Dead Space was released 9 months ago... That's a really long time in tech world. It does run very smoothly and look sharp on iPhone 4, but as people said, the two have different style. What I like about Dead Space is it's not just about pretty graphics. The controls are spot on, the learning curve is great (not too hard for beginners but very challenging in hardest difficulty), the story, writing and voice over are immersive. The atmosphere is still the best I've experienced from any iPhone game so far.
Does it really matter when it was released? Infinity Blade was released before that and people still consider it to have the best graphics on iOS.
Subscribe to the TouchArcade YouTube channel All I can say to it: Yes, the walking animation is alot better now, but those explosions are just terrible. To be more exact, the explosion part of the explosion is missing.
It also needs a sprint button. I mean when the player get to cover it feels so slow! Part of gears of war's fun was rushing to cover with that special up close zoom that came with it.
Erm, is that all there is? An endless stream of barren, squarish, industrial-type corridors and rooms with conveniently staggered barricades for cover? I just watched through the entire ten-minute video, and apart from one very basic boss, it looked hugely repetitive; I'm really hoping the released game has more meat to it. The graphics are certainly some of the best we've seen in an iOS game so far, and the voice acting is a step up from the usual mobile offerings, but I have to agree that blowing stuff up currently appears hugely unsatisfying, with machines basically just vanishing when they're destroyed.
The big question: Universal or not? I don't see how it would be though, so not very high hopes on that front. Still, I'll buy the iPhone version and wait for a sale on the iPad.
You're a glass half-empty kind of guy, aren't you . That video was basically a collection of action beats with almost no cut scenes, no exploration, no environmental puzzles, etc. The game is essentially a tight shooter, but there are other things to break the pace. Yeah, cover is pretty convenient, but then again it is a game, not reality. When you are wandering around the levels you see a heck of a lot of detail that you miss on that video; the game does a good job of taking you from cramped corridors to open spaces that change the combat dynamics. The level are also designed to vary your experience (you see a bit of that on the video, but it's not obvious). Very often you end up in situations where you have to leave cover and change your tactical position. It may look repetitive, but it doesn't feel that way (at least not to me). About the explosions: that pulse effect is a lot more impressive in-game than it is on the video. I much prefer it to the weak-ass explosions you get in most action games in portable platforms. Is the game perfect? Of course not. Is it the best action game we'll see on iOS? I sure hope not. What Shadowgun does is that it brings the conversation to another level. It gets the feel of the action right, and it brings graphics, story, and design together in a way that reads like a "complete package" (to use dumaz's term). In a way I hope that other developers see what's missing, as you have, and create their own games that go even farther. EDIT: One other thing you don't get from the video is that the main character is actually pretty funny and likable. He's a bad ass, but he doesn't take himself that seriously. It's kind of a change from the typical bombastic melodrama often associated with action games, and it's part of what makes Shadowgun feel like it's own thing and not a Gears clone.
Thanks for that squarezero. That is good to hear. We all appreciate your info. It takes some of the pain away from waiting
well yeah, explosion blast wave thingy is awesome looking, but it's just missing a couple of flames, i hope they eventually add something, but please don't remove that screen distortion ! looks fantastic, instant buy
Yeah, I was just about to say... that distortion shown when things do explode looks friggin AWESOME! Hope they do just add to that instead of changing it completely to some typical looking explosion.
Well, after all the hype, that video was a bit of a letdown. Ten minutes of a guy just running around a bunch of hallways dodging between and behind construction barriers isn't what I expected to see. ^_- As far as the cover is concerned (purely based on the video, which I acknowledge can't show everything), I'm not so fussed about it existing in the first place, but just feel it would have been better to have more of the cover formed out of environmental objects (e.g. an office full of desks with paper flying when they're shot, lab benches with breakable beakers, etc.), rather than literal barricades placed all the way through. If this is the case elsewhere in the game, though, do let me know. ^_^ I acknowledge that it's not really fair to expect Gears of War on an iPhone or even iPad, but when I think about what the former title offered in terms of varied gameplay and environments (the atmosphere in the mansion, or "staying in the light", for example), I can't help but wish this were a little closer to that. I'll wait for further objective feedback from people when the game comes out, though, and hopefully a look at the other gameplay styles included. Well, one of the major things the game will bring to the table is hard evidence that the graphics and gameplay for console-quality titles is achievable on iOS devices, which isn't something to be taken lightly. I also see it a bit like the first Assassin's Creed, which was a solid engine with a relatively weak, repetitive game attached to it. However, with the engine largely established, the design for the series could become focused primarily on gameplay, and the sequel expanded into the powerhouse that is Assassin's Creed II.
Gears of War (and Assasins Creed, for that matter) was an XBox360 title that sold originally for $60. It was developed with the combined resources of a successful developer and one of the largest technology companies in the world. Shadowgun is the product of a tiny Slovenian team with some help from Unity (I could be wrong about that). It was designed to be played on a portable platform and it will sell for less than $10. It obviously does fewer things than Gears of War, but what it does is well polished and a lot of fun. It is the equivalent of what in the PC/console world is called a "budget title"; in Hollywood they would call it a b-movie. You don't go to a b-movie expecting to see Transformers-level special effects. But you expect it to be well made and entertaining. Shadowgun is well made and very entertaining. To answer your specific questions, you do get to use walls and plated railings as covers. There are no "turned over desks," though, at least not so far. If that kills the game for you, well, that's pretty darned sad . BTW, the "hype" you speak of is based on a few guys playing the game and enjoying it way more than we expected. The quality of the graphics is no hype -- people were simply exited by what they saw on the preview videos.
Um, they've been making universal games since May? You make it sound like developers aren't talented enough to make games universal. It's all about the profit that two versions of the same game will bring in, nothing else. EA will probably never make a universal game. Doesn't seem like anyone cares though since more than a few of their games will always be in the top 25/100/200.
It has a story and actual characters. The plot is nothing original, but it's certainly competent, with well written (and pretty funny) dialogue.
