Rapid Review: Rogue Runner - Going Rogue
Rogue Runner ($0.99) When you first start up Rogue Runner you instinctively think of Canabalt with the casual endless side scrolling and retro graphics. You also think of Monster Dash with the shooting mechanic, but does this app do enough to stand on its own? Well once you start playing you can definitely say yes because of the speed and amount of action always on screen.
There is never a dull moment as you face continuous steep jumps as well as ground and flying enemies. You'll need to blast through the enemies quickly because you're moving so fast. You tap the left side to jump, and right side to shoot, and then tap on flying enemies to fire a missile at them.
The game is extremely difficult in comparison to the two games previously mentioned, and that's shown best by having multiple lives, and still not very high online high scores. You start in a vehicle, either jeep or tank, and try to make it as far as you can with three lives. When those are depleted you have one last ditch effort on foot.
Every new platform has a load of ground enemies, and there are always new airborne enemies flying in. Your jump height is determined by how ling you hold the button which is always nice. Like all casual endless games Rogue Runner does get repetitive, but with the load of action it feels somewhat fresh each time through.
The game is plenty challenging to keep you engaged, and replaying to try to better your score. The retro graphics are really well done, and it's great watching your car and gun blow through enemies. There are just sound effects with no background music, and there are only online high scores with no achievements.
The overload of enemies, and the pace of the game make it superior to Canabalt and Monster Dash. For $0.99 Rogue Runner is worth picking up if you like playing Canabalt and/or Monster Dash, but want some more.
