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Canabalt’s single-switch gameplay and pleasing aesthetics make for a really catchy Flash game. Go play it. It’s free. If you like it, you may also want to check out the iPhone version ($2.99), which premiered in the App Store earlier today.
Canabalt is a 2D platformer in which your character automatically runs to the right. To clear the gaps and obstacles in his path, you need to touch the screen to make him jump. Make too many mistakes and you won’t have the momentum needed to clear the larger jumps ahead.
It sounds simplistic, but what makes the game special is its extraordinary sense of urgency. The backgrounds are rich with detail and menace. Your character animates just realistically enough to make you feel responsible for his well-being. And the music totally sounds like music that should play in the background while you’re making a daring rooftop escape from, well, anything that would require a daring rooftop escape.
It’s good, in other words, and I like it. Even in spite of the fact that I can never seem to get the timing right for jumping through those damned windows. I forgive you, Canabalt.
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