Temple Run is another addition into a library of games by Imangi Studios that doesn’t mess around in the App Store. This one has an archeologist theme to an endless-runner platform gameplay, which is the same in principle as Canabalt and Robot Unicorn Attack. If you can remember that particular scene in Indiana Jones where the plucky archeologist is trying to outrun a boulder trap, you’ll get the gist of this game.

The premise of Temple Run is that you’re an archeologist who is in a temple to obtain a mystical artifact deep within the interior. Once you’ve grabbed it, all hell breaks loose as monkey-like creatures spring forth to stop you from escaping, as well as traps and obstacles to slow you down. You must run for your life if you ever want a chance of surviving and presenting your discovery to the world. It’s quite straightforward, and that clearly shows in the gameplay.

It’s fast-paced with thrills and spills from evading obstacles and trying to stay alive. The theme fits quite well with the gameplay as it really does make you feel like Indiana Jones, avoiding the traps and dangers of the temple interior as he seeks treasure. It also features a power-up system that lets you upgrade your abilities as you go. This gives the endless-run genre more feature and variety, which makes Temple Run a very interesting game, to say the least.

The said upgrades do a lot of different things, which includes enhancing how you collect coins by increasing your “coin-collecting range”, as well as other abilities. You can also obtain resurrection power-ups similar to 1-ups in Mario games. Being able to obtain these various upgrades will increase your chances at getting far in the game without dying way too soon.

Temple Run is not a 2D side-scrolling platformer as it delves into the realm of 3D with a third-person perspective. The animation is quite smooth and the graphics are very well done, letting you absorb the details despite always being in motion. However, everything happens inside an ancient temple, so there isn’t much variety in background art. The controls are quite simple, letting you make last-second movements in a flash. Aside from just jumping over obstacles, you can also lets swipe the screen left and right to change direction. You can also tilt the device and make use of the accelerometer to collect coins scattered around the temple.

Perhaps this game could’ve included some more unique scenarios other than what’s already obvious. It doesn’t really surprise you much more than the obstacles do, so its potential hasn’t been entirely realized. Also, the upgrades themselves are abstract in that you can’t really work out how big their bonuses really are. Maybe they do help, but you won’t be able to figure out how much. But as long as you can see results, then it shouldn’t be too bad at all.

If there ever is a game that embodies the spirit of the Indiana Jones movies, even more so than the actual Indiana Jones games, then this is it. With responsive controls and smooth gameplay, Temple Run is definitely the next step in this growing genre. Spare a dollar and give this game a try.