Mass Effect: Infiltrator Reviews, In-App Purchase Prices Revealed

Prior to picking up Mass Effect: Infiltrator on iTunes in order to “improve your chances in the final Mass Effect 3 battle”, I’d recommend checking out some of the reviews and hands-on impressions pieces that are inhabiting the web to see if the $6.99 asking price is worth it.

First, I’ll direct you over to Eurogamer for a bit of a warning on the game’s pricey in-app purchases:

The CEO’s Pack is the most expensive, priced at £34.99/$49.99. It unlocks 200,000 in-game credits which can be spent on new armour and weapons. Other options include the Doctor’s Pack (75,000 credits for £17.49), Engineer’s Pack (55,000 credits for £10.49), Soldier’s Pack (35,000 credits for £6.99), Clerk’s Pack (15,000 credits for £2.99) or the lowly Janitor’s Pack (2500 credits for £1.49). You can also buy an upgrade to award double credits. That’s £4.99.

Then we head to Slide to Play for a score of 1/4:

We had high hopes for Mass Effect Infiltrator. The graphics are clearly outstanding, but the gameplay and control issues ruin the fun. This ambitious project is just as disappointing as Mass Effect Galaxy. Even if you’re the most die-hard of the die-hard Mass Effect fans, this painful-to-play shooter is not worth your time.

TouchGen gives it a 3.5/5:

Based on my opinion of the iOS Dead Space and my fanboyish commitment to the Mass Effect franchise, I really expected to absolutely love Mass Effect Infiltrator. Sadly, it simply doesn’t deliver the way I feel a game in the Mass Effect franchise should. Granted, it’s not some cheap mini-game or crappy animated comic, but it still feels more like a quickly-planned tie-in than a full standalone experience. MEI is a genuine 3rd-person shooter with a great 3D engine at it’s disposal. It looks great, sounds great, and provides some satisfying action, but it also has some poor voice acting, features characters and a storyline you won’t care about/understand, and has surprisingly limited/frustrating combat controls. As a fan of the Mass Effect series, I feel I am much more prone to be disappointed than those who are simply looking for a good action game for their mobile device, but it really comes down to the fact that MEI is as flawed as it is great. For every (Oooh, that was cool!) moment you’re going to have a moment of (What the hell! Why can’t I shoot him!) (Followed by death and cursing.) As much as Mass Effect Infiltrator draws many of it’s design features from Dead Space, one of the best games of 2011, Dead Space it ain’t.

CNET doesn’t score it:

I’ve been thinking a long while about the problem with Mass Effect: Infiltrator is. Really, it might be the way that developers handle iOS games. Do the lower cost and lower expectations, versus higher-priced Nintendo 3DS and PS Vita games, take a toll on quality? For an iOS game, this Mass Effect game isn’t bad. If you’re a graphics lover, you’ll be quite happy indeed. If this game were on a Vita or a 3DS, however, people would run it out of town on a rail.

Kotaku remains scoreless:

Throughout the game, you’ll pick up intel that improves your Galactic Readiness Rating in the PC or console versions of Mass Effect 3. And finishing Infiltrator gives you an exclusive War Asset that people who didn’t play it supposedly won’t get. With no copy of Mass Effect 3 on hand to test this functionality, I have to take EA at their word that it’ll buff your big-screen ME3 playthrough. But, on its own merits, Mass Effect Infiltrator isn’t worth the time or money you’d spend on it. I know Commander Shepard, Randall hell, I am Commander Shepard and you’re no Commander Shepard.

148Apps gives it a 4/5:

Even though Infiltrator’˜s controls could use a little tweaking, they’re still extremely intuitive. The combat is very satisfying and exhilarating when it flows properly. Plus old chapters can be reloaded to earn even more cash if things start to get too tough. I have to admit I’m very, very impressed.

And IntoMobile leaves us without a score:

I’ve never experienced a game that does such a great job at class-platform synchronization as Mass Effect: Infiltrator. Each time I defeated an enemy that dropped a piece of intel, I was genuinely excited as I knew it would be helping in the final outcome of Mass Effect 3. When you factor in Mass Effect: Infiltrator does an amazing job at offering a unique yet familiar Mass Effect experience, as well as delivering an exciting and fresh perspective on the third-person shooter genre, then you’ll see exactly why I’d give Mass Effect a gold star, editor’s choice, 10 out of 10, or whatever kids are giving games these days that they really, really like.