Min – A Space Adventure review (iOS / Universal)

♫ “… It’s a race to the finish!”

10 word description: Guide Min through many challenging levels. Upgrades, consumables, Game Center.

10 word review: Appealing tunnel-flyer, if your device will do it justice.

You will like this if you enjoy: Speed runs through tricky 3D tunnel systems. If you (are old enough to) have played Descent (PC – 1995) some elements of Min might bring back a few memories.

The good news: Graphically impressive tunnels with various hazards and enemies (Unreal engine). Replayability based around upgrading Min and improving your best time on each level is a solid and fairly traditional concept.

The bad news: Although Min will run on a first gen iPad (and a 4th gen Touch) performance is not great on these devices; the slow framerate does start to cause control/navigation problems as well as lowering the overall appeal of the game. Large, fixed control buttons would benefit from being customisable.

Arcadelife verdict: A new game that seems very much like something from an earlier era of gaming, where quick reflexes and your own memory were the best tools to get the job done. Although improving your times in Min is heavily dependent on trial-and-error, the inclusion of upgrades adds an extra reward for repeating levels and the cycle of try-upgrade-repeat doesn’t feel forced or frustrating.

If you own a first gen iPad, or anything earlier than an iPhone 4S, I can’t really recommend that you get Min as the performance will disappoint you. The game is playable, and initially there aren’t too many issues, but once you get past the first couple of levels the framerate becomes an additional hazard! On the devices where it runs best (iPad 2, iPad 3, iPhone 4S), there really isn’t anything quite like this on the app store and you’re probably going to have a lot of fun racing through Min’s wide variety of very pretty tunnels.

Arcadelife rating

Visuals – 9/10
Audio – 8/10
Controls – 8/10
Content – 8.5/10
Fun – 8.5/10
Final rating – 85/100

Rating categories explained here.

Version reviewed by Arcadelife is 1.0

Min Facebook website link

Arcadelife played and reviewed this game on:
4th gen iPod Touch (iOS 5.1.1)
iPad [1st gen & 3rd gen] (iOS 5.1.1)