Cookie Rush
Cookie Rush screenshots. (Click to enlarge)
Cookie Rush is another entry in the how-far-can-you-run game, except instead of a single character you’re tasked with saving as many people as possible (and some losses are acceptable). A giant smiling cookie is rolling across the countryside, crushing everything in its path. Your task is to help everyone escape.
Technically, you’re not actually keeping people from getting run over—you’re keeping them safe from obstacles while they flee the cookie long enough for some help to arrive by air. As the cookie rolls, you’ll accumulate more people who automatically run at more or less the same speed as the cookie. You can tap the screen to create up to three trampolines (they look like little dots) which cause the people to hop up when they encounter them. Get a big enough crowd of people, and they’ll call for help—a hot air balloon or perhaps a helicopter will come and hover at the top of the screen for a while. Help the people hop up into it before it takes off, and they’re safe. Of course, the cookie keeps rolling and you’ll have more people to save in a few seconds.
Of course, there are some complications.
There are various animals that will appear (dogs, pandas, cheetahs), and they’ll attack the first person who runs into them—but if you manage to keep everyone safe from the animal, it’ll take a bite of the cookie instead. This is a key strategy, because the cookie gradually gets bigger and bigger—and once it hits a critical threshold, it’s too big and the game is over. The animals are the only way to slow the cookie down.
Also, you’ll come across prisoners in jail cells, which you can tap to release. Sure, they’re criminals, but that’s no reason to let them be crushed by a giant cookie, right? You’ll also come across barricades and water to jump over (or risk losing a bunch of people). As the folks are fleeing, the characters will shout out with a little icon to warn you of coming dangers.
Finally, there’s a bad guy (with a curly mustache, naturally) who will join in the run if anyone touches him, and he runs faster than everyone else. While he doesn’t hurt you directly, if he hops into the rescue vehicle he’ll take off immediately without waiting for the other runners. When the bad guy is in the group, he’s the one who shouts out, and he just uses some cryptic emoticons so you can never tell exactly what’s coming up.
It’s hard to explain why this game is so addictive—something about trying to get the highest combination of distance traveled and people saved. The funny little people running with their mouths open in terror? The completely inexplicable premise featuring an oversized grinning cookie? Whatever it is, Cookie Rush ranks up there with Canabalt and Monster Dash when I have a hankering for running and running. It’s available for $.99.
Wired: There’s something great about saving tiny people from a giant cookie. Great graphics that look cheery despite the horrific premise.
Tired: You race across different countries and some of the stereotyped characters could be considered a bit offensive.
