Temple Run and I

For the past couple of years, my smartphone has become something I really can't live without when it comes to long train and car journeys, which unfortunately is a regular occurrence for me.
Aside from the general uses: texting, calling, and social media, I've also tried my hand at many iOS/Android games, but one of the few being able to hold my attention for more than five minutes was Temple Run from Imangi Games.

After watching various friends play, I decided that Temple Run was the game to have. What I enjoyed the most about it was the simplicity, jump over a few obstacles and don't get caught up by the monkeys, but you're also provided with the opportunity to upgrade your utilities and characters. For me this was the perfect game, because it didn't require too much focus or attention, in fact I obtained some of my highest scores on this game while walking down the street or talking to friends.

It eventually got to the point where Temple Run was my ultimate time-killing game, and I only had two or three other games on my smartphone at one time, this was of course until the long awaited announcement of Temple Run 2 in January.
Having seen various promo shots of this game, it's fair to say it was definitely one of my highly anticipated smartphone games, the only foreseeable downside was having to wait an extra week on top of iPhone users to download it on my Android phone.

Just an hour into having the new Temple Run 2 on my Samsung Galaxy S3, I made the unfortunate discovery that, in my opinion, it wasn't all that it was hyped up to be. For several others who enjoy enveloping their entire consciousness in a smartphone game, this undoubtedly would not be the case. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for a challenge in a game, but the thing that I look for most in mobile games is something that doesn't need my undivided attention, and the ability to play easily on the move; this is what really killed Temple Run 2 for me.

Some of the major additions to the game include mine carts and zip wires which has made me more aware to the lack of obstacles in the first edition of Temple Run. However, with these new features in place, even after a good few days of playing I still found myself unable to swerve the cart to keep me alive, and continuously running off cliff edges.
You may be asking yourself "Why does dying matter? That's what the green diamonds are for!" but trying to obtain my personal best score was what kept me interested in Temple Run, therefore using any form of in-game resurrection felt like cheating.

Although having been put off by not being able to achieve even a quarter of my previous high scores,
I'm impressed with how challenging Imangi Studios have managed to make this game in comparison to the original Temple Run, even if it doesn't directly appeal to me. The additions to the game should have theoretically given it a longer lifespan, but for me, it's back to the original.