Daily iPhone App: Shadowgun
I was a pretty big fan of Madfinger Games' Samurai II: Vengeance -- it had some solid gameplay, but the really amazing thing about the title was the way it looked. Samurai II offered great art and smart graphics programming. Now, Madfinger has turned their graphical expertise to the third-person shooter genre, and the impressive result is Shadowgun, now available on the App Store.
Like Samurai II: Vengeance, this game is quite an achievement: The graphics look just incredible. A lot of people are throwing around the term "console quality" in regards to mobile games, referring to the graphical level of Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3, and while Madfinger's developers didn't hit that mark, they got very close. The cutscenes, the characters, and the environments all look terrific.
The gameplay itself is very much inspired by shooters like Gears of War, complete with a simple cover system. The animation is a little off at times, and the writing is not too great, but still, this is an excellent game. If Madfinger gets their due, it should be a showcase for the platform in terms of what it can do.
The campaign will last you around six hours. There's no multiplayer mode, though Madfinger promises there is more Shadowgun coming in some form. The game is US$7.99 right now for a universal version, which is pricier than simpler. Still, that's much less than you'd pay for a full console game, and this is a solid title for sure. Madfinger really put their best into this one in terms of graphics and performance, and it shows.
