Dubbed by its developers as a mix of Diablo and The Binding of Isaac, Hero Siege ($2.99) is a dual-stick shooter that immediately has big shoes to fill. With a simplified combat system combined with a load of randomization systems, Hero Siege may pick up some aspects from those titles in terms of theory, but not so much in terms of implementation. Still, while the action-RPG hybrid may not live up to the games that it’s inspired by, Hero Siege is still an enjoyable romp through a 16-bit styled randomized world with plenty of enemies to dispatch.
As an action-RPG with dual-stick controls, Hero Siege has your hero taking on a set wave of enemies before a boss which allows you to move on to the next arena map. In addition to taking on throngs of baddies, players can also explore secondary dungeons that include simplistic puzzles and platforming elements in addition to enemies. Players can earn gold to purchase in-game temporary power-ups and randomized potions can be found and quaffed that can do a wide variety of effects (both permanent and temporary). Despite all these nuances, combat is the name of the game, and Hero Siege is, at its core, a simple action-packed dual stick shooter.
While the combat system is pretty simplistic, there are a few things I really like about Hero Siege that make it a little more than a mindless dual-stick shooter. For starters, the game features a decent progression system for each character with a leveling system, stat upgrades and class-unique traits that persist beyond individual runs. In addition, a large collection of artifacts (that bestow assistance only for that run) as well as a decent randomization system meant that every game I fired up had some differences. I wouldn’t go so far as to call it as robust as Diablo (as the developers have made no qualms stating), but it’s certainly a welcome addition.
I’m also a big fan of the game’s visual system. With a style emulating the 16-bit games of old, Hero Siege ups the ante with loads of explosions, projectiles, and enemies on screen at the same time. Sure, the this sort graphical theme has been done before, but I think Hero Siege nails it pretty well. There were a few annoying occasions where there were so many explosions on screen that it would mask traps and enemies, but it wasn’t a game breaker.
A more significant issue with Hero Siege is the simple fact that combat has a tendency to become monotonous. Despite the traits, artifacts, puzzles and loads of different enemies, playing Hero Siege inevitably devolves into moving away from the throngs of enemy waves while launching projectiles (good luck if you want to play as the close-quarter combat Viking) to take them out. There’s very little strategy in actually taking on enemies and bosses, and the stat customizability is too limited to really adjust to a player’s style. That’s not to say that it isn’t fun, but it there’s tons of potential for Hero Siege to be more than what it is.
This is particularly true with the game’s current presentation issues. There’s little in terms of story and stat tutorials and, more importantly, Hero Siege currently lacks a ‘save state’ feature. I also encountered a few bugs indicative of a game still in development. Still, developer Panic Art Studios has been active in our forums and have already quashed the more significant issues. Another bright spot is the game’s IAP system, which is completely optional and mainly focused on appearance options that don’t really impact gameplay.
Hero Siege may be a bit rough around the edges, but it’s still a fun dual-stick shooter with plenty of RPG elements that give it more meat than your typical action game. Even with the concerns regarding the combat system, I think there’s still enough longevity in its RPG and Item systems to be worth an investment in both time and money. If you’re in the market for a new dual-stick shooter, definitely give Hero Siege a try.
Obviously it depends on build quality, but going off the picture this may be the one for me. Quality professional design (if derivative), seems to be a decent size for my large hands, bluetooth. If I'm gonna suck it up for the price, this is the first I've seen that doesn't at a glance feel like a concession.
What the heck is with these prices?! It's a Bluetooth controller. Should be $40 max. I'm not going to support a manufacturer that's trying to cash in on early adopters.
Could be coincidence that every controller released or in works cost 100$? :D Apple is controlling prices, not manufacturers .)
Well, with what I know of the iOS accessory world, having the "Made for iPhone" logo on your packaging is very expensive. All the associated costs and royalty fees are hidden away under NDA, but there's a reason why a Belkin Lightning to USB cable costs $25 and a unlicensed Chinese knockoff from dx.com costs $2.50.
