Since purchasing the iPad 2, I’ve been very excited to experience this game in particular. Gameloft released multiple trailers and teasers of this title, and it definitely piqued my interest quite a bit. The style of game play has taken a lot from Remedy Entertainment’s 2001 hit “Max Payne”, implementing bullet time and a great third person perspective. But does this game live up to the hype that followed its announcement? Let’s take a look.
Let’s start with the options presented to you upon loading the game. To begin with, you have your story mode. This is the game’s meat and potatoes. We’ll talk about that more in a minute. Next is multiplayer. In this mode, you can connect with other gamers by either online, local wifi, or bluetooth. This is also something we’ll get to in a bit. The options menu will let you do some interesting things. Since the iPhone 4 and ipad 2 come with full gyroscopes built in, you have the option to look around by tilting and moving your device for viewing your surroundings. There is also leveling and aim assist, which are great options for the casual player.
Starting the story mode, you find out that your name is John Kannon, A detective that is trying to put an end to the gang wars in his district. When you begin controlling Kannon, you get a small tutorial of the controls, which is normal for mobile OS games nowadays. This helps the user get used to the touch controls and learn how to run and take advantage of the bullet time option. The game doesn’t get deep into such things as warrants, judges, permission to enter, etc. You come in guns blazing, as every criminal in the district is out to kill you on sight, no questions asked. As shooters go, this one is pretty big on action, hardly giving you a chance to breathe between bullet showers.
As important as getting your bearings on shooting is, you also have to know your way around hand to hand combat. Sometimes you will encounter foes that are not armed, and will charge at you with fists drawn. When this happens, combat mode automatically trips on, and you have to touch certain areas of the screen at the right time, or you will not land a hit. This is a very interesting way of breaking up the monotony of a gun fight, and showing that cops can kick a little ass now and then. Should you lose the fight, however, you die. No bell to save you here.
With the multiplayer option, you get 3 modes to choose from. “Free For All” is a death match where anything goes and there are no alliances. You will start as a character of the game’s choosing, and when the countdown ends you are launched into a multiplayer blood bath. Next up is “Cops N’ Gangstas”, which is a team death match mode, putting you in the middle of the police vs gang war. Again, in this mode you have no control over what team you are on, or which character you play as. Last is the “Custom Game” option, which basically lets you create your own match for others to join. all modes can have players up to 12 at a time, and can get a little messy.
The graphics of 9mm are what I would describe as if the Playstation 2 had an hdmi output. The textures are crisp, the lighting and shadow effects are nice, and the overall look of it just screams “Rockstar Games”. Whether or not that’s what they were shooting for, that’s what they got. The feel of the game is definitely a mature one, with the blood, violence, language, and sexual themes, so don’t expect Angry Birds here. It’s not one of those “Here, son. Try this game” type of titles. The music is very heavy on hip hop, and it fits well with the theme of the game. The controls can be a bit of a hassle to get used to on a tablet, but should be just fine on a phone, as they will be closer together.
Overall, I would have to give this title a 7 out of 10 rating. It would be great if you could play your own music while taking out the baddies, The controls leave a bit to be desired, and the constant barrage of shooting can be a bit monotonous after a while. However, if you like Max Payne or the Grand Theft Auto series, give this one a buy. It is well worth the $6.99 price tag.
-Review by Tyson716
