Fire Ball Evolution

The Dark Knight Rises For iOS/Android (Iphone/Ipad/Ipod) (Mali GPU/ARMv6/Powervr/ARMv7/Nvidia)

2012-12-24T04:35:00.001-08:00

The Dark Knight Rises’ story is based roughly on the events that happen in the movie. It goes without saying then that you should have watched the movie in advance or this game will spoil some key events for you. However, the game takes some liberties with the story, by adding several extra events that never take place in the movie, which is understandable because this is a game after all and there should be something extra for you to do.

The Dark Knight Rises is split up in several chapters and in each chapter you have multiple missions. The game rushes through the story of the movie in the first couple of chapters and then stretches out the last section of the movie over several chapters. This is understandable as very little actually happens in the first half of the movie that could have been adapted for the game.

For each chapter you get the objective on the screen and then you have to reach there and do whatever it is you have to do in that mission. In the early missions you will find yourself freeing hostages, disarming bombs and hacking into switches. The hacking involves solving a puzzle, where you have to align all pieces before the timer runs out, although there is no real penalty for missing the mark and you just have to start again.

The combat mechanics are also the same. You keep mashing a button on screen to punch your enemies and Batman keeps rotating between various attacks until the enemy is down. After that you switch over to the next enemy, then rinse and repeat. This game also borrows the block mechanism from the other Batman games, whereby you will get an indicator on the screen when an enemy is trying to attack you while you are engaging another enemy. Pressing the button causes Batman to switch focus and block as well as attack the other guy who tried to hit you. You even get the same slow motion finishing moves, but this time it’s for every enemy instead of for just the last one in the group

There are some stealth mechanics as well. You can stand on a platform above an enemy and take him down with one key. Similarly, you can sneak up behind enemies and take them down. This rarely works, however, as somehow the enemies telepathically become aware of your presence around them and make stealth take-down impossible, with you eventually having to resort to good ol’ fashioned punching to take care of things.

The Amazing Spider Man iOS/Android (Iphone/Ipad/Ipod) (Mali GPU/ARMv6/ARMv7/Nvidia)

2012-12-23T02:33:00.001-08:00

Similar to the film, The Amazing Spider-Man throws the web-slinging superhero into New York City, where he battles the Lizard. In this case, though, players are free to do whatever they wish and explore the Big Apple, making stops in the financial district, Central Park, Times Square and other well-known locations while completing side missions that generally amount to pummeling thugs and searching for hidden collectibles scattered throughout the many skyscrapers.
To that end, Gameloft attempted to capture the feel of Activision's older Spider-Man titles, specifically the rush that comes from flying from one building to the next several hundred feet above the ground. With this, the publisher succeeded to a degree, as we had some fun plummeting to the street, only to tap the virtual button at the last possible moment to watch web head take flight.
At the same time, this is where those aforementioned glitches crop up. Web slinging should be a smooth and responsive experience, but it's anything but, as we press the button, only to watch as the game fails to read our actions.

For Mali GPU:

For iPhone/iPod/iPad:

Gangstar Rio For Android-Ios

2012-12-23T01:45:00.001-08:00

Rockstar Games' sandbox-style action games are so prominent in popular culture, I find it difficult to avoid comparing similar games to such Rockstar titles as Grand Theft Auto IV and Red Dead Redemption. So, this is a plea for forgiveness.
Gameloft's latest iOS game, Gangstar Rio: City of Saints, centers on a high-profile gang member named Raul, whose career takes a turn for the worse after an explosion. In a fashion like Niko Bellic, he starts a new life of crime yet hunts down the suspects of his deadly past. Hot pursuit abound in this revenge tale.
Set in Rio de Janeiro, the game strives for Rockstar status, but it's missing some blood and guts. You could point to the limitations of the iPad, or you could be a little harsher.

Gangstar Rio definitely has potential. In a sandbox-environment, you pound the streets and shadows of Rio, scoring cash, respect and bombastic weapons as you complete side jobs and story quests; the map is small, but it has distinctions and personalities. Bikini-clad babes walk on the beach. "Idiots" hang around the strip club and basketball courts. Vehicles big and small fill out the roads.
With a GTA overlay, the missions center on blowing up things, whacking some important gangsters, or digging up more info on your accident, a botched assassination attempt on your life. My favorite mission is "Dusk of the Dead," in which Raul, hired as a stuntman for a zombie TV show, is tasked with blowing up a moving train as he drives a motorcycle and shoots with an automatic handgun. In another mission, you rob a bank and escape via helicopter, flying high above Rio, and seeing this amazing figure ...
As you complete missions, including the aforementioned, you will transform from a shirtless, baldheaded, gun-toting meathead, to a suave soldier of fortune, more respected than your former life. Gun shops and clothing stores are dotted throughout the map. In fact, in the gun shop, you can pay $50,000 to skip a mission. That's not an option for badasses, is it? Still, it's unique to games of this type.
Several of Gangster Rio's missions require time-sensitive driving, which you control by tilting your iPad left or right, or pressing buttons on screen (depends on your option). There are several vehicles, including mopeds, crotch rockets, ambulances and "Crapos," all of which have eclectic radio stations. If you're feeling saucy, you can drive any of those into the ocean, which you can also swim in.
The driving schema didn't bother me, but the non-playable drivers did. Whether they're riding a freeway or a side street, they drive so slow that I can sprint to them and oust the driver. In one instance, I sprinted three blocks and caught up with a motorcycle, gunning down the driver. I suspect all drivers act this way so you can hijack their vehicle.
Besides weird drivers, my other problem with the game is the voice acting. It's very robotic and monotonous, as if someone wrote the script on my Mac's speech program. I get that the characters are speaking English as a second language, but they simply sound too fake. I would rather read subtitles in English and hear the voices in Portuguese.
Overall, Gangstar Rio comes off as a driving game spiced with some shootouts and explosions. It's definitely gangster, despite having stupid drivers and seriously broken English. Here's hoping this inspires Grand Theft Auto: Rio de Janeiro.