I've pontificated before about mobile (iOS/Android) gaming versus portable (3DS/Vita) gaming - coming down in favour of the former. A few months later, despite getting some play time on the Vita (man, that screen is incredible), I'm still sticking to my original opinion - but iOS gaming definitely isn't perfect. One issue is that often developers are too focused on bringing an exact replica of home console play to the mobile space rather than creating something that's more suited to mobile gaming. A case in point; Modern Combat 3 by Gameloft.
You can skip ahead to the trailer at the end of this post to get a better look but basically this is a shameless Call of Duty/Modern Warfare rip-off. Since Gameloft are the kings of shameless rip-offs I'm not too surprised, but I was surprised by the production values in this game. I played the game on the iPhone 4S and the iPad 2 and the visuals are simply stunning. On the bigger screen of the iPad 2 you can see that they're not as good as a competent shooter on a home console, but on the smaller screen of the iPhone it looks pretty damn close. Likewise, the presentation is top notch - when I say they ripped off COD/MW, they really did copy the shit out of it! The mission intros feature the same graphical/tactical map zoom in, the date and time stamp in the corner of the screen at the beginning of each mission looks the same, even the bloody opening credits are ripped straight out of Modern Warfare!
Gameplay pacing and scripting is also copied right out of the Modern Warfare playbook with scripted 'jolts' every few minutes, on-rails sequences and the odd first-person non-combat moment.
The game features online competitive multiplayer that, guess what, is ripped right out of Modern Warfare/Call of Duty - right down to unlockable sights, equipment (C4, mines, etc), perks (e.g. drop a grenade when you die) and even bloody kill-streaks (e.g. 3 kills = UAV/satellite scan, no I'm not making that up - that's real).
In fact, the more I sit here and write about this game, the more I amazed that Activision haven't sued the fucking pants off Gameloft for copying their game. Fair play to Gameloft though for doing such a top-notch job.
Best of all, the weekend I bought this game it was $0.99. ONE DOLLAR! That's right, you get a competent Modern Warfare clone for 1/60th the price.
So that's the good, what's the bad?
You've probably guessed it by now, but despite a variety of different schemes, the game is hampered by frustrating controls. You can use a wide variety of virtual stick set-ups, customizeable button locations and even a hybrid accelerometer/touch-screen scheme but none are that come close to two dual analog sticks. Gameloft did make some concessions in acknowledgement of the controls such as generous aim-assist and looking-down-the-sights snaps to a target even more so than the console Modern Warfare/COD games. These measures ensure that the game isn't unplayable - I think I'm almost half the way through the single-player campaign. Unfortunately, they're still not enough to make the game as good as it should be, considering the excellent presentation and feature-set. There are still numerous moments you're left struggling to swing your barrell around to target an enemy and get shot.
Along with showcasing some of the pros and cons of iOS gaming, Modern Combat 3 is perhaps a reminder that straight ports (or in MC3's case, a straight facsimile) of home console games aren't the best idea. Just because you can do something doesn't always mean you should. Instead of virtual sticks, Gameloft should have focused on coming up with a different control scheme that doesn't try to replicate dual sticks - such as having the movement on rails so you can focus on shooting. Sure, it wouldn't be as free-form as a home console game but the iOS devices aren't home consoles, this is best evidenced by the the most entertaining games on the platform such as Draw Something and Tilt To Live - games that you couldn't do as well on a PS3 or 360.
Lavan
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