Run Roo Run!

I hate this game. It takes up huge amounts of my life. The only reason I keep playing it because, due to its easiness, the experience I have with platformers, and the low numbers of players on Game Centre initially, I played it through a few times and ended up in the top 50. Now I'm currently in the top five. How's about that?!

Anyway, seeing as there are not real any major tips out there for it, I thought I'd write my own.

Number one: Jump. Jump like crazy. Jump like your crazy grandma is chasing you over a hurdles course. Jumping is one of the fastest methods of getting through any level. There are times when it's faster to simply move normally, but most of the time, if you figure out how to jump as many times as you can in a level, you'll gain speed.

Number two: Wait. There are plenty of times when your instinct, especially in a game like this, suggests you start the level straight away. Big mistake, particularly in the later levels. Wait a second and analyse the course. Look at the timing of the clouds, spikes or umbrellas. You can save literally half a second or more on some levels by simply getting your timing right. The other big one is waiting for all the tyre swings to come back towards you at the start of every level. You'd be amazed how the times drop if you do this.

Number three: Cheat. Now, I know this sounds bad, but it's simply gaining time by looking at where you don't have to follow the level layout. The following are levels where it's easy to do this:

Extreme 11-2: If you get your timing just right, you can avoid touching the third handle and jump straight from the tyre to the fourth. This saves more than half a second.

Level 13-10. Don't bother with the spring. Just jump straight over the first barber pole (roundabout in the game - god knows why, it's so inaccurate) and wait for the second to turn you back around. You save two seconds by doing this.

Level 19-4: Jump straight into the first hole from below. I was surprised when this first happened, as it was just blind luck: I had no idea I could even do this, and was simply jumping along, trying to save time, when I went straight up the first hole. None of this grabbing onto the first hook. It saved me around half a second or more.

Number four: Know your enemy. Certain obstacles need to be approached in a certain way. Tips are as follows:

Tyres: Depending on the level, the point at which you hit them (beginning, middle, end of the tyre) makes a profound difference to your exit speed. It varies per level, so practise is the only way.

Fans: The airstreams above fans need to be hit almost invariably at the top of your jump to save time. The angle of your jump and the timing of your exit also has a large effect on your exit speed.

Oil: Generally speaking, the more time you spend on it, the better. The only exception is level 19-15, where it is much faster to jump pretty much as soon as you hit the oil. Therefore, try and jump at the last moment in all other levels. It will gain you valuable hundredths or even tenths.

Barrels: These depend on high entry speed for fast rolling. Try and jump into them or be forced in by cannons etc. as this will speed up your rolls dramatically.

Number four: Practise. There is no substitute for it, and only by many hours of playing will you get to know where you can jump, where not to jump, and where to hit all the tyres etc.

Have fun!