Gear Jack Review
Price: $0.99
Version Reviewed: 1.01
Device Reviewed On: iPod touch 5
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Players control Jack, a robot who must escape a crumbling space ship. This provides compelling reason for it to run and not stop, because even robots fear death. Jack can jump, roll into a ball, and perform midair maneuvers when the player taps the appropriate button as they pass an icon in the air. Through 29 levels, players have one goal: get Jack to the end safe and sound. Well, there is the secondary goal of collecting all the little icons in the levels to get 3 stars, because style points do count for good ol’ Jack.
Remember Sonic Jump? This game would be a good foundation for how a true Sonic endless runner should be like, with rolling and jumping, and the occasional multi-level path. The upgrade system, which allows players to assign points to different attributes, and then re-assign them as necessary, so if a level feels like it would be easier if the protagonist could jump higher, then points can be shuffled around to do just that. The visual style, which uses a lot of flat colors with only limited details applied where necessary, definitely stands out while playing.
The frustration factor of Gear Jack took this from being a solid auto-running platformer into another game on the scrap heap for me. This is the kind of game that despairs me: it’s a title with such promise, but it gets chucked away by its frustrating level design. It’s a shame.