Fashion Hazard on iOS: Rough, cliche, but respectful of lady gamers

It's tough not to play Fashion Hazard, the first iOS game to come from media publisher Conde Nast, for a few minutes and not instantly think of games like Temple Run and Subway Surfers. The fashion-focused, endless runner-style casual game takes more than a few cues from said games--that much hasn't changed since we first got our hands on the game during E3.

Unfortunately, neither have the graphics or controls in Fashion Hazard. They're not downright terrible, but they lack the polish you might expect from a media giant. Still, props are due to Conde Nast for finally presenting a game focused on women that doesn't insult them, a game that actually demands their attention and--dare we say--skill. (Hell, a game that even demands a pulse.)

Without getting sidetracked by that blood-boiling plague of the gaming world, Fashion Hazard sends players across the runway in the same 3D perspective we've seen in Temple Run. Players tilt their iOS device forward to walk faster and backward to walk more slowly, while tilting left to right avoids obstacles. Swiping the screen upward, of course, causes your model to bound over obstacles while she collects coins and other power-ups to help her have a star-studded show on the catwalk.

Whenever players jump into a star that floats above, they'll enter a photo-op, which amounts to players clicking on camera flashes in time. Finally, it's bad form to finish each round too early or not on time, so mind the ticker. Is there anything wrong with this? It certainly sounds like a solid, lady-focused casual game on paper, and we can confidently say that it is after playing it. We can only hope that this sparks a resurgence in games for women that actually respect that they have able thumbs, too.

%Gallery-162546%

That said, even with its four models to play with across four fashion capitals of the world, Fashion Hazard simply isn't as attractive as we would expect from a 3D game all about fashion. (And especially after what we've seen in 3D games on iOS before in hits like Infinity Blade.) Garish graphics aside, Fashion Hazard takes the "girl game in a direction we hope the rest of this subset of the industry follows. Lady gamers can rack up the high scores right along with the rest of them. It's about time we recognized that.

Click here to download Fashion Hazard on iOS for $.99 Now >

Are you interested in checking out Conde Nast's first mobile game? What do you think of lady-focused games? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.