iPhone Is Off Its Game

I have another confession: as much as I love my iPhone, I have yet to truly appreciate it as a gaming platform. When the games started to hit in a big way for this new platform, I was excited: I abandoned console games (except for the occasional Wii party game), as I simply don't have enough time to devote to the beautiful but expensive investments console games offer. For the last couple of years, my gaming fix has been occasionally found on a Sony PSP, allowing me the portability to enjoy a good cigar with my skills at driving the Cowboys to yet another Superbowl on Madden.

The iPhone promised me the ability to finally take one more step to convergence: one device to rule my communication, productivity, multimedia, entertainment, and now gaming needs. I embraced the Brothers In Arms ability to immerse myself in WWII action. I marveled at the NASA-produced update of the classic Lunar Lander, complete with actual Apollo landing missions and innovative controls. And I breathlessly saw my Holy Grail, as I downloaded Madden 2010 into my iPhone 3GS' crammed drive. And through all of it, I came away disappointed. The onscreen controls simply feel too imprecise; the gameplay choppy, the graphics too simplistic. In short, while many disagree with me, I have found myself turned off to gaming on the iPhone.

One more contender is about to come on scene, tantalizing me with possibility. Sniper Vs. Sniper is a game, purported to be developed for the platform, offering the possibility of some of the best parts of first-person shooters, the sniper. It also boasts of constant online gameplay, another innovation I have yet to find the appeal of (probably because of my poor skills and lack of interest at improvement), and some very interesting displays:

I continue to hope for the best, and I truly hope that the makers of Sniper Vs. Sniper offer a trial version, so I can see if I can finally be a convert to this one popular aspect of Apple's innovative toy that I have continued to be disappointed by.

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Tretakoff Musings

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