Jumpy Ninja: Through a fine line between simple and incomplete (Review)

Remember when Flappy Bird’s popularity exploded? You saw people playing instead of working. You saw people trying to improve their high scores instead of paying attention to class. You saw reporters talking about it instead of broadcasting actual news. It was everywhere.

If mobile games weren’t simple enough, Flappy Bird demonstrated developers that a game doesn’t have to be complex in order to garner attention from players. With it came a lot of games with similar premises: a very simple game, basic controls, but unforgiving difficulty. Jumpy Ninja is the latest addition to that trend, with some twists to make it a little bit different from the highly-successful Flappy Bird.

Developer: AllThatTek
Price: Free

Features

Move your ninja across the bricks and avoid falling.

Seriously, this game is as simple as it gets. You control a ninja that is constantly jumping. Tap on the left of the screen to move your character to the left. The same goes if you want to move your little character to the right. That’s it. You have to move your jumpy ninja across some floating bricks. If you fail to land on a brick, it’s game over.

The difficulty in the game comes primarily from the camera. It does not move with you, but at a pace determined by the game. It also tends to go faster the longer you play without dying. This gives you very few moments to actually think through your next movement. Thus, you get a sense of urgency and peril on each decision you take, making the game much more fun.

Unfortunately, that’s where the features end. There’s no Google Play Games integration, no options, no difficulty levels, no other modes, nothing. It stores your highest score, at least. One thing to note is that the game gives you the choice of toggling the ads banner at the top. Kudos to the developer for giving the option to turn off ads in an ecosystem notorious for its pesky ads and questionable monetization methods.

General Impressions

You’ll see this screen a lot.

It amazes me how simple some games are, and, even though their mechanics are straightforward and forgettable, people still flock to them. Just like Flappy Bird, the game’s difficulty is its main selling point, since it creates a need to improve your previous high score. However, just like its inspiration, when the novelty wears out, you are left with just another simple game with a lot of missing features.

The lack of Google Play Games integration is a real shame since the social aspect of trying to improve your friends’ scores would fit right into the theme of beating your high score constantly.

You could argue about the rest of lacking features, but there’s a fine line between a simple game and an incomplete game, and, in my opinion, this game falls on the latter. I mean, there’s not even a pause button. There’s no music to be heard. There’s not a real sense of progression, just a high score you must beat. Also, my ninja has sometimes stopped jumping, resulting in me dying much sooner than expected, and for reasons that I can’t control.

Playing the game itself is really straightforward, although I had a lot of problems with the controls at the beginning. When you are moving your character to the right and then you press the left area of the screen, the character defies the laws of physics and stops its movement almost immediately in order to follow your commands. I was expecting a more natural-feeling control scheme, and having to adapt myself to the abrupt change of direction did take some enjoyment out of the first rounds.

You’ll need to be precise if you want to get a good score.

What we like

• Simple controls
• No lag or hiccups
• Option to turn off ads

Room for improvement

• Huge lack of features and replay value
• Controls could be tuned to feel more natural
• No sounds at all

Conclusion

In an attempt to emulate Flappy Bird’s tremendous success, Jumpy Ninja offers an equally simple game with a soft learning curve, but with a tough difficulty level. However, it ends up being way too simple for its own good. It’s not that we’re dealing with a unpolished game (although some minor annoyances regarding your character’s jump slash some points out of the performance department), it’s that, after playing, you end up wondering if that’s really it. Unfortunately, it is.

Download and install from the Google Play Store.

The Turcom HR-903 Acoustoshock Bluetooth speaker is built like a tank and has sound quality to match (review)

Wireless speakers are a dime a dozen these days. They’re so commonplace that you can buy speaker at every major retailer, and you can even find them at places like the airport. In general most speakers are pretty much the same, but occasionally we come across different types of speakers that cross into other categories outside of technology.

If you love the outdoors, the water, and music, we have just the speaker for you. The Turcom HR-903 Acoustoshock Bluetooth rugged wireless speaker is built like a tank and has powerful sound to back it up. It’s built to withstand the elements yet provide loud and clear sound while you’re in an open environment.

