The Austin Chronicle

https://www.austinchronicle.com/daily/screens/2010-10-21/this-weeks-waste-of-time/

This Week's Waste of Time

By James Renovitch, October 21, 2010, 2:20pm, Picture in Picture

Leap 4 Blue sounds like an inspirational documentary on skydiving (honestly, Point Break covered that ground), but it's in fact an interesting take on a standard platforming game from designer Noel Berry. The twist? You create the platforms that you then jump to. Sounds like a gamer's dream come true but with great power comes great responsibility.

Alright, the power isn't that great, but you can create and manipulate blocks, setting them when they are where you want them. And just like that there's a new surface on which to jump. However, these transportation aids only stick around for a few seconds before flickering and disappearing. The trick is to split your time between deciding where the next block should go and perfecting your jump onto said block. Things start off easy, but when the deadly red blocks start flying around, you will likely be creating blocks and jumping in a rushed frenzy. The creation and leaping mechanics aren't perfect, but not terribly frustrating. This idea was also recently realized in the Experimental Gameplay Project with Martin Gonzalez's Untitled. Leap 4 Blue is a much more polished and enjoyable experience however.

Check out Noel Berry's other games here. Or play Leap 4 Blue here.

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