Junk Jack review (iOS / Universal)
June 24, 2012♫ “Haven’t I seen you somewhere around before?”
10 word description: 2D sandbox; explore, build, survive in randomly generated worlds. Game Center.
An iPhone / iPod screen. The view on iPad is much more ‘zoomed out’
10 word review: 2D Minecraft or Mario Builds Stuff – it’s up to you.
You will like this if you enjoy: Minecraft in 2D on a touch screen. Sandbox platform games with randomly generated worlds. Terraria (quite similar).
The sun is setting. At night, hostile creatures appear
The good news: Familiar yet often surprising. Very nice visuals, particularly the day/night cycle. Lots to do and plenty of achievements. Excellent controls. Frequently being updated with additional content and enhancements.
A small shelter and some torches should get you safely through the first night
The bad news: Gamers who prefer fixed objectives and clearly defined “things to do” would probably find the complete freedom rather perplexing. This would be true of most sandbox games and isn’t a bad feature of this one, just something I thought I’d mention.
Crafting is very similar (ok, almost identical) to Minecraft. Plans and recipes exist in the world as notes that can be collected
Arcadelife verdict: It’s impossible to review this without pointing out that it is very similar in concept and content to Minecraft. Personally, I’d much rather a 2D exploring/building/crafting game on a touch screen device than a 3D version as the controls are instantly a heck of a lot more friendly and don’t get in the way of playing and enjoying the game.
Beyond the Minecraft parallels, of which there are quite a few, Junk Jack is a very good game in its own right. If you always fancied this kind of sandbox game on your iPhone or iPad, but just couldn’t get on with the controls in a 3D world, this is an easy recommendation.
Arcadelife rating
Visuals – 9/10
Audio – 8.5/10
Controls – 9/10
Content – 10/10
Fun – 8.5/10
Final rating – 90/100
Rating categories explained here.
Version reviewed by Arcadelife is 1.1
PixBits / Junk Jack website link
Junk Jack official wiki website link
Arcadelife played and reviewed this game on:
4th gen iPod Touch (iOS 5.1.1)
iPad (iOS 5.1.1)
