Gameloft makes no secret of its modus operandi — copy other games in order to bring iOS gamers the kind of experiences that the original publishers won’t bring themselves. Halo, Grand Theft Auto, Call of Duty and even Guitar Hero have all been lifted, but Shadow Guardian may be the most shameless of the lot.
I’m a big supporter of Gameloft and I love what they do, but even I have to raise an eyebrow at this one. Shadow Guardian isn’t like Uncharted … it IS Uncharted. The smart-mouthed hero, the treasure-hunting scenario, the locations, the gameplay, absolutely everything is lifted from Naughty Dog’s PS3 classic. At least N.O.V.A tried to have some original concepts buried under the Bungie love.
That said, Gameloft gets away with it as usual because of one simple thing — Naughty Dog will never bring an Uncharted game to mobile phones. You’ll never play Drake’s Deception on the iPad. Might as well let Gameloft step in and do what it does best. Ain’t hurtin’ nobody.
Shadow Guardian will be out on December 16, along with N.O.V.A 2.
