The latest game brought to us by developers Splash Damage, Tempo, brings the world of quick hit gaming and deep immersion together.
In this iOS title, you must free the city of London from the grips of a criminal mastermind by the name of Moloch. He and his compatriots have spread vans packed with bombs around the city, and taken the countries most effective anti-terror agents hostage. As one of the few agents left, you must free your comrades and save the city.
Splash Damage claims Tempo brings the AAA experience to handheld devices. I don’t know if I would agree with such a grandiose statement, but the quality is definitely there. Music composed by Mark Rutherford amplifies the high pressure that Tempo exudes, accenting the game nicely. Voice acting is also top notch, with stars such as Edward Dogliani, and Killzone’s Joseph May.
Fast paced, high octane events play out on your handheld screens as action prompts pop up at key points, requiring precision timing and movement. For example if a circle appears, you must tap it precisely at the right moment. If a triangle prompt appears, you must tap within its borders as quickly as you can. If a small sequence of points appear you must trace them exactly in the provided pattern as quickly as possible. Completing these actions quickly shaves seconds off of your run and raising your overall score.
A faster time means higher reward, as players rack up in game currency. This currency can then be spent on single use perks that will boost either a players abilities for a mission, or garner them a bonus reward. I found it easy to progress without purchasing these, and also thought the perks to be a bit pricey. At least for now, players don’t need to worry about spending real world currency for these, as Splash Damage seems to be placing an emphasis on doing away with in app purchases.
This constant need to achieve the best time lends to replayability. Another aspect of Tempo that brings users back for more is the ability to share not only scores, but footage of your impressive run with friends. I found this to be an interesting tool, and it brings about the interesting question, “will game streaming stick in mobile games?”. With things like Twitch and now onboard recording ability in consoles like the PS4, watching other people play games has become more popular than ever. Will mobile gaming follow this trend as well?
The motives behind Tempo often confuse me as I play. Many vastly popular mobile titles are quick hit games, something users can play for a few seconds or minutes at a time, and then return to later. With games such as Telltales’ The Walking Dead, we have also seen the vast popularity of narratively complex mobile games. Tempo delivers missions that last little more than a minute at times, but an action packed narrative. But attempting to cater to both of these audiences, at times I feel they miss both of them. I am intrigued by the concept of marrying short burst gaming with meaningful content rather than repetitive simple puzzles, but Tempo’s core gameplay mechanics betray this.
Standing on a train platform, phone in hand, I would seek out a fun puzzle game or short game to fill in the time when I am avoiding a stranger’s gaze. But with the hustle and bustle of a commute, it must be a game I can look away from, from time to time. But as I play Tempo, fingers at the ready, poised and waiting for that quick time event, I realize this wouldn’t be possible if I were commuting or multitasking. A game that demands precision and perfect timing cannot be paired with another activity.
Tempo is an odd creature, but an enjoyable one nonetheless. I found myself retrying levels over and over, just trying to get a better time. Quick time events normally annoy me, but making a game out of them, making me chase a higher level of precision became gratifying. I don’t expect to see many people on the go playing this, maybe a few commuters though, after they nab that comfy window seat I was eyeing.