For whatever reason, Android's high-performance
Native Development Kit introduced back in the
Cupcake days never got a ton of attention despite the subtle hints that it'd give devs the low-level access they needed to create killer, graphically rich, immersive environments ready to compete with pretty much any other gaming device you could shove in your pocket. Of course, at the time, every phone in the market was running an older, slower ARM11 core -- so maybe the new generation of ARMv7-based devices we've got hanging around now like the
Nexus One and
Droid are the catalysts we need to get this party started in earnest. Japan's HyperDevbox studio has just shared the news that its ExZeus Arcade shooter makes full use of the NDK, your microSD card, and a custom sound driver to bring a gaming experience hotter than pretty much anything we've seen on Android thus far; the only catch is that you need Android 2.0 or up and a phone with a dedicated GPU to get it going. It's available now in the Market for a seemingly reasonable $3.99 -- and let's let this serve as a reminder to other game studios that they've got the tools and the horsepower to rock Android hard. Follow the break for video of ExZeus in action.
posted March 4th 2010 6:39PM
Installing now...as for Evan...that is a great mentality to steal apps...that will def promote growth in the market! Spend the $4 and hopefully we will actually get some real games! Don't expect 3D gameloft apps to start appearing in the android market until games like this start making money!
The only sucking it will do is on your battery.
That's to be expected when you playing a whole hour of pure awesomeness!!!
These types of games on phones suck. There, I said it. You have to have a dpad at the very least, but even with Android's physical buttons it's not enough. If you want to play games on a portable device get a PSP or Game Boy.
That is all.
@sweet greggo
I should clarify: Visually they are impressive, you just can't play the damn things. I have a Pre and trying to use a virtual joystick and buttons is downright ridiculous. I've played games on friend's iPhones and it's not any better, even with the slightly bigger screen.
Puzzle games and whatnot for phones are great, but when you are playing something that requires precise control and timed actions, an actual gaming device is the only way to go.
@sweet greggo
same here , only the point'n'click adventures are great on touch devices, but my milestone is equipped with a d-pad, on the wrong side of course, but hey, at least a d-pad :)
All I need are emulators... and smooth flash for addictive games.
@TareG Well, they already have emulators for NES, SNES, Gameboy, Genesis, etc on the market. So have at 'em!
Love the Playstation 1-era aesthetics
Longest name for a download, EVER. File name is bigger than the content.
Phone games will always be phone games, want something better get an emulator or a dedicated portable.
OMG!!! I remember playing this at Dave&Busters all the time! LOL Imma get this game!
That game looks great, I most likely won't be downloading though. Touch games hurt my hands after a while, I can play casually but never for a long run.
What a total clone of Planet Harriers
Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXVbaWJbSKM
You know what? Thats totally OK. Planet Harriers was the best time ever. Four bucks? As soon as my milestone arrives, I'm buying this. done.
wait, where are all the posts crying about the lack of physical buttons and how gaming is always going to suck on a touchscreen phone, etc. etc?!? ohhhh, this post isn't about the iphone, and all the anti-apple spammers aren't here running their mouths?
that said, looks like a sweet game, and i'd like to see a similar game for my iphone (and these graphics are nothing the iphone can't handle). the only shame for android fans is having to worry about "this app requires Android x.x.x" (since all android phones don't automatically get the same updates) and "this app requires this or that" (such as the dedicated graphics chip required for this game to run). I guess it's a good thing the mainstream is pretty soundly rejecting Android, because most people I know would be pretty pissed having to check the specs on their phone before downloading apps. Apple makes it easy by updating every iphone to the same version.
nice to see android get some decent games.... now they just need to clean up that sharsty UI and fix all the bugs and hardware issues and they'll uh... still be in the situation of mixed hardware and software compatibility. but it's a start!
@BigFatDuck
That, and, Android phones HAVE physical buttons.
@BigFatDuck : the only shame for iPhone fans is having to worry about upgrading to a new phone for video recording
@BigFatDuck
I stand by my opinion that gaming will always suck on a touchscreen only device... thankfully most android phones aren't touchscreen only devices.
Good game, think I'll keep it!
Confused on one thing. Why does it need access to phone calls. I understand the read phone state, to know when a phone call is coming in, but why the identity?
@SeasonFries So the game knows to put itself in standby when you get a call. Smartphones are phones first. Gaming is a tertiary function.
The game looks great and all, and I would buy it, if only I could.
Paid apps are not available for all countries it seems...
Downloaded it, played it for about 20 mins, then got my refund. Love the graphics and concept, but the controls are insanely difficult. Now I pretty much mastered the controls but to dodge enemies is pretty much impossible, and I blame that on size of the screen mixed with tilt up, down, right, left functionality. Love the idea but honestly hated playing it. Also I read some people want a lite version before they buy... every paid app/game has a 24 hour refund period.
I have absolutely ZERO faith that the Android is ever going to get a fraction of the games that are available on the iPhone.
Sorry, Google, but you f*cked up... you let the market get splintered and no game developer is going to waste their time making 1/2 dozen versions of their game to run on Android's myriad combinations of hardware and OS. Also not mandating a certain level of physical buttons to Android's gaming capabilities doesn't help either.
And you guys can downgrade me all you want, but that's the truth, and it's a shame because I am still planning on getting an Android for my next phone, but I am seeing less and less potential with Android since apparently Google doesn't want to step-up and herd it's phone-makers.
I actually see more gaming potential with Microsoft's next-gen WinMo7 phones because it appears that they will only have 3 or so different varieties of phone hardware. That is a very smart move.
the only thing I deciphered from the title was that it had deus ex in it :/
I was playing with their other game cupid which while cutesy is a really well made game. ExZeus is a great game. The graphics and sound are some of the best from Android. I have no problems playing this game and the controls are pretty intuitive using the accelerometer. My only gripe is I wish there was an easy level because the game is pretty darn challenging.
I just comes to show that yes, developers can make some kick as game for the android platform and make it a real hit for a bargain price compared to some of the really crappy games from game loft which are pretty expensive for what they are.
Just bought this on Market for my N1..A great looking, great performing game. Hope to see more like it once the gears get moving in the development department for Android.
Im so proud of all of you for not resorting to the old "LOLZ IT LOOKS BETTER THAN THE WII" joke
@Karate Tortoise
Well actually it is looking better than on a wii... and it loads faster too
I wonder if this will work on my droid eris?
looks like typical style over substance garbage to me
you wanna make a good game, take in to account the type of device you're making it for
throw away anything requiring speed or accuracy if you're making a game for a phone and you'll end up with something actually playable and possible enjoyable
throw away 3d and you'll end up with something much easier on the eyes
This game is available for weeks already (First it was Droid/Milestone only, a later revision added the Nexus One)
I´m absolutely not into shooters but I bought the game just to support the effort.
Downloaded this last night. What a fantastic game! I gotta say HyperDevBox has done one of the best things EVER with this game given the tilt controls.
Every time you play it, you have the option to calibrate the tilt sensor. No matter how you're sitting (laying?) you can dial in the tilt controls to something comfortable that you can still see. Sensitivity is also tweakable. While there are some who will never be happy with tilt controls, I think Hyper has made a very good effort to make them very tolerable with the calibration options.
Again, it's great fun, highly recommended. (Nexus One, 2.1 stock rooted ERE27)
freakin' amazin'