Among our wishlist of apps we’d love to see on Android is a game called Canabalt by Adam “Atomic” Saltsman, so, when we heard that a game inspired by Canabalt had been released to the Android Market, we had to give it a go. Parkour: Roof Riders, developed by Blyts, is, like Canabalt, a game where the object is to survive for as long as possible whilst jumping across ever-scrolling rooftops. Here’s the not-exactly-verbose official description from the Market:-
“Become a professional Parkourist!
Run over the city’s roofs, but be careful! You may fall in the attempt…”
The game is controlled by tapping the screen to make the little parkourist jump. With a longer press making him jump farther than a short press. The scenery scrolls along at a quickening pace and you have to time your jumps just right as you progress further. In addition to having to jump between rooftops, you also have to try and avoid obstacles such as crates and other objects or items dropped from planes which can slow you up or cause you to have a nasty accident.
Given that Parkour: Roof Riders is such an obvious tribute to Canabalt, we would be remiss in our duties as reviewers if we didn’t compare the two games, so, to that end, we’ll sprinkle the review with comparisons to Canabalt.
Graphically, the game is bright and colourful, and is reasonably animated, but it lacks the character of the original Canabalt, with it’s dark monotone feel. The parkourist running animation doesn’t sit quite right with the speed that the scenery scrolls at at times, but it’s not enough to distract. The soundtrack to the game is a somewhat cheesy dancey affair, but it’s inoffensive, however, in Canabalt, the custom soundtrack is one of the game’s main strengths. The song (RUN, by Danny B) really adds a sense of urgency to proceedings and it drives you to struggle on just a little further.
Gameplay is straightforward, as you’d expect from a one-button game. It’s easy to get frustrated as you play and find yourself falling just short of the goal because you jumped early to avoid a crate, meaning you didn’t have the time to avoid the gap between two buildings. But, it’s a good frustration, pushing you to try again and concentrate harder.
Overall, this isn’t a bad effort. It’s reasonably well polished and there are no glaring bugs or performance issues in the game, but it is a pale imitation of what is a classic game. We had high hopes for Parkour: Roof Riders, and, whilst it’s a commendable attempt, we can’t get over how similar Parkour: Roof Riders is to Canabalt, whilst being so far away from it’s quality.
Parkour: Roof Riders is available now on the Android Market for $1.49. There is also a free trial version for those of you who like to take apps for a spin before purchase.