GAMING
path and using the bare minimum
of controls (just up and down) to
preserve your little spaceship.
It’s an incredibly simple, stripped-
back game, but this style of game lives
and dies by its speed; or rather by the
sensation of speed that it’s able to
produce. And ALONE... is brilliant at
this. The hectic soundtrack, the speed
lines and space detritus flying past
you, the barely controllable boost
you get whenever you’re winged by a
small piece of debris, and the gradual
acceleration as the game progresses- all of this contributes to a tightly
focused thrill-ride of a game.
This isn’t to say the creators have
ignored the game’s cosmetics: there’s
some great mysterious background
imagery (reminiscent
of Canabalt) and
the shifting colour
schemes are
undeniably lovely.
You just might not get
much of a chance to
appreciate them.7.Alto’s Odyssey
Price: £4.99
In iOS gaming’s
early days, Canabalt
stripped platform
gaming right back.
The leaping protagonist flung himself
into the air whenever you prodded
the screen, the aim being to survive
for as long as possible before he
inevitably plummeted to his doom.
Alto’s Odyssey showcases how such
simple mechanics can be used to
create a surprisingly complex, deep
experience – even though your
interaction remains limited to using a
single digit.
The game features Alto (and –
when unlocked – friends) exploring
a vast desert. Setting off on his
surfboard, Alto scoots across gigantic
dunes, regularly soaring into the air
to perform fancy tricks that provide a
handy speed boost when completed.
This isn’t a game for the impatient.6.