If you think your iPhone or iPad needs more Gears of War, then pay attention this September 28 when Madfinger brings Shadowgun to the App Store. As bounty hunter John Slade, you pick up your sidearm and forage forth into a guarded mountain fortress to take out Doctor Edgar Simon. As you can guess, it won’t be easy; like every good medical professional, he is surrounded by angry mutants, violent cyborgs and other nasty, heavily-armed guards of different types.
The game has been compared to Gears of War because of the tactical third-person shooting system, not to mention the lush but gritty graphics and the defensive cover system. It’s not the first time a publisher has tried to bring a shooter inspired by a runaway hit onto iOS (not just Gears of War, either… but Halo and other similar shooter mainstays). It’s a difficult task, given that shooters are a style of gaming that touchscreens struggle with. Even so, Madfinger has a reputation for detail with previous titles like Samurai 2: Vengeance and are certainly giving this title their all.
I’ve personally found that shooters struggle on iOS mainly because of an antiquated design philosophy which relies on using traditional D-Pad movement/shooting systems, thus requiring you to remember where your fingers are supposed to be and keeping track of whether or not they’re drifting off the D-Pad “area” when the action heats up. I hold high hopes for Shadowgun and look forward to seeing whether they’ve managed to come up with a better approach… or at least enjoy being shot to death while saying “oooo pretty”.
Source: Pocketgamer
