Super Mario Run

NINTENDO JOINS THE SMARTPHONE RACE, BUT LEAVES ITS INNOVATIVE SPIRIT AT THE DOOR. Free with IAP | supermariorun.com IT’S HERE AT last: Mario on smart devices. Super Mario Run initially masquerades as a free-to-play game (you can ‘get’ it, technically), but only three levels and a tutorial are available as part of the free version, which is little more than a taster. For the whole game, which features six worlds with four levels each, you’ll need to fork out $14.99.

Or else, there’s the Rally game, which tasks you with beating the score of global real-world opponents across endless levels by collecting more coins and doing it with style. These challenges reward you with coins and tickets, the later granting you access to brief lottery-style mini-games where you can win more currency and tickets (though these can only be accessed every eight hours).

As for the game itself: it’s an autorunner featuring Mario. It feels good and is as polished as you’d expect from Nintendo, but at the end of the day, nostalgia and brand power is what will make this game a success. There’s nothing new to see here, except perhaps something that isn’t your living room or bedroom in your peripheral vision while you play this game. The medium is the only element of innovation, which is a shame, considering how much anticipation this game has created by its fan community.

In comparison, Rayman Jungle Run is a much more fun and varied autorunner, and it’s only five bucks.

Overall this is an enjoyable, if unoriginal and fairly bland, platformer with some Nintendo shine.