The iOS spinoff of the classic sci-fi RPG series Mass Effect has just been updated for Extended-layout controller support.
Quick Review
Infiltrator is not a traditional Mass Effect game. Whereas Bioware’s console counterparts feature a blend of RPG and action gameplay, branching morality trees, and an epic storyline, this Firemonkeys-developed spinoff is a somewhat traditional cover shooter. You explore somewhat small areas until you see enemies, then you run and duck behind barriers, poking your head up long enough to shoot the targets.
Despite simple gameplay, Infiltrator’s production values are outstanding
This cover-shooting mechanic is fun enough, but it never really feels like Mass Effect. The good news is, it doesn’t exactly feel bad. The production values are high, the controls are well implemented, and the gameplay is fun. The fact that Infiltrator doesn’t feel like a Mass Effect game shouldn’t completely sour shooter fans from downloading it – this is still a competent cover-shooter in a rich universe. Just don’t expect it to live up to the Mass Effect name – for an experience like that, you’ll be far better served downloading the Bioware-developed Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic.
Solid 3D action foundation in need of more content
True console class 3D action games are still a rarity on iOS. iPhone and iPad gamers don’t have a Dynasty Warriors or a God of War. Many developers have tried and failed to bring fun, well-implemented 3D action gameplay to iOS. Zombie Goddess is the latest to aim for that goal. I previewed Zombie Goddess last month. Since then, the game has been polished up further and balanced. It is a fun, beautiful 3D action game – but is that enough?
Use powerful weapons to fight off endless waves of zombies
The goal of Zombie Goddess is to survive as long as possible against waves of the undead, killing as many as possible, and collecting as much gold as you can find. Completing various objectives – for example, decapitating 20 zombies in one game – increases the amount of gold dropped. This gold is used to unlock additional weapons and characters, leveling up the weapons you have, or unlocking perks for the next level.
The real meat of the gameplay lies in chaining together attack combos. When you collect enough gold to unlock an additional weapon, that weapon will periodically spawn throughout the map. Collecting that weapon can significantly alter the feel of the game â the daggers are fast-striking weapons, allowing for rapid fire attacks; the bow is a ranged weapon controlled through the right analog stick, turning the game temporarily into a dual-stick shooter; the axe is a heavy, powerful weapon requiring careful timing to avoid taking damage while wielding it.
Aim the bow with the right analog stick, dodge enemy attacks with the left
The biggest issue with Zombie Goddess isn’t what the game includes, but what it doesn’t.The game consists of 3 levels total, each of which can be replayed for higher scores, more achievements, and more gold. The problem is, there is very little progression aside from that. There are no RPG style components, with character improvement. There is no storyline. There is no multiplayer. In short, aside from the basic gameplay of surviving against waves of enemies, there’s not really anything else to do. Killing enemies gives you gold, and gold allows you to unlock new weapons. That’s fun, but there’s not a whole lot else to do.
Each weapon has itâs own special attack
I was invited by the developers to help test the controller support in Zombie Goddess, and Iâm happy to say that it plays quite well with the Moga Ace Power, SteelSeries Stratus, and Logitech PowerShell. Many of the tweaks Iâve suggested have already been implemented. It isn’t perfect – I’ve long wished for camera control of some kind, and there’s no menu support at this time. According to the developers, camera control should be arriving in the next update. The game is still a lot of fun with a controller in its current form â far better than using touch controls, and reminiscent of the type of gameplay experience you could expect from playing a true console action game.
Throw your enemy into the air, then slice them into pieces with your finger
Zombie Goddess manages to be an entertaining, though relatively small, game. The gameplay is fun, the graphics are great, the controls fluid; things could be a lot worse. it is far, far better to have a great foundation in need of content than it is to have built a ton of content build on a terrible foundation. Zombie Goddess has the great foundation. The job now is to add more content. Personally, I really hope that happens.
For action game fans, it’s worth keeping Zombie Goddess on your watch list. With the right updates, it could be a true iOS classic. As it is, it’s a fun, though limited, look at what could come. It’s available as an ad supported free download, with a one time in-app purchase to remove the ads, unlock 2/3 of the levels, and increase coin drops. There are no timers or premium currencies. Action game fans, download Zombie Goddess, give it a shot, and join me in hoping the developers add the content needed to turn this into the full-fledged game it deserves to be.
Update 4/21/2014:
Zombie Goddess was recently updated with improvements to gameplay, as well as the removal of a somewhat tasteless feature I criticized in this review. This review has been edited to reflect these changes. The removed section is preserved below for posterity, but is no longer relevant.
