Rail Rush
The ride of your life, and subsequent extra lives.
Everyone who watched Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom remembers the thrilling mine cart scene, where Indy and friends frantically switch tracks while dodging hazards. It appears the developers at Miniclip sought to replicate this in the iOS and Android effort, Rail Rush, an endless-runner where the goal is to keep the mine cart moving at all costs. While not as varied as the competition, namely Activision's Pitfall!, it's hard to resist this title's intensity and the adrenaline rush that ensues.
If you've played 3D running games before, then the controls will be second nature. Swipe up to jump, down to duck, left/right to switch tracks and tilt to lean in a specific direction. No big surprises, and that's fine, because the action puts all these elements to great use. The game starts off slow at first, with you effortlessly jumping tracks to avoid smacking into objects, then tilting to collect all the gold nuggets, which function as Rail Rush's currency. Even we thought something was off, as the app appeared woefully simplistic.
We changed our tune 30 seconds in, as the game sped up considerably. Before long, we were desperately keeping up with the constantly changing terrain, struggling to identify all the obstacles in our path and having our fingers respond. Other times, we went into a panic and accidentally swiped, leaving our mine cart and its poor adventurer plummeting into the dark abyss below.
Die and restart. Die and restart. We continued to play for well over an hour during the first sitting, largely because we wanted to beat our previous score and continue to add more precious nuggets to the virtual bank account. Therein lies the beauty of Rail Rush. Games are quick and easy to jump into, and thanks to its attractive visuals, the eye candy only serves to boost the appeal.
Beyond that, the in-game shop contains a wealth of useful things, starting with seven characters that possess unique abilities. Axel Firechief, for example, breaks upper obstacles with his axe. Ace Upsleave, meanwhile, collects 10 percent more nuggets, while Charles Longshot can destroy obstacles on the right with his rifle. These sorts of bonuses are great to see, instead of just populating the game with different skins.
In addition, you'll find all sorts of helpful items. The Wood Ram plows through objects on the tracks, and the Steam Power slaps a high-speed automatic engine onto the cart that lasts five seconds. If traveling fast isn't your thing, how about the hand break that slows the cart down? And if dying sounds unsavory, a Second Chance will bring you back to life.
Naturally, all of these power-ups and characters cost a sizable amount of nuggets, and there's the option to pick up more through in-app purchase. At the same time, you'll be able to acquire plenty from just playing the game; in roughly 45 minutes, we were able to grab 9,764.
Granted, there's no water or crazed cult members from Temple of Doom, but Rail Rush offers plenty of thrills in a free-to-play package. That said, it's one more endless-runner that we have no issue adding to our collection.
What's Hot:Intuitive touch controls, intense endless-running action, tricking out your cart with new items, unlocking characters with signature abilities, visually stimulating.
What's Not:Moves a bit too fast.
4.0/5
