Jet Point Review
:: INFINITY AND BEYONDDeveloper: YoRooster Studios
Price: $0.99
Version Reviewed: 1.0.
Device Reviewed On: iPhone 4S
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Jet Point shares a lot in common with classic, 70s sci-fi movies like Solaris and 2001. It's got a sterile, space station setting; a bleak, mostly monochromatic art style; and it makes humans seem small and disposable. Also, just like those movies, Jet Point can be difficult to get through, and sometimes it doesn't seem worth it.
Players take control of D.A.V.E.s, clones designed for the Humonix Corporation's dangerous, puzzle-platforming experiments. The premise is a cross between Portal and the movie Moon, another recent, 70s, sci-fi homage. Using his jetpack, players guide Dave away from deadly debris while trying to lure rockets into enemy generators.
Making sure the rockets stay on target without hitting Dave is one of Jet Point's numerous, punishingly difficult balancing acts. Using the touch screen to control Dave's thrust and descent makes any kind of precise movement next to impossible. The exaggerated, zero-gravity bouncing doesn't help either. Even if players do manage to succeed, just landing Dave on the exit platforms Lunar Lander-style can take a few extra minutes. Maybe if the game had the speed of something like Super Meat Boy or Hotline Miami, the constant deaths would be less frustrating. As it stands now though, the intriguing puzzle-platforming mechanic is hard to appreciate underneath the layers of sadism.
For players that can tough it out though, the rest of Jet Point is pretty impressive. There are only 12 levels at the start but they are all intricately-designed and distinct from each other. Besides, it's not like players can just breeze through them. The game in general has a great eye for detail whether it's the Dave tubes in the menu, the menacingly black and angular technology, or the heartless, corporate aesthetic of Humonix itself. If that all sounds too dark though, the Space Mountain style music does a great job at lightening the mood.
Jet Point is frustrating game but a good one too. Rocket science isn't supposed to be easy either.
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iPhone Screenshots
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