Midnight Star represents a great leap forward for mobile games. Though it bears many of the traits - both good and bad of the platform, such as timelocks and IAP - one cannot deny that it also bears the traits of a rather glorious console title as well: Halo.
This is unsurprising as Midnight Star was developed by Alex Seropian, one of the initial founders of Bungie, the studio that introduced us to Master Chief. He recently co-founded Industrial Toys, which would be focused on mobile applications. Industrial Toys brought in legendary author John Scalzi and System Of A Down frontman Serj Tankian the score the game. After three years (the game was originally scheduled for 2013) Midnight Star was finally released on February 5. I must say, it was absolutely worth the wait.
There are few mobile games that can hold my attention for long, and I adore the platform. But it's true that many games are downloaded, played once, then removed to make space. Not so with Midnight Star. More than anything else, the game hooks you in the way that only shooters can. It is constant, thrilling and you never want to put it down. I was so close to spending far too much money to speed things along on more than one occasion, and I rarely pay for timelock in-app purchases. Midnight Star is the shooter, reimagined and it is wonderful.
Midnight Star was built from the ground up to utilize all the particular nuances of the mobile device. By removing the need to control one's movement by walking and instead creating a more on-rails shooter commanded by the touchscreen, Midnight Star takes what would be a hindrance--lack of real estate--and turns it into an advantage.
I picked up a console shooter after finishing Midnight Star's campaign and was just thrown off by the complexity of it all. There are so many buttons and options. Midnight Star is neither complicated nor deep, but it uses what it has to the best of its abilities. While you can't move forward or back (you're locked in place), you can look side to side. The game comes with a fun little 'warning detector' button on the right and left of the screen that allows you to reposition your view to take down the enemy. This allows the game the illusion of movement and keeps it from becoming stale. Believe me, nothing feels sweeter than turning just in time to headshot that bad guy who was about to unload a killing blow on you.
The game's shooting takes a little getting used to, and console FPS fans will be frustrated. Once you figure out that you don't have to drag your finger across the screen the whole time, the world opens up a lot. Firing is basic: press down on where you want, and your gun will take care of the rest.
What makes it really is how the Industrial Toys has handled headshots: you slide your forefinger and middle finger apart on an enemy, and a targeting reticle appears on their head. Shooting that will not only make the target easier to kill, but also grant extra points.
All of this sounds very basic. It is, but it just works. The touch screen controls can be a little wonky, especially as your Shield (or other special power) is activated in a similar manner to the headshot reticle. Reloading is simple: tap in the upper right corner. During later levels, you're pinned down and swirling, shooting, targeting, defending, reloading; doing everything all at once until your heart is racing. And nailing a long streak and a set of headshots without getting hit? Best feeling in the world, like playing Halo all over again.
As for the story, Midnight Star is set 120 years in the future, when a special forces team encounters a mysterious object and is whisked away to the far off reaches of space. There they come across a strange and violent alien species called Dust (this is an ex-Bungie guy, after all) and must fight their way to a place called The Fount in order to - get this - reverse time itself and prevent the complete destruction of humanity. The story is mostly told in quick conversations had by your character, Charlie and the remaining three crew members of your ship. The game sort of picks up in media res, so it can be hard to figure just what is happening. Not that it matters, because this is an ugly planet, a bug-infested planet, and these Dust aren't going to shoot themselves.
The graphic novel Midnight Rises brings you to about the first moments of the game.
Players have a decent assortment of weapons to choose from including various pistols, shotguns, sniper rifles, and machine guns. You are allowed two on your loadout for each mission, but you can make due with just the one (though it sometimes is faster to switch between guns rather than wait for the automatic reload). You also have access to armor and various other abilities.
That is where the game's IAP comes in. I am torn: I dislike IAP but I understand the need for it - this is an entirely F2P game that undoubtedly cost a fortune. Midnight Star features two major IAP devices: Tech Points, which are earned in-game for completing missions or Challenges, and Catalyst. Catalyst is the one you buy to speed up the process, and is very, very hard to come by in the game itself. There is only one very nearly necessary purchase you should make, and that's the modifier that doubles your XP. You can't buy this outright, you have to purchase Catalyst and then buy it. 'Maybe I'll just play the campaign and earn enough Catalyst' you say. No, you won't.
The amount needed is almost completely unreachable. It costs 500 Catalyst to purchase, and I earned hardly any during my extended period with Midnight Star. Most of the rest of the IAP is not that noticeable; mobile fans are used to upgrades taking forever, but you are still allowed access to the weapons or abilities when they're being upgraded. The game really, really wants you to buy what it's literally selling.
The third currency, Element, is the most day to day. Element is used to purchase healthpacks at checkpoints and to recharge your weapons (which is another annoying, yet understandable choice). Ironically, I never feel like I'm running out of Element. It's easily gained throughout the level.
The social aspect of Midnight Star revolves around Challenges, which task you with earning the high score amongst a number of individuals over a certain period of time. I myself managed 4th for one. These will hopefully be expanded in the future, though I would not hold my breath for any multiplayer co-op support. This is thoroughly a single-player experience.
In terms of accessibility, especially during the later levels, you have to make time to play Midnight Star. This isn't a 'oh, I'll go to the bathroom and get through a level' type mobile title--you can be at it for a while. If there's a boss fight, be sure to have at least 10 minutes set aside to handle that. My iPhone 5s was not happy with me. This game eats battery power like a Hummer guzzles gasoline.
Midnight Star ends on a cliffhanger, and I cannot wait until Chapter 2 and beyond to see what happens. Think back to all of your time playing Halo 2, Call of Duty, all your favorite FPS titles. Midnight Star is those games, just in your pocket. Well worth the zero dollars it costs to download.
Plus it has a story! Midnight Star: 1, Destiny: 0
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Midnight Star is available on the App Store.
