Spaced Out

Space Rush (US$0.99) is one of my (and the rest of the MyAppSource crew's) favourite applications. The other members of the team loved this app from their first turn. However, it took me several attempts to fully embrace the greatness of this simple, yet incredible, application. The first several times I used Space Rush I though it was a solid, if not spectacular game. This was mainly because I wasn't very good at it. After some practice and other members of the MyAppSource team throwing down the Space Rush Challenge gauntlet, I was addicted. This application, much like Volley, proves that applications with a simple theme and entertaining gameplay are often much better than their more theme-rich, yet poorly designed counterparts. This app was developed by Nicholas Patrick. There is also a Lite version of Space Rush, for all you cheapskates who want to try before you buy.

I often wonder what makes an application (or anything, for that matter) addictive. Is it personal preference? Is it the ability to separate a person from reality and immerse them in the much less harsh world of gaming? Is it the way an app makes you feel? Or is it simply because it is fun? I believe that the level of enjoyment and addiction (for lack of a better word) is caused by all of these factors meshing and making one big meshy ball of entertainment. Space Rush targets the last three questions. Space Rush can be a great stress release because it is you versus space and no one else can interfere. I find that Space Rush often has me at the edge of my proverbial seat due to the thrilling nature of its gameplay. It is definitely fun and hugely enjoyable, this certainly adds to its allure. All of these factors certainly help an application become popular and addictive, but it is the non-quantifiable factors which help to really set the great applications apart from the rest. Space Rush has this X-factor by the truckload. The prospect of besting your high score is enough to keep me playing for hours, now add the fact that OpenFeint can be enabled and I'm hooked.

The only thing that I could find which may need to be altered is the inability of the app to save the high scores without OpenFeint being enabled. This will particularly effect poor souls like myself who rarely have access to wi-fi, this means that OpenFeint is useless to us. I would love to be able to see the global high scores because on the screenshot I was sent the Global High Score was just over 1.8 million. My highest score is a touch over 3.4 million and I really would like to see how I rank globally. Not to boast too much about my almost superhuman ability to succeed at Space Rush, but I came out victorious in the MyAppSource Space Rush Challenge by approximately 3 million points. (Man, the rest of the team is bad). If the ability to save personal high scores without OpenFeint was added I would jump for joy (don't hold me to that). Enough about me, back to the review.

I am telling you from the goodness of my heart that you NEED to purchase Space Rush. You can be a pansy and trial it before you buy the full version, but believe me you won't regret it. Space Rush ticks all the boxes. It is cheap, great fun, addictive and you can compare high scores with anyone from anywhere (with wi-fi). Space Rush is one of the best apps out there and you simply must buy it. You can swing around to our Flickr and YouTube accounts to find some more screenshots and a helpful gameplay video (Be careful, the video involves lots of quick turning and movement. It may leave you a bit queasy.)

MyAppSource Rating: 5 Stars!