Canabalt

There are very few games that ilicit a reaction of “Huh, you paid for that?” more than Canabalt. Not that it’s bad, it’s just that there’s a free Flash version on the developer’s website. But that free Flash version is the very reason I paid for Canabalt on the iTunes Store. I’m sad to say that the paid version offers nothing more than the free one.

Canabalt is the typical old school Flash game that I used to play during IT and Computing classes, instead of actually working. The basic jist of it is that you watch a man run across the roof of a building, and you tap your screen to make him jump to the next one. The only bit of skill is deciding when to take your finger off the screen, so as to control the length and timing of the man’s jump. Aesthetically it looks neat (kind of like a 2D chase scene in an action film, with a cool blue/purple hue over everything) and the music, all by Danny Baranowsky, perfectly suits the pace that the game goes at.

All that said, the free version is oddly addictive to try and get a higher score, but on the iPhone I felt as if I was only really playing it because I had a few seconds to spare. If a game like Bird Strike is classed as something of minor substance on the iPhone, such as a reasonably lengthy (sub-1000 word) blogpost, then Canabalt is a Tweet. It scares me that such a game, designed to waste less than a minute in someone’s dull life, actually exists. Do people really need such constant stimulation that a portable version of Canabalt has its place in our lives?

For some, maybe, but not for me; I’ll stick to the procrastination friendly browser one. If you're like me and aren't convinced by the iPhone port, then at the very least consider supporting the free version with a donation.