Modern Combat: Sandstorm is nearly exactly how a FPS should look and feel on the iPhone/iTouch.
I'm not very familiar with the iTouch so my accuracy could be a little bit off due to my lack of experience with games. Anyways from my experiences with Sandstorm, it is a solid FPS game for the iTouch that is well worth it's money and provides a good experience for those looking for a good game to go.
Gameplay:
The gameplay first off is what you've come to expect from your average FPS game. You shoot masses of enemy soldiers who are attempting to stop you from stopping them. Sandstorm right off the bat is not a very daring shooter. It is decently generic and keeps the basic formula of a FPS true. You have two guns and can only hold two guns. You use these varying guns (about 5 guns maybe more but much less than 10) and their varying attributes to shoot down enemy soldier at a variety of diffrent ranges. You can throw diffrent types of grenades, and take cover manually and so on. A good example of this game's formula would be your average call of duty. There are a few limitations that would do to be fixed such as only being able to pick up new guns through crates and not enemy weapons but it's okay. Gameloft clearly wasn't intent of revolutionizing the genre but was more concerned with bringing a good, solid, FPS to this tricky platform. That I can give them credit for. They did.
Final Score: 7.0
Graphics:
Here's one of the areas where I'm a little less familiar. I haven't played enough iTouch games to know if this has great graphics or okay graphics. Gathering from my screenshots and current games though, this is a pretty sexy looking game. It's not fantastic though. It has constantly changing textures which can look kind of ugly at times especially when the game can't decide what texture to use. It's got some nice effects though, bloodying screen as you die, and such. The landscapes look alright. Lighting effects are decent. Everything is decent and pretty good as far as I know. For now I'll give it a temporary score.
Final Score: 8.5
Sound:
Sound is another catagory that I have trouble comparing. Now I can rate the music and whether or not the sound effects sounded right. The music was alright, nothing special or really powerful. It had a mid eastern sort of feeling to it since as I'll explain later, this game takes place in the middle east. None of it was spectacular but you won't mute the game to avoid listening to any degrading music. The guns sound appropriate and so does everything else. The voice overs sound excellent as far as I'm concerned but then again a lot of effort can go into a platform that literally meant for playing sound.
Final Score: 9.0
Story:
The story isn't so tricky. The story along with the gameplay has become rather typical. It takes a lot of inspiration from Call of Duty, the game, and the story reflects this. So your tracking down some terrorists in the middle east. Soon enough your mission becomes indangered and there is a struggle in foriegn lands. Eventually you will resume your hunt with a few surprises along the way that I won't spoil. It doesn't get real crazy with the story. It is slightly boring but a few moments keep it intense. The characters can have some cheesy diologue that'll make you laugh and there are some turns. These turns are nothing signifigant but the story never falls apart. It like the rest of the game keeps very solid and true. It doesn't get too daring.
Final Score: 7.5
Level Design:
A trend in the game continues here. The game does not take a lot of risks. It's a solid straight forward game with straight forward levels. You won't find yourself at many branching paths or a whole lot of wide open, do it your way rooms. There is decent design in cover tactics and corridors don't repeat much leaving every room new and exciting. There aren't many explosives or anything but there are a few if your observant. My main complaint is that the levels don't vary too much. They very enough to keep you playing but that's all. Lots of times it'll be the same boring desert town scenario. There are a few turret parts where you'll be moving fast and gunning down tons of people while in a car which can throw things around but is a little easy. Level design over all is decent though.
Final Score: 8.0
One of my main dissapointments with this game was the lack of multiplayer. I know it is possible however it just never made it. I'm not sure how the multiplayer would have worked so there's not too much room for complaint. Overall it's a good game. It's a little on the short side but what more can be asked for over 5 dollars? I definately recomend it if you would like a decent FPS on the go. It doesn't take too many risks which can leave you feeling a little empty like you've already played it but it will be entertaining enough. I hope the the upcoming NOVA takes a little more dare. With that I end this review. The overall verdict is an 8.0. THANKS FOR READING! I hope this helped.
-frogloe-