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They did say that one day, the graphics for games on mobile devices would equal or surpass that of dedicated consoles. That day hasn’t exactly come yet, but there are a few contenders that are painfully close. True gamers demand a great story line, graphics that are second to none, power ups that enhance game play and a real challenge. Linkin Park Recharge Wastelands for iPhone&iPad takes band members of one of the coolest rock groups of all time, puts them in a radioactive wasteland full of mutant cyborg like creatures called Hybrids waiting to them at a moment’s notice, gives you cool weapons that do real damage, offers upgrades and contains over 50 missions with each level containing unique graphics. We didn’t know how exciting and intense the game was until we started the first level!

Challenge From The Start

Opening LPR for the first time brings you to an extremely vivid, colorful and in-depth introduction which explains the storyline of the game.  The intensity of the intro along with its detailed drawings, animation and music scoring makes you feel as if you are in a movie theater. After the intro (which can be skipped), you are then given an overview of your available weapons. Your main weapon is a specially programmed glove which releases bullets in laser-like bursts. There are four additional weapons which can be used sparingly as reuse requires time to recharge. These weapons are available through tapping icons near the bottom left of the screen. These include fire, water, air and earth. Fire is the equivalent of a flame thrower. Water will push enemies back as does air. Earth was our favorite. It creates a earthquake like ground shock which literally makes the earth crumble beneath the direction you aim it in.

Getting around requires swiping in the direction you wish to go in on the screen. Quick swipes will make your character move quickly in its respective direction.  Swiping will allow you to break objects on the screen. There are boxes all over the place in each level. You also have gas canisters and crates, some of which have crystals and other objects. Crystals are analogous to the coins you would find in most games. The recharge theme owes to the race of Hybrids devouring the earth of its energy. You can send this energy back to the planet by occasionally removing energy from nodes. Doing so also brings your health level back to full. Be careful, enemies are all over the place and can kill you while recharging.

Game Play

LPR really makes the attempt to get you familiar with game play. The first level is an actual tutorial which familiarizes you with the controls, swiping, and enemy identification and replenishment methods. There is more to this game than just shooting. Freeing slaves will give points. Another amazing feature is pinch and zoom which allows you to zoom out and see what is happening all around you. This is great to see enemies in your area before you actually encounter them as well as energy nodes, slaves and to figure out where you have to go. Like most games, there are a certain number of enemies which must be defeated before you can move onto the next level.

All enemies have shield and health bars affixed above them. Enemies are defeated when both bars are emptied. In some cases, enemies have shells over them. Emptying one of the bars removes their shield/shell which reveals another sometimes more powerful enemy. One such enemy will attach you with a crab like metal object which will kill you fast. In some cases, force fields have to be eliminated through firing at canisters which will reveal dozens of hybrids which will approach you from numerous directions. Be prepared!

Verdict

LPR is one of the most intense games we’ve played to date on an iOS device. The graphics are amazing, storyline so dense, music what you’d expect from the band the game is named and tutorials, gameplay and upgrade options we’d expect to see only on a console. Playing one or two levels doesn’t do the game justice which is okay because you will want to play further. A lot of development went into this game and it shows. At a price of free, this game is worth every penny.