A refreshing new first-person shooter for iOS was announced recently called The Drowning. It's being built by some of the folks that worked on Halo, Battlefield, and Far Cry, so as you'd expect the graphics look absolutely spectacular so far, but that's not even the most interesting thing about the game.
Dead Trigger lurched its way into the App Store yesterday, boasting run-and-gun zombie apocalypse action on your iPhone and iPad. The first person shooter is unabashedly cheesy, chock-full of snappy one-liners after recorpsifying the odd shambler, and over-the-top non-player characters that prod the plot forward. The graphics are the real showstopper though - you will be hard-pressed to find more disgusting walking dead anywhere else on a phone or tablet.
Gameloft recently launched N.O.V.A. 3, the next step to their sci-fi first-person-shooter franchise for iPhone and iPad. This time, you're taking to the streets of Earth, engaging in gripping firefights with a bunch of high-tech weaponry and vehicles.
Dead Space from Electronic Arts is set to hit the US iTunes App Store sometime later today in both iPhone and iPad versions. TiPb got a sneak preview so let's just give you the goods right now. If you couldn't guess from the title it's a space survival/horror shooter with absolutely gorgeous graphics and even better sound and atmosphere. The mood is just perfect and transitions from casual, almost monotonous getting-to-know-the-controls early missions to OMFG-what's-eating-my-face action with heart-stopping abruptness.
Controls are about as good as can be expected for a mulitouch device though I did once in a while have trouble picking something up as opposed to shooting. If you're familiar with other first-person shooters on iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad you'll feel right at home.
Dead Space isn't on rails; you walk where you want to walk, blast what you want to blast. You do have a guidance mechanism to show you the way, however, which minimizes the frustration of truly open environments.
Like I mentioned at the beginning, it's not a universal app so you can buy it just for iPhone/iPod touch (and framed on iPad) or you can buy Dead Space HD for the big screen iPad experience. (When you do buy Dead Space for iPhone or iPad and register the game, you'll get a special unlock for Dead Space 2 for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC.)
Unfortunately, like most other separate iPhone/iPad games, there's no way to sync progress between platforms so if you get pretty far on the iPhone on the bus, you probably won't want to switch to the iPad and keep going on the sofa. Pity.
Overall Dead Space reaffirms that we've just entered the next great generation of iOS gaming. It looks great, it sounds great, and it's a ton of fun.
Video up top and screen shots after the break. If you check it out, let us know what you think.
When I saw John Carmack show off Rage on the iPhone a few months back, I was rather excited. The promise of real console-like graphics were in our grasp. Then, the game finally came out and I was initially blown away, but then...
Rage HD on iPad is set in a post-apocalyptic future. Typical of these types of games where you play a contestant out to earn money by defeating mutants. The game is set in a first-person shooter (FPS) perspective, but it is on rails. This means the game "moves" for you and you are only allowed to maneuver the cursor on screen at any given time. This is okay, as the games visuals are amazing and this style of game worked really well for Doom Resurrection on iPhone.
Archetype, the top-selling and critically acclaimed online first-person shooter game for the iPhone and iPod touch, got a major update today with new features and explosive new in-app content. Users now have full access to Game Center to join matches, earn Achievements, and follow Leaderboards, and they have also added many features that users have been requesting. The update is free and in it you will also have access to the DLC (downloadable content) items for an extra $2.99.
Are you ready for the ultimate in iPhone first-person shooter games? If so, then sit back and enjoy Modern Combat 2: Black Pegasus. Gameloft has really, really, really shown it is in this to win and take advantage of the hardware on iPhone. This game is gorgeous, especially on the retina display. Ah, but let's not dwell on the graphics for now, let's jump into the game itself.
Gameloft's NOVA has just received one awesome update; high-res retina display support and the ability to use the gyroscope (looks like Gun Range proved useful after all) for iPhone 4. First let's talk graphics...
This game looks absolutely amazing. Color. Crispness. It's all there. No aliasing problems, things just look great. Now for the not so great news, the Gyroscope.
I have been playing with the NOVA update for the last couple of days and for the life of me, I can't seem to feel comfortable using the gyroscope in conjunction with the traditional controls. Sure, the gyroscope is precise. Sure you can pivot in a circle and the game will rotate with you. But when it comes to playing in a firefight with aliens, it is hard to be using the traditional controls to pan while using the gyroscope to aim. Perhaps I just don't have the reflexes of my youth, but I found the experience frustrating. Thankfully you can turn the gyroscope controls off.
This was just my experience, how are you liking the update? Let us know in the comments!
Ngmoco has just brought out the ultimate game/tech-demo (to show your friends) for the iPhone 4 -- Eliminate GunRange. It's a virtual gun range game where you use real weapons to shoot targets. The concept is not entirely engrossing as there are plenty of other top-notch shooting games out there (ngmoco's own Eliminate comes to mind). What makes this game fun and special is that it is the first game to take full use of the new iPhone 4 gyroscope. How does it work? Continue reading to find out!
Brothers in Arms 2: Global Front has is now available in the App store [$7.99 - iTunes link]. This is the sequel to 2008's Brothers in Arms: Hour of Heroes, one of the first 3D shooters on the iPhone. The above screen shot was taken in-game and it looks amazing. There is a smooth framerate and uses Gameloft's successful control schemes for FPSs. This is a big improvement over the first game in the series and has been well worth the wait. Some highlights include:
