Sonic Jump

Let's get the most obvious flaw of {Sonic Jump} out of the way first. It's comes across as a pretty blatant rip off of {Doodle Jump}, going as far as keeping the Jump part of the name and just replacing Doodle with Sonic. The basic principle is the same here, jump as high as you can with a character that automatically jumps on platforms and you tilt your iPad or iPhone in the direction you want to jump. With that said, {Sonic Jump} has its own take on the {Doodle Jump} concept, and this is what makes for an interesting and addictive proposition.

Where {Doodle Jump} has an endless nature, {Sonic Jump} features a story mode. Well, if by story you mean four cartoon cells of Eggman committing some dastardly act with Sonic keen to give chase that is. Nonetheless, story mode features levels (11 per zone - 3 zones in total) with a boss fight against Eggman to end things off. Each level takes less than a minute to complete, and as they remain the same in terms of layout the player can work to perfect his run for higher scores and that elusive S rank.

There is also an arcade mode that resembles the structure of {Doodle Jump} where the levels repeat and your aim is to reach as high as possible. Eggman doesn't stay away from this mode and appears for a reprise of his boss antics once you've climbed high enough.

The game makes use of art-style, zones and enemies we know from the hedgehog's classics, but some things have been tweaked in order to make sense in this setting. You can jump on your enemies to defeat them, but you have to target them from below, if you land on them you will take damage. And by pressing the screen you perform a double jump. Then there are multiple types of platforms to consider - falling, moving, disappearing, spikes, and so on. Everything is easy to grasp and intuitive, and as was the case in {Doodle Jump} the left and right sides are connected so you appear on the other side if you go off screen.

{Sonic Jump} sports clean, crisp visuals that really pop out on iPad. Nothing spectacular, but simply nice and crisp with a distinct retro feel. The music and sound effects also bring back memories, even if the music isn't up there with Sonic's best.

Sega has added a bit of friction and micro-transactions to the proposition as you collect rings in order to upgrade and unlock power-ups (ring magnets, nets to stop you falling, and shields). It works much like in {Temple Run} where you level up by accomplishing objectives, naturally you can use real money to buy extra rings in order to use the power ups and you can also buy your way past a level that you find particularly hard. While some of the power ups will allow lesser players to climb the leaderboards, there is no substitute for actual skill here.

All in all {Sonic Jump} offers a universal app that Sonic fans should not miss out on. There are three zones (more on the way apparently), and the nature of both trying to find the perfect routes through the levels and trying to reach as high as possible in arcade mode (again, different zones to contest) makes for a game with a surprising lasting appeal.