With so many games being released by Gameloft at the moment it’s been an impossibility to find time to review them quickly enough. That being said, we really can’t ignore them altogether so lets take a quick look at some of the recent releases that we’ve missed.
Rogue Planet
Having been on a 35 year mission in deep space you arrive back at Earth only to discover that the machines have taken over like some bed dream variation of Terminator. This is the premise of Rogue Planet (with some artistic license) but you get the idea. The game adds itself to a rather under represented genre within the AppStore, that of the Turn Based Strategy Game.
There has clearly been a lot of time spent on this game and the mechanics are spot on (albeit gameplay can feel slow at time, but this is the nature of the genre in my mind). You need to command your troops, move, attack and build units in order to concour this game. With immersive gameplay this truly feels like a slightly stripped down version of a big Console title. The touch controls are well suited to this game, touch your unit, touch the destination and choose an action.
I can’t fault the game graphically either, but that’s something I’ve long since come to terms with in relation to Gameloft releases. The AI is surprisingly intelligent, and fairly unforgiving, with no “undo” option you really need to think carefully about each move.
Whilst the game autosaves if you quit, this is not suited for a quick 5 minutes blast here and there, this, I fell may turn many casual players away. But, if you like your RTS games, this is by far the best available on the AppStore and a must have.
Skater Nation
I start by confessing to be a computer skater. Ever since I picked up the first Tony Hawks game on the Playstation I was hooked. As such, I have been waiting for somebody to come up with a great skating game for the iDevice. Whilst we had a couple of offering in the AppStore, I have to confess I didn’t really care for them (with the exception of Touchgrind ”“ but that’s a very different approach).
I was therefore, as you can imagine, excited when this title hit the AppStore and purchased it straight away. Now, this is far from a rival for any console skate game, but it’s by far the best currently available in the AppStore at present.
You start off as a rookie and the formula from here is nothing new to anyone who’s played this type of game. Skate around and complete challenges set by people dotted about (and thus progressing along the career mode and unlocking more characters and boards etc). What sets this apart from any other skate game available for the iDevice is the mere scale of it. From the off you’re free to explore and skate as you please around the 10 different environments.
The game controls take a lot of getting used to, with one analog stick to move and an “A” and “B” button to perform tricks, there is no easy learning curve in this game and you’ll find yourself checking the help screen regularly trying to work out the combination required to perform a specific trick. I really don’t understand why they didn’t incorporate (or at least offer as an alternative) accelerometer controls to steer.
Along with the ability to save replays of your best moves and upload them to youtube this is the best skate package available, frustrating at times due to the control scheme, but overall a very fun experience.
Driver
Ahh Driver, back when Grand Theft Auto was still running around in a top down view, you came and showed us all how a real sandbox crime game should work. This release surprised me somewhat as it includes the entire gameplay content of the original (the only thing missing is the replay editor).
When I first tried this game on the iPhone I’m afraid to say I didn’t like it at all, you see, I’d made a grave error and switched the controls straight to accelerometer and frankly that control method in this game is truly terrible. But, I was so desperate to replay this game that I tried again, and am so glad I did. Whilst a dpad isn’t the best way to play a game of this type it’s the best way to play this game.
Once you forgive the controls and get down to some playing you’ll see that this is an extremely faithful port of the original (and actually looks a little better to boot). You play the role of Tanner, an undercover cop posing as a getaway driver and you are immersed in a criminal underworld that will take you to Miami, Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York. Unlike the more popular and eventually more successful GTA series, don’t think the cops here are a soft touch. Run a red light and they’ll be on to you, and they don’t ever let up.
Along with the original story mode, there’s the free ride (where you can choose a city, choose day or night and just go for a drive), and various driving games, this is definitely as good, if not better than the original. If you remember the original and can make do without accelerometer controls then grab it. If you never played the original, be warned, this game was hard in its day, and is just as difficult now.
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