No developer has quite figured out how to replicate analog stick controls on the button-less iPhone, but Konami is one step closer to solving it with "Silent Hill: The Escape" by cleverly assigning the task of aiming to the device's accelerometer.
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One of Konami's first adventures into iPhone gaming, "Silent Hill: The Escape," is not a very good game, let alone a proper "Silent Hill" experience. The reason "Silent Hill" impressed me, however, was Konami's attempt to come up with first-person controls without access to buttons and by not resorting to faux analog sticks on the screen, as other games have tried.
How'd they do it? By relying on one of the iPhone's more underutilized features: the accelerometer. "Silent Hill" is a maze-based action game focused exclusively on shooting stumbling nurses and possessed wheelchairs (not kidding) and in order to line up your shots, you must tilt the phone.
Here's some footage I found of the game in action:
It's not a perfect solution. Moving and aiming simultaneously is extremely difficult. Movement is accomplished by sliding your finger forward, backward, left or right, but it's sloppily executed, making you feel like a tank while rotating. It's very "Resident Evil"-like. That issue is compounded when facing an enemy and needing to move out of their way and tilt the phone to aim.
The inability to move and shoot simultaneously could prove a permanent stumbling block for developers trying to tie aiming to the accelerometer, but it could prove fantastic for on-rails experiences. I'm looking at you, Namco. "Time Crisis" on iPhone, please!
[Video Credit: iPhone Gaming Network]
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