Mr. Runner 2: The Masks (iOS) Review

Mr. Runner 2: The Masks is the type of game that is simple to play, but difficult to master.  You control the perpetually-moving protagonist Mr. Runner, as he moves from screen left to screen right.  Obstacles, in the form of crushing ceilings, will attempt to flatten him along the way.  His only defense?  Slowing down or speeding up.

That’s right!  The only controls you need to worry about is slowing Mr. Runner down or making him haul-ass.  To make things more of a challenge, you can only ease up or go full-throttle for a short period of time — after that, Mr. Runner will go at his own pace until a cool-down timer allows you to control him again.

Fans of the original Mr. Runner will immediately notice a serious upgrade in the graphics department upon starting up Mr. Runner 2: The Masks.  Long gone is the original stick-man visual style.  This time around, the graphics are much more flushed-out with a cuter and more cartoon-style that makes it far more visually appealing and approachable than the first game.  The sound department has also received a huge uplift in production value, with a really impressive and light-hearted soundtrack complete with sound effects that put the $0.99 game on par with comparable Nintendo DS-style games.

Along the way, you’ll collect coins and stars.  Coins are used to purchase costumes and power-ups for Mr. Runner.  You can also earn coins through in-app purchases with price ranges from $0.99 to as high as $24.99.  Coins can also be earned through social media interactions on Twitter and Facebook, like following or liking them, as well as sharing your stats with friends and followers.

In-app purchases used to be the bane of my existence.  Nowadays, as long as you’re able to play through the game, even if it’s more of a struggle and the payment options aren’t gratuitously greedy, I’m okay with developers earning money from those who want to help support the game or need a little help.  Mr. Runner 2: The Masks features in-app purchases, but based on my time playing through it, I never came across a situation where the in-app purchases became a problem or got in the way of my enjoyment.

Mr. Runner 2 also features a lot of pop-culture references offered in the game, both in terms of things that Mr. Runner says as he avoids getting crushed, or with the cast of characters that he encounters along the way, and should bring a smile to your face.

I played Mr. Runner 2 on both an 4th-generation iPod Touch and a 3rd-generation iPad.  One important thing to note is that the game is not a universal app.  While it runs on the iPad just fine, you’ll have to upscale the iPhone/iPod Touch display to fill the screen.   It’s not a real problem, but the visuals are so nice-looking on the iPod Touch screen, it’s a shame not to have that level of visual fidelity on my Retina-enabled iPad.

I also experienced crashes upon start-up on my iPod Touch, something that I didn’t have when playing on the iPad.  Restarting the device seemed to resolve the problem.  A fix via an app-update would be nice, restarting seems to be the only work-around at this time.

Mr. Runner 2: The Masks is a cute game that is suitable for all ages, but I should note that I did come across some light profanity (e.g.: “damn”) that he’ll sometimes say if he gets flattened.  It might be more of an issue for children that are learning to read, like my 6-year-old, rather than those who can’t, like my 3-year-old.  Still it wasn’t that bad, but the recommended age for the app, based on the iTunes App Store, is 9+.

One other slight criticism was that I wasn’t expecting interactive menus that the game employs.  It makes sense if you’re the player who starts the game and gets a quick tutorial, but if somebody else plays before you (like your kids — yes, I’m blaming my kids on this), you might watch Mr. Runner take a few laps around the menus before you realize you’re not watching a video clip, and the paintings that he’s running by can be clicked to begin playing.

For a $0.99 cent title, Mr. Runner 2: The Masks offers a lot of content.  There are 50 different types of pop-culture-inspired masks that can be collected and 32 levels spanning 4 different worlds to explore.