Doodle Jump Menu

The first paid iPhone app I downloaded shortly after I received my iPhone was a 99 cent app called Doodle Jump by New York based Lima Sky (@LimaSky on Twitter). A catchy name combined with a character that reminded me of Pac-Mac may have had something to do with my decision to purchase Doodle Jump. However as soon as I purchased the app and tried it out, I realized I had made a mistake.

This simple game was so much fun to play that I was spending time I did not have playing it. The objective of the game is to guide the Pac-Man like character higher by jumping on little green tiles (officially referred to as platforms) by tilting your iPhone or iPod Touch left and right. If you fall through the empty space between tiles, the game is over.

To make things interesting, little springs sprinkled generously throughout the game help you get a leg up (literally) by propelling you upwards whenever you land on them. Landing on multiple springs in quick succession is a very satisfying experience. After you have demonstrated your ability to land on green tiles and the game progresses, the tiles are more scarcely populated and further apart. You also begin to encounter blue moving tiles.

Doodle Jump Monster

I am yet to figure out why the game developers introduced the brown cracked tiles that crumble under your weight should you land on one of them and send you plunging to your death.

When you shoot past about 6,000 points, little monsters like the blue one in the screenshot to the left start showing up. Physical contact with one of these “monsters” kills your character and ends the game. While some monsters are static, others tend to move horizontally across the screen. You can shoot a monster by touching the screen in the general direction of the monster but I find it easier to just avoid them and continue my upward journey.

An older version of Doodle Jump gave you no warnings before the appearance of a monster and more often than not my spring happy character ended up getting the kiss of death from these monsters. Lima Sky recently updated their app to include a sound based warning that helps you prepare for a scary encounter.
While I have come across black holes in the fabric of the game that swallow you if you happen to be near them, with my high score of 17,289 I am yet to be abducted by UFOs.

Speaking of scores, Doodle Jump has this neat feature that displays your name and the names of other players in your geographic region on the right edge of the screen at points where you plunged to your death as you can see in the screenshot (in case you are wondering, I am AppStruck). Beyond this local score board, you can also submit your score to the global leader board and share your score with friends through Facebook.

The only gripe I have about Doodle Jump is the unforgiving nature of the game. There are no second chances should you miss a tile, butt heads with a monster or get swallowed by a black hole. Most games give you three lives or chances and allow you to continue the game from the same point should you lose a life. With Doodle Jump, you have to start from the bottom again. This was the only thing that stopped me from giving the game a five star rating.