Throughout the course of gaming history, sequels have typically followed one of two conventions. Some are iterative, by building upon what came before it; a casual passerby might not be able to find much different between Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man, Sonic 1 and Sonic 2, or Mega Man and Mega Man 2 at a glance.
Throughout the course of gaming history, sequels have typically followed one of two conventions. Some are iterative, by building upon what came before it; a casual passerby might not be able to find much different between Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man, Sonic 1 and Sonic 2, or Mega Man and Mega Man 2 at a glance.
Then there are those which seek to basically redefine the experience with something else, and often being viewed as “black sheep” among their line in the process. These include Super Mario Bros. 2’s throwing to Super Mario Bros.’s stomping (The Lost Levels hubbub notwithstanding), Zelda II: The Adventure of Link’s sidescrolling swordplay to The Legend of Zelda’s top-down exploration, and Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest’s open world to Castlevania’s challenging linearity.
For all intents and purposes, Gravity Guy 2 falls into the latter camp. If you’re a fan of the original Gravity Guy, you might enjoy this; though if you’re expecting this one to refine and expand upon the gameplay of the original, you should prepare to have those expectations dashed.
This style of sequel doesn’t make it a bad game (the aforementioned sequels are some of this reviewer’s favorites in their respective franchises), and in truth, it really isn’t. However, it is disappointing to see the developers at Miniclip go from something as unique as the original Gravity Guy to something extremely less so.
Gravity Guy 2 is an endless runner, though one might also describe the original as such, too. However, whereas the original had an interesting gimmick involving the inversion of the hero’s gravity to accommodate the layout of the levels, here he basically makes the floor rise up so he can go from one platform to the next.
It’s not a bad concept, and it’s executed fairly well. However, somewhere along the way, it just somehow manages to feel bland in comparison to the original concept. In short, it feels like just another endless runner. A good, capable, and competent one, but another one just the same in a genre that feels like it’s beginning to overflow with them. It’s good, but it needs to be more than just “good” to stand out from the pack.
But in addition to that, we’ll be very honest here: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Rooftop Run has spoiled us. If you’re an insatiable fan of endless runners, then you can do worse than playing this game. If you’re a fan of the original Gravity Guy, you might want to approach this with caution.
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