Smart phones at the ready!
We all remember the craze that swept the iPhones of the majority of country last year, such a simple concept but with such an amazing response. You run…that’s basically it. I could almost imagine developers such as EPIC and Activision looking at workers on their breaks playing this game and thinking to themselves” How is this so addicting?!!” and to be honest I don’t know either, but it is!
The story alone is so simple, oh shit I robbed an artefact and now I’m being chased by some really pissed off monkey demons I better run! I know I’m dumbing it down and that there could be a true meaning behind what’s going on, but sadly I have not seen it…you just run!
But then it came to android and now I finally got a chance to play the elusive Temple Run, and against all odds…I didn’t like it. Now calm down I’m entitled to my opinion too, I didn’t see why people got so worked up over it, I guess it was the competition side of things that made it so popular, still didn’t work for me. But then I found out that there were a couple more games out there that took inspiration from Temple run but made it entirely different, here are just 5 of the games I found.
(These were all played and reviewed from a Samsung Galaxy S2, so they may not be compatible or even available on your device, just a warning!)
5. Agent Dash
What would happen if James Bond and Temple Run had a baby? Probably nothing because that’s impossible but the folks over at Full Fat Games tried to make that possible with their version of TR. As you may have guessed you are placed in the shoes of Agent Dash a secret agent on the tail of a dastardly villain who seems to be losing all of his booty. You chase him down whilst avoiding obstacles, collecting diamonds, and blowing up enemy bases. All this whilst still keeping that Vodka Martini in the glass.
The first thing that really got my attention was the graphics, they are amazing. The very first level is just awe inspiring when you see the shadows and textures of the jungle. The controls are smooth and can be adjusted in the options to suit your play style. It can be connected with Facebook so you can brag to your fellow agents about your impressive high score.
You use the diamonds to buy more power ups, such as speed boost, time slow down, mage diamonds and magnets; you can also unlock various characters to use including Dash in different costumes and even an epic recreation of Jaws.
But there can be some frame rate issues and control issues, but this only seems to happen when I get a notification or a text, which is to be expected but be warned if you are using a device with a slowish processor than you could expect some more frame rate issues.
Get it on iOS!
Get it on Android!
4. Angry Gran Run
Now then…Angry Gran was a fun little game about a granny walking down the street bashing youths with various weapons. This was done in the style of the Black Knight which was based on a medieval tax collector bashing peasants to get money.
But Angry Gran too got a touch of the Temple Run treatment and Angry Gran Run was the unholy hell spawn. That’s not to say that it’s not a good game, trust me it is. You play as Gran; she’s been admitted to an angry asylum and breaks out, you ten have to run as far away from the asylum as you can whilst dodging various obstacles such as, clotheslines, men moving glass, trucks, a T-rex and even a giant soda can.
Now you can see what makes this game so different from other running games. Along the way you also have to bash chavs into the horizon with various styles of granny karate. The graphics are not so great when compared to Agent Dash but it’s still a very nice game to look at, it reminds me of the graphic style of Parappa the Rappa but in 3D.
Angry Gran also uses the phones accelerometer to control Gran and when you come to a corner you simply swipe left and guess what…she turns left!
Sound is a bit of a downfall though it sounds nice at first but it suddenly becomes annoying, after hearing Gran jump for the 100th time in the same run you just want to mute the volume and try to continue deaf!]
Get it on iOS!
Get it on Android!
3. Rail Rush
Made by the flash game giant Miniclip of course there is a stigma attached that this game must be an amazing TR duplicate. And you know what…it is! But it’s certainly not the best.
You play as a miner in a minecart going down an endless set of rails collecting bits of rock and gems to gain currency to buy more characters and power ups. The thing that makes Rail Rush different is that the different characters you unlock actually have abilities that can help you along you path, although it is not as easy as you think.
The graphics in RR are great, the game runs smoothly on the S2 but I have noticed on my mates Galaxy S3 that there seems to be a problem with the jump gesture, and this can be a big problem for players who are trying to get the highest score possible.
Along the way you can collect rare and precious eggs that when hatched can give you some really nice prizes, but sadly after collecting around 50 or so and finding nothing I’ve just been cashing them in for guaranteed currency, which is what I’d say to you too.
Overall it is an enjoyable game with addicting gameplay and really snazzy graphics but the controls can become a let done every now and again.
Get it on iOS!
Get it on Android!
2. Mutant Roadkill
Glu games have a vendetta out for mutants and have shown they mean business with their TR style hit and run game. You take control of an armoured car racing through the streets of a post apocalyptic world run by mutants, simple enough!
The play style is the same as the one used in Angry Gran, you steer the car using the accelerometer in the phone and try to survive as long as possible and run over as many mutants as possible. But this is much easier typed than done; these mutants are really pissed and want your blood. They will jump onto your car and try to swerve you off of the road, the only way you can get them off is to ram them into burnt out cars strewn throughout the playing field, but be careful after a couple of knocks your car will explode and its game over. The only way you can stop this from happening is to just barely tip the mutant against the car and *Boop* he’s gone and you get a nice little bonus too.
There are supposedly many different types of mutants to face off against but unfortunately I haven’t made it far enough to experience some of the bigger bosses, so far I’ve encountered regular weaklings, mutants that look like the charger from Left 4 Dead and a Boomer mutant, so pretty stereotypical special infected!
Overall great game, kick ass graphics and play style and basically a bad-ass game, best played with some Jack Daniels and some Bacon.
Get it in iOS!
Get it on Android!
1. Running Fred
Dedalord’s trusty mascot Fred has down every type of adverb you can think of, and one of the most popular Fred games was Falling Fred, where you control Fred as he’s falling down a long shaft filled with spikes, saws, hatches and more. But of course giving the response that developers had to TR they had to make a Running Fred!
The title simply sums it up as well as you need it to be. You’re Fred, you run. That’s about it!
But you are also being chased, and not by monkeys, or by doctors but by Death himself or as he is referred to in the game in his Latin name “Terroficus Unavoidabilus”, and as the name suggests he is terrifying and very unavoidable, you steer Fred (Panicus in Extremis) with the accelerometer and make him jump with a button in the bottom right of your screen.
Along the way you earn currency that can be used to change his look, give him new powers and ultimately make the game much more enjoyable than it already is. It is one of my personal favorites because it doesn’t take itself seriously, it likes to poke fun at itself along with many other pop culture references, it also has a nice difficulty curve, meaning that it doesn’t start off easy and then 5 minutes later its unplayable.
The gameplay is smooth and addicting and the added power ups do really make the game much more enjoyable. You can also purchase new levels for our hapless hero to run through and also test yourself on time trial and survival mode game types; it seriously has everything you could ever want in a running game!
Get it on iOS!
Get it on Android!
So there you have it some of my favourite alternatives to the phenomenon that was Temple Run, I would really appreciate it and would also be interested to hear what you think of these games and I have provided links to where you can download them on your device!
Thanks for reading and happy running!
Adam Waugh.
Akroview 