EA hinted at an iOS spinoff of Battlefield 3 around the time of the main game"s release, but it wasn"t until last Friday that we heard from them again, when the scourge known as Battlefield 3: Aftershock appeared unannounced, like an unwelcome guest. IGN UK happily reports that EA has pulled the game from the App Store, no doubt hoping to wipe its very name from the face of the Earth, following complaints that the game was glitchy to the point of being unplayable.
To be fair, the game was free, but people have, for better or worse, come to expect that even free apps will actually work. The open battlefields and vehicles that have come to define the seminal series were nowhere to be seen here. Instead, Aftershock tried and failed - quite miserably - to be a basic multiplayer shooter.
Despite bearing the Battlefield name, the game was actually more of a tie-in for the upcoming film, Act of Valor. Part of the "gameplay" involved forcing players to watch trailers of the movie in order to unlock the support class in the game. It"s worth noting that EA"s promotion of the film also extends to Aftershock"s bigger and much, much better brother, Battlefield 3 proper. By visiting a special site and watching a trailer for the film will unlock a few new dogtags for you to use in game.
IGN got the following statement from EA:
"EA Mobile is committed to delivering mobile entertainment experiences that are on par with the content and quality users have come to expect from their favorite EA gaming brands. To this end, we have decided to remove Battlefield 3: Aftershock from the App Store and are currently re-evaluating the app in response to the consumer feedback we"ve received. We thank all the fans who have downloaded the game to date."
IGN also reports that another completely different Battlefield 3 inspired game is also heading to the App Store sometime later this year. Here"s to hoping it will deliver a much better experience than the first attempt.