If you play action games on the iPhone, then you’ve probably heard the whispers about Eliminate. It’s the first multiplayer FPS to come out on the iPhone – and it’s free to boot! The game features 4-player deathmatching with a match-making system and an RPG-ish weapon and armour upgrade component as well. I logged about half an hour with the game and despite the fact that the in-app purchases might be a little overpriced, I think that Eliminate Pro is one of the coolest iPhone titles I’ve seen in a while.
Think Different DLC
Killing enemies in online matches will yield credits that you can use to upgrade your weapons and armour, or buy new goodies to use and abuse. The catch is that you can only collect credits when you have energy. A full energy meter holds enough for three matches (3-4 mins in length) and takes four hours to recharge. It can also be refilled by purchasing in-app credits for $0.99, but this is a one-shot deal, and once you use up your purchased energy you’ll have to buy more or wait like four hours like everybody else. You can always play Eliminate, but you’ll only earn credits while you have energy.
I’m not sure I like this approach, as it seems rather expensive for such short bursts of play. An in-app purchase of energy will fill up your meter and provide enough for a quick top-off later, but that’s it. If my experience rings true, then you can burn through your $0.99 in about 15 minutes. If you’re an avid Eliminate player and want to clock about an hour of “credited” play, it seems to cost you about $4.00/hour. However, this is really for players who want to fast-track to the best loot, and loot won’t necessarily guarantee victory.
A new old-school FPS
Classic FPS deathmatching skills still go a long way in Eliminate’s combat system. I was never much of a Quake fan, but Eliminate reminds me a lot of Quake Arena on a mobile platform. I’ve clocked about 30 minutes with the game and found the combat to be surprisingly enjoyable. You’ll find most of your fun online with friends on the Plus+ network or by using the built-in matchmaking system, but there’s also an offline mode if you want to practice against bots and learn the ropes.
I can’t yet comment on all of the weapons because I still have to earn more credits, but there are power-ups (invisibility, invincibility, etc.) that can help even the odds against opponents with superior firepower. There is some basic hit detection so aiming for the head actually does more damage than a basic body shot. This saved my ass countless as I backpedaled away from enemy shotgun fire and sprayed my rifle at chest level, praying for a headshot.
Controls
The controls are pretty decent, although I’m still convinced that iPhone First Person Shooters will always suffer from the device’s lack of hardware buttons. You move with the left thumb and do all of your aiming and firing with the right. One interesting feature is the swipe-to-look feature, where you dash your right thumb across the screen to quickly turn your character in that direction. The turn works just like an iPhone list in that a quick tap will stop all the movement. It’s a manageable setup, but prepared to fingerprint the crap out of your iPhone’s screen 😉
Conclusion Rifle
Eliminate looks to have a lot of promise, and there are obviously a lot of players who want a serious FPS experience on the iPhone because the game’s Plus+ network is already full of high scores. I also had no trouble finding a multiplayer game despite the game being less than week old! This is likely partly thanks to the fact that Eliminate is always free to play (the DLC just helps you get loot faster), but I’d also say that ngmoco deserves some major kudos for bringing such a massive title to the iPhone. This game is one of the meatiest and most polished premium of its kind on the App Store, and whoever said that “nothing in life is free” obviously didn’t live long enough to play Eliminate 😛
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Pick up Eliminate Pro for free on the App Store. It’s definitely worth a peek.
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TAGS: first person shooter, FPS, ngmoco
