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Brothers in Arms: Hour of Heroes impresses as an iPhone shooter


Here we go -- Doom on the jailbreak aside, the iPhone hasn't really had a nice example of shooter gameplay, though Brothers in Arms: Hour of Heroes (iTunes link) seems like it might be the breakout. It's made by Gameloft, who've been making mobile games for a while now, but the good news is that it doesn't look like a mobile game at all. The graphics are 3D and vibrant, and the sounds are very impressive. The control scheme is interesting -- it's more of a third person shooter, as you use the lower left wheel to move your character, and you can use the touchscreen to move the aiming reticule (seems like there's a little autoaim help in there as well). There are even cutscenes, multiple weapons to choose from, vehicles to drive, and a cover system (though there kind of has to be, with aiming that slow in places).

Still, very impressive for an iPhone game, and a very good bar-setter for the first major shooter we've seen on the platform. As you might expect, this isn't going to be cheap -- it's $9.99 in the App Store, and while this would be the perfect title for a demo (how else do you expect to sell a $10 app?), there's not one to be found at all. Still, if there's going to be such a thing as a premium game on the iPhone, this is probably it. For all of the colorful little puzzle and wordplay games on the iPhone, sometimes you just want to shoot some Nazis.

Here we go -- Doom on the jailbreak aside, the iPhone hasn't really had a nice example of shooter gameplay, though Brothers in Arms: Hour...
 

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jason

Im also having trouble throwing the smoke grenade in the cloud dagger level. Did anybody figure this out? Must be a bug in the app.

December 23 2008 at 11:38 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Jared

I have the same trouble than Edward. I try EVERYTHING but i can't through away the smoke signal. ANYONE KNOWS SOMETHING??????
PLEASE!!!!

December 14 2008 at 11:33 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Deranged

This does look pretty impressive, and I am always on the look for new application that will attract my eye. Even willing to pay for it this time.

December 06 2008 at 12:06 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Mason Cantar

I'd just like to reiterate what Noah said, as I was thinking the exact same thing as I read the article.

One word: Cube(iTunes link)

Cube is a free game engine available for Mac, Windows, Linux, and of course now the iPhone (as of mid-November). Cube is open-source and has many game variants, the basic of which is you fighting monsters. That's the only version available for the iPhone. I have a version called AssaultCube that is with realistic weapons and terrorists on my Mac.

Cube Engine website: http://cubeengine.com/
AssaultCube website: http://assault.cubers.net/

December 06 2008 at 6:08 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
edward

anyone know how to throw a grenade correctly. i keep getting stuck on the intro level when you have to throw the grenade, but the target is further away then my range will allow. Same problem on the first level when trying to set the smoke signal.

December 06 2008 at 2:43 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
artful dodger

For those having problems on jailbroken phones. Set permissions to 755 recursively on the folder which holds the game.

I find the black screen hangs for about 10 secs then the game loads up. But first I either have to put the iphone into safe mode via sbs settings or un-check everything in winterboard. Seems like a RAM issue to me.

December 05 2008 at 7:19 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
mark

Gameloft, test your ***** before SELLING it on the app store! I don't like being a $10 guinea pig for you!!! All I get is a splash screen and then crash.

December 04 2008 at 6:40 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Noah

Great, except for the fact that Cube was the first major shooter for the iPhone. It also does not look like a mobile game, in fact it's a direct port from the PC/Mac version, and the accelerometer control scheme is fantastic if you are able to sit down and stay still. It also is really good for aiming with some practice. This looks like a fantastic game, but get off of the game developer's teat and actually look at what's offered in the store. Cube is free, has multiple maps, and looks fantastic. Also, I've been playing 4-player free-for-all on my school's wifi with people who have iPhones and iTouches and Cube, so the multiplayer works great.

December 04 2008 at 6:30 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Libwolf

guilt+1, Chaseskip -

I'm having the same problem with my 2.2 jail-broken touch.

December 04 2008 at 5:40 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Ronald Distor

It looks a lot like the Nintendo DS Brothers in Arms game, which I think is also developed by GameLoft. I'm not too sure, thoug.

December 04 2008 at 5:28 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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