Backstab android Only 16 Kb!!!
Gameloft
has a history of taking major game franchises and creating similar
experiences in the mobile space. These games are successful, and the
reason is two-fold: their generally high production value and the fact
that they offer console-like experiences that almost no other developers
are making. Normally Gameloft does a great job at both, but its latest
title, Backstab, is a disappointment. Yes, it takes gameplay cues from
the likes of Assassin's Creed and brings them to the mobile platform,
but it's too repetitious and unpolished to warrant playing through the
multi-hour campaign
In Backstab, you play a swarthy Englishman named Henry Blake. Blake's
been accused of treason and, after a daring escape, is now seeking
revenge on those who turned their backs on him. Thus begins his quest of
repetitious fights and countless filler quests that comprise the
superficially lengthened campaign. Yes, there are plenty of side quests
to do and most of the environments are fairly large, but the missions
are boring things like races and fetch quests, leaving little reason to
explore.
Blake's an adventurer and apparently an amazing assassin. Like
Altair or Ezio in the Assassin's Creed franchise, Blake can scale
buildings, slay his enemies on a whim, and generally traipse around like
a ninja. Unfortunately, that's where a lot of the similarities with
Ubisoft's franchise end. While Blake has assassin-like talents, he's
rarely uses them. Most quests involve simply running from point A to
point B, then having a button-mashy sword battle against a bunch of
boring, stupid enemies. Even worse, are the fetch quests where you have
to just run around the environment and gather things for one of the many
cloned peasants that populate Backstab's world.
For a game that puts such emphasis on platforming and combat,
Backstab does little to make either of them entertaining. Blake rarely
uses his exceptional climbing skills for fighting, and the paths you can
take during quests are usually so linear that there's no challenge or
puzzle solving involved in figuring out where to go (half the time the
camera pans around to spell it out to you first anyways). Fighting is
equally mundane, with enemies who amount to little more than mashing on a
single button to win. Most enemies are also just re-skinned versions of
the same soldier, never forcing you to adapt your tactics.
Climbing around and fighting in Backstab is also cumbersome due to
the imprecise controls. On the left side of the screen you have a
virtual stick, while on the right side of the screen you have a melee
attack button, a ranged attack button, a special power button, as well
as the ability to adjust the camera by touching the blank parts of the
right side of the screen. With the default controls, this resulted in
times where I'd accidentally attack when all I was trying to do is
adjust the camera. I'd accidentally jump to my death when I was just
trying to move my character along a ledge. I'm OK with games being
difficult, but I'm not OK with failing repeatedly because the controls
are wonky. You can spread the buttons out in a custom control scheme as
you see fit, but keeping them easily accessible means you'll likely
press them unintentionally.
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