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Portabliss: The Walk
This is Portabliss, a column about downloadable games that can be played on the go. Gym memberships see a sharp spike in January, due to fitness-minded New Year's Resolutions. Gym attendance typically sees a sharp decline in March, as the Resolute realize how boring getting in shape actually is. Goals like "decrease my chance of diabetes" or "lose 10 pounds" are admirable, but often fall short of keeping people motivated to do enough exercise to attain them. With that in mind, Six to Start has crafted The Walk, a fitness app (Android, iOS) with a more manageable intent: Get up off the couch, get moving. Not a lot, just a walk down to the corner shop, maybe, or around the block. The Walk's predecessor, Zombies, Run! cast you in the role of a survivor of the zombie apocalypse, sent out on missions to gather supplies, rescue other survivors, and unravel a larger mystery, running all the while. Not everyone can run, however, and many of those who can find the notion utterly intimidating, so The Walk is a compromise. All you have to do is walk. The story of The Walk begins with a shady group called The Burn setting off an EMP in Inverness. A bit of mistaken identity leaves you holding a unique package that could quite literally save the world if you can manage to get it out of the city, but police have put up checkpoints everywhere and they are serious about defending those borders. A handler communicates with you via a special earpiece, giving you instructions and guiding you towards your ultimate destination. Episodes take as much as an hour to complete, and you'll receive an achievement for completing them in one go, but you can do them in whatever size chunk you like. Story-advancing audio clips unlock every few minutes, so even short jaunts feel worthwhile. The Walk's goal is to increase the amount you walk every day, easing you into a more healthy lifestyle; I haven't had it for long, but can vouch for its ability to suck you into its narrative. You can watch your progress on an overhead map, unlocking scenery items mentioned in the story by tapping small squares on the screen as you pass them on your route. Choosing longer, more out of the way paths will reward you with collectibles that fill in a bit of back story or add to the world's lore in some way, and snagging everything in a chapter gets you yet another achievement. The visuals aren't particularly interesting, but you're not really meant to be looking at them for long. Unlike Zombies, Run!, which integrated your playlist into the story's audio, The Walk isn't something you're meant to pay attention to the entire time you're moving. It's best suited to urban commuters, hoofing it from subway to work, or students ambling across campus. The Walk acts as a pedometer, measuring how much time you spend walking, then applying that to the mission you're currently on. The best way to experience The Walk is to turn it on, go about your business, get to your destination, check in with your progress, listen to the audio clips you've unlocked, and put it away again. The Walk's story and rapid rewards do a good job of encouraging you to keep going, and more importantly, the app makes you mindful of how inert you are over the course of your day. The one big downside to The Walk is that you can't turn off the app mid-chapter or you'll lose your progress in the current mission, and keeping it running in the background drains your battery. Not dramatically, but if you're hitting Twitter or texting friends over the course of the day while The Walk is active, you'll notice the hit on your battery life. The solution is simply to finish off missions in one fell swoop, and a slider allows you increase or decrease the amount of time it takes to complete an episode. The Walk probably isn't enough by itself to get you active, but for those already interested in being less sedentary, it's a fun way to track your progress and feel good about whatever movement you've managed to squeeze into your day. If you already do a lot of walking or use a pedometer, The Walk's story and awards spice up your step-tracking with some danger and intrigue: Who are The Burn? What's in the package? What on earth is a curly wurly and why would I want one? This review is based an iTunes download of The Walk, provided by Six to Start.
Zombies, Run! studio slows it down for The Walk
Six to Start first tried to get you off the couch with Zombies, Run! an audio drama that combined fitness with gameplay by casting you as Runner 5, a survivor of the zombie apocalypse. For those who can't quite work up that much energy, the developer is now working on The Walk, which would incentivize you to get up and move by once again making you the star of the show. Due to come out on mobile devices later this year, The Walk puts you at the center of intrigue as you're given a package that needs to be delivered to Edinburgh, Scotland. Before you can board your train, terrorists hot on your tail blow up the station, and an electromagnetic pulse knocks out anything electronic. With no functioning cars at the ready, you're forced to walk to Scotland, hopefully staying one literal step ahead of those pursuing you. The Walk will be the "best pedometer you've ever had but it's also got a game built into it. So you're king of playing all the time whenever you have your phone with you," says Six to Start co-founder Adrian Hon. "Getting into the habit of moving more is a big process," says Hon. "It can take several months to get in the habit, so the idea of having a single, huge, long journey is just more inspiring than short or intense exercises. We're sensible about this. The only way you can get up to what health officials say you should be walking, which is about 10,000 steps per day, is by walking throughout the day." Runner's World recently called sitting "the new smoking" due to its negative impact on your health. If you need a nudge to get moving, perhaps The Walk could be it.
Zombies, Run! kicks off season 2
Zombies, Run! is one of the most creative running apps that you'll find on the App Store, hands down. It does what many other running apps do, like track your time and distance. But it's also a game. By combining sound effects, narratives, characters and GPS tracking, the app lets you "play" along (by running, always by running) as Runner Five, one of several human survivors of a zombie apocalypse. Your missions often require you to pick up various virtual items, outrun the flesh-eaters and explore a zombie-filled, postapocalyptic setting. Zombies, Run! is very impressive in its staging. The app does a great job of not only keeping you running, but also telling a compelling story with strong characters (and even some real emotions). As of today, the app has reached version 2.0, and that means that the developer is kicking off "season two" of the game's missions. This means more stories (with you, the player, as "Runner 5"), more items to find and of course lots more running to do. You can also build your own base to fight off zombies from. The app also supports those who prefer to run on a treadmill, so even if you're work out at the gym, you can still get "chased" by zombies. To celebrate, the developer has launched a sale. The main app, if you don't already own it yet, is available for US$3.99. Season two's upcoming missions are being sold via a "season pass," which means you'll pay one price now and then get all of the add-ons as they come out. You can get a season two pass right now for just $1.99, half off of the usual $3.99 price. There's also a "sidequest pass" (with access to all of season two's sidequests) for $2.99, or you can pick up the whole shebang for $4.99 right now. Zombies, Run! is a terrific app, both to get you running and in terms of the way it's designed to tell a great episodic story. If you haven't gone for a jog with this app yet, now's a great time to do so.
