Intro

Archetype, the grand spanking new 5-a-side (5 vs. 5) online multiplayer FPS (First Person Shooter) has launched onto the App Store, but it has not come without fierce rivals. Most notably, the extremely popular Eliminate and N.O.V.A. are without a doubt serious competitors. Even though Archetype was created by Villain, a not so well known games developer, can it still thrive in such a buzzing industry against the most unruliest champions, Gameloft and Ngmoco? We shall see.

Gameplay 7/10

5-a-side (5 vs. 5) deathmatch is the only game mode in Archetype which is a bit disappointing. Would have loved to see Capture The Flag or Free For All modes, maybe even as a DLC. As you may well know, both teams start on opposite sides of the map and the winner is the team which gains the most kills. Archetype is in a sense brainless and instead of any sort of strategy or thinking involved, you basically just run at the nearest blue/orange dot on the radar and try to blast the hell out of it and don’t get killed. For those looking for an in-depth experience you definitely won’t find it here. Archetype also becomes useless for iPod Touch users in a no Wi-Fi area. A single player mode would have been appreciated to accommodate these needs.

The online play is amazingly smooth!

When you want to join a match, you don’t enter into a lobby, but rather get automatically get entered into a game that is about to start. This makes the joining process easy and quick, without you having to do any work, other then pressing the start button.

There are 5 levels you can play on (which is a bit disappointing), and I felt they all seemed a bit too samey. Mostly consisting of long corridors and straight edges. I would have loved to see some more themed levels which would brighten up the game overall, depending on where you were. Also, they are all pretty small and despite the limited number of people allowed in one game I would have liked to see some more open levels with obstacles rather than the tight corridors and alleys that are included.

With the use of the on-screen radar you instantly know where the enemies are. Even though this may seem like a spoiler at first, it works well considering the shorter average time that people spend playing on an iPhone or iPod Touch than on a console, meaning you want to spend more of it fragging and less finding the enemy. Each round lasts only 3 minutes which makes this game attractive to those pick-up-and-play gamers.

The combat is brilliant. Set as default, you have auto fire which, as you would expect, automatically fires your weapon when centered on a target. This makes the gameplay less frustrating allowing you to enjoy yourself rather than always having the trouble of aiming and firing.

As for the weapons, you start off with a basic, low level machine gun and then you can pick up more advanced weapons such as a Shotgun, Missile Launcher, or Precision Rifle (no not a sniper rifle). There is also a Battle Axe which allows you to melee kill in one shot which can be devastating.

As you get better you achieve a higher rank. However, unlike Eliminate this doesn’t change the gameplay at all and is only useful to show off to your mates. There is no other sort of leveling up or upgrade system. You do, however, earn rewards/achievements for completing their certain criteria. It doesn’t help that you can see what the awards are until you unlock them but they add a little extra to the game.

Even though this may not be the most fully featured First Person Shooter on the App Store, it sure is addictive. Archetype is perfect for when you have had a long hard day at work/school and all you need is a large amount of unhealthy mindless FPS action!

With a Battle Axe at hand, no one can stop me!

Graphics 9/10

The graphics are silky smooth and very well presented. The connectivity and stability online is great. The game always played smoothly, even on my dated 3G and I was able to have fun, uninterrupted frag fests almost 100% of the time. Furthermore the other players move well and don’t suffer from the ever so common jitter that is normally associated with online gameplay. The fully 3D environment is well designed, however as mentioned before, the level design is a bit too bland and could use some more variety.

However, overall a stunning effort.

Controls 8/10

Archetype undertakes the dual stick method to move your character and overall I found movement smooth and easy to master. To fire most of the time you just need to point and aim to automatically let it rip but for the Axe and Rocket Launcher a tap on the right side of the screen is in order to activate these weapons. You can throw a grenade by tapping the top left which feels intuitive. To melee you tap on the center radar. I found this a constant annoyance as I would continually accidentally tap the melee button causing me to jerk my hands forward (which sometimes ends in killing one of my team mates). Even though it didn’t really effect the gameplay it was incredibly frustrating at times.

Overall I found the controls manageable with a few problems, but nothing that ruined the game.

Sound 5/10

The music is minimalistic in the menus, but fits well with the game. While playing, you have no choice of music, instead you have to put up with the battle sounds of the chaos around you. I found this somewhat disheartening and it would have been nice to listen to some music whilst pumping lead. There isn’t even an in-game option to turn down the sound if you wanted to listen to your own music.

The sound effects are simple and become repetitive. I don’t mind listening to them and don’t notice them while in combat, but I would prefer to listen to some music instead.

Menus 10/10

The menus are also simple, but do a good job. They are responsive, easy to select and navigate. They also fit well with the rest of the game.

Longevity 5/10

Sneak attack.

Analyze the facts and you will find there isn’t a lot to Archetype. There is no social network integration, no variance in level design and no variance in modes or gameplay. There really isn’t anything extra besides the single-mode gameplay, apart from awards and leveling up.

On the other hand you could argue that every time you play you will get a different experience. No same play is the same. Also, the online aspect adds a competitiveness lacking in computer generated AI and this is what makes Archetype and all other online FPSs so popular.

Therefore, even though on the face of it there isn’t much content, you are no doubt going to be hooked for a long time.

Cost 10/10

$2.99/£1.79 is a great price for Archetype and doesn’t include any of those horrible freemium models found in other games (such as Ngmoco‘s Eliminate).

Conclusion 54/70 – 4/5

Archetype definitely isn’t going to be the most in-depth game you have ever seen and the fact is that you have basically exhausted the game of all its features on the first run through, but the amazingly smooth online play and the way that Villain has executed this title with such polish makes Archetype a standout game, which should be commended. If you are looking for a fast-paced quality Quake Online-ish game on your iPhone or iPod Touch, then look no further, Archetype is your man. But don’t go expecting a revelation when it comes to physical content.

Archetype on the App Store.