What I suspect is happening is that the MFi controller certification progress is so expensive, both in the time spend dealing and negotiating with Apple as well as Apple's own licensing and royalties that at the end of the day the smallest slice of that $99 pie is actually going to the controller itself.
Oh, and it's obvious Apple is the one enforcing the $99 price point, as you'd see SOME variance in price otherwise as it legit makes zero sense why competition in the market wouldn't drive prices down. Four products now released with the same price to the penny is the clearest indicator of price control you can get.
Edit: Looks like you can't buy Lightning stuff on DX anymore, but the point remains. Compare any other accessory's official pricing to the Chinese knockoff.
It sure is starting to look like Apple might be controlling the price in some way here. Why else would they all have the same price? But why would Apple introduce a controller standard and then kill it by enforcing a price that will obviously hinder adoption by no small amount?
As for the rip of accessories. Sure, skipping the licensing probably saves them a bit but they also save by cutting costs in other ways that would prevent them from passing licensing anyway...
Please Eli. For the next article you'll do for a mfi controller ( that will probably be 100$ too), just leave the first comment in the section and ask people to STOP COMPLAINING ABOUT THE PRICE please. I mean i dont like it too and i already said it, but theres no need to copy/paste the same comment on every article about that ( we heard you guys already 4 controllers before, since the moga). I JUST WISH SOMEDAY IN THIS SECTION I'LL READ PEOPLES OPINION ABOUT THE ACTUAL CONTROLLER!!
When the price isn't the determining factor whether one buys the controller or not, then the discussion will turn to the other aspects of it.
$99 is ridiculous and out of line with every other controller made. Hell, you can buy a 3DS or a Vita for less than twice that.
I'm not so sure about that. Unless your telling us something that we don't know (i.e. One of these manufacturers outright told you that Apple told its MFi hardware manufacturer licensees that in order to be apart of the program they need to price there devices at 100 bucks) then, this is all conjecture. This feels more like manufacturers taking advantage of early adopters and the pent-up demand of physical controllers in the iOS market.
Also, I for one am happy that there is a program like MFi, to not only prevent cheap electronics from causing health and safety hazards (i.e. just google "Cheap Knockoff iPhone Cables Fires / Electrocution"... heck these safety hazards have been reported numerous times by your sister-site MacRumors) but it also helps keep the quality of accessory products at a respectful level. Just think of the crap we would get if there wasn't a program like MFi. You think parts of the Logitech / MOGA controllers are cheap feeling... just think of the cheap, short-lasting, breakable garbage that would be hawk to consumers in the iOS space. Gives me the shivers to even think about.
People tell me lots of things I can't repeat.
Well, if what you are alluding to is actually happening, in that manufacturers are being told to sell there stuff at nothing less then 99.99 in order to be a part of the MFi program, then I'm pretty sure that is illegal, goes against US Consumer protection laws, and should be reported to the appropriate people for investigation.
Now, if what your alluding to is that Apple has told MFi hardware licensees that they should sell their controllers for a Suggested Retail Price (basically a MSRP) of 100 dollars, in order to best recoup their costs in R&D, Marketing, license fees and taking advantage of any pent-up demand for 1st generation physical controllers in the iOS gaming market, in order to make a healthy profit in the first go-around of physical controllers, is also not illegal.
The fact that they have also told manufacturers that any controllers that they sell in the Apple Retail Stores will sell for 99.99, is also not illegal. Any retail store has the power to price the products in a way that they see fit and if a retailer chooses not to carry a product because they don't want to sell the product to its customers for less and/or more then what they believe the value of that product to be, then that is the retailers decision not the manufacturers. This is why retailers such as Walmart or Amazon can make or break products and define the value of said products, because they have the power to price the products that they sell in which they see fit.