Obsolete information
It’s worth mentioning a “feature” that has generated a bit of controversy. The developers of Zombie Goddess included a “Jiggle Breasts” option for the female player-controlled characters, and advertised that option in the App Store description. To quote: “Hot Heroine Kills hordes of Zombies. Its the hot chick in Resident evil without the guns. Choose between three Hot looking Goddesses. Youâll Love This â you get to Turn On âJiggle Breastâ effect!!!”
Sexism in the video game industry is a serious problem. Female developers are underrepresented and harassed. Gamers are subject to constant harassment on any internet game service you want to name based on their gender. As an industry, we’re making progress – a growing number of people are getting sick and tired of seeing how women in technology have become marginalized and harassed. Things like this aren’t helping. I don’t think the developers of Zombie Goddess were thinking about that one way or the other when they included this feature; it wasn’t included out of any dislike for women, but it still it comes across as thoughtless, insensitive, and tacky. Very few games can pull “sexual humor” off in a way that doesn’t convey those feelings. If the developers had simply enabled jiggling and not mentioned anything about it, that would be one thing. But advertising it upfront as a setting just feels off. I suggested repeatedly that this setting be removed; ultimately I’m surprised both that the developers opted to include it, and that it made it past Apple’s review process.
This shouldn’t be here in 2014
It is great to see the developers actively responding and improving the game, and I’m personally excited to see what will be added in the future.
Arcade shoot-em-ups – games where you control a character or vehicle in an attempt to shoot down swarms of enemies while dodging impossibly large clouds of bullets – are a well represented and beloved genre on iOS. Even among the subset of games with MFi controller support, this is a wellrepresented genre of game
Navigate catacombs, dodge bullets, and collect powerups
What makes Trisector stand about among the rest is how appropriately iOS-centric it is. Trisector takes the shoot-em-up – a difficult genre to play, even with a controller – and eliminates many of the pitfalls other games in the genre often bring over from their original releases. Trisector manages to maintain a level of gameplay difficulty that will challenge veteran shooter fans, while providing a less daunting framework for newer players.
Trisector adds a modern iOS level selection system, as opposed to the limited lives common in arcade ports. It adds an (optional) auto-adjusting difficulty slider, where the strength of the enemies is balanced to the places you’re getting stuck. It incorporates a modern presentation with full widescreen at an extremely smooth framerate. All of these add up – the challenge of the game comes from the game itself, rather than from presentation issues.
At the hardest difficulties, Trisector will be a challenge to even the best gamers
Controller support in Trisector is well implemented – as I’d hope it would be, since I was one of the beta testers for it. Throughout the course of a few betas, we were able to polish out most of the controller issues that plague many other games.
Standard and Extended layouts are fully supported, the menus are completely controllable, the screen doesn’t fall asleep if left alone, button options are self explanatory and not hidden, control sensitivity is adjustable – basically, everything you’d want from a fully controller-supported game is represented here, and implemented well.
A constant stream of bullets from all directions is a hallmark of the genre
Fans of the shoot-em-up genre who are looking for something more than the same old classics should absolutely give Trisector a look. It takes the classic formula and uses it as a starting point to carve out its own identity.
Angry Birds go-carter updated with new levels and polish
Classic iOS racing game Angry Birds Go was recently updated to include new levels with a winter theme, gameplay balances, and interface polish.
Angry Bird racing on snowy tracks
Angry Birds Go is not a perfect game. The amazing level of polish and fun of the actual game itself is let down by an over aggressive monetization system full of premium currencies and timers. The strange thing is, these are completely unnecessary: the game plays extremely well if you ignore the premium currency, and the timers become superfluous after you’ve unlocked a few characters.
If you want to enjoy this game, the only thing you really should buy is the currency doubler. The rest is all superfluous. Which is unfortunate – I can’t help but think Rovio would have a much stronger product if they just sold it outright with the correct balancing to begin with.
A port of original Xbox launch title Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath is coming soon to mobile. GamerHub released an interview with series created Lorne Lanning detailing some behind-the-scenes information of the upcoming port.
While Stranger’s Wrath is the only mobile port mentioned by name in this video, significant amounts of video footage from the upcoming Oddworld: New ‘N Tasty are included for some reason. It’s unclear from this video if that footage represents a mobile port currently in development, or if it was simply included by mistake. Either way, considering New ‘N Tasty will be launched for every major computer OS, PS4, and Wii U, a mobile port is definitely not outside the realm of possibility.
