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Bit. Trip Runner

Bit Trip Runner

The creators of Bit Trip Beat release their fourth game for Wiiware. Jonas Elfving has forgotten what time and space is, as Bit Trip Runner is a magnificent platforming experience...

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One day, without any particular reason, I decided to run. So I ran. When I had made my way through all of robot land I decided that I might as well keep running. So I ran through a factory and a town. When I got tired, I rested. When I got hungry, I ate. When I...well, you know, I did that too.

I guess I might have broken some journalistic rule somewhere, but I was tired, hungry and had worked way too much when I finally turned on Bit Trip Runner. I just wanted to sleep, really. Then I played for five minutes, and suddenly all of the espressos and power naps in the world get a run for their money.

It's a game about a little man, Commander Video. He's pixelated, ugly and wonderful at the same time. He is constantly running, at alarming speeds, from left to right. My job is to help him jump over obstacles, or slide under them, or smash them. His sliding tackle and rock pose are probably the coolest and most charming things I've ever seen in a game.

I leave a rainbow behind me as I run. I jump into pixelated bags of gold and if I find enough of them a bonus level awaits, which is even more retro. When I reach the finish line I get to write my name, using a maximum of three characters, and then "Elf" jumps into the next level in the three larger worlds. The concept is so simple, which demands a lot from the level design which, luckily, is wonderful.

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We've seen this level of genious in the earlier parts of the Bit Trip-series. Bit Trip Beat even ended up on Gamereactor Sweden's list of the best Wiiware-games ever and with the sequels Core and Void, Anjin Games have further developed their modern retro concept. Bit Trip Runner is their masterpiece and beat all the previous games. It's a celebration of retro and Pitfall's spirit is always present, but I can see how Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat has been an inspiration.

The music has always been wonderful in the Bit Trip-games and in this time around Aijin have outdone themselves. It's the cream of the bitpop genre, with a guest appearance of the super group Anamanaguchi and if there is a gaming heaven this is the music S41n7 P373R will great us with from his heavenly stereo.

The music is good enough to just listen to, but just like in the previous games it is tied to my actions. The levels beging with a simple rythm from the blip-blop drums, but as I advance through the levels new sounds are added to the mix. The three spaced out notes when I jump on trampolines give me goosebumps every time! You can also, if you feel like it, add your own sounds by pressing on the d-pad.

We usually talk about eye-hand co-ordination in games like these, that puts your reactions to the test. In the case of Bit Trip Runners we can talk about eye-ear-hand co-ordination, since a good sense of rythm will help you time the movements of Commander Video. The running is like a horisontal version of Guitar Hero's grip board and you have to keep your eyes on the right edge to even stand a chance in the harder levels.

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If you don't get a jump right, or touch some obstacle, you will be transported back to the start of the level instantly. You will restart some levels many, many times. In any other game this might have been something negative, but in this one it only serves to get me even more hooked. And compared to the (even more) unforgiving levels in the previous Bit Trip-games, these are relatively short so once you've memorized the level design and timed everything correctly you're rushed into a new one straight away.

Developers and publishers love talking about player commitment when marketing their games, and most of the time it's all about "engaging storylines" or "engaging combats." Even though I've played many AAA-titles over the last couple of years I can't think of one game that had me this focused on what is happening on the screen. That's because Bit Trip Runner is a game. Not a thriller, not a lifestyle, not an action movie. Just a simple, fantastic game.

A measly 800 Wii-points will buy you the best or second best game for Wiiware (the World of Goo-balls have glued themselves to my heart) and one of the best games for the console in general. Either way, just go buy it straight away. Bit Trip Runner is downloadable love.

Bit. Trip RunnerBit. Trip RunnerBit. Trip RunnerBit. Trip Runner
09 Gamereactor UK
9 / 10
+
Wonderful music, addictive gameplay, hypnotic, cheap, challenging
-
Trial and error might not be for everyone
overall score
is our network score. What's yours? The network score is the average of every country's score

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