Sonic Jump for iPhone and iPad is, in a nutshell, SEGA's version of the popular platform jumper Doodle Jump that features SEGA's iconic character Sonic the Hedgehog. There are two games modes, Story and Arcade, where you must jump and tilt your way up the levels collecting coins, defeating enemies, gaining abilities, and battling Dr. Eggman.
Sonic Jump features two games modes: Story and Arcade. In Story Mode, you progress through different levels by jumping your way to the top. When you complete all the levels in a zone, you must defeat Dr. Eggman in a special boss level. In Arcade Mode, you simply try to get as high as you can without dying.
The first zone is fairly easy and doesn't include very many obstacles which is great for beginners because it helps you learn the controls and strategies for the game. For those who are "naturals" at this type of game, you may not find it very challenging, but just stick with it, because it gets a lot harder in the other zones. When you complete a level, you will be given a score based on your time, how many enemies you defeated, how many stars and rings you collected, and the number of power-ups you gained. If you die, you will be given a random tip on the screen that lets you start over.
The controls for Sonic Jump are very simple -- tilt your iPhone or iPad from side to side to move left and right and tap the screen to do a double-jump. I will admit that playing Sonic Jump is a little awkward on an iPad because of it's size, but I'm sure the iPad mini will be a great device for playing Sonic Jump.
Each level will feature various obstacles including enemies, moving platforms, breakable ledges, spikes, and more. To defeat an enemy, you must attack it from underneath (which is a bit counterintuitive when the enemy is a bee). If you make contact with something that causes damage, like spikes or an enemy by falling on it, then you will lose all your rings. If you don't have any rings to lose, then you die. You also die if you fall off the screen, as once your field of view goes up, there's no coming back down.
Other items you will encounter in Sonic Jump are chests that release a special power. These abilities include magnetism to help gather more rings, a protective bubble, a special ring that turns any enemy you get close to into rings, and more. If you jump on a safe, it'll deposit all your rings so that you can be sure that you won't lose them.
As you play the Sonic Jump, you are given various missions to complete that help you "level up". These missions are similar to those found in the popular arcade game Jetpack Joyride [Free - App Store link]. For example, a few of the available missions include wrapping around the screen 8 times in a Story Act, jumping on one platform 10 times, making 180 jumps, and collecting 500 rings. Some of the missions require skill, and some are just silly. At levels 17 and 20, you will be able to play as Tail and Knuckles, respectively.
As with nearly every arcade game these days, there is a store included with Sonic Jump. From here you can buy power-ups with rings that you've collected, or if you want to purchase rings with real money, you can do that too.
The good
- Fun and addicting
- Includes Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles (Tails and Knuckles get unlocked at levels 17 and 20)
- Arcade and Story modes
- 36 levels in Story mode
- Boss levels against Dr. Eggman
- Unlock power ups and more with rings
- Purchase more rings as in-app purchases
- Universal for iPhone and iPad
The bad
- Progress does not sync between devices
The bottom line
If you're a fan of Doodle Jump and of Sonic the Hedgehog, then you'll enjoy Sonic Jump. It's fun, addicting, challenging, and a bit nostalgic.
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