London 2012, from developer and publisher Neowiz, is more than just
another sports game app. It’s the one and the only officially
authorized mobile game dedicated to celebrating and experiencing the
2012 London Olympics.
With the honor of being officially affiliated with the greatest
athletics event worldwide, this little app has a great deal to live up
to. Each and every user who downloads it is going to have high
expectations for the game that bears the responsibility of representing
the Olympics on mobile devices everywhere. London 2012 lives up to those
standards and then some. Players create their own athlete avatar (they
can save up to three characters at a time) and develop them through
training, set records, and face off against their Facebook friends.
One example of the game’s exceptional design is the control
system. When your athlete competes, accelerating, completing event
requirements, and other athletic activities are achieved through a very
simple, very easy to learn rhythm based control system. For example,
when running or swimming, two indicators appear on each side of the
screen. To move forward, they need to be tapped alternately; for me,
using my thumbs was most comfortable. Right, left, right, left. Your
athlete goes faster as you manage to tap faster—but you have to keep
that perfect right-left-right-left going. Two taps in a row or two taps
at the same time equal your athlete falling, stumbling, or otherwise
faltering and losing the lead.
Learning how to play is effortless, racking up wins is another
matter. There are three modes of play: Training, Olympic, and Challenge,
and each are played similarly but have different goals. Training helps
develop your athlete’s stats, and helps you level. Olympic and Challenge
modes earn coins (and medals and bragging rights). For each event,
you’ll have to use “stamina,” an in-game energy currency that
regenerates over time, with the exception of training. You have the
option to train without using stamina, but you won’t receive the same
stat improvements and level progressions. Olympic events represent the
actual Olympic competitions and give you the opportunity to go for the
gold; Challenge events pose a specific goal oriented challenge (complete
the 100 meter dash in less than XX seconds, for example); you can also
compete against your Facebook contacts.
Visually, the game isn’t aiming for uber-realism. Instead, it’s a
colorful, 3D animated cartoon-style affair with great character design
and representations of the real London venues. Speaking of character
design, one of the game’s finest features is the ability to express
yourself by customizing your avatar. You can choose from a wide variety
of countries to represent, ethnicities, face types, hair types, and
more. Of course, you can also choose to be male or female. Add that to
the fact that you can use your coins in the shop to customize your
personal gear, and the combinations are endless. The game’s audio
includes all of the announcer narrative, crowd cheering, and applause
you’d want in an upbeat Olympic-themed game.
The premium version is available for download now in the
iTunes App Store for $2.99; plus, there’s
a free version available.
The main benefit of the paid version is the healthy budget of coins you
have in your bank right off the bat. London 2012 is a great way to
participate in Olympic fever. It’s challenging enough to appeal to
those who play sports games year-round, and it’s just as fun for the
casual player.
0 comments:
Post a Comment