Dark Day LA Review

Dark Day LA is a two-player iPad experience that can take place via single screen or split screen. One player takes the role of the vampire, while the other takes the role of hovering helicopter sniper. In a race to the kill, the sniper must snuff out the vampire before it snuffs out too many victims.

Set up the parameters of the game before it begins. Choose up to ten silver bullets for the sniper, up to ten beating hearts for the vampire’s blood banks, and adjust these limits as desired. For example, to make it easier for the sniper select more bullets and more hearts because the longer it takes the vampire to make his kills, the longer the sniper has to identify him in the crowd and take him out. Plus, the more bullets the more “mistakes” the sniper can make. If the sniper proves to be just that good, limit his bullets to, say, three, and limit the amount of hearts to maybe five in order to make the game more challenging. The vampire needs only a small number of kills, and the sniper only has three shots to get his “man.” The hunt is on!

Controls are simple; it just might take a minute or two to get the hang of the vampire. In order to roam the streets undiscovered, the evil creature is disguised as any of the “template” townspeople. It’s easy to lose the character. If it moves too fast, or stands out in any way, the sniper could pick up on that and the cops win. To control the vampire, two fingers are needed. One will maneuver him through the streets, while the other is used to make a stealthy tap on the screen when passing by a victim. After making a little death run, the victim will collapse in a pile of blood. To control the sniper, put a finger in the box on the bottom right. Move the searchlight and the crosshair by moving the finger. When ready to fire, aim at the target (hopefully the vampire, not an innocent citizen) and release.

Dark Day LA is definitely different. It's “real-life” interaction because one plays against a physical - not virtual - person. Much like old-school board games; sitting next to or across from someone. That ups the ante a bit. It's slightly addicting, especially if playing against a savvy opponent who likes to rub it in.

As engaging as Dark Day LA can be, the play time does have an expiration date for most. There are no levels or other type of game variations. There is no online social interaction or point accumulation. It's a simple two-player contest. Overall, it's something to bite into.