; width: 100%; height: 500px; background-color: #000; }

Island Hopping Review

Rating:

What if Canabalt was an FPS? Island Hopping is a great title that basically answers that question. Augmented with an exhilarating scoring system and unique visual minimalism, this is one excellent arcade game that just leaves you in search of that high score

Additional Info

DeveloperPraetorian Studios
GenrePlatformer, Action, Arcade
PlatformsWindows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7
EngineCustom
Filesize5.3 MB
Webpagehttp://www.moddb.com/games/island-hopping/news/version-12-release

Full Review

Island Hopping is developed by Praetorian Studios originally for the 17th Ludum Dare competition that we covered here at IndieReview some time ago. Since then, the game has been constantly added to and improved, getting ever closer to the point of a complete game. We can't bear to wait anymore and grabbed the latest build to take a look at what the game has to offer right now.

Basically the game plays by putting you in first-person view of a running man, who is constantly sprinting forward in the direction he is facing, and required to navigate treacherous waters by hopping between mounts of dry land. The only controls you have are the ability to jump using the Spacebar, and the ability to change the direction he is facing using mouse movement (a.k.a. mouselook). This creates endless excitement using a formula of fun not unlike the well-known game of Canabalt.

The game further augments this by implementing a exhilarating scoring system. Your base score is determined by the distance you have traveled without falling into the water. On top of that, islands are color coded into green, red and grey - landing on the green ones add to your score (consecutively landing on them rakes up a combo multiplier), red islands subtract from your score, and grey ones do nothing. This feature adds a layer of spatial planning to the otherwise timing-focused game, and commendably adds new depth to a tested formula.

The visuals are spartan, and at the same time very visually pleasing. It likens itself to a Tron-like world, where all geometry are rendered in wireframes, with only the title informing us that they are "islands". This, coupled with the futuristic font family, gives the game a sleek, polished feel despite being accomplished in 48-hours, and is a very smart decision on the developer's part.

Possibly the only complain I have of this game is the user interface. I never really understood what the bar at the bottom of the screen stood for until very late into the game. Although I don't have a suggestion to contribute right at this moment, I would have preferred it to be slightly more representational of its function. The game was also devoid of mouse control anywhere beyond the actual game. It would have prepared me better as a first-timer if I could select menu items using a mouse cursor because it acknowledges the use of the mouse early before I started playing.

But despite all my complains, I still love this game. It is simple, easy to pick up and endlessly addictive. It even features an online high score table that drives you even further to achieve that impossible record. Without further ado, hop over now and try the game out for yourself.

Posted by Zhou Xuanming on May 26, 2010 Comments (2)


Chris said at 2010-05-26 21:00:

Hm, I haven't played this yet but the comparison that springs to mind based on your description, actually, is 3D World Runner.


Zhou Xuanming said at 2010-05-26 22:37:

I haven't played 3D World Runner before, so I Googled it and found some videos on Youtube - it certainly feels similar, especially with the tracking camera and emphasis on platforming, but I can't be sure.

I'll emulate it tomorrow during lunch and give it a shot. :)