You may have never heard of Jimmy Pataya, but you’ll remember the name, this is one of the quirkiest yet fun Android games I’ve played all summer. If the iOS version is anything to go by, we’ll soon see OpenFient and leaderboard support, and until that day comes, I’ll be practicing my skydiving.

Jimmy Pataya is a simple game. You leap from a plane, and you soar downward until you crash into something. The farther you fly, the higher your score. There’s no denying how simple this set up is, chances are you’ve played a high score title like this before, but that Jimmy Pataya, there’s something special about him.

After you press play, you’ll immediately begin falling towards the earth, and yes, you seem to have forgotten your parachute, but don’t worry, you’ll never make it to the ground. You fly through a suspended mid air obstacle course, you’ll need to tilt the device left and right to steer Jimmy through obstacles collecting stars along the way to boost your score. There are also power ups scattered throughout the dive, and each gives you an edge up on those pesky gates. The game ends when you sadly meet your destiny on the broad side of a wooden wall, but fear not, Jimmy lives on the moment you press play again, and you’ll find yourself doing this often as I found the game to be quite addicting.

There’s something about the way this game looks, the bright colors, the way the clouds pass by as you rocket towards the earth, that really draws you in. The sound design doesnt miss a beat, and the whole experience feels polished.

Right now Android gamers may find the fact that there’s no way to share scores a little alarming but fear not, this game is young, and it’s iOS counterpart already enjoys OpenFient integration, our fingers are crossed for an update in the works! Until then, grab Jimmy Pataya to kill some time, as well as a few skydivers.

 

 

 

 

 

8/10

Download: Free on Android, .99 on iOS

Android Market: Jimmy Pataya

iTunes: Jimmy Pataya