With already a fruit-shaped hit title under their belt, Halfbrick have a lot to live up to with their new game, Monster Dash. In true Halfbrick fashion, Monster Dash is also a pick-up-and-play game but instead of slicing, you are running, and running fast.

Gameplay 9/10

Much like Canabalt, you have to jump from platform to platform, timing jumps precisely to land on each pillar. However, you will also be up against monsters. There is about every horror monster you can think of (well… I say every) who have put their differences aside and decided that you would be a good target to devour/mummify/bite and all sorts of other ghastly deaths, tonight.

Thankfully, you have been provided with a large array of arsenal to fend off these beasts as you make your way through the endless levels. You start of with a simple, short-ranged pistol with infinite ammo, however, you pick up weapon boxes on the ground which provide another, much more deadly firearm. For example, you may come across a sizzling ‘Mr Zappy’ that ejects a ranged bolt of electricity which decimates nearby enemies, or maybe a Pacifier, a powerful weapon that rips through all monsters in sight. But by far the best weapon is the Machine Gun Jet-pack. Oh yes. Somehow, Halfbrick have managed to merge a machine gun with a jet-pack. This works by firing your gun at the ground, resulting in the momentum lifting you upwards. Ok, so it might not be feasible in real life, and don’t go on at me with all this physics, resultant force, momentum nonsense. It’s possible in the Monster Dash world and that’s all that matters.

In all its Canabalt style, Monster Dash manages to capture the addictive gameplay well and the resulting game is fun to play. What’s more, the art style is fantastic and maintains its own personalized look that is not reminiscent of any other game that I know of.

Yes, the epic Machine-gun Jetpack, and you thought I was joking.

But there is one thing that sets Monster Dash apart from every other casual iPhone game in the App Store. The best main character name… ever, Barry Steakfries. Boy, that kid must have been teased at school. But being the man that Barry Steakfries is, he would probably just hop on his Machine Gun Jet-pack and fly away, laughing.

Graphics 10/10

The art style is fantastic and maintains its own personalized look that is not reminiscent of any other game that I know of. There was also no slowdown during the time I played the game which was good.

Controls 10/10

Monster Dash incorporates a two button control system which works well with the simple concept that Monster Dash is. On the left you have a jump button and the longer you hold this down, the higher you jump. On the right you have a shoot button which fires your weapon. Both buttons are responsive and work well. I also love the added touch of the gradual fade away of the button image resulting in a clean flush look overall.

Sound 6/10

The sound on the other hand is well made, but doesn’t fit the game as well. Instead of the casual light-hearted cheerful soundtrack found in most pick-up-and-play games, Monster Dash’s music fits more into a first-person shooter or fast-paced setting. Even though I commend the developers for trying out something new, the soundtrack feels like it was made for another game.

Menus 10/10

The menus are responsive and the buttons are satisfyingly big. I also like the menu monsters which slumber around the screen until you place your godly finger on them, banishing them from the world (i.e. killing them).

The different environments help prevent the game from becoming repetitive

Longevity 4/10

There is always one problem when it comes down to pick-up-and-play games. Their replay value. This is no different for Monster Dash, and despite the cute graphics and cool weapons, the game doesn’t take long to get old. To try and prevent this, every 1000 meters Barry gets transported to another time and place where the scenery is different and the monsters have changed, and this works well at keeping the game from being repetitive. Still though, the lack of replayabilty in terms of features such as unlockable items and modes shows through, and to be honest, it isn’t an original concept either.

Cost 10/10

The cost of Monster Dash is an affordable $0.99/£0.59 which is the perfect price.

Conclusion 59/70 – 4/5

Monster Dash is certainly one of the best in the pick-up-and-play genres out there, but it fails to tackle the problems associated with that type of game. However, for its incredibly affordable price, definitely one to check out.

Monster Dash on the App Store.