DHOOM 3: The Game….From India with love! and no, it’s not DOOM 3.

Hello MNB readers,

While browsing the internet trying to find new information about Asphalt 8 for Windows Phone, I stumbled across an interesting article that deals with a new game, a new movie in a well established movie franchise and some great collaboration between Microsoft and the developers of DHOOM 3: The Game.

Now, I won’t pretend to know anything about the DHOOM movies, I originally thought the article title had a typo and that Doom 3 had finally come to Windows Phone! I also won’t pretend to know anything about development scene in India, the developer 99Games Online Private Limited or Microsoft’s role in the partnership. I simply want to share the article and the game with whomever is interested in new games for the Windows Phone platform.

First, a few quotes from the article on Business Today and some more information that is relevant to how DHOOM 3: The Game made its way to  a Windows Phone near you:

It is Dhoom 3 season already. As a precursor to the launch of the third installment of one of India’s most popular movie franchises, Yash Raj Films (YRF) has tied up with Microsoft to bring a game,  developed by 99Games Online Private Limited, exclusively to the Windows Phone store.

The game will be available on other platforms only after four weeks while the movie is slated for release on December 20…..

The endless 3D racing game, which feels a bit like Asphalt 8 (ED. this is how I ended up here…one word…one number), is set in Chicago where the movie has been shot.

“The player will be Aamir Khan’s character in the movie and is being chased by cops Abhishek Bachchan and Uday Chopra,” said Rohith Bhat, managing director of 99Games, which is a publishing platform of his very successful Robosoft Games.

About Microsoft’s involvement in bringing the game to Windows Phone:

Vineet Durani Director, Microsoft India’s  Windows Phone Business Group, told Business Today that the game will be available on all Windows Phone devices and have the same experience. “We were very keen on getting Indian content  as our audience does not connect well with some of the global hits,” he added.

If you have a few moments, please click the link “getting Indian content” as it provides great insight on some of the choices developers make, even on an individual level when choosing WP, iOS or Android as their platform to release their titles as well as the whole Free, Paid and Freemium battles. From the “getting Indian content link:

To be sure, many a time, there is not much money in app development. Kasturi says she initially priced her dance app at Rs 70 on the Windows app store. At that price it got just two downloads a week. “The moment I made it free on the store, it got 300 downloads in a single day,” she says. It is important to market the app on social networking sites such as Facebook, get people to review it and talk about it. “Only then can you monetize it,” she adds.

Anshul Gupta, Principal Analyst at global technology research firm Gartner, agrees. “Making money is very, very tough,” he says. Which are the apps that do? “One has to see if the app addresses one of the pain areas of the consumer,” he adds.

What about: The Game?

DHOOM 3: The Game (D3) is a solid game. By solid, I mean everything works as designed. It has good graphics, sound and gameplay and UI is easy to navigate and understand. D3 is described as an endless 3D racer and while that may fit the game into that category, what makes it stand out in my opinion is that you are actually “driving” the motorcycle instead of switching lanes and swiping left, right, up and down like most endless runners, racers, drivers, flyers etc.

There are 2 control options in the settings menu, Tilt or Tap:

Historically, when playing racing games on mobile devices, I have leaned more towards the Tap controls where you tap the screen on the left or the right to control your vehicle as I have found that to be more precise in my experience. For D3, I find the tilt controls to be FAR, FAR, FAR superior than the tap controls when it comes to accuracy. The Tilt controls seem to measure subtle movements of my 1020 while the tap controls send the motorcycle veering left or right even after I have lifted my finger off of the screen, causing a round ending, busted by the cops, hopes and dreams dashing crash!

MAN DOWN!!!!!! MEDIC!!!!!

 Yes….that is my rider on the ground and I have fallen….and I can’t get up! Needless to say, I switched back to Tilt controls and I fared much better. Try each control type and find the one that helps you survive the longest distance.

During the racing action, you can collect distance boosting Nitro and power-ups to help you stay in the game longer. You will also see Gold coins littered about the mean streets of Chicago that can be used in D3’s Store to buy Bikes, Costumes and Power Ups that will make your rider look cooler and drive even faster while outrunning the Law.

If you are low on coins and don’t have the time or patience to earn more for your Store purchases, you can partake in optional in app purchases (IAP) to fill your virtual bank accounts. Remember the article above about developers not making much money with their apps…..an IAP will is a win for your gaming needs and a win for the developers gaming aspirations.

In addition to the in-game racing action, there are various other things that you can do before and after the race. In the menu you will find Settings, Objectives, Statistics and About to get more information about the game.

The Objectives and Leveling system are similar in style the Achievements that you will see in Asphalt 7 on Windows Phone or almost any Xbox WP title and are a welcomed addition to D3 since the title doesn’t have any Xbox integration at this time.

All in all, DHOOM 3: The Game is a good game, it’s free, it has in-game objectives (not Xbox Achievements), the graphics are good, while not having the highest polygon counts or mind-blowing effects, they are smooth, with high-resolution textures and a great frame rate. The tilt controls are some of the best that I HAVE ever used as they are accurate enough to pick up a row of coins while rounding a curve. The sound is great for what is provided. For what it is worth, the title is considered as an endless runner/racer and the amount of content is within the realm of the likes of the big name Temple Runs, Rail Rushes, you can even “save yourself” after you crash your bike if you have the necessary items to do so.

As with all games, there may be bugs and some things may be rough around the edges (Tap control!) but things can change with software updates. Personally, I would like to see a better quality Title Screen. It may seem like a small thing but with the high impact and hi-resolution artwork in the Windows Phone Store, the title screen just seems to have a low-resolution. Even the in-game menu seems to be of a higher quality, who knows, maybe it is my eyes….

With all of that said, feel free to take DHOOM 3: The Game for a spin..its uhhh…free! 🙂 If you like the game and have 99 cents (or your local currency) to spare , support the developer in the form of a virtual wallet boosting IAP. Even if you don’t spend any real money, I hope you enjoy the game. I think it is nice to see Microsoft (as is Nokia) helping developers bring games, experiences and exposure to Windows Phone. D3 isn’t Asphalt 8, it never set out to be and I may have not found any new information on Asphalt 8 for WP but I am glad that I found out about D3 and more importantly what goes on around the world, in other cultures, countries and by many teams working together to provide software on the platforms that we love.

All of this talk of collaboration sparked my interest in the D3 movie. For those that are curious, here is a trailer for the movie:

DHOOM 3 looks like an interesting movie and I hope that it does well in theaters.

Head on over to the D3 download page in the Windows Phone store via the link below:

Download

What do you think about D3: The game, Microsoft collaborating to bring games to Windows Phone or anything else related to this article? We often hear of Nokia working with companies to bring the big names to WP and that is great. Sometimes we have to remember that the big names started out as small names one day. Regardless if D3: The Game ever spawns into anything greater, it at least added a +1 to the Windows Phone app catalogue and for that I want to tell the developers, thank you for your time.

As for you, our MNB readers, as always, thank you for your time and for continuing to support MyNokiaBlog! Have a great day,

Deaconclgi

Related information found in this post:

Business Today: Dhoom 3: The Game debuts exclusively on Windows Phone

Business Today: Young and appy

YouTube: DHOOM 3 Trailer

Tags: 3D Games, Free Games

Category: Applications, Nokia, Video, Windows Phone