Genre: Vertical platformer
Developer: Hardlight
Publisher: Sega
As the Sonic series moved on, it went from total surrealism to an attempt at representing real places. Sonic Jump's backgrounds, of snowy mountain peaks and lush jungles, opt for the latter, and they are supremely high resolution, albeit totally static. Despite being 2d, the character sprites have a cel-shaded look to them, and are pleasant enough. Well drawn comic book sequences between worlds round out the package.
Light synch and orchestral music is the order of the day, and while the melodies aren't all that catchy, they at least make some attempt to be true to the classic Sonic audio formula. Sound effects have all been lifted from the Genesis titles, and are as iconic as ever.
Like all vertical jumping games, Sonic Jump involves tilting the device back and force while Sonic jumps continually. The goal is to not fall off the bottom of the screen. The level designs are very solid, and the tilt-based controls allow for a great deal of precision.
Sonic Jump is a crisp, polished title, especially by mobile standards. It has a decent amount of replayability as well, between character unlocks and an infinite, high score-oriented arcade mode. No one will mistake this for a proper Sonic game, but for what it sets out to do, it does it well.
Sniper's verdict: