It’s kind of surprising the amount of platformers that are available for smartphones. Don’t get me wrong, I realize it’s a very popular genre. But platformers require very precise controls to make the ideal jump and avoid pitfalls and enemies. Unfortunately, tight and precise controls are something smartphones simply aren’t built for. So it’s the tough task of the game developers to find a way to make the controls work with a simple touch screen system. Why am I doing this rant right now? Because today we’re taking a look at a platform game. Called Mr. Jump for iOS.

The Basics

I guess just by looking at the title you can pretty much figure out this is a platformer. I mean, he is Mr. Jump after all. I guess if his name was Mr. Deliver The Mail you would deliver the mail. And if he was Mr. Calculate Simple Math you would calculate simple math. Anyways, you jump in this game. That was all I really had to say. (What a waste of a paragraph!)

The Gameplay

Mr. Jump is a 2D endless runner. In other words, there’s no need to run forwards. Your only control is to jump, which you do by tapping the screen. You do this to avoid bottomless pits, spikes, and to get to higher platforms. Because all the running is done for you, you don’t even need to control that aspect of the game. Which I wish was the case in real life. I could live with someone else taking care of all my running.

Is It Fun?

This game delivered pretty much everything I expected it to. All of the basics of platforming are there, such as pits to avoid and, well, platforms. What really makes the game enjoyable is the difficulty. Many of the jumps require the perfect tap, meaning you’re going to fail quite a few times your first few tries in every level. However, it’s not so difficult that it’s frustrating. Instead, you feel motivated to keep trying.

The Bottom Line

Mr. Jump is about as simple as you can get. From the name to the graphics, this is a game that wants to keep everything pretty easy. Well, except the gameplay. And that’s what’s kind of nice about the game. It makes the platforming the main focus of the adventure, and is a more replayable experience because of it. I just wish they’d give poor Mr. Jump a face. Can he even see in front of him?