With iOS 8 being one of the biggest updates ever for gaming on iOS devices thanks to Metal, Apple’s new tool for developers, Gameloft is one of the first to take advantage of all the new features by releasing updates for two of their biggest iOS games. First off, Asphalt 8: Airborne has been updated with brand new graphics using the Metal engine from Apple. Additionally the game comes with five new cars for players to drive — the Koenigsegg One: 1, the Mazda Furai, the Maserati MC12, the Savage Rivale GTR and the Peugeot Onyx. Additionally a new level, San Diego Harbor, has also been added that takes place on an aircraft carrier. Finally, a new multiplayer event is now available that allows players to go against each other to win rewards.

As for Modern Combat 5: Blackout, Gameloft‘s most popular first person shooter, it has also received a huge graphical for devices that support Metal. From what we were told, Modern Combat 5 now has up to 5 times more particles meaning that various aspects of the game like explosions, the environment, and such are more detailed and look better as well. Even though there’s no new content or features like Asphalt 8: Airborne, it’s still nice to see Gameloft keeping their most popular games up to date in terms of graphics.

Wrapping every thing up, Gameloft has introduced two new bundles where gamers can save money by purchasing multiple games all at once. Dubbed the “Modern Combat Bundle”, players can get Modern Combat 3, Modern Combat 4, and Modern Combat 5 for only $9.99. Alternatively, the “Action Games Bundle” includes Gangstar Vegas and Modern Combat 5 for $7.99. As of now this is all that we have, but we’ll keep you updated on any other news we hear from Gameloft.

Continuing on with the development of Modern Combat 5: Blackout, it appears to be moving pretty rapidly, especially here in the last couple weeks. With that being said, Gameloft has revealed some special details on their latest and greatest graphical technology that they will be implementing into the game. What is apparently called “Screen Space Ambient Occlusion“, or SSAO for short, is a rendering technique that results in more realistic shadows in occluded areas, therefore making the game look better overall. To see this in action, check out the GIF above as well as our gallery by clicking here. Just before you thought that was all, there’s a lot more you can look forward to. As listed below, it’s a full list of other graphical enhancements Modern Combat 5: Blackout will feature once it becomes available to download. If things continue at the rate they are going, we hope to see the game out sometime late Summer or early Fall.

• Eye adaptation and bloom — exposure adjusts in a more realistic manner when moving between light and dark areas.
• Soft particles — improved interactions of particles with surrounding geometry.
• Underwater distort and caustics — reproduces realistic water effects.
• Read-time character shadows — characters cast shadows on geometry in real time.
• Heat-haze — air distortion due to muzzle heating after shooting.
• Depth of Field — cinematic effect that makes the background appear out of focus so that certain characters or objects in the foreground step more into focus.
• More: Reflection ground, Color correction, Specular effects and so on.

Just as always, we’ll be sure to keep you updated as time progresses and be sure to check out the other articles in relation to Modern Combat 5: Blackout.

After much anticipation, we finally now have brand new, hot-off-the press details on Gameloft’s upcoming first-person shooter Modern Combat 5: Blackout. While these details do not highlight everything about the game, they do cover two important features — unified progression and the character classes. Just like previous titles in the Modern Combat franchise, Modern Combat 5: Blackout will feature both a single player campaign as well as multiplayer modes. This time around, players will notice that player progression doesn’t just happen in multiplayer, but also in single player. Experience points gained by completing single player missions will help level up your character across both modes and vice-versa. Every match or mission you play also increases your weapon score, leading up to the ability to master individual weapons. In addition, better weapons will unlock as you play the game and once they are unlocked, a weapon can be used in both single player and multiplayer.

Onto soldier classes, we are told that there are 4 classes you can play as in Modern Combat 5: Blackout. When you level up in single or multiplayer, you will receive Skill Points which are unique to each class. Lastly, players can chose from various upgradeable skills and perks to further increase their class stats. Here’s a quick breakdown of the classes:

• Assault — Aggressive fighter that is effective at medium range combat. Equips assault rifles and pistols.
• Heavy — Resilience is the main advantage of this class. Equips shotguns and RPGs and feels comfortable in close to medium combat.
• Recon — Focuses on fast action and exposing enemies. Equips SMGs and pistols. Efficient in close range combat.
• Sniper — Obviously, focuses on sharpshooting with a stealth approach. Equips sniper rifles and pistols. Efficient in long distance combat.

If you’re new to Modern Combat 5: Blackout, be sure to check out the story details that we posted not too long ago. With the release date slowing approaching us, we hope to see it land on the App Store sometime later this month or over the summer. Stay tuned though, we’ll have more information “in the coming weeks” according to Gameloft.