Mass Effect for the iPhone/iPod Touch!!

arta · Jun 3, 2009

http://wireless.ign.com/articles/989/989793p1.html

June 2, 2009 - At Electronic Arts' cavernous E3 booth (really, you cannot see the rest of the South hall from inside of it), EA Mobile is showing off Mass Effect Galaxy for the iPhone. As noted in our original preview of the game, Mass Effect Galaxy is neither a stab at porting the original game, nor is it even an RPG. Galaxy is a narrative-driven action game that tells the story of Jacob, a character from the upcoming epic Mass Effect 2. Previously, screenshots gave a good guess at how the game controlled via the touch screen. However, hands-on at the EA booth tells the rest of the tale.

Mass Effect Galaxy is a screen-by-screen shooter that will remind old school gamers right away of the classic arcade game Smash TV. Each screen is full of enemies that must be dispatched before an exit to the next area aboard the massive Citadel space station opens. To move Jacob, you tilt the iPhone in the direction you want to run. To target an enemy, you tap it. Now, Jacob will auto-target that enemy until it is either dead or a new foe is tapped. Jacob automatically fires his normal weapon, but you have a handful of special attacks, access by touching virtual buttons on the right side of the screen.

A heavy blast is good for smashing through tougher enemies. The biotic attack unleashes a tech-magic blast. The anti-shield attack removes the shields of a troublesome enemy. After using one of these specials, you must wait until the meter around it refills before deploying it again.

Jacob is controlled by tilt.

Because this is a Mass Effect game, story is a critical element. The story in Mass Effect Galaxy is pushed along through a series of conversations Jacob has with other denizens of the Citadel. There are no spider-like dialog trees. Instead, Jacob usually has two different responses to each branch in a conversation. The different responses are selected from a movable menu along the right side of the screen. You just scroll through it by sliding your finger up and down the screen.

Now, is this the Mass Effect game that fans are hoping for? It depends on expectations. If you go into Galaxy looking for a deep RPG like the one you played through four times to get all of the achievements, you may be disappointed. This is most certainly an action game -- and it comes across as a pretty arcade-like action game at that. So, do yourself a big favor and adjust those hopes. As a big Mass Effect fan, I'm curious to explore more of Jacob's story and see how it serves to either link the two console games or at least set up Mass Effect 2.

Mass Effect Galaxy is close to completion, so look for it in the App Store in the next couple months.
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arta · Jun 3, 2009

Mass Effect for the iPhone/iPod Touch!!

arta Well-Known Member

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Mass Effect for the iPhone/iPod Touch!!

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