While many people are able to back a knight-in-shining-armor
hero in most games, the anti-hero or at least
a hero with 'dirty hands' makes for a nice
change of pace. Sure it's nothing new and
games have long since taken to putting you
in the shoes of villains and criminals, but
at least it's a far cry from the usual cute-sy
or noble characters to be expected on the
App Store. 9mm by Gameloft shifts gears down
to this gritter plateau, placing you in the
shoes of John "Loose" Kannon, a cop facing
execution at the hands of a local crime boss.
There are two main options when it comes to
maneuvering John around the gangland world,
either aiming by swiping or using a gyroscope
'tilt to look' system - sadly neither of these
options ever feels spot on. Being a third-person
shooter, your screen is often already taken
up by the presence of your character, let
alone the buttons and analogue sticks required
to interact with the world, so the gyroscope
method of looking around is appreciated. Swiping
does make for what feels like a more accurate
method for aiming, however even on the highest
sensitivity you'll need to swipe fast and
often just to look around a room.
The gameplay itself is modeled closely after
games like Max Payne as you're placed in to
firefight after firefight against numerous
gun-toting foes that will tear you to shreds
in a moment's notice if you let them. Thankfully
you have a replenishing 'bullet time' that
can be activated to dodge incoming bullets.
A simple swipe in any direction after activating
this mode will also cause you to dive John
Woo style through the air. It's a satisfying
way of dispatching enemies, especially as
it allows for the developer to get a bit over-the-top
at times with the number and type of enemies
you'll face, but the lack of a true cover-system
(crouching is available) can force you to
spam the ability a little too much, diminishing
its fun factor.
Outside of the gun-play, 9mm mixes things
up with the occasional quick-time event for
melee fights or interrogations and while the
game is linear in its objectives, it helps
to set the pace so you're always on the move.
If you're so inclined you can also take to
the Internet to play on a server with 12 people,
though this is limited to free-for-all and
team deathmatch modes and feels far less polished
than the singleplayer campaign.
The one thing that's likely to put people
off the game is the somewhat regular and at
times almost confusingly unnecessary over-use
of foul-language just to emphasize how 'gritty'
the world they live in truly is. It's not
a deal-breaker, but it can feel out of place
at times.
Ultimately, 9mm puts a solid third-person
shooter in to the hands of iOS users, albeit
sporting most of the features present in similar
titles on other platforms. It's certainly
no Alan Wake, but if you're after some action
with stiff odds it's worth giving this game
a shot.
