A Canabalt clone with graphics reminiscent of a 16-bit platformer. That’s pretty much the gist of it. Double Jumper adds a few extra elements to the formula – aside from the chunky aesthetic, it features that perennial platforming favourite, the double jump (anybody hoping for a game about wearing particularly thick winter clothing will be sorely disappointed). Which is to say that your character can jump twice – once while on the ground, and once in mid-air, allowing them to cover large gaps or reach new heights as necessary. The game also adds the ability perform a dashing attack, smashing through any obstacles. This can also be used to extend a jump further, propelling you forward as it does. And, one you’ve gotten far enough, the ability to slow down time, helping you time your jumps and attacks more easily.

All of which sounds nice, which makes the end result something of a shame. While it may add interesting-sounding abilities, and the art style provides a nice throwback to early ‘90s gaming, the execution is lacking. The multiple abilities, it turns out, serve only as noise, taking us away from the purity which makes Canabalt such an enjoyable game. Adding the ability to double-jump, or to smash through obstacles, takes away the immediacy of the game for no discernable gain. The ability to slow down time, meanwhile, is made problematic by the placement of its button – right next to the jump button, it prevents you from being able to jump and slow down time at the same time – why it wasn’t placed under the opposite thumb I do not know.

Meanwhile, the extra abilities belie the complete lack of variety in the game proper – the environments are incredibly simplistic, made up of a tiny range of grassy islands with no interesting features. The obstacles come only in the form of large explosive mines, with no variety or explanation. After you’ve passed the first couple of islands – which is to say, once you’ve played for a couple of seconds – you’ll have seen everything the game has to offer. Unlike Canabalt (and its more successful clones) the game doesn’t reward you for continued survival by presenting you with new sights and sounds, it doesn’t give you a compelling excuse for your run in the first place, and it doesn’t give you any sort of cohesive world to be running through. It just feels an altogether more hollow experience.

And finally, the gameplay itself is rarely more than frustrating. The screen is zoomed in a fair way, and with the islands regularly ascending and descending it’s very hard to keep track of where things are – not helped when the camera itself doesn’t always seem to know where it should be looking, with islands trailing at the bottom of the screen, or jutting through the top, helping to disorientate you further.

Put all of this together and you end up with an experience that is unlikely to hold your attention for any significant length of time. The best thing I can say about it is that, well, at least it works. If you’re desperate for another take on Canabalt, Double Jumper is free and available right now – just don’t expect it to blow you away.

Double Jumper Gameplay Video

Image Credit : realitybytesdesign

Double Jumper Screenshots

Version Under Review : 1.5.0.0

Double Jumper is a FREE game for Windows Phone 7

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