![]() ![]() It's the latest example of a.) a big gaming brand born and popularised on the app stores that b.) is being treated as an equal partner by a big traditional media company.Įqual? Disney could have decided to make its own endless-runner game for Oz, taking Temple Run's basic gameplay and adding its own twists – much as Activision did for its reboot of Pitfall in 2012. It's just that mobile operators may not be the best people to be providing it: their own walled gardens and focus on brands over quality were what made mobile gaming a niche up until 2008. ![]() It's not that Apple and Google's app stores are immune from criticism. That's why I had to stifle a chuckle at the point during Mozilla's Firefox OS press conference at Mobile World Congress when a succession of operators took the stage to complain that Apple and Google's "walled gardens" were bad for consumers. Less than 5% of mobile users paid to download games, and that 5% churned a lot: people had one bad experience then didn't try again for a year or two. While players were the short-term losers – paying £5 for a dreadful film tie-in – in the longer term it hurt the industry. Publishers often made money because they knew the operators would stick their branded games at the top of their portals. ![]() Often, the budget left over for making fun gameplay was often slender, to say the least. The publishers of these games paid wild sums for their licensing deals, and then had to suck up expensive costs of porting the games to hundreds of handsets, as demanded by the operators. Rewind a few years to the time before mobile applications were rebranded as apps: an era when mobile operators were the main store-owners for mobile games, and when rubbish movie tie-ins were heavily promoted on their portals. But it's also a useful illustration of the changing nature of licensing deals between the film and mobile games worlds. I've been playing it this morning, and it's fun, albeit with in-app purchase options running up to £69.99, which may be an unwelcome surprise for parents whose children are playing. Other settings and characters from the film plus a hot-air balloon section are included in the game, which costs $0.69 on the App Store and Google Play. If you're just looking for a fun time killer, grab Temple Run 2 instead.The new game takes the Temple Run formula to the Land of Oz, as players run, jump and slide along the Yellow Brick Road. But it's impossible to not feel cynical about Disney charging for an Oz-themed re-skin of a free download. Anyone that's interested should feel free to buy in and enjoy running along the yellow brick road. It's still the same fun, responsive and addictive endless running that has garnered more than 100 million fans. So, let me bottom-line it for you: there's nothing at all wrong with Temple Run: Oz from a gameplay perspective. The 2X coin power-up becomes a 3X coin boost at the cost of 1 gem, for example. Gems can also be used to "supercharge" power-ups. Players can pay up with premium gems to continue runs. ![]() Oz also features deeply integrated In-App Purchases, even though it's a $0.99 paid download. Occasional tilt-controlled hot air balloon sequences are the only major change to the formula. Tilting your device moves Oz within his narrow lane, while swiping left and right performs sharper turns. Players swipe up to jump and swipe down to slide to avoid obstacles along the path. Play All the core Temple Run mechanics are unchanged. ![]()
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