Modern Combat 4: Zero Hour for iOS 1.1.0

Overview

Gameloft has yet again released another entry to the Modern Combat series, like last year’s release Fallen Nation, Modern Combat 4: Zero Hour continues with the trend. Featuring a solid campaign and enjoyable multiplayer. Modern Combat is to mobile gaming as Call of Duty is to console and PC gaming. A new game every year, that supports the same foundation with a new single player campaign, new multiplayer modes, and a few new tricks.

It’s starting to come apparent that mobile games are starting to hit a peek when it comes to graphics and functionality on mobile platforms. What you get with Zero Dark is probably as good as it’s going to get, until we see some more drastic hardware improvements in mobile devices. That’s not to say what Zero Dark has to offer isn’t impressive, it’s just not much more impressive than the previous Modern Combat, or the one before that. Visuals still look great, though slow and choppy at times, especially on older hardware. I feel the control scheme could have be done better, but it’s also an adaptable setup that through practice you’ll grow more accustomed to using.

If you've ever played a Call of Duty or Modern Combat game in the past several years you should know exactly what to expect from Zero Hour. A fair enough length campaign with quick time events, flashy explosions, and decent voice acting. With most FPS games today the real replayability comes from the multiplayer. You have several modes you can play like Team Death Match or VIP, plenty of upgradable weapons, explosives, and perks to outfit your solider with. Playing through the campaign and the multiplayer proved one thing, improvement. With each round and each level I felt more comfortable with the controls and level design, which in turn created a more enjoyable atmosphere. The campaign can feel choppy at times and the multiplayer can see a bit of latency, though overall it wasn't anything that made me want to stop playing.

Installation

Modern Combat 4: Zero Hour can be downloaded on the iOS App Store or Androids Google Play for $6.99. It requires iOS 5.0 or later and Android 2.3. Its recommended hardware requirements are a 1 GHz CPU, 512 MB RAM, Adreno 205 or equivalent, and 1.9 GB of storage.

Interface

I didn’t notice hardly any tutorials starting up the game and being familiar with the series it’s hard for me to say how hard it would be to pick up on the interface. It follows the standard mobile FPS interface, so anyone with some experience should be able to pick up quickly. Otherwise, starting the game on easy should give you enough breathing room to figure out the controls fairly quick.

Pros

• Campaign provides several hours of action packed gameplay with quick time events, driving vehicles, and watching plenty of stuff blow up.
• Multiplayer is robust with several modes and upgradeable content.
• Overall gameplay does well to compete with FPS on consoles and PC.

Cons

• Can experience slowdowns during more graphically intense scenes.
• Controls don’t always feel accurate or smooth. Which isn't a huge issue with aim-assist, but proves very difficult to overcome playing without aim-assist.

Alternatives

If you were more of a fan of the sci-fi shooters than military combat, than I would highly suggest N.O.V.A. 3. It provides the same high quality of action and graphics as Zero Dark and seems to have much tighter and accurate controls. Any of the Modern Combat games in the series provide a slightly different FPS experience than Zero Dark, but still the same level quality.

Conclusion

Modern Combat 4: Zero Dark doesn't do anything to revolutionize the series, but it keeps players coming back. At just under $7 you get brand new campaign, new multiplayer maps, and modes. It’s an excellent way to fulfill your FPS needs while away from a console or PC. Especially if you don’t own a gaming PC or console, Modern Combat 4: Zero Dark provides a way for you to fully experience what all the hype is about.