Jetpack Joyride is the next game from Halfbrick, developers of everyone's favorite fruit cutting game Fruit Ninja. Jetpack Joyride, just like Fruit Ninja, is simple in concept but has some hidden depth to it. The basic gameplay of Jetpack Joyride is similar to the helicopter game I'm sure that we all have played, in that you must click, or in this case tap and hold, to move Barry up and down on the screen as he moves from left to right. The tricky part comes when zappers are introduced into play; touching these zappers will lead to Barry's death and will make you start over.
The goal of the game is to keep Barry alive for as long as possible and your score is rated by how many meters you traveled before you died. That’s the simple part of the game but there are some more things for you to do. You are given three missions to complete which can range from high fiving 25 scientists in one game to getting 10 close calls with the zappers. Each of these missions has a star rating associated with them and getting these stars will let you level up, leveling up gives you a coin bonus.
The coins are another goal that you will want to strive for. Each game you play in Jetpack Joyride you will collect some coins which, at the end of each game, will be put into your stash. These coins can be used to buy different clothing or jetpacks for Barry, buying power ups, or upgrades to the vehicles. The vehicles are a type of power up that you will encounter throughout your play through. You can get a motorcycle, a dragon, gravity suit and a couple more. These vehicles are basically an extra hit as if you hit a zapper or missile while in the vehicle you will lose it but will still be able to continue.
The last aspect left of Jetpack Joyride is the power ups. Other than buying them you can win them by collecting spin tokens throughout the game. These spin tokens show up randomly throughout your play through and when you collect them and die you will be presented with a slot machine with different power ups to win. The power ups can be a second chance, different levels of bombs, a head start, or a coin bonus. If you don't want any of these you can cash in the spin token for 50 coins, but I only found myself doing that when it was one of the missions to do so.
Overall Jetpack Joyride is a great mobile game that can be played for short bursts or long sessions. With the controls only being a tap and hold it can even be playing in a car, bus or train without you having to worry about the bumps screwing you up. Right now Jetpack Joyride is free on iOS devices and is a universal app, meaning you buy it once and it works on both iPhone and iPad. If you like fun I suggest you pick Jetpack Joyride up right now.
Comments