iPhone App of the Week: Canabalt

Ported from a free Flash game, Canabalt is a paid app that runs on a very simple premise: escape.

The only thing you actually need to do is jump. Now it sounds extremely boring, but this is where some of the subtle additions come into play. Like any platformer, you'll also have to jump across obstacles, huge gaps, quickly crumbling buildings, even the occasional vaporizing robot or so.

The pace quickens in Canabalt so contrary to the barebones premise, it never really bores. Combined with an aesthetic that is teeming with a retro sensibility, and some awesome music (although I have to admit, it's the same track looping over and over again), it's a perfect game to play on a brief commute.

The addictive thing about the game is how it simply never ends until you die. The game over screen gives you a hilarious description of how you fell, and it even offers an option to post this same description on Twitter so you can challenge friends who have the game (or just plain promote the game to your circle of pals).

It's a very basic game that's well worth purchasing as it is just as well presented as it is addictive.

Rating: 8/10