Running games have really exploded after the massive success of titles such as Canabalt. To stand out you have to find new angles, and developer Orange Agenda hopes that their obstacle course running game Stellar Escape has enough to stand out. Compared to most other running games Stellar Escape has a level structure as introduction with the endless modes as a continuation to gain game life. To me this would be great, if the game had that addictive one more time kind of vibe. Sadly it doesn`t, and I tend to get bored instead of challenged. That is because there is a lack of variety, and too many buttons.
The controls in Stellar Escape consist of five touch controls. To the right you have duck under, jump over and somersault forward. To the left you have jump up and climb monkey bars, and jump down in a pipe Mario-style. Obstacles are fairly easy to distinguish, and only those with moving parts are really challenging. Granted, at times the responsiveness of the touch controls is a little off. For me this has been noted when the runner fails to jump up to grab the monkey bars. With five buttons the game turns more into a memory reaction game not far from playing Bop It! or a WarioWare title on a Nintendo machine. Identify obstacle, react, repeat.
The nine story mode levels have set goals for our delivery hero Elliot Black to run, and that is that. The two endless running modes have no sense of progression, and I get bored even though it gets harder as I run along. Games like Canabalt, Grim Joggers and Tiny Wings have a sense of accomplishment other than a distance travelled. In Stellar Escape that is all you get. Furthermore you don`t feel chased by anything, and that Elliot dude could just as well stop for a smoke. Then after a slight reduction in income for the current delivery Elliot could climb along the obstacle course.
The presentation in Stellar Escape is nice, and runs along without hiccups. Elliot is well animated, and moves in a realistic manner. The levels also look good, and especially the view of space through the large windows is cool. More than half of the screen is used by the controls, and HUD. Having such a limited part of the screen estate for actual gameplay limits immersion quite a bit.
The music is your standard space ambient techno, and even though it doesn`t bother me it is definitely not memorable. You can play your own music instead, and turn off the in-game music. With in-game music on you also get the vibration whenever Elliot hits an obstacle. This can`t be turned off individually, and it is music plus vibration or complete silence. That is unless you play your own music of course.
The game uses OpenFeint for leaderboards, and a whopping 39 achievements. The leaderboards are for both the story mode, and the two endless modes.
Stellar Escape is a casual running game that soon feels like a chore. Too many buttons to keep track of makes it less of an exciting casual game, and more of a rhythm reaction game. It will definitely find a crowd of hardcore gamers that will enjoy it, but it is not as addictive as other casual one button running games. I can only give it a limited recommendation to those who are looking for an obstacle course runner set in space.
Final Rating
Stellar Escape $0.99
Version: 1.0
Seller: Orange Agenda Handelsbolag
