Monsters, Inc. Run Review

By , on December 19, 2012


Monsters, Inc. Run
  • Publisher: Disney
  • Genre: Action
  • Released: 13 Dec, 2012
  • Size: 45.2 MB
  • Price: $1.99
Download on the AppStore
3 out of 5

PROS

  • Mega Run with a Monsters, Inc. makeover; a boon for those who loved the original game and movie.
  • Alternative monster duos to unlock.

CONS

  • No real innovation in gameplay; all the pros and cons of the original are retained, though the unlock system is smoothed out.

VERDICT

We've quite literally seen all of this before, which is a shame as adding the 'Monsters, Inc.' franchise in to the Mega Run mix could have been a recipe for some fresh ideas.


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It was bound to happen - the freight train of Disney Interactive's mash-up of successful iOS franchises with their own properties has run in to a bit of a snag. Where previous titles managed to blend its inspirations up and come out with something new, 'Monsters, Inc. Run' opts to simply balance the freemium auto-runner to create something more akin to what the first title should have been.

As such the best moments of this title match those of Mega Run by Get Set Games without much innovation. Indeed everything to be found within 'Monsters, Inc. Run' merely re-skins the game you may already know and love (albeit in the developer's pitch-perfect cartoonish style). So where does the entry fee come in?

Interestingly your money goes towards redressing the coin-earning capacity of Mike and Sulley (the monstrous duo of the hit Disney film), ensuring that the player has more than enough in their coffers to pay for upgrades as they unlock. New characters will cost a bit more, but it's nothing you won't earn by smashing through the game's copious amount of stages.

For those who missed it the first time around your goal is to simply finish the small stage set before you, however the catch comes in several forms: firstly, you can't stop the momentum of Mike or Sulley outside of smashing in to walls (and even then Sulley will simply smash through them); there are plenty of monsters trying to stop you from reaching Boo; and the levels themselves are packed full of tiny platforms and gaping chasms for you to plummet down.

By collecting power-ups and making use of the cleverly implemented double-jump system (players can only jump twice once they've hit a monster or power-up), you'll eventually make it to the end, with replays helping to boost the coins you've earned and possibly collect Boo's lost toys.

'Monsters, Inc. Run' doesn't innovate so much as it keeps the status quo and if you were put off my Mega Run in its original incarnation you may find it worthwhile diving in to this release instead. For fans of the original, you should already know if you enjoyed your time with the game and whether it's worth going through the effort all over again.

Screenshots

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