Endless running games, much like the genre itself, seem to continue being made with no end in sight. While there has been a definite upsurge in the genre over the last couple of years, with titles such as Temple Run and Subway Surfers blazing the trail, many of the games come across as mere clones. Often utilizing similar mechanics and an aggressive cash shop, the genre seemed as if the only place it was running – was the ground. Enter Wind Runner, a side scrolling endless runner with a pretty face, made by WeMade Entertainment.
Wind Runner, like all other endless runners, tasks you with running to a finish line that doesn’t exist. In Wind Runner, each run begins with your character entering the frame just as a maniacal little bird steals a crystal from you. You then proceed to run through the level, which shifts from one environment to the next as you progress. As the game is side scrolling, you only have to worry about jumping at the right time as opposed to moving left and right. While this may sound easy, each run quickly turns into utter chaos as you jump over spikes, bounce off of enemies and dodge fireballs and poisonous clouds. Luckily for the player, the controls are air tight and very responsive, leaving most deaths in the hands of the player.
The graphics, like the controls, are very polished. Sporting an anime-like appearance, the levels and characters are all very vibrant and fit the game. Furthermore, collecting the stars scattered about the screen not only garners more points for your total score, but also rewards you with a satisfying burst of light from your character and a twinkling sound. Similarly, jumping on to the head of an enemy results in a cartoon-style explosion, along with large and colorful point values drifting up the screen. Coupled with the catchy theme music and sound effects, the experience is immediately gripping and entertaining.
It’s no secret that many free games on Android are plagued with a crippling cash shop. Wind Runner, like other free games, does feature a cash shop; however, the premium gems are easily earned throughout your weekly playing of the game.
Each week you can be paired against 49 other players of a similar skill level for the weekly tournament. You then compete with one another for the highest score, with each player earning gems at the end of the week based off of their performance. If you do well enough you will also move up into the next bracket the following week, which can earn you more gems for your performance – if you manage to dethrone the more skilled players.
You can also earn the gems by logging into the game each day, as you are given them twice during a consecutive five-day period. Furthering the free gem goodness, you are also able to send gifts to your Facebook friends every six hours and vice versa, with gems sometimes being the gift inside.
Once you’ve amassed a collection of gems, you can unlock premium characters, mounts and other goodies, which provide boosts to your score and gold earned per run. The gold can then be used to level up your character and mount, which again, provides a boost to your score and gold earned per run.
The only thing that holds this game back is the shoe system. Each run costs you one shoe, which then regenerate every ten-minutes once you dip below five shoes. I didn’t think I would ever run out as I initially rivaled Footlocker with my shoe count, but quickly found myself waiting for the shoe fairy. This wouldn’t be nearly as bad if there was a way to raise your regeneration amount from five shoes, but alas, you will eventually hit a point where you’re constantly out of shoes. Again, this is only a minor inconvenience as you can use cash or the frequently handed out gems to replenish your shoes.
Overall I wholeheartedly recommend this game. The game play is easy to learn, making it a great game for casual players and children. That said, the difficulty quickly picks up as you progress through the endless level, giving it a hard core appeal as well. The endless quest to achieve a higher score keeps the old school gamer in me coming back for more, while the numerous collectible pets, characters and mounts keep the completionist in me firing up “just one more game.” Shoe qualms aside, this endless runner has not only kept me hooked for well over a month, it has given me a game that I can play with my hard core and casual gamer friends alike.