For companies such as Amazon and Walmart, this means devaluing many products by selling them less then the MSRP (sometime even less the it costs to make, of which Amazon is notorious for doing) in order to use economies-of-scale, to make up the lost profit and get people in the door and coming back for other items. Obviously, in Apple's case... they believe that the value of a first-generation MFi controller is $99.99 and if manufacturers want to be carried in their retail / online stores, they need to price their products accordingly.
Now with all that said, I for one am not going to buy a 1st-generation iOS/Mac controller because, well... I never buy first generation products because there always tends to be kinks and problems that need to be ironed out for a product to truly shine but also, I agree with the sentiment that $99.99 for a controller is expensive, especially for my usage-case. I am not a HUGE iOS gamer and/or bleeding-edge early adopter, so to invest in $100 for a game accessory, doesn't make sense for me. Now, I would be more willing to buy a certified iOS controller for $50 to $60 dollars, especially if it was a standalone controller that worked on both iOS and Mac.
Anyways, as with most things, the forces of market demands will price iOS / Mac controllers according to what the market demands and if 100 dollars is too expensive for such an accessory, the eventually it will be priced lower to where there is enough of a healthy demand for both retailers and manufacturers to make a profit. I think this will eventually happen. I wouldn't be surprised if less then a year from now, there was a standalone iOS / Mac controller you could buy for $50 to $60 bucks.
Mandated MSRP's (manufacturer suggested retail) aren't illegal, neither are MAPs (minimum advertised price). It would only be illegal for Apple to course retailers to sell at the same prices.
Right now we have a product likely in high enough demand that there is no reason to cut I to the profits. Apple knows how to play this pricing game very well. It's all legal.
Xbox One controllers aren't that cheap and they use more tech than these things do. Get real.
So many ios7 controllers
Quit complaining about the price. $100, that's just the average cost of one cup of coffee...
I'd rather buy 100 games.
Would pay $60 max for this, no more than a Xbox One or PS4 controller, and I think $60 is still a lot for it.
It sucks bad on the pricing.
I'm someone's probably thinking "they paid over $500 for the device another $100 won't kill them".
If this ones full sized and has a decent build quality it may be a buy for me. I won't be paying $100 for a cheap feeling controller though.
The first decent controller that comes out for $40 will sell a ton.
In 1-2 years.
"Like an xbox controller"
Or, you know, it has the exact layout of a dualshock controller...
But, you know, with the (near) exact shape and color of an Xbox controller...
This. Also, layout (as well as colours for A, B, X and Y) is defined by Apple in the MFI controller specification. Shape for the most part isn't.
I doubt Apple is controlling pricing, why and how would they enforce such a high price? I think the more likely explanation is we are seeing classic 'price skimming' strategy as there are a lot of iOS users out there waiting for this. The margin on a $99 controller is big even with Apple fees, there's not a lot of these controllers yet so if you can get $99 MSRP to help float your development costs, why not? The companies will gradually drop prices over time, to expand market (classic price skimming strategy) and as more competing products are released.
The margins on most iPhone cases are probably actually higher. $30 for a thin piece of molded plastic, when reasonably good equivalents can be found on EBay for $2 or so.
As to how, "If you want your controller to be stocked in the Apple Store you need to price it at $99.99." Products like this live and die by their placement in Apple Stores.
As to why, who knows.
That makes sense, if all these controllers actually end up in Apple stores (I doubt they will carry a lot of models even if more are released.) All of them at the same price is interesting though for sure. Not sure what motive/benefit to Apple to say, "If you sell a controller, it must be $99.99." There are no dirt cheap products in Apple stores anyways- I think by the time you take into account development costs, iOS licensing costs, actual wholesale pricing (vs. MSRP), marketing and distribution...launching the first iOS game controllers at $100 is not really surprising.
No price noticeably under 99,99 no purchasing...simple as that
do any of these have an accelerometer/gyro... would they support tilt? Would that violate apple's spec>
I can buy almost a ps4 controller and a Xbox one controller for the price of that one probably shitty controller
LMFAO, U.S. $99 for a mobile device game controller? No. Seriously. No.
