Inside Social Games

A while back, a game by the name of iSamurai was released for the iPhone: It turned the mobile device into a make-shift katana as two people synched up to hack and slash at each other in a virtual sword fight. Suffice to say, this was fun, but what about those that prefer a more modern era of combat? Well, that’s where an interesting new game from mobile developer Com2Us called Sniper vs. Sniper Online comes into play.

While the game isn’t out yet, from what we’ve heard about, it looks like a lot of fun. The primary concept has players challenging one another in sniper battles within various 2D environments such as a single building, village, forest, temple, or city. These levels vary in difficulty and your objective is to snipe your opponent before he or she snipes you.

The game starts with you looking out from your vantage point, with a simple tap bringing out a pair of binoculars. From here, the trick is to find whomever you are playing against before they find you, and they will be noted by a black outfit and, hopefully, binoculars in their hands.

A second tap brings up the actual rifle. The aiming is done completely with the iPhone itself, picking up every subtle movement and tapping an icon to shoot. Granted, it is a bit tough to control at first, but is very intuitive, nonetheless. Once one of the two combatants gets hit, an indicator will show where they were shot and the respective snipers will relocate. If you get hit first, the game helps you out with some directional clues as to where the enemy is currently hiding, making for a decent balancing mechanism for new players.

Suffice to say, it is a lot of fun to play, and depending on the level, your target could be right across the street or only a few pixels high. Furthermore, the action can be further stirred up with co-op modes where two people can team up to fight a team of snipers. Frankly, the only thing missing is a plastic sniper rifle peripheral.

The game also has an offline, single player mode for those that is of a less competitive nature. While offline, players can practice by picking off terrorists in a campaign mode or play in a myriad different mini-games. Unfortunately, these look to be pretty much just for practice, or areas without an internet connection, and lack the competitive allure that the multiplayer brings. Regardless, the game still looks pretty good. Though Com2Us doesn’t seem to have a release date on their website, this is one game to watch for in the near future.