Enjoy Gesture-Based Combat In The Gorgeous Shooter, EPOCH
EPOCH. ($5.99) by Uppercut Games Pty Ltd is a futuristic combat shooter for iOS in which you're a robot fighting to survive. It's an all out robot war in this post-apocalyptic era where only robots have survived and are fighting for their lives. You're looking for the person you were initially sent to protect.
Collect pieces of the puzzle, blow up your enemies, and, at the end of each stage, scrap what you can from the remains of those you've demolished and add to your own equipment to become a better fighter.
The gesture-based movement is flawless: swipe right or left to roll on the ground in that direction, avoiding the incoming fire. Swipe down to take cover and, while hidden, you can swipe down again to reload while you wait to safely come back out and open fire on your enemies. To come out from cover, just swipe up on the screen.
To fire back at your enemies, all you do is tap them once and you will automatically fire at them until they die. You will automatically reload your weapon, but it's still best to do so once you've taken cover as you are vulnerable while reloading. On the bright side, your enemies are vulnerable when reloading, as well — so, make it a point to attack them while they're doing so.
Initially, you just have to deal with normal fire, but then it gets ugly: grenades, lasers, and other threats will be thrown at you repeatedly.
Along the way you will collect intel — mostly logs from the different characters — to finally figure out who you're meant to protect. You will also collect scrap parts from your fallen enemies to add to your armor and give you more special abilities and attacks.
This game is a bit repetitive in that you spend all of your time moving back and forth to avoid fire, shooting, and reloading. You don't get to freely explore, which is kind of a bummer. However, the graphics are truly stunning; it definitely keeps you engaged and is easy to pick up and play.
EPOCH is a universal app and is available in the App Store for $5.99. It has Game Center support and is worth the price if you don't mind the repetitive gameplay.
What it lacks in replay ability, it does make up for with the intuitive controls and stunning visuals. I liked the game a lot, but until there is a bit more depth — perhaps some multiplayer action? — it's a bit pricey. I'd wait for a sale to try this game out unless you think the visuals and gesture controls alone are worth it.
