Game Reviews

Go Deliver - London

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iOS
| Go Deliver - London
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Go Deliver - London
|
iOS
| Go Deliver - London

Legs! They've been given a rum deal over the years when it comes to gaming. While your fingers have been bearing the brunt of your busy work, those poor old pointy appendages have been left to flop around pathetically.

Thank heavens for Go Deliver - London, a game that gets you off your couch and out on the streets - provided you live in England's capital, of course. If you don't then, well, there's nothing much to see here. Just make up your own walk or something.

Going postal

Go Deliver - London's basic idea is simple: you're a postman (or lady) charged with roaming the city to pick up imaginary parcels. It all works through the wonders of GPS, with the game's beautifully detailed real-world map (replete with tiny buses and taxis going about their daily business) dotted with packages to collect as you roam nearby.

Once you've got a package in your satchel, your next task is to trot off to a given destination and hit the correct button to deliver it, with points awarded for your troubles. Longer routes mete out more points, with certain collections asking you to reach multiple destinations, all with appropriate rewards.

Stamp duty

You can spend points on stamps for instant airdrops if you're feeling lazy, or costumes for your tiny postal avatar - some deliveries task you with reaching your goal while wearing a specific outfit. If nothing else, it's an admirable stab at variety in what's otherwise a fairly one-note endeavour.

The trouble is, it's hard to really figure out where the enjoyment is supposed to come from with Go Deliver - London. Randomised pick-ups and drop-offs don't abide by any particular geographical logic, meaning long jaunts are inevitable - and rarely framed within a journey you'd be likely to make in any other capacity.

Return to sender

It's a structure that quickly becomes tiresome, not to mention impractical - and that's not even taking into account the frequency with which you're asked to potter down some of London's less glamorous streets.

The game's already tied to a directory of destinations and you can't help but think that the whole experience might be a little more rewarding if your foot-based jaunts actually took you to places of genuine interest.

There's certainly a captivating idea at the heart of Go Deliver - London, with a real-time leaderboard system designed to encourage competition - but, ultimately, there's little enjoyment to be had from lengthy adventures to the dull side of town.

Good on Go Deliver for trying to get you off the sofa, but, sadly, it's an experience that's several steps away from being a truly special delivery.

Go Deliver - London

A charmingly presented series of real-world fetch quests for your legs, sadly lacking focus and any real sense of reward for your efforts
Score
Matt Wales
Matt Wales
Following a lifetime of adventure on the high seas, swabbing the editorial decks of the good ship IGN and singing freelance shanties across far-flung corners of the gaming press, Matt hung up his pirate hat and turned his surf-seared gaze toward the murky mysteries of the handheld gaming world. He lives to sound the siren on the best mobile games out there, and he can't wait to get kraken.