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Game Title: IronFall Invasion
Platform: Nintendo 3DS EShop
Developer: VD-Dev
Publisher: VD-Dev
Genre: Third Person Shooter
Age Rating: PEGI: 12+ (Europe)
Release Date: 13th February 2015 (Europe)
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Game Score: 8.0/10
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Summery:
IronFall takes Gears of War onto the 3DS very well thanks to it's sweet presentation and entertaining gameplay modes.
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Since the 2013 tech demo showcase IronFall Invasion demonstrated the graphical capabilities of what the Nintendo 3DS can do and it certainly looked impressive, something that a three man company would not be able to pull off impressively. After what seems to be a missed promise of a 2014 release we finally get the anticipated release of the game this year with a solid single player and multiplayer component on top of gameplay features that takes advantage of the NEW Nintendo 3DS models.
IronFall's single player story follows Jim and his allies as they fighting off an invasion from an enemy force known as Dyxide that are swarming the earth. The main characters do pick up some of the pieces that explain the true nature of the invasion whilst giving out some lines of cheesy dialogue every now and then during gameplay and the cutscenes. The campaign is divided between 11 stages each involving shoot outs against enemies and advancing onward when the area is clear. This is nothing entirely new for the genre that but IronFall manages to add some puzzle sequences which make use of the touch screen capabilities and helps break up from the shooting segments. The puzzle elements involve mixing and matching pieces, moving fuel canisters using a crane to balance the containment and one where you need to memorize the order of buttons to defuse the bomb, they all work well once you know how to handle each of them.
What is important for anyone to know about IronFall's gameplay is that in reality it is just a Gears of War style third person shooter on a handheld and you would be right, however there is more to this game then what would say from a different point of view. The game has multiple control options, you can play using the touch screen stylus much similarly to DS shooters like Metroid Prime Hunters or Dementium or you can use the Circle Pad Pro and make use of the dual sticks for movement and aiming to play like the consoles. You can also play the game on Nintendo's NEW 3DS models which takes advantage of the small c-stick which can be used for turning and aiming. However using the Circle Pad Pro or the NEW 3DS C-Stick requires time to get used to even if you are familiar with Gears of War style controls aiming can feel rather sluggish. As for playing the game with Stylus setup the Circle Pad controls your character's movement while sliding the Stylus on the touch screen handles your aiming and turning. You can take cover behind a wall by using the B button or the bottom right of the Touch Screen and can leave from it by using the Circle Pad. Pressing Left or Right on the D-pad switches weapons as well as using the arrows on the Touch Screen. You can activate Aiming Mode using the Up button on the D-pad as well as the top right corner on the Touch Screen which lets you zoom in onto a target plus you can immediately shoot from cover and take cover by holding and releasing the L button which not only fires weapons but also activities switches that you need to use occasionally. Also worth noting is that there is snap to system where activating Aiming Mode locks you to the nearest target which is helpful. Pressing down on the D-pad or pressing the icon on the top left side of the Touch Screen reloads the currently selected gun and just like with Gears of War pressing the reload button at the right time gives you a clip boost instead of a damage bonus in Gears. Finally double tapping up on the Circle Pad makes you sprint whilst double tapping down does a 180 turn but you have to be very careful with it especially if you are in a tight battle and need to retreat, if you need to pull back you might double tap accidentally which could get you killed. While pretty much the entire mechanics of Gears of War are present here besides rolling and switching between cover spots but you cannot argue that the developers have managed to pull off and they have kept the gameplay that Gears of War an excellent game series from the cover system, the behind the shoulder camera view when aiming but not including chainsaw assault rifles. The overall gameplay from shooting, taking cover to reloading a weapon is quite impressive for how it is translated onto a handheld game, the enemy A.I is almost sharp because they can use cover and can also come to your hiding position in different corners to ambush you. Some of the challenge will come from looking carefully at different enemy types and using the right weapon to dispatch them, you have the regular drones that use guns but you will have to fight against small flying robots, small insects that are in a large group and they can explode and mech armour which has powerful gatling guns. The game will prove to be a challenge even on the easiest settings because at later portions plenty of strong enemies that may gain an advantage over you, and sometimes you can get a group of enemies appearing on you without warning.
What is unique is the health system, yes it works the same way as shooters today with health regenerating but IronFall makes a small change to it. Your health is displayed as a heart rate sensor, it starts out beating normally but as you take damage the heart beat increases and if it reaches red you will die. The heart beat also increases when you are sprinting and if you take damage while sprinting it will lead to an easy death, it is best to only sprint when the area looks safe. You can restore the heart beat by staying out of fire for a few seconds but you can recover faster by staying in cover. This health system forces players to act more strategic in each area, use cover and avoid sprinting most of the time.
