Game Reviews

Dynamo Kid

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Dynamo Kid
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| Dynamo Kid

As brilliant as so-called interactive TV is, it doesn’t go far enough.

It’s all very well being able to press the red button on your remote to view extended coverage of a sporting event, but what I really want is for my thrown remote control to genuinely connect with Martin Keown’s head as he spouts yet another meaningless football cliché.

But no - monkey boy continues to witter on, and I have a crack running the length of my beloved Panasonic. As the man himself might say, “he won’t be happy with that result, Alan”.

Wound up and ready to go

Dynamo Kid is something like wish fulfilment in that regard. No, it doesn’t allow you to cause physical harm to bland TV pundits (alas), but it does let you go a little more hands on with an otherwise fairly traditional game environment.

Our little hero runs from left to right in a typically cutesy platform environment. Any interactivity with the world around is handled the direct route - by touching the appropriate section of the screen.

Prodding DK makes him jump, allowing you to traverse gaps and collect stars. When an enemy scoots onto the screen, a direct touch will send them sprawling.

On your travels, you’ll notice that some platforms are simple outlines, blending in to the sketch-book backgrounds. True to form, a brush of your finger across each section will ‘draw’ the platform into existence, allowing you to continue your relentless journey Eastward.

A touch of class

As with all OrangePixel games, the game leans entirely on its core premise. You simply keep running, touching and collecting until your inevitable death, with the impetus coming from the desire to score highly on an online leaderboard.

This is compromised slightly by some rather sticky controls - DK didn’t always jump reliably for me when prodded, and nor did the outlined platforms fill in consistently. Perhaps this is an isolated handset issue (I used an old G1), but it was annoying enough and common enough to bear mentioning.

Regardless of this, I kept coming back for more. The sheer variety of tasks you must juggle simultaneously, along with OrangePixel’s ever-excellent presentational work, makes Dynamo Kid the best of the developer’s Android output to date.

Dynamo Kid

A charming platformer that makes good use of your Android phone’s touch screen. It can be a little frustrating, but that won’t stop you returning for another go
Score
Jon Mundy
Jon Mundy
Jon is a consummate expert in adventure, action, and sports games. Which is just as well, as in real life he's timid, lazy, and unfit. It's amazing how these things even themselves out.