Both of these upcoming games look excellent from the above footage. Details of the iOS porting are unclear at this time – the video is mainly about the Android version on the Nvidia Shield platform. However, iOS ports are mentioned, as well as compatibility with many different controllers. Here’s hoping that means MFi controllers for iOS.
The only real negative I can see from the video is the pride with which Lanning states Stranger’s Wrath will run at 30 frames per second. He says “a solid 30 fps” that like it’s a good thing. In reality, 30fps is nowhere near good for a modern game release. The latest mobile GPUs are more than capable of pushing out 60fps – a much more pleasant and fluid gaming experience. Hopefully the 30fps was in reference to the somewhat weaker Nvidia Shield hardware. Either way, we’ll find out soon enough.
Unpossible is an amazing looking procedurally-generated twitch action game. Full MFi controller support will be implemented, as well as tilt our touch controls.
Both Touch Arcade and 148Apps managed to get video previews of this upcoming game – fans of twitch action games will definitely want to give those a look.
Unpossible is scheduled to hit the App Store within the next few weeks, and should support all MFi game controllers.
Carter Dotson at 148Apps says:
From a first-person perspective, try to avoid oncoming obstacles in one of three difficulties, including daily challenge and a casual mode. The easy mode is designed for the less-skilled and for those just getting used to the game; the later ones will put skilled gamers to the test. Look for this one in a few weeks.
Where Unpossible really shines is in its excellent randomly generated levels and silky-smooth framerate. The cool, glowy visuals don’t hurt either.
(…)Playing Unpossible is a total rush, and I think both twitch game aficionados and more casual players will find something to love when it launches in the next month or so.
Unpossible will test your skills, your reflexes, and even your memory. It will make you smile. It will probably make you scream. You will die often and it will always be your fault. Fight to learn the obstaclesâ¦they already know how to fight you. Relentless. Thrilling. Unpossible!
Owners of Shadow Blade, don’t hit the Update button if you want to continue playing with MFi controllers – the latest version, 1.2.1, makes the game unplayable with all game controllers.
Developer Dead Mage and Publisher Crescent Moon have confirmed that a fix is on the way
Wait 20 seconds through the unskippable intro screen. If the game doesn’t crash or get stuck in a looping movie with no way to access the menus, start the game. When the game starts, hold the shoot button. Then move left until your ship reaches the edge of the level. Then move right until your ship reaches the other edge of the level, all the while holding the shoot button. Repeat until bored.
That about sums up TriBlaster. With little to no exception, the first 15 levels or so will be beaten by doing exactly that chain of actions. After that (and rarely throughout) you’ll need to shake things up a little bit. Once every 5 levels or so, an enemy will make it to your position on the screen. By pressing B, your ship will jump backwards, giving your basic zig-zag maneuver plenty of time to destroy it. Once every 5 levels or so, you’ll also run into a clump of enemies that are better dispatched by standing still for a few seconds while you hold shoot. Then resume your zig-zagging. That’s the game, in a nutshell.
Shoot enemies and dodge attacks by holding A and moving side to side
The biggest problem here is that such an amazing premise is wasted on such boring gameplay. And the premise really is great. TriBlaster is a shooter along a horizontal plane, with enemies coming towards your ship from the back of the map, requiring you to shoot them before they reach you. Think Space Invaders, but with the screen turned flat like a pinball table, or an unfolded version of the classic game Tempest. The graphics are cool, in an updated-retro sort of way. The controls are solid, the music and sounds appropriate. The thing is, the game simply doesn’t take advantage of this foundation. Nothing ever poses a challenge, which means there’s never much of a sense of accomplishment for beating anything, which means it’s never really fun.
Level design is the first clue that something has gone wrong. There are about 3 level shapes you’ll run into over and over again. The first is a straight line. Next, for variety, you’ll run into a level shaped like a gradually sloping smile or frown. Which is basically a straight line, but hey, at least it looks a bit different. Next, more rarely, you’ll run into a V or L shaped level. Functionally, these all play exactly the same – your zig-zag doesn’t change. As you progress, the stages will start occasionally taking on slightly more variety in shapes, before returning to one of the 3 standbys. No matter the shape, the gameplay doesn’t really change. Level shape never really has an impact on strategy – it appears to strictly be for visual variety. Which makes the lack of variety even more surprising.
