Sonic Jump Fever bounces its free-to-play way to the Play Store

SEGA of America has recently released a follow-up title to Sonic Jump, the Sonic the Hedgehog themed vertical jumping game that was released back in 2012. The follow-up title, Sonic Jump Fever, ditches the paid app model and adopts the trending free-to-play model with an emphasis on leader-boards, competing against your friends for top slots, unlocking characters and upgrades.

Similar to its predecessor, Sonic Jump Fever has you bounce your way vertically through levels while avoiding and killing various badniks, rescuing animals that are locked up and collecting rings. You snag power ups on the way, such as a shield, and hit the red stars for a fast boost through a quick little ring bonus round that appears briefly.

Sega did a good job at being very upfront about the in-app purchase model right from the get go, as you cans see in that first screenshot, and even tell you that you can disable them in your devices settings. They are also very upfront on the apps description in the Play Store about it not working with ART. So if you use ART, be sure to disable it before you try to jump through the game.

Being a free-to-play model you will quickly see where the money is made. Not only are their in-app purchase options, but there are also ads. However, the ads aren’t really terrible as they are a full-page pop up that happens on a different screen after every couple of rounds. Simply hit the ‘X’ and you are back to jumping. The ads can be disabled with your first purchase of items. Also, be prepared to jump free and clear for about 10 to 15 minutes at a time. There is a power bar that deletes with ever round played and when it is empty you will need to either wait a while for it to refill, ask a friend for some power, watch a couple of ads or spend some money.

For a free-to-play title though, it is pretty nicely done. The game play is fast and action packed. If spending money on IAP’s isn’t your thing, it should still prove to be a fun game to open and bounce through a few levels while you stand in line at the post office, or hide out in the bathroom at work. Feel free to snag it down below and give it a whirl.