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Doodle Jump (iPhone)

Review by Ben Briggs, June 06, 2009

iPhone integration (About)
  • Save state: No
  • iPod music: Yes
  • Status bar: No
  • Version: 1.2.1
  • Price as reviewed: 59p
  • by Lima Sky

Doodle Jump is another simple game which can be horribly, horribly addictive. It's not always easy to find the magical formula which makes people go for the highest score, but we think that this game does get it right.

Right off the bat, the addictive qualities in this game lie in it's fast launch time and 'one more go' factor, which is helped by a rather tempting 'play again' button smack bang in the centre of the game over screen. We can't stress enough that this type of tactic is a must for any casual game along these lines, to keep players engrossed in the experience. We also loved the high score markers which appear at the right hand side of the screen, to let you know when you passed someone else's (or your own) score.

It also helps that the game always keeps throwing you new elements as you jump higher and higher - black holes to suck you in, platforms that disappear after you've bounced once on them, enemies you must shoot, moving platforms and more. With fun, hand drawn illustrations, the game manages to stay fresh, even when you've been up all night playing.

The tilt controls are perfectly calibrated, but we didn't much like the directional shooting in the game - fortunately you can disable it and just tap to fire straight up at all times. The developers have only allowed one pause per game, so that it is fairer for the high scores - this means no save state. No music is bundled with the game, but as you can play your own amongst some cute sound effects, it's really not necessary.

With fun, hand drawn illustrations, the game manages to stay fresh, even when you've been up all night playing.

Regarding scoring; Local, worldwide and even your Facebook friends are tracked on the leader board. Within the game, local scores are displayed in blue, worldwide in red. It gives a real sense of accomplishment when jumping past other people's scores, and for us beats having a leader board in the first place. It'd be even cooler if the game showed a number rank along with the score, but we're not complaining.

Doodle Jump is a perfect example of how to make a simple, casual game. Worldwide scoring and the way the game does this really sets the bar for future titles - it's a real 59p gem.

Grade: B, Great

With online connectivity, superb tilt controls and some neat features, it's a game that's terribly hard to put down.

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