Publisher: Simogo
Price: $2.99/£1.99
Description: A Casual, Mellow Endless Runner with a hint of Romance
Fullscreen Support |
Mouse Support |
File Size |
Launch Date |
Required Specifications |
Yes |
Mouse Recommended |
22.5 MB——- |
12th April 2012 |
None Specified
|
Rating
Pros: Calm and unrushed gameplay, subtle and endearing romance aspect, inventive control scheme, collectable photographs, crisp graphics.
Cons: Limited replayability, controls are a little frustrating, you’re limited on the speed of your car.
Review
Bumpy Road is an adorable new take on a high-score side-scrolling game. Whilst you’re normally put in control of the vehicle or person directly in a platformer, Bumpy Road enables you to ‘bump up’ the road beneath a car, boosting it forward or bouncing it upward. It’s fair to say that this indirect contact rips away a sense of complete control, which can make the game a little frustrating. However the cute little love story behind the game and subtle cheerful tone drives you forward to play more.
Bumpy Road will be familiar with any person who has experienced an endless runner before. You must move to the right, jump over and on obstacles, avoid watery graves and collect fuel to keep you motor vehicle running. Collect enough fuel, you enter a bonus stage which is all about gaining lots and lots of points before the time runs out. But the new gimmick here is the control system.
The new controls take a little bit of getting used to and there is a bit of blame on them when you lose a game. Whilst handling the car by creating bumps in the road beneath it is the challenge of the game, and certainly an interesting concept, continually losing long drives because of the control system can get a little annoying. The controls aren’t as intuitive as on the touch screen, as here you always have to keep an eye on your cursor position and adjust it accordingly to get it in the right position, rather than just tapping the screen. But it’s a minor difference you get used to.
Bumpy Road’s soundtrack consists of a romantic, up-beat harmonica instrumental. This air of romance, whilst not being overpowering, gently hints at the relationship between the two motionless characters and brings them to life that little bit more.
This love-story is revealed gradually through grainy black and white photographs which you can find at hard-to-reach places. These can then be seen in ‘Memory Lane’, and I was surprised how much character and personality is conveyed through simple, cartoon photographs. These Memory Lane pictures definitely push you to keep playing, even when the novelty of Bumpy Road wears thin.
Other than the classic highscore mode, another ‘outing’ is Sunday Trip which is a speed run. There are boosts and time powerups that aid you as you drive forward, as well as brakes which slow you down. However, I didn’t really find the extra modes that compelling. As your time is dictated by the speed at which the camera scrolls sideways, most of the time you’re stuck pushing against the right wall, wanting to go faster but being unable to. I felt that the extra modes were meant to add spice to a calm and collected game, but instead, the slow pace and lack of any real challenge makes the Marathon and Sprint modes forgettable.
Aside from the grainy photographs, I can’t see much longevity in Bumpy Road. The gameplay is not very challenging until you make that once mistake that tips you over the edge, and the loveable atmosphere, including the music and characters, naturally gets old.
But while it lasts, Bumpy Road is really quite enjoyable. It’s a soothing, relaxing journey, even if it does run out of fuel by the end.
