The Respawnables Is Your Handheld "Battlefield"

Shooters on iOS hedge their bets when it comes to control. Simulating the dual stick scheme that's standard on consoles is a tough due to the lack of tactile feedback and slippery nature of touch controls. With attention spans growing ever shorter and patience growing thinner by the moment, making a game that doesn't require much twitch-based movement is a safe way to prevent a new player from jumping off the learning curve.

Digital Legends' 'The Respawnables' isn't interested in hedging bets. The studio has worked on games like Battlefield Bad Company, and it's clear this isn't their first rodeo when it comes to multiplayer-focused mayhem. Primarily because they have a wrangle on console-esque controls that's rare in these here parts. I won't go into detail because the game is free and they're self explanatory - but rest assured, they shan't fail you. Navigating an arena, locating a target, and blasting their face off is appropriately challenging but in the good way. When you see an enemy your gun will loosely lock on, allowing you to aim at their head or torso with a bit more precision.

The graphics ain't half bad either. Respawnables is cartoony and bright and clearly influenced by the likes of TF2 and Battlefield Heroes - with exaggerated expressions, big ole guns, and even 1960's Batman-esque "Pow!" and "Bang!" lettering popping up around explosions. As far as a game focused on slaughtering your fellow man goes - it's a pretty colorful and chipper affair.

This has two advantages - firstly it's easier and less resource intensive to deliver great cartoony visuals then it is to do mediocre photo-realistic ones, and secondly it gives the carnage a G.I Joe vibe.

A vibe that gets a bit offset by roughly two zillion armor, weapon, clothing, and projectile upgrades. If you're obsessed with tricking out a character's build - this is the shooter for you. You earn exp, cash, and gold from single and multiplayer combat and turn around and use that cash on upgrades, etc - it's classic hamster wheel gaming, and you'll play until your next weapon unlock...then play a little longer just to see how it works.

This all plays wonderfully without a hitch single-player, and over WiFi against other real opponents, there was a little lag, but nothing severe enough to inhibit the fun. Of course going up against real players is a bigger challenge, so expect to die more often then against AI robots.

Then there's also the strange fact this game features...well...The Terminator. And Men in Black. And...Elysium?! Yeah! Within moments of my match online I was blasted to pieced by a Noisy Cricket of all things. How you get these weapons and avatars naturally revolves around premium currency that takes quite a while to earn... or you can pony up real cash.

Is it worth the cash? Well, like anything, that depends on your outlook. I am of the mind that if you love shooters and can't get enough CS: Go or Team Fortress 2, dropping two or three bucks for some premium upgrades would be a mitzvah for the developers who released this dang thing for free, and give you some sick new duds.

Speaking of duds, The Respawnables is anything but. Exciting and accessible and mercilessly deep, much like the title suggests, you'll keep coming back to it over and over again.