Walt Disney Pictures‘ Big Hero 6 arrives in movie theaters today, but if you need something to do while waiting in the ticket line—or if the movie somehow fails to satiate your thirst for giant robots and fast action—may we recommend downloading the tie-in app game from Disney Books, Big Hero 6: Baymax Blast? It stars everybody’s favorite flying robot, who hurtles down the clogged streets of San Fransokyo, “endless runner”-style, with nothing but game players’ nimble fingertips to keep him from crashing into objects. There’s plenty of those, too, including signage, rocky outgrowths that suddenly appear—and are ostensibly caused by the villain you and Baymax are tracking down–and oncoming vehicles in all manner of shapes and sizes.
As San Fransokyo and its wheeled inhabitants rush by, players can pick up two different kinds of icons: Energy spheres, which replenish Baymax’s energy meter; and microbots, which can be used to purchase power-ups at the in-game store. The power-ups I tried had pretty neat effects, such as doubling the value of the icons that you pick up, and the store also lets players use real money to purchase these advantages (though that would seem to take away all the fun).
The touchscreen allows Baymax to easily be moved left-to-right, as well as vertically for short bouts of time. For all the cool visuals and responsive controls, if there is any downside to Big Hero 6: Baymax Blast, it’s that state-of-the-art robot or not, a single crash into most wayward vehicles will take Baymax out. The obstacles also come in fast and furiously, and the combination might frustrate younger players or ones whose fingers aren’t so dextrous. But on the bright side, you don’t necessarily have to conquer an entire level in order to move the story along: For example, during the first mission, if you make it a certain distance, even if you crash you’ll gain new information about the characters. That’s great news for novice game-players who might otherwise feel like they keep beating their heads against a wall—literally or figuratively.
Big Hero 6: Baymax Blast is available at the App Store.
