iPhone/iPad game of the day: Solipskier

Game: Solipskier
Price: $2.99/ £1.79
Size: 14.5 MB
Get it now on the iTunes store:US/UK

There are plenty of games that have you drawing your own path and plenty of games that task you with running as far as possible before crashing. But Solipskier might just be the first that combines the two. And it does it with a solid dose of unique style, complete with a monochromatic color scheme, rainbow capes, and a rocking soundtrack.

As you can possibly guess from the name, Solipskier is about, well, skiing. It stars a tiny little stick figure dude wearing a pair of headphones who’s just itching to hit the slopes. Your job is to create the mountain he’ll be skiing on. Move your finger to the top of the screen and it will create a ramp, take it off the screen and there will be a gap for him to jump over. Going down will speed him up and going up will slow him down.

It’s a pretty simple concept, but the developers have spiced it up with a few extras. At all times there are arrows at the edge of the screen indicating what’s coming up next and how far away it is. Sometimes it’s a gate that will increase your score if you reach it, other times it’s a tunnel that will vastly boost your speed. There are also obstacles to avoid and forced jumps you’ll need to make it over.

Like all good arcade style games, it’s easy to grasp the concept of Solipskier, but hard to master it. When you get up to those blazing speeds it’s easy to make a mistake and it only takes one flub to end your run. And since the name of the game is high scores, it’s a good thing Solipskier gives you plenty of ways to share yours, both through OpenFeint leaderboards or by bragging on Twitter or Facebook. Also, note that Solipskier is a universal app, so one purchase nets you both versions.

Nov 24, 2010