Jump & Roll by Public Pocket Games, Price: Free
Reviewed May 2003

If you ask me what’s the best free game for the Pocket PC lately, I’d point you to Jump & Roll. Developed by Public Pocket Games, Jump & Roll is an arcade game where you jump on bouncing platforms and collect bugs. The graphics, sound and gameplay look very Nintendo-ish and the polished packaging makes this game one of the best free titles on the Pocket PC.

The gameplay deserves the biggest applause in Jump & Roll. Throughout a total of 50 levels of jungle, your chick must survive fire, spikes and vanishing platforms. Your goal is to collect all the bugs in a level to activate the Exit. Of course, some of the bugs are hiding behind walls and other obstacles. There are well placed bonuses such as water, keys, power and life, which will aid you through the journey in the wild. Water can help you put out the fire on those fire platforms; keys can help you break down vertical walls and power will help you break down horizontal walls. However, these bonuses are not unlimited. Often, you cannot afford to waste any of them because you will need them for the next levels. Believe me when I tell you, the game has plenty of hooks that will trick you into using extra bonus items for no good reason. You control the game with the D-pad on your Pocket PC.

While the gameplay is outright fun, the graphics and animation add style to the game design. The game interface looks very polished with nicely crafted level layouts and item placements. The icons of the bugs and bonuses look sharp. The chick jumping animation is very smooth and responsive to the button control. There is a very informative menu window under the game window. You will see a tally of number of lives, keys, water and power bonuses. Your score and current level are also displayed in this window, as well as a shortcut bar for quick access to new game, restart current level, help and sound options.

The sound package is also very nicely put together. You will enjoy the title music and in-game sound effects which you can turn on or off with a button. The sound effects are plentiful and humorous, a rarity in free games. Jump & Roll currently runs on Pocket PC with ARM, Xscale and MIPS processors, and it takes about 1.5MB memory.

Other than not being able to save the game after completing tough levels, I couldn’t think of anything missing to call this game a great title! For those gamers who enjoy a challenge in both solving puzzles and controlling character movements with quick hand-eye coordination, you will find Jump & Roll a tough run that offers great satisfaction. One thing that’s guaranteed: you will not breathe through 50 levels and will replay the levels on your way to the finish line.