Above, a Doodle Jump-type game where the goal is to jump as high as you can, will soon be released by Axalot Games. We managed to get our hands on a preview version, which we found to be fun once you get the hang of the controls.

Your character is a man who runs continuously back-and-forth between the two sides of the screen. Your only form of interaction in the game is jumping, which is controlled by tapping and releasing a small square. The longer you hold your finger on the square, the more the power bar fills and the more powerful your jump will be. There are a series of large bars spaced out above your head. Many are stationary, but there are various special bars that move side-to-side, increased your jump strength, fall away moments after you land on them, and more. Above is more forgiving with respect to missing bars, which happens often. You can fall back down several levels without ending the game. You’ll likely find yourself stuck in cycles of rising 2 levels only to fall back down 2 levels until you are in a good position to take advantage of the placement of bars and rise 10 or 12 levels. If you fall far enough, you’ll see a demarcation line. Falling below this line does end your game.

Graphically, there is a bit of a retro feel to the game, with boxy graphics and simplistic, repetitive movements. There are 3 different environments representing each of the difficulty levels (industrial, sky, and space), though we have yet to pass the Easy level and unlock the other two. While the graphics may not be top notch, the gameplay is fun, albeit a bit frustrating. Repeated gameplay is the only way to get a decent sense of how much power you need to make successful jumps. You have to make the best of the situation, as waiting for even a moment can result in you dropping 3 or 4 levels before you can get your freefall under control. The soundtrack is decent, though you can listen to your own music as well.

Replay value is good, as the game employs the one-more-try feeling in the player. The randomly-generated placement of blocks helps to keep the game fresh. There is a short achievement system to encourage repeated play, as well as Facebook and Twitter integration to brag your scores to friends. Above is expected to launch on the app store in the near future. No price has yet been set. As the game is still in beta and features can still be added and/or modified, we’ll reserve our final rating until the official launch.