Modern Combat: Sandstorm

Modern Combat: Sandstorm
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Developer(s)	In-house
Publisher(s)	Gameloft
Platform(s)	iOS, WebOS, Android OS
Release date(s)	August 27, 2009
Genre(s)	First-person shooter
Mode(s)	Single-player
Rating(s)	Apple: 12+
Media/distribution	Digital distribution

Modern Combat: Sandstorm is a game for the iOS, WebOS, Android OS and Samsung Bada OS developed and published by Gameloft,^[1][2][3] reminiscent of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 . Players take the role of a warrant officer who has just returned to war in the Middle East after recovering from severe injuries.

Plot

An unnamed American warrant officer (only ever called 'Chief') returns to active duty in the war against terrorism in the Middle East, and reunites with his old squad, mainly consisting of Dozer,Ryan, Fox, and Jones, the captain. After completing a training run, Chief is immediately taken with his squad to an area believed to be being used as a terrorist radio outpost. The squad splits up and travels around the area, destroying a number of radio towers, before regrouping in a hotel. Their extraction chopper is shot down by the terrorists, and so they are forced to defend the hotel from a large number of terrorists before being safely extracted in a humvee. During the mission, the squad notice how the terrorists seemed to be ready for them - someone in the squad had informed them.

The squad are then sent to a hospital in order to capture Abu Bahaa, a terrorist warlord, who is apparently under care. Chief and Dozer infiltrate the hospital through the sewer system below, while Ryan and Jones wait outside,It is suspected that Ryan is killed in this mission.Upon reaching Bahaa's room, Chief finds that they have been tricked; the hospital has been rigged with explosives and a dummy has been placed in Bahaa's hospital bed. However, he and Dozer manage to escape unscathed, while also protecting Jones, who has been wounded.

After Jones recovers, the squad break into a dockyard which Bahaa is using to contain a large nuke. They discover that the terrorists actually have an enormous base underground, the entrance hidden within a metal box. Chief is sent in to find the nuke - he encounters Bahaa inside, but is forced to leave him in order to locate the bomb, which could be detonated by the terrorists any minute. He eventually finds the nuke and is able to secure it, while Bahaa flees outside and attempts to escape in a truck. The squad pursue him in a humvee, chasing him out of the dockyard and through a train tunnel, before eventually managing to flip his truck just as he reaches the highway.

The squad find Bahaa lying by the truck, still alive, and Dozer prepares to capture him; however, Jones betrays the squad, killing Dozer and taking Fox hostage. Bahaa taunts Chief, saying that he is weak and that he has no choice but to surrender, but Chief shoots Jones, who falls to the ground with Fox. Bahaa pulls two grenades from his jacket and prepares to blow up both Chief and himself, but Fox pulls him to the ground and tells Chief to run. Chief takes cover by the humvee as both Bahaa and Fox are consumed by the explosion.

For all of his efforts, Chief is promoted and becomes known as a hero. He travels to Fox's residence and meets his wife, informing her of his act of martyrdom and how he saved his life.

Gameplay

Gameplay Screenshot

The game features 10 missions in varied environments with different tasks for players to complete. Online multiplayer has been added to Sandstorm as a free update on January 28, 2010. The main enemy in the game are the terrorists and other soldiers fight against them alongside players throughout the game. There are a variety of weapons and grenades to use in the game. Movement is triggered by a virtual joystick on the screen and sight and aim is controlled by scrolling across the touch sceen. Players can also crouch, throw a grenade, scope, reload, change weapon and shoot using buttons on the touch screen.^[4]

HD

An high-definition version of the game has been released on April 1, 2010 only for the iPad.

Weapons

There are a variety of weapons in Modern Combat: Sandstorm. They range from two assault rifles, one with a higher rate of fire and movement speed, but lacking in power and accuracy in comparison to the other, to an SMG, a shotgun, a sniper rifle, and an RPG. These weapons can be found stashed away in crates, often inside a side building along the path indicated by the missions. In multiplayer, the seven weapons below are organized into four classes (the MP5 is used in both the Infantry and Short-range classes). They are: the M16A3 and AK-47 assault rifles, the MP5A2 SMG, the M870 shotgun, the M24 SWS sniper rifle, the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon, and the RPG-7 Rocket propelled grenade.

Weapons

Classes

Infantry

• M16A3
• MP5

Close Quarters

• MP5
• M870

Long-Range

• AK-47
• M249

Heavy Gunner

• M249
• RPG-7

Sequel

A sequel of the game entitled Modern Combat 2: Black Pegasus was released on October 4, 2010 for iOS and Web OS.

See also

• Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
• Gameloft
• Brothers in Arms
• Middle Eastern

References

1. ^ app shopper Modern Combat: Sandstorm
2. ^ Modern Combat: Sandstorm on itunes store
3. ^ product page on Gameloft site
4. ^ Touch arcade review