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Remember when video game characters were cool? If those streetwise hedgehogs and hip hop
aliens were starting out today they'd be wearing skintight trousers, oversized glasses, and
ironic hats.
Thank goodness for Granny Smith, then. Forgoing any notion of being hip or aspirational, the
game gives you control of that ultimate of social pariahs - an old person.
Admittedly, this OAP can rollerskate, land 720 flips, and pitch a baseball like a pro.
But still.
It's a fairly straightforward premise. A scoundrel on a pair of rollerskates is stealing apples
from Granny Smith's garden. You, playing as Granny Smith, chase him.
In order to *** back the apples you have to race against said scoundrel through a succession
of undulating levels, maximising your skate speed, collecting apples, and doing everything
necessary to reach the finishing line first.
There are just two core (pun intended) controls in Granny Smith - one button to jump and another
to hook onto overhead lines.
Hold onto the 'jump' button and you rotate forwards, which is vital for aligning yourself
properly for your landing. Hit the ground dead-on and you'll score a perfect landing,
increasing the speed at which you travel.
These simple ingredients amount to a truly delicious - if unassuming - iOS game. The
multiple objectives, the simple satisfaction of landing the perfect jump, and the varied
obstacles you face makes for a compelling mix.
As you move into the second of three worlds, things really begin to hot up. The difficulty
ramps up considerably, with newly twisting and branching courses, awkward hops through
tight spaces, and new game elements.
You'll find that you can pick up and lob baseballs - useful for clearing obstructions or slowing
down your rival. There are also single-use objects you can purchase with the coins you
collect, and new unlockable characters to play.
Granny Smith is exactly what you'd expect a game of this title to be - crisp, sweet,
wholesome, and nicely self-contained.