Game Reviews

Ski Safari 2 - Pretty sure we've seen this mountain before

Star onStar onStar onStar offStar off
|
iOS
| Ski Safari 2
Get
Ski Safari 2 - Pretty sure we've seen this mountain before
|
iOS
| Ski Safari 2

Ski Safari 2 has some pretty stiff competition. While the original was a reasonably fresh mountain-slider, this sequel has arrived on an App Store blessed by the likes of Alto's Adventure.

And it's impossible not to hold it up in comparison. Yes, it's a solid little score chaser, but it's stumbling into a genre where that's not quite enough any more.

It has all the trappings and tricks you'd expect, and a few additions to the formula the first game laid down, but there's not enough here to propel the series back to the top.

Skiing

If you've played the first game then you know what to expect here. You're sliding down a 2D mountain, chased at all times by a catastrophic avalanche. Tapping on the screen lets you perform a jump.

Hold your finger down and you'll start to spin in the air. These backflips earn you points, but if you mess up your landing you'll tumble to the ground and that wall of snow will get closer.

There are animals you can hitch rides on that essentially act as extra lives and speed boosts. Birds let you fly to great heights, yetis sprint along with you on their back, frozen mammoths slide along smashing everything in their way.

But nothing really changes. There are skidoos and beds to ride, and the various creatures will hitch lifts with you, but you're still just powering down the slope, jumping when you can, and swiping the screen to perform tricks.

Things start to fall apart a little when you realise you can pretty much leave the game alone and get a decent score. A couple of times I thought I was dead, went to check my emails, and came back to find I was still going.

Still skiing

And here's the rub – you won't mind that much. There's not enough punch to keep you interested, no real visual hook, and while it's got a cheeky sense of humour the actual game underneath just feels like a retread of old ground.

If you liked the first Ski Safari then you'll probably enjoy this one. But it'll be enjoyment tempered by the glaring fact that you've done all of this before.

Ski Safari 2 - Pretty sure we've seen this mountain before

Ski Safari 2 is fine, but we've definitely seen this mountain before
Score
Harry Slater
Harry Slater
Harry used to be really good at Snake on the Nokia 5110. Apparently though, digital snake wrangling isn't a proper job, so now he writes words about games instead.