Tempo Review
Price: $4.99
Version Reviewed: 1.0.2
App Reviewed on: iPad mini Retina
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The first thing that hit me about Tempo was just how incredible it looks - from its crisp textures to its smooth animations, with London providing a great (if under-utilized) backdrop. As the city finds itself under a terrorist siege, a secret government service with only a few remaining agents must stop it from being blown to smithereens.
Tempo is described as a 'cinematic action game' and that couldn't be more apt, because ultimately player contribution is too minimal to provide any real sense of accomplishment. At one point an armed soldier had a gun pointed at my head, but as I raised my hands in surrender I suddenly knocked the gun out of his hands and judo flipped that sucker. In reality all I did was press the screen at the right time, and that made me feel like a bystander. Although most levels have a different setting or mission statement, each one plays out the same way, with similar animations and scenarios that are bound to repeat themselves (sooner rather than later).
Tempo is slick, cool, and stylistically cinematic, but ultimately thats's also its downfall as players will undoubtedly tire of playing such a small role - both tactically and actively. It's a game that shows off the graphical capabilities of iOS gaming, but not the depth of gameplay that should reside behind pretty visuals.