With such an amazing level design potential, flat levels seem like such a waste…
One could imagine any number of ways variety could have been added. Loops, abstract shapes, levels that require jumps, levels with a top and bottom, where you flip between them dodging attacks, levels that take place along a circular arena, levels with obstacles that require jumps – it’s easy to think of ways the foundation of this game could have been turned into something fun or challenging. I hope someday it does get improved with more imaginative designs. Unfortunately, those aren’t here right now – I can’t review based on what COULD have been done.
These basic flaws could be overlooked if the game was fun in short bursts. Unfortunately, it doesn’t really work in casual increments like that, thanks to a truly terrible checkpoint system. TriBlaster includes 100 levels. Throughout the course of those 100 levels, there are 3 checkpoints. One at 25, one at 50, and one at 75. Each level takes about a minute and a half to get through. That means if your hand cramps and you forget to zig-zag and die at level 20, you have to play through every level again, starting from the beginning. Over half an hour of the same level designs, with almost identical enemy patterns.
This checkpoint system has the consequence of rewarding long play sessions and punishing casual play – you do NOT want to play for 5 minutes when you’re head isn’t completely in the game, because the consequence of failure is such a massive loss of progress. A more modern checkpoint system, such as the type of “play any level you’ve beaten for a higher score” system seen in Angry Birds, would solve this problem. Even the current system could be improved by a more generous placement of checkpoints. But checkpoints every 25 levels turns TriBlaster from being a potentially amusing casual experience to being a game that requires marathon game sessions, and the gameplay simply isn’t compelling enough to warrant it.
If the gameplay was as good as the graphics, this would be an easy recommendation
There is a silver lining to all these negatives. As I’ve said, the foundation here really is quite solid. The idea, the core gameplay, even the occasionally more difficult level all hint at what TriBlaster could become. The checkpoint system could be replaced. The difficulty could be ramped up. The level layouts could be expanded. The enemies could be more varied. Things could be implemented to make zig-zagging a bad strategy. The core idea of this game is still sound, and I hope it someday gets polished into the game it deserves to be.
I don’t like writing negative reviews. I’d rather bring people’s attention to games they should play, rather than warn them away from games they shouldn’t. I played this game for about an hour and a half, waiting for the fun to start. It never really did, at least not for me. It’s possible that later into the game, the stages get more interesting. I couldn’t last that long, and I don’t think most people reading this will either.
I really hope that this game will be updated and improved, because the premise is solid. If things get better, I’ll revisit this review. As it stands, even at a dollar asking price, with no in-app purchases, and with well implemented controller support, this is a game to skip for now. Save your dollar.
Update
The previous version of this review struck a harsher tone than I wanted. This game is fixable. I really hope it gets there, because I love the premise, and I hope someday to be able to recommend it. Until then though, my opinion still stands – wait for an update.
Exiles is an open-world sci-fi RPG in the same vein as Mass Effect. The game is still in the somewhat early stages, with story elements and specific gameplay features still being worked out, but already the graphics and presentation are outstanding.
Controller support has yet to be officially confirmed for Exiles, but given Crescent Moon’s track record of including it in all of their recent games, it’s not a stretch to assume it’ll make an appearance here. Exiles is scheduled to launch this summer for $6.99.
Josh from Crescent Moon on the TouchArcade Forums says:
Its a Sci Fi, action RPG slated for a ‘later this year’ release.
It uses the Ravensword: Shadowlands framework, which will also be used in Aralon 2. More details coming at GDC.
Exiles is a fresh sci-fi role-playing game from Crescent Moon games that we got to check out at GDC 2014. For those that have put time into the well-known Avalon series, you’ll already be familiar with the kind of graphics to expect here, though the giant robot with the missile launcher may contrast to memories of elves and fireballs. Players can expect to progress through familiar classes, such as engineer, and explore new and exciting abilities and gear. Due to the large open world, you can expect some interesting modes of transportation, including hoverbikes.
Fresh from GDC, TouchArcade reveals an upcoming MFi controller supported puzzle platformer from the creators of iOS classic Devil’s Attorney. This new game, called Leo’s Fortune, is scheduled to hit the App Store very soon. Watch the videos below to get a feel for the gameplay; fans of classics like the Rolandoseries or Loco Roco should find a lot here to love.
Leo’s Fortune is scheduled to hit the App Store soon as a premium game. We’ll keep you up to date with further information as it becomes available.
Eli Hodapp at TouchArcade Says:
(Leo’s Fortune is…) a super slick looking physics-based platformer featuring a weird green puff named Leopold. You can inflate yourself to float, interact with puzzle elements in game, and more. Additionally, they’ve made sure that even though some of the platforming elements can be frustrating, you instantly respawn a few seconds back so you never need to replay entire levels
