Indie developer Karios Games’ MonsterUp is a jumping game, much like DoodleJump. Unlike DoodleJump, though, MonsterUp is a Windows Phone 7 exclusive. Our review praises its controls, character designs, and cheerful atmosphere. The dashing, eloquent reviewer just wished for more environments to jump through. With MonsterUp’s version 1.7 update, his pleas for variety have been answered.
Game designer Marios Karagiannis claims that version 1.7 is “the most important and feature rich” revision so far. He’s not lying!
Dynamic Mode
First off, the new update adds something no other jumping game (not even DoodleJump) has seen so far: the Dynamic game mode. Traditionally in these games, when the player character jumps off one side of the screen, it comes out the other side, much like Pac-Man or Asteroids. Dynamic Mode mixes things up by centering the camera firmly on the player’s monster. Instead of jumping off one side and coming out the other, the game’s platforms simply loop around the player. Gameplay does not fundamentally change – the same difficulty and game logic remain. Yet it does add a drop of flair that I quite enjoy. Standard and Dynamic Modes are selectable before each game, and they also share the same Leaderboard.
Fresh and tasty environments
The platform arrangements in jumping games are randomly generated, so each playthrough is different than the one before it. Still, without the visual variety of different environments, it can feel like you’re just playing the same level over and over. MonsterUp now has two brand themes (environments) to bounce around. Lemonade Madness drops the monsters into a giant lemonade glass, while Sweet-o-mania contains a colorful array of cupcakes, cookies, and lollipops. Both stages retain MonsterUp’s signature bright and gleeful aesthetic, plus they just taste great. The original theme, Countryside, is also selectable. I recommend against eating the countryside.
Hop past the break for more details on the update and a video of Dynamic Mode.
Meet the new guy
Speaking of things to choose, how about a new monster? Siil is a little brown, walrus-looking dude. Each creature in MonsterUp has a unique special ability. Siil’s power – Wings – may be the most useful one of the bunch, granting him a burst of flight (of course). The addition of a new monster further extends the game’s playtime, because you’ll have to earn stars with another monster before unlocking Siil.
And another thing…
Load times have now been optimized, not that they were bad before. Let’s just say that if the game loaded any faster, it would be over before you started playing. Rounding out version 1.7’s changelog are tweaks to the game engine (to avoid problems with concrete platforms), fixes to some resuming bugs, and the elimination of an online high score table bug.
More to come
MonsterUp has received 8 updates since its initial release back in January. Karios Games shows an impressive dedication to its signature jumping game. There’s more to come from the loveable team of monsters – WPCentral recently broke the news of a spin-off game that will take the franchise in a whole new direction.
MonsterUp can be purchased for a reasonable $1.99. A free trial is also available. Grab it here (opens up a link to your Zune software) in the Marketplace.
