Review: Inspector Gadget’s MAD Dash

I remember watching Inspector Gadget on TV as I was growing up. It was and still is a relatively funny show, with a complete nincompoop, Inspector Gadget himself, as the main character. Loaded to the brim with all manner of gizmos and devices, he is essentially a walking, talking device of mass destruction. But despite being a bit on the dimwitted side of things, he was a likable character and has managed to stay around for quite a few years now. I guess it was inevitable that there would be a game starring the famous inspector sooner or later, specially for iOS since it’s such a popular platform.
Originally released quite some time ago, it was only recently I discovered it. I have never heard of the company behind its development either, but that doesn’t mean the game is either good nor bad. I had never heard of Chilingo before Cut The Rope either, so any given game can be awesome. Question is though; is Inspector Gadget’s MAD Dash a good game? Let’s find out!
The one thing I noticed from the get go, besides the horribly long loading time that made me think the game had managed to freeze up my iPhone, is that you might as well say Go, go gadget Canabalt gameplay, because that’s what you get. Again though, this does not have to be a bad thing, and I honestly think this is one of the better games I’ve come across for a little while now. The control scheme is appropriate for the format, since you only have to press the screen to activate the action. Harkening back to the ultra-simplistic games of yore with a one-button interface, but doing so in a functional way. Not bad at all!
Just like the aforementioned Canabalt, you run along rooftops and various locations, moving from left to right and having to avoid the obstacles that are in your way. Unlike Canabalt, you are going to collect a bunch of “Gadget Coins” along the way, the mandatory item you have to amass a great amount of in this game. The use of the coins is to serve as currency in the Gadget store where you can buy upgrades for Inspector Gadget, episodes of the original TV-series, ringtone, concept art, a soundboard and even unmask Dr. Claw. Since this is a “freemium” class of game, you can also spend real world money to get Gadget Coins, in case you are feeling impatient.

As far as game mechanics go, it’s pretty well balanced and responsive. The physics are appropriate and it feels like there is a certain weight to the good inspector, as he is courageously bouncing around on rooftops in an attempt to catch Dr. Claw. And that also happens to be everything I have to say about the story of the game, which really isn’t that horribly relevant anyway. Like in Super Mario Bros, it’s more of a reason for all the fun stuff to happen, rather than an absolute necessity for us to want to start playing. Just don’t expect works of Shakespeare in terms of writing!
As far as the graphics go, I think it has a nice look to it and it fits with the Inspector Gadget cartoon style. While smooth animations are an exception on my old iPhone 3G, the game is quite playable after some loading screens that take their sweet time to go away. The one thing I would like to whine a little bit about is the choice of font in the user interface; it’s pretty horrible. I guess it fits with the overall design, but it makes uppercase “G” and the number “6” look very similar. And it’s pretty ugly otherwise too. But otherwise it’s perfectly acceptable in terms of graphics and design.
Sounds and music is sampled right out of the TV-series and I personally find it to work really well. While other, usually older video games, have had the theme song of the original looping in the background for music, it never gets horribly tedious in Inspector Gadget’s MAD Dash. I guess partly because there is at least some variation to the musical style throughout the whole theme song as well as that it does have a fairly high quality. It adds to the general atmosphere, more than it ruins it. Sound effects are clever for the most part and things sound the way they “should”. Well done!
Right before you get to the game title screen there is a somewhat annoying ad of sorts, advising you to check out other games by the same company. I feel that this kind of advertising is some of the worst that the whole “freemium” concept has brought us. If I’m diving into a specific game, would I really be all that interested in being force-fed ads about other games before I even get to the title screen? I don’t think so. I have found no way to get rid of this screen so I assume it’s there for good and there’s nothing to do about it.
The Gadget Store is an interesting aspect of the game, as long as we leave the real world money out of the equation. By using the coins you gather while playing you can get upgrades that makes the game more enjoyable or easier to play. Or perhaps you just want to watch one of the episodes in the original TV-series? I tried it and it did take a while before it started, but once it had done all the caching it needed to do, it really looked good. No blur or stuttering and the sound-sync was good. Fairly impressive, although it does not add to the game per say, I still think it’s a nice touch for the developers to add it as a bonus.
All in all, I think this is a pretty good game. It’s well designed and respects the original material quite well, so if there are any die-hard Inspector Gadget fans out there I guess they will be happy with this. There is nearly infinite replayability since there is no real end and if you grow tired of one particular level, there are several others to choose from. While some might dismiss it at a blatant Canabalt ripoff, I think it stands on its own with the small additions to the gameplay it offers. And finally, quite unlike Canabalt you can also slip an a banana peel while jumping around on the rooftops. That is almost enough to make me think it’s just a teensy bit better than Canabalt. I mean, how can you argue with someone slipping around on a banana peel? While on a rooftop, no less!
Verdict: Good game!
Get it in the App Store