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jp's Jetpack Joyride (iPd)
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| [February 29, 2012 10:36:08 PM]
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Ok, maybe I won't get ALL the achievements. I think I'm only missing two or three, but it really doesn't seem to be worth it anymore. I'm missing "Angry Wings", which is entirely luck-dependent in terms of my earning it and "Germaphobe" which requires I fly 2Km without touching anything. That one's pretty hard...
I've been doing some more thinking about why I feel this game is so effective. Yes, polish matters, but this games (reasonable) longevity is mostly due to its use of achievements. The game actually has two levels of these. One is the (now!) traditional one (they're always "available", some are secret, etc.) but the others are tightly integrated into the game. They're called "Missions". Each mission is an arbitrary objective that you must complete. You always have 3 active ones, and each mission earns you between one and three stars (more stars means you "level up" and get closer to "finishing" the game). In terms of gameplay and narrative, NOTHING changes. So, missions are really like achievements except for the fact that there are only three active at a time. Also, whenever you complete one you get another one assigned. A few example "missions" include: Destroying the teleporter 5 times, Collecting 3 spin tokens in one game, and high-five-ing 15 scientists. Interestingly, there are lots of missions that DON'T require that you get very far in the game. In fact, some require that you purposefully lose at a certain point (e.g. stopping somewhere between 500 and 550 meters)!
In many ways, I'm reminded of the game "Achievement Unlocked" which was (IMO)a tounge-in-check take on how achievements have (for many?) upset the intrinsic reasons and motivations many have for playing a game with extrinsic (or meta) reasons for playing. (see here) I guess this game is that notion, made real (and non-humorous). Is it an example of great game design or a sad sign of the current state of affairs? I don't know...
This entry has been edited 1 time. It was last edited on Feb 29th, 2012 at 22:36:55.
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| [February 20, 2012 04:41:45 PM]
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I guess I must rerally like this game because I've already spent more thhan 7 hours playing it. In fact I've finished it twice already (earned badges 052 and 009, though I'm not sure if that means anything special) and I might try for a third. I'm trying to earn all the achievements. Sigh.
The game is incredibly polished with an attention to detail that is almost inspiring. This isn't surprising given its success (I think I heard about it from a recommendation in Edge magazine)...and I bear witness to how captivating the game can be.
The game is essentially a "continuous runner", you're always moving to the right, ever faster, and must dodge bad things while collecting good ones. Good thigns include coins, tokens for an end-game slot machine, and vehicles. Getting a vehicle means you switch from the jetpack into a vehicle that cabe destroyed once, leaving once again on foot+jetpack. It functionally serves as an extra life,, also slows down the speed, and provides a change of pace since each vehicle controls differently.
One of the vehicles is the "profit bird". You tap to flap its wings, as it moves it drops paper money, and it makes a really unique sound when you swallow coins. The sound was familiar to me, and the bird is red with a yellow beak. For a while I wondered about the name and the paper money it drops...and theit hit me.. It's a reference to Angry Birds! Hah! It became more evident when I realized there's an achievement called "Angry Wings" you can earn if you get the bird twice in a game... hah! Anyways, I thought the nod was great, maybe a little envious?
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jp's Jetpack Joyride (iPd)
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Current Status: Finished playing
GameLog started on: Sunday 12 February, 2012
GameLog closed on: Wednesday 29 February, 2012 |
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