Cars 2 - Canabalt With Some Extra Nuts and Bolts
Cars 2 ($0.99) by Disney is the portable game tie-in for Pixar’s latest release, and isn’t what you’d expect from a property based entirely on cars.
Instead of taking a traditional racing approach, it builds on Canabalt’s basic gameplay while throwing in some extra mechanics that keep the game interesting for more than just the film’s younger audience.
The basic premise of the game is simple: your chosen car (a selection between any of the movie’s four main characters) moves non-stop through a level. It’s your job to use a combination of jumping and tilting to safely navigate your car while collecting as many trinkets as possible (similar to the “gizmos” in Bumpy Road).
The 24 total stages increase in difficulty and complexity as you advance, and feature everything from branching paths, trampolines, swinging hooks, and helicopters.
The gameplay’s simplicity caries into the controls: tap once to jump, and a second time for a mid-air double jump (much like you can in Robot Unicorn Attack). By tilting your device left or right the car can be angled, helping you clear larger obstacles and climb up if you’re left hanging from an edge.
The pick-ups’ main purpose is for scoring, with the exception of a wrench that fixes your car and a magnet that sucks up nearby collectibles.
It's hard to go wrong with such proven gameplay mechanics, and the game doesn't disappoint. The graphics and soundtrack are what you’d expect from such a game; laden with bright colors and secret agent tunes overshadowed by the constant ring of items being collected.
It may not be an instant classic, but its entertainment value at $0.99 makes it easy to recommend to anyone looking for a new pick up and play title.
