Movie-videogame
tie-ins used to synonymous with low quality, and the shift to mobile for tie-in
games has largely been a good thing, since the shorter time and budget
available for developing these kinds of games is a good fit for the mobile
space. As tablets and phones get more powerful, that's going to change, but for
now, mobile games based around movies have been seen as a reasonably good fit.
In India
however, mobile games based around movies have been about as bad as the console
games based around movies. When you look at movie games over the years, you can
see slow improvement from the days of something like Ghajini to the new Dhoom 3
game. The latest two such games are based around the Rajinikanth starrer
Kochadaiiyaan; both have been made in collaboration by Gameshastra and Hungama,
and continue to show how Indian games are slowly improving. Both games are
free, but ad-supported, and also include in-app purchases. Currently available
only on Android, versions for iOS, Windows Phone and also Facebook are being
developed.
Kochadaiiyaan: Reign of Arrows
Given
what we've come to expect from Indian developers, the game is surprisingly high
quality. The idea itself isn't very new, but the execution is pretty good. It
looks a little chunky, and when you compare it with a game like Frontline
Commando or The Collectables, then it looks terrible, but compared to the
average game, Reign of Arrows is a pretty good fit.
This
free Android game is a third person cover shooter; you're controlling
Rajinikanth's character and you have to single handedly destroy an invading
army that's trying to take over your home town. There's a sea of enemies that
keep marching up as easy arrow fodder, which keeps the game quite busy.
Movement
is extremely limited - instead of freely running from point to point, you tap
on pieces of cover to take up the most advantageous position. You can use
special powers like the Reign of Arrows, which is, well, a rain of arrows;
other special shots are cheaper and you'll also get them more often, such as
explosive arrows and split shots.
One
thing that's a little off putting is the strange product placement in the game,
particularly considering that it's also ad-supported. There are health potions
that you can have to recover from being hit, which are called - "Aegon
Religare Health Potion".
The game
plays very straighforwardly; get into cover, tap enemies to shoot them, and use
your special powers when needed. Between ads between levels, you're able to
upgrade your armor and attack abilities, and purchase power-ups. It's a well
established genre that works pretty well on the mobile, and the art style and
overall visuals look good.
Some of
the animations look funny, but it's not a big issue - the main problem with
this game is the aggressive monetisation tactics, which range from product
placement to in-app purchases to a lot of ads. Despite that though, it's a
pretty fun game, and it's free.
Kochadaiiyaan: Kingdom Run
This
side scrolling auto-runner is a little bit more of a problem than Reign of
Arrows. The fact is that the genre has been very thoroughly exhausted by now -
many of the best early games on mobiles were sidescrollers, before the slew of
Temple Run clones took over. It's still worth checking out though, and it's
available for free on the Android Play store.
As a
result, there's nothing Kingdom Run can do to feel fresh. Add to that the fact
that the animations don't feel fluid or natural, and the game starts to feel
dissatisfying. With Reign of Arrows, the focus is usually on the faraway enemy,
and people move a little, then get into cover, and so the flaws in animations
get concealed.
Here,
you're running up close and personal, and when that feels jerky, when your
character's model clips through the geometry, and when the precise dimensions
of the platforms underfoot and your character are unclear, then it breaks the
immersion.
If
you're willing to put up with what is only a very average game for the sake of
the IP it's been wrapped with, then you're probably going to enjoy Kingdom Run,
when you find the gaps between ads. The game is quite gory - as you run and
jump across different levels, you're confronted by a host of bad guys, and
you're going to fill them up with arrows as you dash past.
There
are special weapons, power ups, and upgrades to purchase along the way, which
will keep you interested in the game. It's well thought out, but the execution
is sadly lacking.
Overall,
this is true for both games, but platformers are a more thoroughly exploited
genre and that is why the problems feel more pronounced here. The game has the
same kind of monetisation as Reign of Arrows, which can be a little tedious,
but again, the game is free, and is certainly a step in the right direction
