Back in November of 2019, Madfinger's competitive first-person shooter Shadowgun War Games arrived on the Play Store for pre-registration. At the tail end of January, we learned the game would be officially released on February 12th, though it would appear Madfinger hit a few snags yesterday, and so the game was released late in the day, which is probably why the official PR didn't go out until this morning. Still, Shadowgun War Games is now officially available for all to enjoy, though it currently feels unfinished despite the presence of multiple subscription passes.
Above is the trailer for Shadowgun War Games, and as you can see, the game plays like an Overwatch clone, and that appears to be by design. The thing is, all first-person shooters live and die by their shooting mechanics, and I have to say the touch controls in Shadowgun War Games don't stack up. If you enjoy title's like Call of Duty: Mobile, you're going to be disappointed with the shooting in Shadowgun War Games. The controls aren't polished enough, and so you'll often wave your gun around in the hopes that it will automatically fire at your opponent, but it's difficult to keep your gun straight, so most shots miss. There are adjustable controls in the game's menu, so some fiddling can help, but overall the controls just don't feel smooth enough. This means a bluetooth controler will be the ideal way to play the game, and from my experience allows for much more accuracy.
On top of the poor touch controls, the game is monetized rather aggressively. Madfinger has opted for a battle pass system, and guess what. There are two separate battle passes. The first battle pass will net those that subscribe some premium challenges, a seasonal XP booster, and exclusive skin, all for $9.99 every season, and these seasons appear to last for three months. The second battle pass offers many more rewards, such as even more skins, and some extra game credits, but the direct cost is a lot more difficult to figure out for this pass since it's currently on sale, and since there is no way to directly buy the exact amount of currency you need, you will have to purchase more than one gold pack from the in-game store to afford the cost. Essentially the price for the second pass comes out to around $33 (on sale, otherwise you'd have to spend $50) and is also on a three-month seasonal cycle.
And there you have it. Madfinger not only flubbed the release of Shadowgun War Games, but the title also suffers from poor controls, greedy monetization, and currently, its servers are getting hammered, so it's tough to get into a match (though more servers should be coming soon). Everything about this release screams rushed-to-market. Maybe if the devs concentrated on polishing the gameplay instead of the monetization, I'd have better things to say, but this situation perfectly sums up the current state of mobile gaming, where fun takes a backseat to developer greed.
PRESS RELEASE
Shadowgun War Games Now Available Worldwide
MADFINGER Games launches the latest entry in their chart-topping mobile franchise; Shadowgun War Games enters the multiplayer arena with 5v5 team-based battles
BRNO, Czech Republic – FEBRUARY 13, 2020 – MADFINGER Games has announced that Shadowgun War Games, the latest release in their critically-acclaimed mobile games franchise, is now available on iOS and Android devices. Earlier entries in the series, including Shadowgun, Shadowgun: Deadzone, and Shadowgun Legends, have been enjoyed by 50 million mobile players worldwide. Players can get in on the action by downloading the game from the App Store or Google Play Store today.
Shadowgun War Games is a free-to-play tactical first-person shooter (FPS) that brings the responsive gameplay of its predecessors to the multiplayer arena in intense 5v5 team-based battles. Eagerly anticipated by more than 1.5 million pre-registered users, Shadowgun War Games boasts the same high level of visual quality that earned its predecessor, Shadowgun Legends, the “Most Beautiful Mobile Game 2019” award from Google Play.
Players can choose from a gallery of heroes, each with unique personalities and skills to match their play style. With an emphasis on quick pick-up-and-play action, War Games offers truly console-quality team-based action for everyone with access to a mobile device.
The power of Unity helps Shadowgun War Games scale its performance to ensure smooth and visually-triumphant gameplay across the widest possible range of mobile handsets, including the ASUS ROG Phone II, the high-performance smartphone designed for mobile gaming.
“Madfinger's custom support of our 120Hz/1ms AMOLED display and Kunai Gamepad makes the ROG Phone II the best way to experience the exceptional Shadowgun War Games.”, said ChihHao Kung, Global Technical PR Director.
“MADFINGER Games are experts at using Unity to push beautiful visuals that are optimized to scale across a variety of devices, all without sacrificing the performance demanded by competitive shooters. Shadowgun War Games is the team's most ambitious effort yet - a gorgeous, blazing-fast, online shooter that really shows off what Unity is capable of on mobile devices. Congratulations to the team on another big launch, ” said Brett Bibby, Vice President, Engineering, Unity Technologies.
“2020 marks the ten year anniversary of our studio,” said Marek Rabas, CEO of MADFINGER Games. “We’re starting the celebrations early with the launch of Shadowgun War Games. We’ve poured ten years of passion and experience into this game, and we can’t wait to hear what the community has to say.”
Shadowgun War Games is now available as a free download on the App Store and Google Play Store. To learn more, visit shadowgunwargames.com.
MADFINGER Games is a world-class independent game developer with a focus on mobile and console platforms. Founded in 2010, their games quickly shot to the top of the charts in sales and hit the #1 spot in over 100 countries. MADFINGER Games is renowned for stunning visuals and outstanding gameplay experiences, which have received worldwide acclaim and a series of prestigious awards, including Google Play’s “Most Beautiful Mobile Game 2019”. The studio’s most popular titles are Shadowgun Legends, Unkilled, and Dead Trigger 2, and their games have been downloaded over 250 million times.