Skies of Glory isn’t a scam, but I think it’s a good example of how lite versions can easily be mistaken for “freemium” games if the descriptions aren’t good enough.
It’s not really made very clear on iTunes, but Skies of Glory is actually just a lite version of the game – a taste of what you can buy in the form of DLC (more campaign missions, multiplayer, extra planes, etc.). The 8-person online multiplayer works very well, but it’s also only offered for free “for a limited time”, and I haven’t found out how limited that time frame actually is.
What I did find out, however, is that there is just one campaign mission out of the promised 10 on developer SGN’s website. You only find out that the other missions have to be bought after you finish the first one – and I played through the first mission three times over just to make sure there wasn’t some sort of error on my part or some bug stopping me from seeing the other campaign levels. They’re not there until you pay $4.99 to get the other 10 (and one bonus plane). I’ve used plenty of other lite versions in my time with the iPhone, and this is one of the first that didn’t clearly describe its limitations from the get-go.
I can’t speak for the public on this one, but I did notice that someone on the TouchArcade forums went and tallied up the prices of all the DLC, and the game could cost up to $28.99 if you were to buy all of the extra planes, campaigns, dogfighting missions, and local multiplayer modes. Of course, you’ll never *need* all of those extras to play and enjoy the game, but it still seems a lot more expensive than comparable titles on the iPhone (i.e. Ace Combat and HAWX). HAWX is $6.99, but all of the game’s 26 planes and 13 campaign missions are just unlocks that you gain by playing through the game – not by buying separately. If you were to simply buy the campaign missions, extra plane, and dogfighting/skirmish modes, Skies of Glory would already cost $10, still lack local multiplayer support, and confine you to two planes for all of your dogfighting.
Now nobody on SGN’s team twisted my arm and forced me to download this free title, but they could certainly have been clearer as to what exactly was included in the initial download. Even PocketGamer UK’s review seems to hint at the fact that all of the campaign missions come free with the game, which just isn’t true.
Now that I know all of this I’ve got to say I am a little annoyed with the game and the developers and likely won’t bother with a review for Skies of Glory. It was great fun when I tried it out, but I think it took a little too much effort to find out some absolute basic facts about the game – things that were quite easily discernible in other “freemium” titles like Eliminate Pro. The game also still looks a little too expensive for my taste when you compare it to a few of the other aerial shooters out on the iPhone right now. Whether or not it’s intentional, I find SGN’s treatment of the end user in Skies of Glory rather callous, and so I’ll take my money and my time elsewhere for now.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
The game is good and good fun, but I would feel better playing a lite version than bumping into buy buttons in the menus. I don't blame SGN, they want to make money, but this kills all the emotion of unlocking and finishing a game. All videogamers have experienced that before, to finish a game with your own merit and loads of hours wasted going through the levels. I don't want to pay to unlock. It can't be called gaming.
Totally agreed – especially on the last point. It's a lot more fun feeling lime you've earned the right to play a certain level or use a certain plane than to throw money at the experience.
Also realizing a mistake I made in the post. The campain purchase provides one more plane – so spending the $10 I mentioned above will actually provide two planes. A little better, but not much.
I downloaded this as one of my first games for my ipod touch. I think its brilliant. I’ve played the tutorial and the first campaign mission and several (4) dogfigts and its still offering me more. I also tried the F.A.S.T. demo and that gave me another P40 with a different paint job back in Skies Of Glory – fantastic. I also loaded a song up into the in game so that I can now dogfight to the sound of Glen Miller’s In The Mood.
I’m new to the app store so I’ve no experience about the relative merits of different marketing strategies, all I can say is thanks to SGN for a great game and once some of my friends have got it I will add on the multiplayer option.
hrmm, you're right about the dogfighting. Come to think of it, I did play more than one dogfighting mission, but I was annoyed that it didn't save my progress at all.
Glad you're enjoying it, though. I think the fighting is still great – just not a fan of how they chose to throw in all the DLC. If you like this , you might also like Eliminate Pro. That's a pretty popular freemium title.
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