if you die.  But not here!  Even though you get 10 lives to start, you’ll cycle through them very quickly unless you’re an ace player.  To make matters worse, if you die (one hit kills you) and lose all your lives, you have to start over at the very first level unless you make it to a new world, which I never did.  I’d like to say the jumping controls felt a little sticky in places, too, but I don’t want to blame that on my lack of skill.  So while the game looks and sounds cool and plays fairly well, it’s a bit too hard for its own good.  Only super players need apply.

Kid Factor:

Violence is minimal.  Enemies explode when defeated and if you hit a bad guy or a spike, you just fall off the screen.  Reading skill isn’t needed, but younger players may get frustrated at the high level of difficulty.

Tags: Game Reviews