The Internet giant Google earlier in the year ported its near-real time augmented reality massively multiplayer online pervasive game, Ingress, to Android and now the app is available on iOS as well.
The free iPhone and iPad game uses your location and real-world objects in your near vicinity to provide various clues and transform your world into the landscape for a “global game of mystery, intrigue, and competition”…
You must basically visit real-world landmarks in order to establish portals of sorts. The catch: you must consider various locations around you carefully because the game challenges you to link the portals in order to create virtual triangular fields over larger geographic areas.
Created by Niantic Labs, a startup within Google, the game features a complex science fiction back story with a continuous open narrative.
From the blurb:
Our future is at stake. You must choose a side.
A mysterious energy has been unearthed by a team of scientists in Europe. The origin and purpose of this force is unknown, but some researchers believe it is influencing the way we think. We must control it or it will control us.
“The Enlightened” seek to embrace the power that this energy may bestow upon us. “The Resistance” struggle to defend, and protect what’s left of our humanity.
Because it’s a multiplayer game, people often group together to link portals spanning hundreds of miles.
Highlights:
- The World is the Game – Move through the real world using your iOS device and the Ingress app to discover and tap sources of this mysterious energy. Acquire objects to aid in your quest, deploy tech to capture territory, and ally with other players to advance the cause of the Enlightened or the Resistance.
- Strategy – The struggle is being played out globally. Track the progress of players around the world, plan your next steps, and communicate with others using an Intelligence map.
- Form Alliances – The struggle to save the planet spans the entire world. Groups of people acting together can be more effective than individuals acting alone. Cooperation across neighborhoods, cities, and countries will be needed to achieve the ultimate victory.
Download Ingress free in the App Store.
The 43.7MB universal app requires iOS 5.0 or later.