Calling Shadowgun: DeadZone a work in progress is quite an understatement. Its developer, Madfinger Games, admitted as much on its Facebook page. For now, the game is more like a proof of concept, a roadmap detailing what the studio may achieve with subsequent updates, one of which has already been submitted to Apple. This notwithstanding, what we have is a third person shooter that takes place within the futuristic world first introduced in the original single-player Shadowgun, where up to 12 players battle it out across two modes (Deathmatch, Zone Control) and a handful of maps.
On that note, let's start with the good. DeadZone's graphics look great, and help drive home the opinion that Madfinger is among a small group of companies that manage to squeeze the most power from iOS and Android devices. From the intricately designed stages to rippling muscles on the game's 10 playable characters, the visuals put this title in great company, including the developer's own zombie-filled blast-a-thon, Dead Trigger.
Next up, connection speeds. We've yet to encounter problems locating matches, then jumping into the action. Granted, DeadZone has a habit of locating games with just a couple minutes to go, but the tradeoff involves finishing that match and just sticking with ones that come after it.
Then we have weapon and equipment trees. Instead of providing a bunch of guns from the start, everyone begins with the same basic assault rifle, then gradually levels up to unlock shotguns, launchers and more sci-fi fare; this also extends to grenades. This ties into DeadZone's free-to-play nature, so expect to earn virtual currency from grinding through matches with the ever-present option of buying more cash through in-app purchase. No big surprise, as we've seen this in other games before, but the concept works quite well; we strongly suggest upgrading to a superior weapon ASAP.
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