Imangi Studios and Disney Team Up for Temple Run: Oz
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The Temple Run franchise continues to grow, this time with a new game that ties in with the movie Oz The Great and Powerful, a Disney film set to be released later this week, on March 8. The movie, which is being directed by Sam Raimi, focuses on the back story of the famous Wizard in the series by L. Frank Baum.
In Temple Run: Oz, players will control the Wizard, running down the yellow brick road to get away from the quintessential flying monkeys. The environment, which of course, is Oz, is lush, green and gorgeous. Gameplay is similar to other Temple Run games.
For example, players will swipe up to jump, swipe down to slide, and swipe left and right to turn. The main goal is still to run as far as possible while grabbing up coins, but the game does possess some decidedly “Oz” elements, such as an added swipe to duck down to avoid being snatched up by the flying monkeys and themed power ups like wings that send the Wizard hurling through obstacles.
The game also incorporates a special balloon flying mode, in which you will hop into a hot air balloon and tilt to collect coins while on your journey. This action feels similar to the mine addition in the recently released Temple Run 2.
Disney and Imangi’s last partnership produced Temple Run: Brave, a game that did not fare as well as hit titles like Temple Run and Temple Run 2. While Temple Run: Brave attempted to incorporate new touch mechanics for shooting targets, Temple Run: Oz sticks to the basic tilt and touch based gameplay, which means it’s quite a bit more fun.
I mentioned the visuals, but I’d like to reiterate that Temple Run: Oz is an incredibly gorgeous game, with a vibrant and mystical Oz-like environment. If you enjoy Temple Run titles, I highly suggest picking up Temple Run: Oz ahead of the movie this week. It’s fantastically fun and true to the other Temple Run games. You can download Temple Run: Oz from the App Store for $0.99.