The Turcom HR-903 even has treads like a tank.

Specs

• Dual driver set-up with 30 watts of power
• Bluetooth 4.0, 33 feet connection range
• IPX5 water-resistance rating, dust-proof, shock-proof
• Eight hours of playtime
• Dimensions: 10″ x 3.8″ x 4.7″
• Weight: 58.5 oz.

Build

In the image above, you can see the rubber treads that protect the outside of the speaker. Instead of moving the speaker like the tracks on a tank do, the rubber exterior of the speaker serves as protection against drops. That protection puts the Turcom HR-903 in the “tough” class of portable speakers, where there are few options available from the likes of Fugoo and Braven. Having another portable speaker in this category is fantastic especially as many people upgrade their home wireless speakers to the kind that streams music over WiFi.

The Turcom HR-903 speaker is pretty big at 10″ long, but it’s large so you can hear it in wide-open spaces like the outdoors. It has two large 2.75″ diameter drivers, matched with an even larger subwoofer rated to handle 30 watts of power. To run the drivers is a massive 8000mAh battery that can also serve as an energy source for your other USB powered devices like an Android smartphone. Most Android smartphones have a battery capacity around 3,000mAh and that means you can easily get two full recharges from the Turcom HR-903 when you’re out on the trails.

On top of the Turcom HR-903 is where you will find the controls and NFC chip for easy pairing. Bluetooth, fast forward/rewind, play/pause, answer call/hang up and volume controls are all touch enabled meaning you will not get physical feedback from the buttons. This is a great way to keep the electronics inside sealed to protect the speaker from dust and water which is why the Turcom HR-903 comes with an IPX5 rating.

The Turcom HR-903 is a very well built machine. With a very rugged exterior, touch controls, and a cover over the charging port, the HR-903 is designed to take on the toughest lifestyles.

Usage

The Turcom Hr-903 holds up very well to the elements. I took it to the beach, rolled it around in the sand and washed it all off when I got home. Some sand got stuck behind the grill, but it didn’t affect the performance of the speaker.

The speaker is what really shines. For $129.99, I wasn’t expecting much in terms of sound quality but the HR-903 is very crisp and detailed. Even at low volumes, where you can lose a lot of detail, the speaker played music very clearly. Only when I had the speaker at 100% volume is when I discovered a “concert hall” type effect where it sounded a little echoey. The Turcom HR-903 is great for outdoor use – the 30 watts really drive the speaker to volumes most other Bluetooth speakers cannot attain. This is essential for wide open spaces since there are no walls to keep the sound contained. Loudness was never an issue on hikes, at the beach, and hanging out at the park.

It was also nice to have the speaker double up as a portable battery too. When I was at the beach all Sunday, I needed to recharge my S7 edge due to the weak signal that drained my battery. I simply lifted the cover that protects the USB port and charged my phone in about 1.5 hours.

The advertised playback time is seven hours, but I frequently saw eight hours of use in-between charges. I also didn’t play my music much louder than 50% because it is a loud speaker and didn’t need to push it that hard.

Overall, the only issue I had with the speaker was its large size. It isn’t as portable as others, but it needs the size to pump out loud volumes for wide open spaces. So if you plan on hanging out at the beach, camping, or a bonfire, this speaker is perfect for your needs. However if you plan on taking it hiking, be prepared to carry a bit of extra weight.

Integrated carry handle.

Summary

With a retail price of $129.99, the Turcom HR-903 is a great option if you want a speaker you can use outdoors and indoors. The build quality is top notch, and it is designed to withstand the elements. The speaker is also refined to handle the quiet controlled environment of your home, and can pump out clear and crisp sound at almost any volume level.

I highly recommend the Turcom HR-903 Acoustoshock to anyone who doesn’t need to worry about carrying a portable speaker in your pocket. It’s a great value for all of the features it delivers.

Learn more and order the Turcom HR-903 Acoustoshock direct from the manufacturer here.

Or order the Turcom HR-903 Acoustoshock from Amazon.