What is Subway Surfers?

Remember Temple Run? Rhetorical question, of course you do! The super-hit game took everyone by storm. Nobody thought navigating a guy away from monkeys could be so much… erm.. fun! And addictive too. People play away, or rather swipe away trying to get the highest score in a global scoreboard.

So, of course with such popularity and runaway success, there were bound to be clones of this game (much like of Angry Birds). And I had the good fortune to play one of the better ones namely Subway Surfers. The name says it, remove the monkeys and the temple and replace it with subway trains, and a police guard chasing you. Does it rock? Or shall we say, surf? Well, lets start playing shall we! And you, start reading.

Review Hardware:

iOS

- Apple iPad 2 10.1″
- 1 GHz dual-core
- 512 MB RAM
- iOS 5.1.1

First Impression

Upon opening the game, you are greeted by a kid who is, well spray painting. I think we can get the game story here. Kid gets caught and starts running. So will the running impress? We’ll find out soon enough.

The screen has a “Missions” section where you can try to beat challenges. You have a “Shop” from where you can buy upgrades for the kid (surfboard, jetpack and the works) from the coins you collect in game. A “Social” section allows you to add friends either through the Game Center or Facebook.  I’m guessing you can share your score on your Facebook wall from over here. You can also invite your friends to play from the “Settings” section.

Tapping the screen starts the game, and here we go!

Gameplay

Did I tell you I never liked Temple Run? The gameplay never appealed to me. The graphics didn’t do their charm either. Nor was I particularly interested in the monkeys. But Subway Surfers is different. It sucked me right in, and I found myself unable to stop playing for the next half hour. This usually doesn’t happen to me, so take this as a huge compliment to the game devs. They have done a wonderful job.

From the colorful interface to the even more colorful scenery, the game looks straight out of a children’s cartoon, and I loved it! A refreshing change. Back to the gameplay, running away from the guard, you come across numerous obstacles. You can swipe your finger up to jump across them (but try not jumping across tall obstacles, unless you have Power Boots) or swipe down and slide under them. You don’t need particularly super-fast reflexes to play the game. The difficulty is easy. You’ll never feel you’re struggling. Even getting caught or hit by an on-coming subway, you’ll have fun with that and wouldn’t blink before starting over again.

Coin collection is the primary goal of the game, and your score card too. So collect as many of them as possible, going out of the way, jumping across trains all the while making sure you don’t jump too quick, or late and be right in front of the next train (which is game over, no gore so this game is completely apt for children). All the elements in a game, this one gets it right. It’s engaging, it’s always changing so you never feel like you’re seeing the same thing over and over again, and it’s downright fun!

At the end, you can “Brag” your score to your friends, if your score is good enough to do so. And then start the game over again, because really it doesn’t get boring at all.

Verdict – MUST HAVE (free)

The game is free on the app store, and if you’re looking for some time-pass or entertainment, this is an excellent game to bide your time. Give the game a try. There is a pretty big chance you’d be bragging your score soon.

Subway Surfers on iOS App Store

Gallery

Preetam

Preetam Nath actively follows mobile technology. He has been following computer hardware keenly since 2007, only to start digging more into mobiles ever since the smartphone revolution. Studying his Engineering at MIT Manipal, Preetam devotes most of his time to update himself with the latest happenings in the technology sphere.

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