JAZZ: Trump’s Journey – play the unique & intriguing adventures of a Jazz man
by Paul Wilks
May 16, 2012 9:57 AM –
Install
JAZZ: Trump’s Journey is a slick and challenging platform game with brilliantly designed graphics, awesome sound and engaging gameplay. The game has an original and captivating atmosphere that I really don’t think I’ve seen before on a mobile platform. The basic notion is to help Trump fulfil his dream of playing in a jazz band. To do so he has to explore and find band members in a retro- New Orleans environment. Engrossing from the very first scene, there’s nothing quite like this on Android so it’s definitely worth checking out.
Price: Free Trial, $0.99
Tested on: HTC One X
Content Rating: Everyone
Pros & Cons:
Pros
- Beautifully designed graphics!
- Great sound and music!
- Challenging levels!
- Nice range of controls!
- How can you not love a game that lets you freeze time by playing a trumpet?!
Cons
- Game doesn’t shut down properly and you often have to kill it.
- The first 2 levels are free, then you have to pay $0.99 for the remainder. This wouldn’t be so bad if the developer explained this in the game description.
Features:
JAZZ: Trump’s Journey is a unique and engrossing platform game that is (apparently) a nod towards the life of early 20th Century jazz supremo Louis Armstrong. Trump’s dream is to play in a jazz band, but to do that he needs to find band members. Cue a multi-level exploration journey full of challenging stages, beautifully designed environments, cool music and hugely satisfying gameplay.
To control Trump you have left, right and jump controls. When there is a ladder present, you can also select up and down. There is also a very cool treble clef (familiar musical symbol) which makes Trump play his trumpet. This action causes time to stand still- ideal for stopping moving platforms and progressing through a level. Also, a small glove icon means you can interact with something in your vicinity. This initially takes the form of movable boxes, but other things become interactive in later levels. Each level contains a number of cards to collect and little quavers (another common musical symbol). These are spread around the level in different areas. The cards are often a little trickier to find and take a little bit more exploration.
The game is incredibly well designed. It features a clever old fashioned movie ‘feel’ and, while it’s not in black and white, it includes a kind of sepia brown edge to everything which looks great. Sandwiched between levels are some cool silent-movie-style dialogue, especially as Trump’s journey begins. It’s essentially a quest- first to find his trumpet and then to accumulate band members and charm a love-interest. The game is free to download but is a bit cheeky in that you have to pay $0.99 to continue after level two. The game is more than worth it, but it’s jarring nonetheless that the developer didn’t at least include this in the game’s description. Within the two levels you get to explore a fair bit; finding your trumpet and first band-mate. It certainly gives you more than enough to suss the game out, and I found it so good that buying the full game was a no-brainer.
A few words have to be said about the music. Now, I’m not the biggest jazz fan in the world but the music in the game is extraordinary. A combination of sharp brass instruments and thumping drums, you’ll probably not heard of anything quite like this from within a game. There is a distinguishable loop there, but the music adds so much to the game and makes it even better. Obviously you can turn the sound down, but you’ll be missing out. And I stress, I’m not a real fan of jazz music, and I still thought it was great.
Watch on Mobile
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Jazz: Trump’s Journey – First level ends in Trump finding his trumpet
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Jazz: Trump’s Journey – Second level results in Trump finding a bandmate
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Jazz: Trump’s Journey – Playing his trumpet causes time to freeze
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Jazz: Trump’s Journey – Rich and well designed graphics
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Jazz: Trump’s Journey – Collect notes on every level
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Jazz: Trump’s Journey – Various onscreen controls
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Jazz: Trump’s Journey – Swing your way over gaps
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Jazz: Trump’s Journey – Pass through checkpoints
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Jazz: Trump’s Journey – Move boxes to access different areas
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Jazz: Trump’s Journey – Narration
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Jazz: Trump’s Journey – Pause menu
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Jazz: Trump’s Journey – Action is interceeded with silent movie style dialogue
Fun Factor:
This has been one of the most captivating games I’ve played on Android and I’m looking forward to playing more and finishing it. As platform games go, I’ve not had this much fun since playing Muffin Knight, which was just sublime. Trump’s Journey is a refreshing and exciting musical quest which feels very original for the Android platform. The range of controls and challenging levels are superb and the game design, graphics and music is fantastic.
Addictive:
Heavily! The game is just so rewarding and fun to explore. There’s an element of free will in that you can explore wherever you like on the level, and mini-tasks (such as first finding your trumpet, collecting cards, etc.) make the game all-the-more engrossing.
Graphics:
While 2D they are not the eye-wateringly explosive visuals you would get with 3D gaming. However, the canny design and crafted game environments, not to mention the silent-movie dialogues, are sublime and work perfectly with the theme of the game and the Android gaming platform as a whole. Everything has a subtle retro filter; from the browned edges of everything and the flickers you get with old films. Really clever, very atmospheric and original.
Accelerometer, Vibration & Sound:
The music is genuinely brilliant. Cute jazzy riffs and tub-thumping drum loops which compliment the game really well. It endorses the silent-movie ethic, so instead of sound effects you often get little visual cues. While not ‘sound’ per se, this still works well.