BloodRunner Review

By Andrew Nesvadba, on November 25, 2010

Publisher: FunOnYourCell
Genre: Arcade
Released: 15 Nov, 2010
Size: 64.4 MB
Price: $0.99

PROS

Challenging fast-paced platforming.
Intuitive controls.
Open progress system; jump in at a level you prefer.

CONS

No jump height control.
Constant restarts hampered by unskippable countdown.

VERDICT

BloodRunner is no cakewalk of a platformer and you'll need your wits about you and a bit of gutsy luck to dive through the game's hairier challenges, but the controls still need a bit of tweaking to make this a truly absorbing title.

Full Review
App Store Info

It's not easy being a vampire, what with all the annoying weaknesses and the need to feed on blood, but imagine if you only had 10 seconds to live? BloodRunner by FunOnYourCell is an N+ inspired platformer where you only have 10 seconds on the clock and you'll need to collect blood while avoiding numerous traps and hazards before making it back to the safety of your coffin.

One of the biggest challenges of making this style of fast paced and timing-critical platforming work on an iDevice is attempting to develop a control system to match the task. Instead of a d-pad, players need only to tilt their device to move left and right and tap to jump or double-jump. Wall-jumps and slides are also available and only require you to tilt against the wall to 'stick' against it. This allows you to be incredibly agile and the relatively 'floaty' jumping helps with making mid-air maneuvers as you dodge some rather complex level hazards.

However, it's odd that the jumping itself is locked to a fixed height and with almost every level placing blood pick-ups mid-air you'll find yourself needing to restart over and over to discover the perfect launching point to collect them. And frustratingly, while restarting can be instant, players are subjected to a countdown that can't be skipped.

The game's visuals are clear and cartoonish, though edged with enough fun to keep things upbeat and players have a lot of options as to how they wish to progress. Levels are locked off in to groups of 10, but players can commence at any of these cutoffs from one of three opening stages. Blood Runner can be a frustrating game to enjoy, but fans of platformers like N+ will find themselves plowing through the content and setting high-scores with the best of them.

Screenshots