Temple Run 2 isn’t just about cool new graphics and a bigger monkey. Imangi Studios have put in a lot of work to improve the original Temple Run and give their fans the best. Here is our wrap up of the game’s new features and general game play.

What’s new in the game:

Temple Run 2 still has missions like the original one, but instead of completing them in any order, you get 3 missions at a time. Completing one or more of these will fill the level bar up a little and completing a level rewards you with random items, (coins, gems, power ups). This, I think is very similar to Jetpack Joyride and is a very welcome move.

You can play as four different characters, Guy Dangerous, Scarlett Fox, Barry Bones and Karma Lee. The latter three can be unlocked using in-game coins.

Head starts and mega head starts can be purchased directly during the beginning of the game by tapping on the icon, they will appear when you have enough coins 2500 for the normal one and 10000 for the mega.

New obstacles:

There are several obstacles in the game from rocks, trees, stone pillars, flame pillars, revolving logs with spikes narrow pathways, waterfalls, tight turns and various obstacles in the mine.

New locations and special skills:

First, you start running from the (much bigger) monkey on a stone platform and jump and hold on to a zip line and glide your way to the next platform. You many need to tilt your device accordingly to pickup the coins whilst on a zip line. This is really an amazing addition to the game and I think you will love the graphics too.

Next, comes the mine, which appears after a few thousand meters. You automatically (and magically ) pop into a mine cart which you control by tilting the device right and left and avoiding dead ends and narrow tracks. This could be a challenge at first, but you will get used to it in time.

Here is a video trailer of the game:

Imangi have replaced resurrection wings in the game with Gems, which can be picked up during normal play and by powerups as explained below or even via in-app purchase. Gems are used to revive or “Save” the character from death, i.e you can resume the game after you die. Be quick though, you only have a few seconds to choose to revive the character. You can choose to save the character more than once in the game but it will cost more gems each time after the first. You can however reduce the cost from the upgrades screen.

Powerups:

You need to collect coins to fill up the meter on the left and double tap anywhere on the screen to activate the powerup. Here is a list of the various powerups available in Temple Run 2

Shield: The first new powerup in the game. It protects you from obstacles. This powerup is selected by default.
Coin Bonus: Gain 50 coins instantly. You need to buy Barry Bones to unlock this power up.
Boost: Boosts your character forward by a certain metres. You need to buy Scarlett Fox to unlock this power up.
Score Bonus: Gets you 500 bonus points instantly. You need to buy Karma Lee to unlock this power up.
Coin Magnet: You unlock this powerup when you reach level 5 . The magnet will attract nearby coins as you run.
Gem Bonus: You unlock this powerup when you reach level 9 . This powerup will grant you 2 gems instantly. this also happens to be the second and only other new power up in the game.
Double Coins are also featured in the game as a regular pickup.

Upgrades:

You can upgrade various items such as the value of Double Coins, Shield duration, Coin magnet duration, Boost distance, Increase chance of spawning pickups, upgrade the power meter, reduce the gem price of “Save me” and Head starts and increase the score multiplier.

I recommend upgrading the pickup spawner and the coin magnet if you have enough coins, as this will help you get more magnets and more coins to upgrade the rest easily.

Game Settings:

You can adjust the music volume, sound volume, adjust the Visual Quality and turn off the tutorial from this screen. The graphics was set to Good by default, I turned it up to Best on my Nexus 7 and I am loving it.

In App Purchases:

Unlike some other endless runner games, (read Pitfall) which require IAPs to progress, Temple Run 2 doesn’t require you to spend a dime. From my experience with it, I should say it is rather generous when it comes to gathering gems and coins. However if you wish to buy stuff to support the developer, you may do so from the menu. You can also get stuff for free by completing various offers. One more thing to note is, Temple run 2 is refreshingly devoid of ads.

Note: Tapping the back button doesn’t quit the game, this is a known issue and Imangi have acknowledged it and promised to fix it in the next update.

Android users: Lack of support for the back button was an oversight. It will be fixed in the 1st update. Sorry for the inconvenience!
— Temple Run (@TempleRun) January 24, 2013

Update: They have fixed the issue with the latest update. Download it from Google Play or use the QR Code below.

Overall, I think Temple Run 2 is really fantastic and far superior to the original game. Now I just hope that our beloved Android users will help the Play Store beat the 20 million download count of our wretched fruit rivals.