Type of app: First/Third Person Shooter (FPS) game
Platform/where to buy: iPad (Android version here); available in the App Store and Google Play
Developer: Madfinger Games
Description:
Prove your courage and challenge your friends.
Experience heroic multiplayer battles that have never been seen on mobile device before.
Enjoy console quality multiplayer game with awesome graphics on your phone and tablet.☣ Experience intense tactical multiplayer combat with up to 12 players connected online.
☣ Choose from two popular game modes – Deathmatch and Zone Control, various maps and from 10 playable characters
☣ As a character’s ranking increases, new elements will be unlocked and available during gameplay
☣ New control elements such as sprint and roll have been implemented into gameplay
☣ A wide ranging arsenal offers Vega (Attack Rifle), Big Boy (Machine gun), Spate (Plasma Rifle), Mace (Shotgun), Osog (Sniper), S***Storm (Rocket Launcher) all of which are upgradable
☣ Items – MediKit, Ammo Kit, FlashBang, EMP Grenade, Frag Grenade, Sentry Gun and Mine – have also been added to the mix in the new release
☣ Talk to your friends in real time! Enjoy entirely new service – multiplayer voice chat – exclusively developed and provided by Ericsson.
☣ Optimized for iPhone/iPad Retina Display
Major features: ShadowGun remains one of the best looking and most engaging shooters across both iOS and Android platforms, and was one of the featured games at the launch of the Nexus 7. Now Madfinger Games brings us a multiplayer-only version that continues to look great and seeks to deliver a console-level experience on tablets and smartphones.
ShadowGun Deadzone offers Deathmatch and Zone Control; Deathmatch is the classic mode that goes all the way back to Doom almost 20 years ago and is simply about killing more than dying. Zone Control is a variant on Capture the Flag, in which you need to control your own base and capture your opponents by using teamwork and tactics.
While shooter controls on touchscreens will always have a disadvantage to physical controls, ShadowGun does a great job of keeping things flowign smoothly, and has integrated buttons for sprinting and rolling close to the fire button, and the sensitivity of the ‘snap to cover’ seems improved as well.
Overall there is little to differentiate ShadowGun Deadzone from PC and console shooters – it is a bit limited in scope and features, but also much cheaper. The graphics look great, matchmaking works (unless the server is down as happened to me once), and the gameplay is fast paced and responsive. For me the coolest thing was how unimpressed I was – it just worked. We have hit the point where we are delivering console-level graphics and gameplay … and not even thinking that is a huge deal!
Ease of use/Overall performance: If you a shooter fan you should consider this a ‘must have’, but be aware it is entirely an online multiplayer game. If you love multiplayer shooters on consoles, everything will be immediately familiar, from the lobby to the settings to earning ranks and weapons.
In the video I play on four systems – Nexus 7, iPad Mini, Samsung Galaxy Note II and iPad 3. As you will see, there are only minor differences with aspect ratio and ‘letterboxing’. I was surprised that the Nexus displayed the large 3-button bar the whole time, and because of that it was more difficult to look around without hitting the fire button than on the iPads. The Galaxy Note II looked and played great as well, but my favorite experience was the iPad Mini due to the screen size and weight.
Would use again/recommend?: Absolutely! It is free and there is plenty of fun you can have by earning things such as research and weapons yourself.
Suggested changes/wish list for updates: I would love a ‘bot match’ for those times you are offline or the servers are down – no earning ranks, just fun playing.
Price: Free (Also free for Android)
Here is the trailer:
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