Striker Arena is an interesting little iPad game that has been soft launched in New Zealand, Australia, and Ireland by Wizcorp. It’s basically a violent soccer game: players are in charge of a team of 5 gladiators or vikings, trying to score as many goals as possible in 3 minutes, with the other team standing in the way. The player with the ball has 3 seconds to move before they are stuck in place and must pass or shoot, which is done by swiping. It is possible to slide and tackle opponents, though there is no direct control of defenders, just the action button that appears on screen, so timing and/or button-mashing is key to intercept passes. There are no fouls for knockouts, so go wild. There are also a number of powerups to collect for arcing passes, powerful shots, and defensive items to help get the ball back, such as shockwaves.

This is an interesting soft launch because it’s got fewer features than the full version would, it’s more of an early access type thing, just boasting the two teams, three AI difficulties, and two modes: quick play and story. The developers aren’t trying to make any money off of the game yet, there aren’t any in-app purchases quite yet. There are additional features planned for the game, and those likely will involve monetized elements, but the core of the game is here to play and enjoy for now. Check out the forum thread for the game.