Gamer reviews for Temple Run: Oz
Running Down The Yellow Brick Road in Temple Run: Oz
The latest addition to one of Disney's most popular app series is Temple Run: Oz, based off of their new movie- Oz the Great and Powerful. In accordance with the movie, you will be guiding the run of one Oscar Diggs, who is, as it turns out, the wizard in his pre-Emerald City days.
The game is free to play, so don't worry if you missed out on snatching it up when it was Apple's App of the Week last week. There are ads and in-app purchases and this is the first game in the series where Disney has made both the ads and boosters unavoidable. The game can certainly be played without boosters, for sure, but the course is frustratingly tricky this time around. The ads on the other hand are singularly unavoidable. There is no option to pay a fee to make them disappear. You are stuck with them always and they are obvious enough to put a damper on an otherwise beautiful game.
The main game is played similarly to Temple Run 2. Your character is running like his pants are on fire and it is your job to point him in the right direction. There are chasms to jump over, trees to slide under and coins to collect. The game even has an added hot air balloon ride at the end of the main course, because who the Wizard of Oz without his iconic balloon?
The game is illustrated beautifully, but we should expect nothing less from the folks who epitomize the term "animation." The music sets a hurried tone, perfect for a brisk (and occasionally deadly) jog and flows seamlessly from one stage to the next.
The Temple Run series has been a big hit for Disney, but the previous movie-themed versions of the game have been Paid apps with no ads. There were still in-app purchases, but they were mainly relegated to character customization. I am disappointed to see this switch over.
We gave the game 4 out of 5, for being super fun and beautiful, but losing a star for those ridiculous ads. Couldn't they at least make them ads for Disneyland or Dog with a Blog? We would even accept Disneyland Paris commercials.