Tom Hasler finds that Shadowgun is nothing more than shallow fun.

While fantastic games like Angry Birds are abundant on smartphones, these devices have not lent themselves very strongly to the traditional core games that you might find on a modern console or PC. Madfinger seek to fill this gap with Shadowgun, a game that closely resembles a modern console based shooter.

At its heart, Shadowgun does very little to differentiate itself from its contemporaries. Players progress through the environment, run behind cover when enemies appear and shoot them dead before moving on. The game's touchscreen controls, while one of its more admirable facets, still lack the reliability and precision of actual buttons. As a consequence Shadowgun attempts to compensate by simplifying the experience, removing some of the genre staples such as grenades and melee attacks, as well as making the enemies slightly dumber and less aggressive to avoid overwhelming the player. As a result, the game can often feel monotonous and opportunities for creativity are limited. ironically, the game becomes less pleasant when it attempts to add additional elements - the strain often exposes the flawed controls and can lead to frustration. On a positive note, the game is given some (much needed) variety by the inclusion of set-piece bosses, as well as handful of different weapons.

The game’s setting is highly derivative of other games; a dystopian future controlled by shady corporations, you play a space mercenary who must stop a mad scientist from creating an evil army of super soldiers. Much of the story is conveyed in conversations between your character and his robot side-kick. The voice work is competently done, but the odd-couple exchanges between the two can at times be unbearably mundane. The game’s visuals are also uninspiring, drawing on a generic sci-fi aesthetic. On a technical level, however, the game looks excellent (although still not as good as 2010’s Infinity Blade). Still, you would be hard pressed to find a better looking shooter on either iOS or Android devices.

Given the game’s simple and derivative nature, there isn’t much to justify Shadowgun’s £8 price tag, especially considering the volume of cheaper titles available. The game is a case study, in fact, of how not to do a smartphone game, watering down an existing genre rather than adapting to the platform’s strengths. Although more casual games like Angry Birds will probably continue their dominance over smartphone gaming, there is certainly a market for comprehensive gaming experiences. The key is to work with the strengths of the platform, rather than compensating for the weaknesses.