As an infrequent viewer of MTV, I wouldn’t really know any of the characters/people from Jersey Shore but I’m reliably informed that DJ Pauly D is one of them – so on the upside, this review is purely going to be based on the game not on my like or hate of the TV show.
This app is a retro 80’s style 16-bit sort of game which reminds me of Double Dragon in ways. Rather than having to batter the hell out of everyone you encounter, you must use your smooth moves to navigate your way through a slalom course of angry men and ugly women whilst picking up medallions, headphones and boomboxes. Another thing you need to keep your eyes open for are the hot babes who are fist-pumping to your rhythm and making sure you pop into the gym, laundrette and tan centre along the way for additional points.
If you go to the gym enough times you’ll be able to bulldoze your way through the crowd, if you keep your clothes fresh you’ll score more points and if you keep topping up your tan you’ll avoid running dangerously pale – which will end your turn if you’re unlucky. As with all games of this kind, you have three lives and clear markers indicating various things.
I’m pretty pleased with the overall retro feel of the game and the basic controls are quite adequate, e.g. up, down and jump. I was a little disappointed that the app seemed to freeze and crash quite a lot when I jumped and hit someone, or just collided. I’m sure this bug will be fixed soon enough, so it’s just one of those things that you learn to deal with and actually keeps you focusing harder on not making a mistake!
Ultimately, it’s a tongue in cheek and light-hearted game that offers players a fair bit of fun. It is pretty repetitive, and the same backing track won’t set the world alight, but it does keep you playing for quite a while.
Positives
- Lots of Boardwalk to cover
- Entertaining and suitable for anyone
- Retro gamers can rejoice at another classic looking game
Negatives
- A bit buggy and did crash
- It’s not always obvious to tell whether you’re on a collision course or not
- Not enough variation to make it totally addictive
