Cyberrunner for iPhone is Not for the Weak of Heart
By: Hillel Fuld
I have said it before and I will say it again. What makes a great app is not the amount of features packed in by the developer. On the contrary, people like things they can understand easily. That is why the iPhone itself is so popular. If I open an app and it does not include a “How to Use this App” section, it better be obvious how to use it within 20 seconds or I close the app and most likely delete it from my device.
There are some apps that have the most basic of interfaces, lack any sort of feature set, yet somehow, they manage to stay on top of the charts. The reason this is is not despite the app’s simplicity that it enjoys such popularity, it is as a result of its simplicity. Cyberrunner for iPhone is the perfect example. The object of the game? To run! Yup, that is it. To run and to stay alive. Don’t be fooled though, it is a lot harder than you think, but I am getting ahead of myself here.
When you open the app, you are presented with four options; How to Play, Calibrate (spelled with two Ls in the app, is there another spelling I don’t know about?), Play, and Leaderboards. Let’s start with How to Play. When you select that option, the app says the following:
- “Tilt your device to move left/right”.
- “Tap to Jump”
- “Run as far as you can”
I love it! It could not be simpler than that. Pressing on the screen will bring you back to the previous screen. Pressing on Calibrate will do just that. It opens a screen telling you to hold your device straight then to tap. This of course ensures that your accelerometer knows when the device is straight, which is very important in the game itself. Opening Leaderboards opens a OpenFeint screen, which, I have to be honest, I have never signed up for, but I am sure that will change sometime soon.
Moving along, the actual game is truly addictive, entertaining, and thrilling. When you press Play, you can choose between tracks (although pressing Track 1 did not seem to do anything, so I might be missing something here), levels with easy, intermediate, and hard being your three options. Then, after you select your level, you can press start to begin running.
Here is where the game gets awesome (of course it is, this is where you start actually playing). The track is designed beautifully with amazing 3D graphics and you seriously feel like you are running. Along the way, you have to avoid obstacles such as walls and stay on top of the various tracks that prevent you from falling what seems to be an abyss. Once you fall, the game ends, which is something that I think needs improvement. This kind of game would have benefitted from some cool graphics on the way down to your death. Same goes for crashing into the wall…
The thing is, and I do not mean to sound like a complainer, the game is too hard. I always chose the easy level, and I could not run more than 200 or so meters, while most of the time I got out after like 50 meters. I think they need to make the Easy level a little easier.
In any case, the game is pure awesome, with amazing 3D graphics, fast paced music, and the ability to share your scores on Twitter (although I aint sharing my pathetic scores with anyone). The app is extremely easy to use and understand, which does not take away from its greatness, but rather in my opinion, adds to it. One thing I will say is, if you are afraid of heights, I am not sure this is the game for you.
Our Rating: 4/5
Developer: Caweb