You start the game off with an assault rifle and a small pistol but as you go through the game you will eventually get other weapons like the botgun, shotgun, grenade launcher, sniper rifle and rocket launcher. It might be worth noting that the shotgun, sniper rifle and rocket launcher acts as mods for the assault rifle which is a bit weird. You will find the assault rifle, rocket launcher, sniper rifle and grenade launcher to be the most useful in the game. Most of the single player game is played as Jim but there are segments where you take control of his partner Samantha. She only carries a pistol which makes her ill-equipped to deal with the enemies she faces, it will make you wish she could arm herself with a more reasonable weapon. This will mean having to struggle with a lot of tough parts that you are not prepared for like having multiple units ambush you and you will be forced to look for refill boxes whenever possible. Dispute the small setbacks the single player Campaign it is an enjoyable mode that lasts a few hours.
Most of IronFall's gameplay translates into the competitive multiplayer mode, you can play locally or online with up to 6 players. You have simple free-for-all deathmatches or you can go for team based matches such as 2 teams of 2, 3 teams of 2 or 3 teams of 3 and 7 different arenas to fight in which is very minimal. The multiplayer game modes are enjoyable as they are, there is always different places to surprise other players to draw them out of their hiding spots and you will have to get used to everyone racking up kills using explosive weaponry at the start of the match. Players have the option to play online competitive or with people in your friends list and also there is a bet system in place in which the winner supposedly wins some of the players credits. However players online tend to spend time on quick online matches without betting and this may not be a huge deal because while you can earn credits so that you can advance in rank but it really doesn't anything. On top of the multiplayer maps you do have a survival mode where you fight off against waves of Dyxide enemies till the time runs out and there is also a challenge mode where you need to complete each level under various conditions. As much the multiplayer modes are fun but however it is strange that the ammunition you can carry is very low compared to the single player in which you can carry more then plenty but like in the single player there are ammo boxes placed throughout each map, regardless they are still enjoyable modes. It can get really tense in multiplayer because some players will be strafing around their opponents but if don't want to relay on aiming mode and cover there is a targeting reticule to help you aim at an enemy which is something Gears of War nor it's wannabe titles never had.
The great thing about this game is that it is possible to download for free and purchase either single player and multiplayer modes separately or together in a single package much like Steel Diver Sub Wars. It allows you to get a feel of the game before buying the full experience. You can download any one of the two modes for￡9.99 each or purchasing the two modes together for ￡17.98 which as a bonus will give you the jukebox and the HR Pistol which is a good deal.
From what the small development team has managed to do with the graphics engine is what needs to be looked at in real time to believe, IronFall is one of the most impressive graphical leaps for the system much like Zelda 3DS remasters and Resident Evil Revelations. Each environment is filled with static and dynamic lighting, shadow placing, reflective details on both the environments and character models, nice explosions with impressive physics and voice syncing during the cutscenes. With a lot of details and chaos happening on screen it is impressive to see that the game manages to run very smoothly at 60 FPS which is an outstanding achievement. That is when the game is running with the 3D effect off, with the 3D effect on it looks good but the frame rate is decreased to 30 so it is honestly preferable to play the game with the 3D off to truly experience the smoothness that this game has. The soundtrack composed by Pirerre Gerwig Langer, Paul Houseman and Pawel Blaszczak are quite good with great melodies, upbeats and frantic tunes that do suit the intense action. Much of the sound effects are appropriate but the voice acting is quite rough on top of the cheesy dialogue.
The minimal multiplayer modes can be forgiven for the enjoyable gameplay which should be familiar to those who have played Gears of War and some of it's knock off titles. For newcomers it will take an hour of game time to get a grasp of the game controls and mechanics but however it does become enjoyable online regardless. It's presentation is what makes IronFall Invasion stands out, while it showcases what the Nintendo 3DS can do it can also encourage the game developers that it is possible to deliver a very solid shooter with the right tools on the system which is very lacking in that regard. You can download the game and try the game out for free and purchase the entire content when you think you can tackle the invasion. Whether you prefer to play with Stylus Controls, Circle Pad Pro or the NEW Nintendo 3DS C-Sticks IronFall Invasion delivers on its merits as a solid shooter and takes Gears of War style gameplay onto the 3DS very well thanks to it's sweet presentation and entertaining gameplay modes.
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The Good Points:
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1. Outstanding graphics and presentation and the game runs smoothly at 60 FPS with the 3D off
2. Unique health system
3. Carries the Gears of War gameplay impressively
4. Multiple control options like the stylus, circle pad pro and the c-stick on the NEW 3DS models
5. You can try the game for free before purchasing the entire game
The Bad Points:
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1. Minimal Multiplayer content
2. Samantha could have at least armed herself with better weapons
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Reviewed by: Anthony Hayball (AQWBlaZer91)
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