Previews

Hands-on with Modern Combat 3: Fallen Nation for iPhone and iPad

Finish the fight

Hands-on with Modern Combat 3: Fallen Nation for iPhone and iPad

Modern Combat 3: Fallen Nation starts with a bang. Well, to be precise it starts with multiple bangs and doesn’t really let up for a good while thereafter.

The previous two games in the acclaimed Modern Combat series on iOS won Pocket Gamer Silver and Gold Awards respectively, so there's reason to be excited about this third instalment.

While we were unable to see Fallen Nation's multiplayer in action during our short hands-on at Gamescom, it’s shaping up to be another strong entry, featuring the series' hallmark frantic action and dramatic set-pieces.

Lock and load

The first level begins with a high-impact cut-scene, very much in the style of Call of Duty (as you might expect), with the usual mixture of geopolitical terrorism and other army-style shouting.

If you’ve played the previous title you should know what to expect when it comes to the dialogue – lots of swearing and a fair few ‘grenades!!’ chucked in for good measure.

We then moved to the National Security Agency’s headquarters, where there were bombs going off everywhere, terrorists hiding behind sofas, and an annoying chair that blocked what I thought was the more logical route through the level (apparently, I wasn’t the only one to be foiled by the accursed office furniture, so don’t snigger).

The graphics have been optimised for the iPad 2, but the game will be shipped as a Universal build for both iPhone and iPad.

As with the recent 9mm, those with Apple’s latest tablet PC will be treated to extra blurring and depth-of-field effects - the effect applied while sprinting is particularly eye-catching.

As with Modern Combat 2, the controls are completely re-configurable, meaning that if – like me – you prefer to have the iron-sight button just below where you normally move your character, you can simply pause the game and shift it across.

Multi-kill

Although the single-player game is shaping up well, we’re most interested to see how Gameloft expands upon the already excellent multiplayer mode of the original.

There should be six game modes available at launch across six maps, and now up to 12 players can take part in a game, up from ten.

Alas this section is still under wraps for now, but hopefully we’ll get to see a bit more once Modern Combat 3: Fallen Nation draws closer to its expected release in the Autumn.

Will Wilson
Will Wilson
Will's obsession with gaming started off with sketching Laser Squad levels on pads of paper, but recently grew into violently shouting "Tango Down!" at random strangers on the street. He now directs that positive energy into his writing (due in no small part to a binding court order).