Game Reviews

Gravity Guy

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| Gravity Guy
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Gravity Guy
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| Gravity Guy

In the UK we have a playground game called British Bulldog, where you have to run from one safe zone to another without being caught by the 'bulldog.'

The genius of the game is its inclusiveness. Little guys could use their speed and low centre of gravity to evade capture, strong lumbering sorts could palm off any bulldogs, while even the slow and weak could survive through using their wits and their environment to their advantage.

Gravity Guy, despite his macho name and heroic costume, is just such a resourceful wimp. Having escaped a futuristic prison, he must evade his robotic pursuers through the decidedly retro method of running away.

Flipping out

The trouble is, this runner's not particularly fast – at least not in relation to his relentless hunters. As such, you must negotiate each jump and obstruction perfectly, as any stumble will lead to your being reeled in.

Fortunately, you have a handy tool. The clue’s in the name – you can flip gravity on its head and run on the ceiling by tapping the screen.

As the twisty levels whiz by, you must flip between ceiling and floor in order to avoid obstructions and negotiate enormous gaps. It’s good fun, but anyone who’s played Gravity Runner will have seen much of what’s on offer here already.

While the chase element is a neat addition to the formula, the main difference here is that you have sections where the speed ramps up considerably. This turns out to be a bit of a double-edged sword.

Opposites attract

While these changes in pace benefit the game in terms of variety (Story mode is a relentless flow of levels separated only by check points), it also leads to some serious frustration.

It’s almost impossible to react to some of these sections the first time around – a fact that isn’t helped when playing the game on an older device, where such fast sections are blurry and far from smooth. The result is that these sections become a matter of trial and error – learning the levels rather than reacting to them.

Fortunately, Gravity Guy has a considerable redeeming feature up its sleeve.

We’re used to online multiplayer in iPhone games by now, but Gravity Guy manages to get up to four on one device. It works brilliantly, too, with each player using a corner of the screen to make his character flip gravity, the goal being to be the last man left standing.

Gravity Guy is an entertaining and well-presented perpetual runner with one or two frustrating elements. While you've played similar games, it’s worth purchasing just for the single-handset multiplayer mode.

Gravity Guy

While Gravity Guy is a typical perpetual runner with one or two rough spots, its frequent checkpoints and novel multiplayer mode make it worthwhile
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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.