The iPhone 5 and 5th generation iPod touch have been out for a while now, and slowly but surely many of my favorite games have since been updated with widescreen support. I still maintain a short list of ones that haven’t, though, and a small part of me wakes up each day with a glimmer of hope that I’ll be surprised with an update waiting for me in the App Store for one of them. Today was one of those days as Simogo’s brilliant Bumpy Road ($2.99) had the red notification badge lit up on my App Store app this morning, and there was much rejoicing.
I guess it’s not totally accurate to say this update was a surprise, as Simogo had mentioned recently on Twitter that it was in the works. But I wasn’t any less excited. I know, I know, it seems silly making a big deal about such a tiny thing, but owners of the widescreen devices know how frustrating it can be to run unsupported games in the old aspect ratio with borders. It can sometimes mess up your control as your finger moves off the edge of the playable screen, and it just makes a game feel “out of date" with your current device.
That’s no longer an issue in Bumpy Road, but actually this goes even beyond simple aesthetics. Bumpy Road itself is now wider, meaning you have a better chance to see what’s approaching, or a bit more room in the terrain behind your car to capture a missed item. The game being wider actually makes it an even better playing experience. I’ve already broken my previous high scores, in fact. Here’s a few widescreens of the game for you to check out.
Bumpy Road launched way back in May of 2011, and is arguably the game that really put Simogo on the map in the iOS world. We loved it in our original review and have recently been reminiscing about it with a TA Plays Rewind of the game. It’s just flat out one of my favorite video games of all time, so I’m glad to see it refreshed and ready for my iPhone 5. And, not to sound greedy, but I am also holding out hope that Simogo’s other previous titles, Kosmo Spin ($2.99) and Beat Sneak Bandit ($2.99), can get a similar treatment at some point down the line, too. (Yes, that is an official not-so-subtle request, Simogo.)
