Gameloft has released the latest installment in their first-person combat shooter. While Modern Combat: Fallen Nation doesn't feel as revolutionary as when Sandstorm first came out for the iPhone, it easily stakes its claim as one of the best FPS titles on mobile today.
In the game, you find America under attack. Korea, Pakistan and Russia have banded together to stage an invasion on American cities. You're thrust right in the middle of quelling the attacking forces.
MC3's single player campaign has 13 missions spread across 13 countries that you can play at four levels of difficulty. You get a variety of vehicles and weapons throughout the battles, with plenty of cut scenes between fights to move the storyline along. The graphics are smooth with plenty of details at every level, easily eclipsing all the previous Modern Combat games on the iPhone. While there are three preset control options, we recommend adjusting each one individually (both position and sensitivity can be changed).
Like other FPS titles, of course, the highlight remains in the multiplayer mode, which offers local play over WiFi or online through Gameloft Live (no more Bluetooth option). Each game can support up to 12 participants battling in one of six large maps. There are 7 multi-player games available: Battle, Team Battle, Capture the Flag, Defuse the Bomb, Manhunt, Zone Control and Destruction. Each game has a list of challenges to complete (e.g. getting a certain number of headshots, a required numbers of kills, etc.) beyond the main objective, which gains you experience points that you'll need to attain a higher rank.
As expected, there's a diverse arsenal of weapons to choose from, along with equipment like sensors to detect enemy position, radar jammers to counteract those sensors and camouflage to avoid satellite scans. There are also numerous attachments you can attach to your guns, like thermal scopes and red dot sights. Weapons are unlocked according to your character's level, though, with in-game currency only good for buying ammo and attachments.
If you loved the previous installments, there's no reason you won't end up wasting days' worth of time on MC3: Fallen Nation. It's easily the best of the series, especially with the expanded multiplayer option. Price is $6.99.
[iTunes]