I'm more willing to drop a buck on this one than the rest but I still don't have a free buck laying around.
Okay. A high price for this product is not a scam, it's simple economics--more specifically the economies of scale. Microsoft sells exceptional controllers at $60 each because they know they will move hundreds of thousands of units. If any of these iOS controllers sell more than 50,000 units it would be astonishing, so their price must reflect the cost of materials, R&D, and some profit to justify what is a big gamble for those companies. $99 is a steal, but if you want the price to go down the best thing you could do is buy one and tell all your friends to do the same.
The whole R&D and production argument would work if two products, both the MOGA Ace Power and the SteelSeries Stratus weren't nearly complete duplicates of their Android counterparts which currently sell for half (or less) of the iOS versions.
My sentiment exactly. Very well put. Agreed.
I don't think it's all because of added development cost, but it's true that MFi has brought some pain to controller makers.
They had to abide by specs and Apple firmware that haven't been well defined for a while, they had to put all buttons as pressure sensitive and go through some certification.
I've heard more than one maker complaining about the added work.
Still.. clearly nobody likes these prices.
Everyone! Wait for my controller to come out!
Only 98.99!
No, get mine at $98.97. I kno, so not funny.
Not funny "haha" but funny "hmm"
Just like this pricing bidness!
Why everyone is like crazy with the price? I mean, all the iPhone or iPad cases like otter or lifeproof have almost the same price and nobody is bitching about that. It's made for Apple devices, all products for Apple devices are overpriced. All of them. Also the games on the AppStore doesn't cost $60 some of them are even free and also support the controller.
Probably due to the poor build quality that seems to be a recurring theme with these controllers. Or, due to the lower cost of similar controllers on consoles. And a different mentality. People may view cases and such as something that protects their investment in the iPhone/iPad, and are therefor willing to pay a little more to protect from long term wear and damage. I'm not so sure people have that same sentiment with a cheaply made controller. Honestly, for a gamer like me, only 5 or 6 of my iOS games are currently being supported with these controllers, so spending 100 bucks to play a couple of games on physical hardware is ludicrous to me. The reason the price point is poor for me is due to the underwhelming lack of potential these things carry.
It will be a cold day in hell before I spend one hundred dollars on a controller for something that isn't even a proper platform.
I think that the reason for the high price point is perhaps to create the illusion of quality. It would seem that some consumers think that things that cost a lot of money are higher quality than lower cost products. Either way, these controllers aren't for me. Still waiting for the Razer Blade bluetooth controller. That one is the same size as the iPhone and folds away when you don't use it. As far as the build quality, I have high hopes. I just hope the price isn't so absurd, otherwise I'll just wait it out. I'm in no rush to buy an iOS controller.
That works... Until you open the box. I read on the r/iosgaming subreddit that Apple Stores are seeing an awful lot of returns.
Thanks for the heads up!
No biggie if apple is controlling the price then i'll control my wallet and not buy any of them.
Exactly. It is an absurd price point.
That D-Pad looks horrendous. Can we not just go back to the good D-Pads of yesteryear that fucking worked? I'm looking at you, SNES and Saturn.
Hell, my iPad 3 has BTStack and uses the Wiimote->Classic Controller. This is the official solution I'm after (minus the wiimote in the middle).
... Or wait for the imported knock-offs that will eventually flood eBay, like with conventional controllers.
iOS controller for $100? The world gone crazy. Anyway, bluetooth controller means gaming at home. I can't use this controller at subway or bus. I have iPad mini retina ($700 + games) and PS Vita ($200 + games), it's enough for gaming on the go. If I will find a time for gaming at home, I'll buy PS4 or XBone with good controllers and good games.
Sorry for my english.
But the left thumbstick is in the wrong spot..... Oh, I will always stick with xbox.
I know it's not for everyone BUT seriously!
Jailbreak and install BT stack and blutrol for what less than 5 bucks and use a PS3 pad that you can pick up for 30 notes.
