Pig Jump is yet another vertical platformer to hit the App Store, very similar to Doodle Jump and its multitude of knock-offs, imitators, and clones. The good news is, there's enough substance here to raise Pig Jump slightly above imitator status...

‘Pig Jump’ Review

When Pigs Fly

Pig Jump is yet another vertical platformer to hit the App Store, very similar to Doodle Jump and its multitude of knock-offs, imitators, and clones. The good news is, there’s enough substance here to raise Pig Jump slightly above imitator status, but beyond that it’s really nothing we haven’t seen many times before.

In fact the developer played it safe by sticking to the exact same winning vertical platformer formula as Doodle Jump, only adding a little dash of originality here and there. Which means if you loved Doodle Jump, you’ll also enjoy Pig Jump, assuming of course you’re not completely burnt out on vertical platformers at this stage.

Mmmmm Sausages!

As far as gameplay goes, Pig Jump is all about jumping, well more like bouncing if you ask me. Also during your ascension (to pig heaven perhaps?) you will come across power-ups (wings, super-hero, big pig) and have to contend with numerous pesky bombs, dark clouds, random enemies, and bosses. Not to mention the journey itself is plagued with wild patterns of various platforms that must be navigated carefully to avoid falling into the abyss of failure. Like I said it’s nothing we haven’t seen before, but it’s all executed extremely well and even though Pig Jump doesn’t try to refine, or re-define the genre, its got a lot to live up to, in terms of fun, given the source material it imitates.

The game’s presentation is kind of like the developer took the saying ‘when pigs fly” and just ran with it. The backgrounds aren’t particularly impressive, and there’s not a cohesive or familiar theme (more like randomness) but the fact that the little pig throws sausages (yeah sausages) as its projectile weapon definitely makes up for that.

I found the controls to be adequate for a game of this type. It uses tilt to control the pig’s movement from left to right and you tap (anywhere on the screen) to throw sausages. In addition as you ascend you can tap on bombs to make them explode so the pig doesn’t bump into them, and swipe away dark clouds that impede your view of potential hidden platforms or power-ups.

Last but certainly not least there is OpenFeint integration, which provides most of all the social features many of us have come to expect from our iDevice games.

iFanzine Verdict: An imitation no doubt, but a very well executed one that’s a ton of fun, assuming you haven’t already had your fill of Doodle Jump vertical platformers. That said, it brings nothing new, aside from a neat art style, to the genre.

[xrr rating=3/5]

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