I’ve Got to Run

Game Info

I was first introduced to the endless running genre with Bit.trip Runner (Or would the mine cart levels in Donkey Kong Country count?).  It was a mindless fun arcade style action with running to obtain a high score.  In 4 Corner Games’ latest release for the Wii U they are bringing the same kind of arcade action only you are at the helms of a character named Roy the Marshmallow Boy.

Controlling Roy is pretty simple.  There is no left, right, up or down to worry about.  Roy constantly just runs and you have to press the jump button to jump from platform to platform without falling to your untimely death.  The controls feel good on the jumps, where Roy is kind of floaty but easy to get the hang of quickly.

There are three modes in the game, Endless Single, Endless Double and Endless Special.  In Endless Single, you can single jump and the background is that of a kitchen.  In Endless Double you guessed it, you can double jump and your background for this mode is a castle.  In the third and final mode, your backdrop is the moon and there are speed up and speed downs added to the mix.

I’ve Got to Run goes for a simplistic art style and accomplishes it’s mission.  Roy is an adorable character and the backgrounds look great.  Unfortunately it doesn’t really look good in motion and playing it on my tv would lierally hurt my eyes.  The Gamepad offered me a way better way to enjoy the title as it didn’t have the same effect on me as did the television.  The music is good but nothing extraordinary or memorable.

One thing that I love is developers that support there games and promise to before they even launch their title.  4 Corner Games announced there is a patch already on the way to include the following:

• Removal of the 1 frame drop upon using the touch screen after using buttons

• Removal of the NaN Star error on the high score screen, which only occurred on retail units
• Updated high score screen that is now more visually appealing
• Rearranged main menu
• Ability to navigate menu with GamePad buttons
• Ability to navigate menu with Pro Controller buttons
• Pro Controller input supported

The Recommendation

If you are looking for a quick time filler and are a fan of side scroller or endless runner games, at the price tag of $1.99 it would be hard for me to say that this game is not worth it.  I had fun in the time I spend with the game, challenging my wife to beat my high scores (Her awful video game skills make any in-game deaths that much more enjoyable) and just to see how long we could keep going through the levels with out dying.  Pass up on a Big Mac or a cup of Starbucks coffee and go add this fun title to your Wii U library today!