It's 20 minutes work if that and works with every game I have tried so far.
Like which games? With no configuring?
BT stack is neat but too much configuration time for each game is needed. I've also ran into a lot of games that didn't work well. I want to believe in these controllers but that price...
Oh boo fuckin' hoo. No amount of configuring is the added...40 bucks worth (and that's if you go buy an extra PS3 controller for this and don't already have one that came packed-in with a PS3).
They have made a terrible mistake by putting the joysticks next to each other
2008 - App Store and the birth of mobile gaming.
2011 - Realization of public desire for mobile gaming.
2012 - Deep pocket development companies dive in for a slice of the pie.
2013 - 64 bit processors bring the imminent possibility of console/PC gaming on-the-go
2014 - Console inspired game controllers for a more immersive experience...
Are you as excited as I am for the full Call of Duty, Madden X and Forza experience on your iPad? We all know it's coming. There's too much money left on the table.
IT'S COMING!
I do not like the look of the dpad and I do not like the stick layout. Honestly, it looks like a twenty dollar el-cheapo to me. But like all controllers I would have to try it to know for sure, but for $100 I'll never know.
I've been saying it all along. Apple is the puppet master here. That's all.......next!
I'm not a thief, but these prices are drawing me towards thuggery. Lock your front doors and hide your wallets!
just come to hong kong , i am happy to buy u one of it since i am the biggest apple fans , and people say i am great & generous
Can you ship one, or do we have to go to Hong Kong?
u will have to come to me and we go to apple store together
I have a theory for the $99 mystery...but it is far too sinister for this forum.
So I'll resolve to this cryptic message.
"To win the war, first you must design the battlefield"
.
BTW.. The silver xbox mfi controller thingy looks ok, even though it is "silver" and it does "excite", it's not worth 100 bucks.
.
What happened to the big battery to charge your iDevice excuse..?
These BT controllers haven't even got this feature, a reason that many review sites used to justify the initial high price tag... Oh but they can also charge your iPhone like the morphie..blah,,bll..
Although I welcome BT to MFi, $99 is a joke.
"Where's my battery gone?"
No it's not the name of a new Disney game especially designed for BT Mfi controllers. <--- that was a joke..
.
Put it back... or reduce the price by $50.
.
With such prices, I expect at least the controllers having an onboard Apple TV to stream the games on a TV (-;
Oh no, better: they actually let your iDevice hover in front of you while you play with the controller!!!
When these controllers hit $40 I'll buy one. Until then F you Apple.
I can attest to the $#!tty build of the Moga....I mean just absolutely piss poor. I also believe Moga had no intention of having to sell their $20 controller for $100.
***When every damn controller from iOS is being sold at $100, guess what? Apple's controlling the pricing!!!!***
- if they weren't, WHY ARE FUTURE CONTROLLERS STILL NOT RELEASED ALREADY BEING PRICED AT THIS FIXED AMOUNT???
- for those who think these companies are controlling price, I'll be polite and just say they're not. I own a Moga, and it broke on the 8th day of play. As cheaply built as it is, I'm really feeling the burn from Apple right now. I went against my own better judgement to give the Moga a shot (since I own quite a few games that it supports and wanted to see how mfi controllers will be). They're pretty communist about pricing these "coveted" controllers because they know most Apple users are going to flock and buy one. Well, they're right but that doesn't make the situation right....think of it this way....when u see an apple product on sale (not add-ons but an iPhone, iPad or iPod) they never....ever ever ever do more than a 5% discount. Wake up peeps!
FYI Signal's website - extremely UNHELPFUL. http://www.signal-usa.com/ The question "Are you ready?" leaves me wondering if they're going to add "for this jelly?" at some later date. For now, the dearth of information and the $100 price point is annoying (at best).
Sadly, this may turn out to be the best option if it actually feels and handles like and Xbox 360 controller. The SteelSeries Stratus just seems entirely too cramped for bigger hands.