REVIEW: Blood Roofs

Title: Blood Roofs
Platform: iPad / iPhone (reviewed on iPad 2)
Developer: Gamesmold
Publisher: Gamesmold
TL;DR: There’s a lot of running. And jumping. And falling.
Family Friendly? Click here for more information.

This is definitely an interesting spin on one of those “free-running” titles available on mobile devices. “Interesting” doesn’t mean bad in this case. In fact, if you can get past the rather awkward graphics for the title, Blood Roofs is fun to pick up and put down. Utilizing the iPad’s (and iPhone’s) ability to tilt, steering your character starts to feel more like one of those Formula One race car things, but it works in this case.

The premise is incredibly simple. You navigate rooftops as Jake, some shirtless guy who’s got nothing to lose and isn’t afraid to catch a cold by running topless through pouring rain. Your job, as Jake, is to carry the lovely Catherine (or any other damsel you might run across on roof tops), who has lost the ability to run on her own. Cue Fabio-like slow-mo sparkly romance-novel cover moment.

Watch out for that toothy monster thing right over your shoulder though.

Catherine, while unable to move on her own, is packing heat. She carries a gun, and while you’re controlling Jake’s running path over rooftops, you can also control when Catherine shoots monsters by touching the designated button on the screen. Yeah, monsters. There’s plenty of them. If you miss a jump or get stuck behind an obstacle, these baddies won’t have any qualms about having a morning snack before elevensies. While there isn’t a definite end to the game, turning up as one of these tasty morsels or accidentally plunging off into the fog below will mark the end of your game and return you to the beginning. If you’ve ran along the rooftops for a long time, you can unlock portals that will take you to more levels.

This game may appear one-dimensional at first, but for a mobile “pick ‘em up put ‘em down” sort of title, it’s got good things to offer. For one, the collecting of special tokens throughout your levels will allow you to unlock more characters in the opening menu. Each character features a different weapon–one carries dynamite, and you’ll even be able to unlock a cuckoo clock, but it doesn’t wield a weapon. Feeling like Beauty and the Beast? Then grab the clock and get running, because you won’t be able to defend yourself except for running your ass off. Challenge definitely accepted.

These are the basics of the game. Obviously, the biggest challenge will be getting over depth-perception issues and judging which direction to jump. Of course, there is no right or wrong answer when you’re presented with a fork on your roof-running path. Jumping to either the right or the left will net you as much reward (if not more) than the other path, but only if you can run and gun your way through it.

Therein lay my only problem with this game. While incredibly fun, simple, and quite frankly exhilarating, I had an issue with making certain jumps in the game. Sometimes the jump would connect, and sometimes…it wouldn’t. It definitely looked like I’d end up on the right rooftop, but I instead got a screen full of falling down into endless fog and dying. Spectacularly.

Nonetheless, I still kept coming back for more. It is just a fun, one-of-a-kind game, and it’s something that you most definitely should give a shot if you want to look like you’re an awesome air-driver while on the commute in to work. Seriously, the looks you’ll get? Priceless.

I’m running, I’m running, I’m running it well.

• While these graphics aren’t mind-blowing-Infinity-Blade-melt-your-eyeballs-out, it’s still decent. I mean, check out all that rain.
• It’s a fun free-runner, and the utilization of tilt capabilities to steer your character works well.
• Has definite replayability factor, especially if you want all the good bits.

RUN AWAY, RUN AWAY!!!!

• I could’ve sworn I made that jump. Twice.

Blood Roofs is currently available on the App Store for $0.99, and is compatible with iPhone and iPad.

Family Focus
Okay, let’s get this straight. Big scary monsters. Guns. Shirtless men. Uh. It’s not for kids.