When Imangi Studios' Temple Run hit mobile phones in the summmer of 2011, you'd be hard pressed to not find someone playing it on the train, at the bus stop, or in line at your local coffee shop. Like Angry Birds and Fruit Ninja before it, the easy-to-play, highly addictive endless runner created a true mobile gaming craze that various studios have since attempted to cash in on.
While a variety of titles ranging from Rush City to Madcoaster provide their own take on the endless running genre, it was only a matter of time until social gaming powerhouse Zynga decided to join the race themselves.
Like Words With Friends and Scramble With Friends before it, Zynga's spin on Temple Run is titled (you guessed it) Running With Friends. And while the game features the familiar formula of collecting coins and avoiding cliffs and dead ends, Kotaku's review suggests that Running With Friends just might be worth the swipe.
To set itself apart from the Indiana Jones vibe of Temple Run 1 and 2, Running With Friends boasts a colorful pallette, childish-looking characters, and is set in Spain. All runners award players some sort of bonus, and the game's trailer reveals that runners can earn a "Bull Rush," which allows them to plow through obstacles while collecting coins on a large bull.
Also separating Running with Friends from the competition is, well, the competition. All of Zynga's games are based on social interaction, and ghost versions of your friends' characters can be seen while you play in order to show how far ahead or behind you they are. The game is currently available on the iOS App Store for no cost, though it has the familiar in-game consumables that free mobile games have become known for.
While the endless running genre has become extremely saturated in its two short years of existence, Zynga appears to at least be injecting something fresh into the gameplay by incorporating their signature social interactivity. Will you take your Friends for a run, or are you burnt out on this style of game already?
