Ski Safari: Adventure Time review (iOS / Universal)

10 word description: Adventure Time version of Ski Safari. Unlockable zones, outfits, power-ups.

10 word review: So much fun, pretty too! Excellent use of TV tie-in.  

You will like this if you enjoy: Endless runners/fliers/skiers etc. Adventure Time. Surreal scenarios. Surfing on a morphing, talking dog.

The good news: Lots of fun. Forgiving gameplay, large cast of bizarre characters, frequently amusing sound effects and quotes. Unlockables are priced quite high but are unessential for progress or to enjoy the game and can realistically be attained just by playing the game – assuming you enjoy it enough to play it quite a lot. Progress (items, score, money, etc.) syncs between devices.  

The bad news: Performance is poor on 1st gen ipad, which was not entirely surprising, but still a shame for a 2D runner.

Arcadelife verdict: I’ve watched the TV show quite a lot – because I have a 6 year old son – and it’s one of those, like Johnny Test, that has enough surreal and borderline risque humour and imagery to appeal to an adult, if that adult was raised on a steady diet of video games and cartoons, and has a warped sense of humour to start with. Saying that, this game doesn’t rely on knowledge of the TV show for its entertainment value.

It is a very good endless/distance one-touch game, probably because it is essentially a re-skinned version of a pretty good game. The varied and bizarre characters, attractive backdrops and addictive gameplay work together well. Hurtling down slopes, performing backflips and riding the numerous land and air based creatures and objects is highly entertaining. The only real issue I have is with the high prices of the shop items, which will lead to children (arguably the target audience) wanting things that they can see there but can’t attain very quickly with their game gold. Yes, there are IAPs – of course there are.

It’s still loads of fun and each run lasts quite a while, right from the beginning before any upgrades are bought. This may feel “too easy”, but then the target audience is probably younger than you and certainly a heck of a lot younger than me. “Ski with your butt.”

Arcadelife rating

Presentation – 9/10
Visuals – 9/10
Controls – 10/10
Content – 8.5/10
Fun – 9/10
Final rating – 9/10

MATH

Rating categories explained here.

Version reviewed by Arcadelife is 1.0.1

Cartoon Network website link

Arcadelife played and reviewed this game on:
5th gen iPod Touch (iOS 7.0.4)
4th gen iPad (iOS 7.0.4)
1st gen iPad where it sucked pretty badly

This review was typed on a Das Keyboard Model S mechanical keyboard – check them out, they’re really rather groovy.

Advertisement