Super Mario Run
© 2016 Nintendo of America
December 15 was an important day in video game history. That was when Mario, the Nintendo icon migrated to a hardware platform not designed, sold and controlled by Nintendo. Super Mario Run is a mashup up brilliant interactive design and some bad free app practice, specifically a one time $10 IAP (in app purchase), plus what appears to be a heavy data harvesting. It is based on an easy goal and a nearly impossible challenge -- to move Mario through a continually scrolling maze, collecting items and avoiding hazards in order to save Princess Peach (note the gender bias). The game play is very Nintendo-like in the best way. It is responsive, full of surprises, and the failure is frequent but fun. You can start over, and over, and over. The controls are easy to learn, and there's a well-designed tutorial. The controller buttons have been replaced by taps on the glass, with longer touches giving you higher jumps. It works -- after a few minutes you've forgotten you're playing on non-Nintendo hardware. There are three modes of play: 1) completing the courses alone; 2) competing against others in a rally mode (very fun) and 3) a create your own course mode, using coins collected by playing the first two games. The free download includes just four of about 20 levels. You have to pay $10 to play the rest. Need to know: You won't be disappointed by the gameplay, but you will feel betrayed when you learn you can't go farther in the game unless you pay the one time fee of $10 (the amount needed to unlock all the levels). You also learn that this game won't work without a constant Wi-Fi connection. In addition, this is a one player (non-social) experience and progress is bookmarked and saved in the cloud. The advantage to this model is that you can continue playing on another device, including on your Nintendo 3DS. This app is heavy on the data collection and social media connections so read the privacy policy.
$10, iPad, iPhone
Teaches: problem solving
CTR Rating: 92%