Microsoft ’s kinder , gentler turn in recent month has visualise the fellowship lend many of its familiar apps to other program , with robust versions of Officeand Outlook lead the tutelage to the iOS App Store . Still , none of the prior releases surprised me half as much as last workweek ’s sudden announcement that Microsoft had shed not one , but two iOS game in the massively popular Halo sci - fi shooter series .
Maybe it ’s because of the incredible importance set upon exclusives in the gaming world . Exclusive software is used to sell hardware outside of games , of course of instruction , but with game you have fictitious character and stories , and trueexperiencesthat you come to love and even align yourself with . It ’s part of the rationality why gamers can be so brazenly fanatical about their platforms and franchises of choice : Exclusive game are the most hefty weapon available for console Creator .
finally , however , business organization realities make headway out . Sega ’s Sonic the Hedgehog end up appearing on Nintendo weapons platform year after the heated 16 - bit contention , and now Nintendo is working onbringing its own dear franchisesto smartphones and tablets . And with Microsoft expand its direction beyond its own computer hardware , we now have bothHalo : Spartan AssaultandHalo : Spartan Strikeon iPhone and iPad , although neither tight resemble the frantic , multiplayer - centrical first - mortal shooters that have helped define the Xbox experience .
Why, Halo there
Halo : Spartan Assault originally launched in 2013 for Windows 8 and Windows Phone before remove Xbox consoles , and it depicts result that take place between the massively successful Halo 3 and Halo 4 — albeit with unlike jumper lead quality . However , the biggest difference come not with the futuristic , armoured soldier you control at any given sentence , but rather the shift to an overhead tv camera and an colonnade - elan approach that significantly streamlines the action .
It ’s Halo — except zoomed out , and from a different perspective . Despite the switch , Spartan Assault does a good occupation of maintaining the series ’ esthetical .
You ’ll twiddle one virtual peg to move your hoagy and the other to shoot in any focussing , with each brief mission ( about 10 bit or less ) tasking you with mow down waves of enemy , protecting ally , occasionally commanding vehicles , and destroying pronounced location on the map . It all feels pretty aboveboard and a bite mundane compared to the more robust console shooters , and even with depart venue , the missions tend to go in with one another .
I played principally on iPad , but the iPhone experience has a notable fringe benefit : the widescreen view present a well focus on the natural process , making the tablet field of view seem unnecessarily expansive by comparison .
But while Spartan Assault may be less enthralling than the $ 60 Xbox games , this $ 6 shooter is a solid conniption for iPhone and iPad — and best of all , it keep the series ’ distinctive presentation even in this different form . The sheeny graphics and super smooth inning rate bring in the Halo universe to life in fitting style , while the music recalls the thriving , orchestrated scores the series is known for . And , of row , the familiar enemy and weapon all add to the familiar Halo flavor .
Strike two
Unlike its predecessor , Halo : Spartan Strike is a totally new spillage — it just set up last week on Windows 8 and Windows Phone , as well , in addition to iOS . The game ( also $ 6 ) is very much cut from the same material as its predecessor : It has nearly indistinguishable core gameplay , menus , and deputation objectives , although now it ’s set during the same time period as Halo 2 and Halo 3 : ODST .
Spartan Strike adds some new abilities and make other small tweaks , but by and large , it nearly espouse the template of its predecessor .
The ascetic games are n’t essential serial traditional knowledge , however ; to many player , the change in scene and hero sandwich will be as uncomplicated as , “ Oh , now I control the orange guy cable in dissimilar areas . coolheaded . ” To its credit , Spartan Strike does deport more than a locale and timeframe shake - up . The graphic look a little more detailed and bouncy , your armored Spartan can employ various power - up abilities in fight , and a few more weapons from the console table games are here , as well . Also , the off - putting freemium elements from the first game are gratefully eradicate .
bet , Master Chief ! dark , but the serial publication ’ iconic lead is just window dressing . You wo n’t be play as him here .
I played through Spartan Assault on microcomputer and dabble on Windows Phone and Xbox One , as well , so I know the original spinoff well . Snagging Spartan Strike on iOS as soon as it launched , I whipped through several of the former mission and now felt comfortable with the familiar , guns - blaze gameplay . But having played hours of the earlier biz , Spartan Strike also felt routine very quickly , as hew so closely to a repetitive design unsurprisingly makes the follow - up come off a picayune stock .
It ’s the reason why releasing the two game in bicycle-built-for-two on Io might not have been the adept idea . There ’s a discount bundleavailable for $ 10 , but if you ’re planning to act as them back - to - back—60 missions full — I can see it all becoming a piece dull well before Spartan Strike concludes . In fact , if you ’re not sell on play both of them , I ’d suggest just grabbing the 2nd game . It ’s a little showy and more refined , but otherwise , the experience seems about the same between them .
The Spartan games do a safe job of bringing some of Halo ’s dash to refer devices , but they ’re not really games to fiddle to “ see what the ado is about ” with the popular shooter franchise — because this is n’t truly Halo in gameplay or even character . It ’s just a variation of Halo that makes sense on phones and tab , aim primarily towards survive fans of the series , and it largely succeeds in that respect . Just set your expectations accordingly .
