Review: Predators - The Power Of Predator In Your Hands

Overview

We’ve heard about Predators for the iPhone for along time, and now the game by Angry Mob Games being published by Chillingo and Fox Digital Entertainment has finally arrived. We gave you a sneak peek at E3, and now that it’s finally arrived we find out that it’s a universal app with a native version for the iPhone and iPad. You play as Predator killing off the humans on your planet, and trying to rip the heads off the most dangerous humans in a storyline that is licensed from the movie.

Features

All of Predators weapons are at your disposal giving you the wrist blades, combi stick, shoulder laser cannon, net gun, and shooting discs. You also get the classic laser vision, and you can use the stealth generator. The game features 24 levels with each one providing a unique objective.

The Good

When you first open the game you're instantly thrown into the thick of it with all of Predator’s abilities and sheer power to wet your whistle. After a few minutes it devolves into level one which starts you back at square one introducing the control stick, and first action button. The levels progress at a wonderful pace to introduce the new abilities one by one which is absolutely essential with as many capabilities as Predator has. The difficulty curve is extremely well done so that any player is always challenged, but never overwhelmed despite the increasing difficulty of your opponents. The controls are set up so well it's absolutely effortless to pull of the various moves of Predator, and it really pipes all of that power into your fingertips. You truly feel what it's like to be one of the greatest hunters in the universe. This is one of the best experiences to be had on the idevice. It's so great hunting down the various humans always with a choice of how to kill them. You can slice them up with your wrist blades, or smack them around with your combi stick. You can shoot them with your shoulder laser cannon or your discs. You can even shoot them with a net to slice them up really well. If that wasn't enough there are the special moves which allow you to impale humans, and then depending on what button you tap you can go for the body split or the trophy kill. The trophy kill is the infamous ripping off the skull, and there are various combos you can enter for regular slicing and dicing. You can witness this in regular view, or you can turn on thermal view for a much clearer picture of your enemies in the dark or even the pouring rain. It wouldn't be Predator without the thermal vision, and you will need to use it wisely to survive, it's not just a gimmick thrown in. Finally there is stealth mode which allows you to sneak up on enemies, but be patient in your button presses to pull of the most stylish kills. Evoking any of these abilities is just a tap away with the brilliant controls. As you progress through the 24 levels you will need to use everyone of your abilities to simply survive with multiple humans on screen. The enemies get plenty tough with swordsmen, gunmen, and snipers with double digit numbers most of the time. To play through all 24 levels is a wonderful experience from start to end that will leave you completely satisfied. Crystal is also included to go for high scores and achievements adding a little incentive to replay certain levels. There is plenty of challenge so you'll no doubt be replaying multiple levels just in an effort to complete them. The game is nonstop fun from the opening sequence to the final battles, and you'll enjoy every step along the way. There is a wonderful balance of challenge and fun so there never is any negative emotions even when losing. This truly is what game playing is all about, and Angry Mob Games has delivered it amazingly well. Not only is the gameplay amazing, but so are the visuals from the various environments to all the action in the foreground. There is an absolute overload of blood soaking the jungle and desert floors that stays around quite awhile to show the damage you've done. Watching Predator in motion is a thing of beauty as he turns humans into blood squirting rag dolls with such precision. There are such great animations with the fluid swipes of the wrist blades and combi stick as blood splatters off to the sides. It's such an amazing sight to see all of the aspects from the Predator movies, from the thermal vision to the triangular locking target of the weapon system. Then the game zooms in on the special animations of ripping a body in two, or taking the head in Predator’s claws and holding it in the air screaming in victory. The sound effects and soundtrack are spot on from the blade slices to the gun fire of the humans. The entire game immerses you in the world of Predators like no other game has been able to immerse you in their environment. It's an amazing experience on the iPhone or iPad, and it even supports iOS 4 multitasking to never miss a beat in the game.

The Bad

There is very little to complain about, so it feels like grasping at straws when filling out this section. There is only one difficulty level so there is no incentive to replay the same levels or an option to make it easier for some players. The graphics could look a little better on the iPad version, but as an universal app I understand why there isn't a shift in perspective. The iPad version does offer far more detail of blood and guts. The game isn't extremely lengthy, but way more than you bargain for at $2.99.

The Verdict

Predators may be the best game available for the iPhone and iPad. It provides an amazingly enjoyable experience as you're immersed in the idea of being a Predator. Only a game executed so well in every aspect could provide such a connection, and such a great gaming experience regardless of the platform. This game truly pushes the bounds of what iPhone gaming is, and sets a new standard for all games to complete against. Many movie based games sell because of the movie, but this is one that easily stands alone, and I'm actually going to see the movie because of the enjoyment of the game. Predators is an absolute must for only $2.99 when it could easily go for double digits even in the current App Store economy. If you ever buy a game for your idevice Predators is the one to get.

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