Other than the sheer amount of content involved and how well the FPS and Action RPG genres are blended together here, the most exciting aspect of Mission Europa is how moddable its entire user interface is. Virtually any onscreen element can be shifted around to the player’s liking through an in-game options menu, and touchscreen sensitivity settings are important inasmuch as the player needs to become comfortable with the process of re-aiming the game’s camera while strafing or adjusting for weapon recoil. FPS vets who don’t want their iDevice screen filled with damage numbers can switch those off too. The one complaint I would raise with regard to Mission Europa‘s interface is that the option to turn off “auto-run” – which keeps the protagonist moving even when the player removes his or her thumb from the virtual joystick – doesn’t work as advertised. If the player moves the virtual joystick beyond a certain radius, the protagonist still keeps moving in that direction; some players will find this an annoyance because it can result in unintended exposure to enemy attacks.
Aesthetically Mission Europa appears about on par with First Person Shooters of the Nintendo 64 variety; for me, the simply modeled enemies and environments invoked nostalgia for GoldenEye 007 and Turok: The Dinosaur Hunter. With the exception of one soulful guitar tune, music tends toward creepy ambiance, peppered with suitably unsettling screams and automated messages pouring out of the mine’s intercom system long after the demise of the facility’s staff.
Mission Europa is available both as a lump sum purchase (called the “Collector’s Edition”) and in installments of 10 levels at a time. Going with the Collector’s Edition is a no-brainer for the sake of a few extra gameplay perks. Not only does the Collector’s Edition start the player out with lots of healing potions, but any level of the mine can be accessed from the start of the game. The usefulness of this becomes immediately apparent to the RPG veteran: enemies on deeper levels are much stronger, and therefore the player can level up much more quickly if he or she has the wherewithal to survive more than a few seconds in those areas. Advanced weapons scavenged from punishing forays into Europa’s depths make easy pickings of enemies and bosses on the floor pertinent to the current storyline quest; it’s like the typical RPG “level grind,” but way more fun than usual.
iFanzine Verdict: It still has some room to improve in future updates, but Mission Europa is clearly a winner for Action RPG and First Person Shooter fans who are feeling adventurous enough to try a good genre mashup. It’s got more meat on the bones than you can shake a pulse rifle at, so the bang for the consumer’s buck is of astronomical proportions here; just keep in mind one playthrough could last a good month unless you’re able to bury yourself as deep as whatever awaits at the bottom of Europa’s mines.
Special in-game giveaway! All loot must go!!
iFanzine spent a couple days at the top of Mission Europa’s online achievements scoreboard, something we attribute to the awesome Level 10 Rusted Phaser we picked up way down in Europa’s mines. That’s not the only piece of equipment that would be helpful to someone just starting out, so we’re making use of the game’s item exchange to gift our coolest stuff to new players! Equip it, sell it for in-game currency, pass it on to friends — it’s all up to you!*
Here’s how to enter the giveaway: retweet this review and comment below with your multiplayer arena username. The player can set this up in-game at the glowing portal on Europa’s surface. Our best stuff’s going out first, so get in line early! Even the random minerals in our possession should be good for quick in-game cash at least, so we’ll keep giving items away until our inventory has run dry.