![]() ![]() The story is your typical riches-to-rags-to-riches-again novella that really doesn’t have any originality. Unfortunately, despite all these improvements, one area that Gangstar Rio seems to take a step back in is in regards to its story and voiceovers. (PSA: Some foul language in the trailer): I did think that the developers were trying a bit too hard with the fake radio commercials, but otherwise, the radio was definitely a plus. Thankfully, most of the songs succeed in that regard. Personally, I could care less about name recognition so long as the music simply sounded good in the flow of the game. There are several radio stations, each with a decent selection of music. Gameloft also does a good job in nailing the music in Gangstar Rio. However, it’s important to note that your experience may vary based on the model of iOS device you have, and things may not be as smooth on earlier generation systems. Gameloft also did a good job improving the building pop-up, an issue we had in previous games. In addition, the game loaded extremely quickly and the framerate was relatively smooth (at least on an iPad 2 and iPhone 4S). While Rio isn’t the nicest title we’ve seen on iOS, its visuals look much better compared to the previous Gangstar games. Graphics-wise, Gangstar Rio also improves upon the previous two titles. This is a significant leap forward from previous Gangstar titles, as there is now more motivation to simply enjoy the sandbox environment and earn exp and money in addition to playing the missions. ![]() Some of the perks include ‘Luck,’ which increases the amount of looted money and ammo from enemies, and ‘Look’ which makes it harder to increase your wanted level. In addition to gaining experience and earning ‘Respect Levels’, you can now also buy clothing which changes your appearance and provides additional perks beyond the typical stats that you increase with each level up. However, I was extremely disappointed in the lack of cloud saving/syncing as that should be an essential requirement for lengthy games such as this (moreso since Rio is a universal title).Īnother new feature to the series is the clothing system which works in tandem with the experience/level up system. In addition, the developers have improved the controls by adding a few new options and tightening the existing schemes. The entire world just feels more alive than previous titles. For example, the Rio de Janeiro locale seems to be bigger and is a lot more unique compared to the previous locations. However, Gangstar Rio improves on its predecessors by making everything just a little bit better. All the elements from previous games – from the mission based main story, to the large amount of collectibles, to even the side jobs attached to various vehicles – make a return. Gangstar Rio continues the tried and true gameplay of previous titles that closely mimics the gameplay of sandbox games like the Grand Theft Auto series. While Rio falters in its voice overs and the overarching story, everything else makes this the best Gangstar yet. With Gangstar Rio: City of Saints, Gameloft looks to up the ante in all aspects from the new location to cleaner graphics to even a new character advancement system. While we enjoyed the previous two Gangstar titles, there were outstanding issues in both games that prevented each from becoming a truly ‘must-own’ title. Although much of this is understandable given the platform's limitations, ultimately this is a half fat, low calorie take on the sandbox car-jacking genre.Needing no introduction for any iOS Action fans, the Gangstar series has been Gameloft’s answer for folks looking for the city sandbox experience popular on gaming consoles. There's fewer cars on the road, fewer people, little in the way of variety in its design or gameplay, not that many interesting cars to steal, and for a sandbox game there's not all that much to keep players amused when venturing away from the main story. While it's perhaps unfair to draw comparisons with similar games available on the PS3 or Xbox360, the Gangstar environment feels very empty compared to the likes of Vice City or Liberty City. Most of Gangstar involves seeking out one of several bosses, who'll deliver instructions via some terribly hokey gangster dialogue (sample: "OK, here's what's up, Locos wanna start a war with us, they got one") before you embark on an assigned mission which will almost certainly involve driving to one or more locations in order to shoot some people, before driving off again. Thug, you're led through a Groundhog Day-ishly repetitive series of missions following a plot that will probably seem familiar to anyone who's ever seen a film set in South Central LA. Gangstar: West Coast Hustle for iPhone Photograph: PR ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |