..JAZZ: Trump's Journey..

..Game Keywords / Tags: Jazz, Trumps, Trump's, Trump, Journey, BulkyPix, Egg Ball, iTunes, iOS, iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Mobile, video game, games, juego, juegos, videojuegos..

"Back to the Roarin' 20s"

REVIEW |

Author: Rando Evans

Jazz. 1920. New Orleans. It's a setting in history that is both magical and relevant, and Bulkypix / Egg Ball's attempt to create a puzzle-platfomer in this setting is quite a little journey. Crafted with a heavy focus on narrative / storytelling throughout and classic platfroming, JAZZ: Trump's Journey adds some freshness to the saturated world of iOS platformers.

JAZZ: Trump's Journey (iPhone, iPod, iPad, iTunes, iOS, Mobile) Review Screenshots

Players will take control of Trump, whose story unfolds via silent film cutscenes, as he rises to fame, struggling to assemble his band in the 1920s. When the story isn't unfolding in silent film era fashion, the left-to-right gameplay appears in uniquely designed backdrops. Add in neat character animations and great old-school jazz pieces to accompany it all, and you've got something really special here. Even better, as you collect more band mates, the music will change in conjunction to the instrument that musician plays. Classic elements such as hallways with doors to different levels bring back the old Mario days of stage selection, and each stage is fairly well designed in both its platforming and puzzle elements. This is why JAZZ: Trump's Journey succeeds.

Since you'll be running, jumping, and climbing all the time, JAZZ: Trump's Journey does a good job with the controls. Easy to get the hang of, gamers will find them responsive for the most part. The control arrows work so well within the design of the game, that there is no crowding on the screen, even if you're playing on the iPhone. With the added abilities of freezing time with the sounds of your horn and a few other neat gameplay additions, Trump's Journey is significantly above most iOs releases.

JAZZ: Trump's Journey (iPhone, iPod, iPad, iTunes, iOS, Mobile) Review Screenshots

Unfortunately, aesthetics aren't everything, and being a step above most platformers can't save JAZZ from its lack in other areas. The translation of dialogue is fairly poor, and overall the game is pretty slow-paced. With the inability to skip cutscenes, oftentimes the game gets dragged down in its own style and story, rather than focusing on different attempts to fine-tune the actual platforming gameplay. With difficulty starting out beyond easy and eventually getting quite difficult, JAZZ takes a while to get into, and even after that, it can seem exceedingly unfair. Mix in the floaty physics, and you'll find Jazz's gameplay rough around the edges.

Overall though, for the price and the platform it's on, JAZZ: Trump's Journey is worth it for those seeking a good-looking, more creative puzzle-platformer.

GameDynamo's Score for JAZZ: Trump's Journey (Mobile)

Graphics

Nicely designed, creatively executed, and smoothly played out. JAZZ: Trump's Journey is a game that should be looked to as far as artistic quality.

Sound

Great music, which evolves as the game progresses. It's probably the star of the game.

Gameplay

While the level design is fairly on-the-spot and the controls are good for an iOS platformer, JAZZ can slow to a crawl during non-skippable cutscenes and perilously frustrating platforming moments due to floaty physics.

Play Value

Fans of platforming puzzlers will love JAZZ for all it is. Others will appreciate it for the art design and music. For the price and gameplay it has to offer, it's a good buy.

Final Score 79

Not perfect, but a good game for the system and genre. A few more tweaks and JAZZ: Trump's Journey could have been downright amazing.

Posted on 01/26/2012 | Game Played on: iPhone

Rando Evans Followtinydinosaurs

Three things describe Rando: Good beer, good food, and video games. On occasion, Rando flies a zeppelin through time seeking power crystals.

The views of GameDynamo's writers are not necessarily the views of the website as a whole. However, we support freedom of speech and enjoy diverse opinions about video games. Hopefully you do too!

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..JAZZ: Trump's Journey..

"Back to the Roarin' 20s"

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GameDynamo's Score for JAZZ: Trump's Journey (Mobile)

REVIEW |