Previews

Hands-on with Epoch 2 - Uppercut Games's metal-plated sequel

Gears and war

Hands-on with Epoch 2 - Uppercut Games's metal-plated sequel
|
iOS
| Epoch 2

There was a lot to love about scrappy robot blaster Epoch, when it launched in late 2011.

Not only was it one of those rare console-style shooters that actually made great use of the touchscreen, but it had a level of complexity to its gameplay that kept you coming back for more.

Unfortunately, there wasn't very much more of it to come back to.

Developer Uppercut Games agrees that the first title was a little short, and it aims in Epoch 2 not only to take the princess-rescuing storyline a little further but to address some of the original game's other problems.

Epoch 2

Some things never change, of course. There's nothing like a bit of robot-on-robot action, after all, and plenty of shards of metal flying every which way, along with the accompanying explosions.

So, you can expect plenty more feisty cover-based firefights, with your robot hero gunning down wave upon wave of enemy rust buckets.

But the addition of new enemy-types means you'll need to incorporate new tactics into your repertoire, and the previous game's rock-paper-scissors style of dealing with threats has been greatly reduced as a result.

Take the new flying enemies. You might get off a lucky shot and knock them out of the sky, but your best bet is to let loose with a barrage of homing missiles – just cross your fingers that you won't need them again any time soon for another elusive enemy hiding behind cover.

Epoch 2

To complement the new enemies, Uppercut has thrown in a few new moves, including a melee-smackdown. As with the first title, it all ties in to the RPG-style system of upgrading your robot's systems to increase your raw damage output, or to apply special types of damage to your various weapons

Epoch 2 will also see the inclusion of multi-tiered locations and a Gears of War-style active-reload system to provide small boosts to your damage output.

For a game that already places lots of multi-tasking demands on the player, small touches like this will reward hardcore gamers who are up to the challenge.

yt
Subscribe to Pocket Gamer on

All of this would be for naught if the game were as short as the first one, of course, but Uppercut Games assures us that there should be anywhere from three to four times the amount of content of the first title.

Epoch 2 should hit the App Store in October.

Andrew Nesvadba
Andrew Nesvadba
Andrew started out playing the Paddington Bear series of games on the Commodore 64. He followed that up by completing Impossible Mission. This sort of eclectic, and almost self-destructive, approach to gaming has plagued his life, but it also gives him a unique insight into both extremes of the gaming spectrum.