Adam Atomic Ports Canabalt to the iPhone
Canabalt is now out on the iPhone. In a surprising move, independent game developer Adam Atomic has decided that his impressive Flash mini games should also be paying for the expensive costs of hosting and maintaining a site. It’s a smart move, and bringing one of his most highly addictive titles to the iPhone is a sheer stroke of genius.
For anyone who has not tried out Canabalt, here is the quick lowdown of the game.
Players find themselves in an unexplained doomsday scenario, buildings are crumbling down, missiles fall from the sky and shadows of large mechanical behemoths loom over the horizon, destroying everything in sight. With all the mayhem going on, there is only one thing to do, run.
The point of Canabalt is get as far away from the player’s starting position as possible; this is done by making the character jump across obstacles and gaps. Aside from the jump command there are not other controls in the game. The character runs automatically in just one direction, and with each step, his speed increases –further emphasizing the need to get away.
The game itself calls the task as ‘your great escape’, no back story, no side events, just a mad rush across rooftops, office floors and cranes –all the while avoiding obstacles like boxes, crates, tablets, chairs and other things scattered in your way. The music is fast paced and ominous, keeping with the dark tone of the game.
So far, it appears that the game has no ending. The developer has not specified if the character would eventually reach the end of the whole ordeal, or if the game is simply measuring the farthest distance you can get before dying.
Regardless of the big picture, Canabalt is a visually impressive and addictive iPhone app download that you would not want to miss.
