I Must Run!

Whenever a game makes it big in the smartphone market, imitators flood in after it. The growth of the endless running genre following the iOS release of Canabalt is a prime example.

Every week, more and more games ask you to run in a straight line, jumping gaps and sliding under obstacles, with no possible hope of ever reaching your goal because it doesn't exist.

Well, now the Xperia Play has its own optimised running game in the shape of Gamelion's I Must Run!.

I Must Run! casts you as a criminal escaping from jail in order to prevent a crazy mayor from kidnapping your wife. As such it's not strictly speaking an endless running game - the end comes when you catch him.

Pushing X makes you jump, Square makes you punch things in front of you, and pushing down on the D-pad makes you slide along the floor. Your forward momentum is constant, slowed only by running into incongruous pieces of scenery or falling to your death.

It's is a decent-looking game, with neat graphics and some interesting backgrounds. Of course, you don't really pay attention to any of that, because you'll spend most of your time trying not to plant your face into obstructively placed piles of barrels.

I Must Run! isn't spectacularly innovative. Being able to punch obstacles out of the way is a nice touch, but it's ultimately just another endless running game with too little to distinguish it from its many rivals.