Super Mole Escape Review-Byte – I Can Dig It

Aug 16th 2012 1:15 PM by John Scott

A year ago if you had asked me who would become one of my favorite names in iOS gaming, I wouldn’t have thought my answer would have been Adult Swim, but they’ve been putting out a lot of great games, and the most recent of these titles is Super Mole Escape from Grumpyface Studios.

Super Mole Escape is an endless runner that lets players help an imprisoned character escape by burrowing underground. As the moles tunnel beneath their cells they must navigate through the dirt while gathering gems, the in-game currency that gives a speed boosts when collected in chains, and dodging hazards such as Eskimoles, poisonous mushrooms and mole eating worms. Hitting these obstacles will slow your character down, and allow the warden to catch up to you.

The game controls through either a tilt or touch based system, both of which actually work very well. Collecting gems and trying to beat your high score are usually the big goals for any endless runner title, but Super Mole Escape also features missions for players to complete to keep them entertained, as well as acquire more gems. Unfortunately, at present time there are only thirty five missions to be completed, and while they do have a fair difficulty curve that gives a feeling of accomplishment once you complete a tough one, it feels a bit lacking when you find yourself inevitably repeating your missions so quickly.

Aside from Marty and Matilda, the two moles players will start out with, gems can be used to unlock the lovable Lenny and the brutal Bacon as well as a couple characters from the studio’s other titles. Each character has their own stats which can be upgraded and even has an alternate costume that can be purchased.

Outside of single player, the game also allows players to connect to the Internet through GameCenter and battle against one another to see who can escape deeper underground.

Super Mole Escape doesn’t offer anything new to the endless runner genre. It’s not going to light the world on fire, but it does a perfectly fine job at what it sets out to do. The characters are all well designed and interesting with their own unique animations and personalities, the gameplay doesn’t have any major problems, and the combination of missions and unlockables help keep the player engaged. With any luck future updates will perhaps add a bit more missions and field items, but the game is certainly worth looking into. Consider it another strong arrow in Adult Swim’s quiver.