There's a sort of epiphany, a miniature moment
of enlightenment if you will, that comes from
a lifetime of playing video games.
It can come even earlier than this, but you
start to see the vast reams of games you've
played as a rainbow of genres, each one blurring
seamlessly in to the next with some becoming
the strongest example of a specific moment.
If you've not played the free-form exploration
title Minecraft you've done yourself a disservice;
while I personally dipped in and out fairly
quickly, its left a lasting impression on
me and provided a great springboard for discussions
on what really makes a 'game'.
Junk Jack by Pixbits joins this new shade
of gaming by melding two examples of the genre,
notably Minecraft and Terraria as it provides
a side-scrolling 2D platforming setup from
the latter, with a free exploration and crafting
system more similar to the former.
Much like Minecraft you're thrown in to a
huge generated world, with little more than
some basic controls (tap and hold to move,
swipe to jump) and a large empty inventory.
After some experimentation tapping yields
your first harvest of blockified resources
and a note charging you to continue exploring.
More notes follow, some with recipes and with
luck you'll be on your way as you first create
basic tools, then advanced ones, exploring
ever deeper for treasures to horde.
This exploration is rewarded with various
visually stunning biomes, each with their
own unique twists such as forgotten Egyptian
ruins or underground forests.
Despite being rendered in 2D with large blocks,
the cartoonish style works in the game's favor
as it's always easy to see what you're doing
and additional depth is given to the world
as players not only mine in the 2D plane they're
on, but also the background itself.
So far, so similar many would say and you'd
be right, though this is the magic of the
exploration based series of games - your objective
is to learn about and master your environment.
Better still you're not limited to one world
either; load up a new world and items in your
inventory carry over, giving you a chance
to start again or harvest more gems for your
palatial home.
For a game made by a two-man Indie team, Junk
Jack packs a punch for the iOS platform by
simultaneously combining intuitive controls,
appealing aesthetics and a few hints that
help you on your way.
A definite must have for fans of Minecraft,
Terraria and those after a time-waster that's
sure to grow over time.
