Gamers Play a Game by Bungie Inc. at the 2014 Electronic Entertainment Expo, Known as E3, in Los Angeles
IN PHOTO: Gamers play a game by Bungie Inc. at the 2014 Electronic Entertainment Expo, known as E3, in Los Angeles, California, June 10, 2014. REUTERS

When Bungie founder Alex Seropian and former "Halo" design lead Paul Bertone unveiled “Midnight Star,” fans and critics were ecstatic. After two years of development, “Midnight Star” is finally available in the app store, and it’s free.

Originally called “Morning Star,” the game’s story is set 120 years into the future where the player’s character named Charlie is sent to investigate a mysterious signal emitting from some place in the solar system. After the protagonist discovers that he has powers, something horrible goes wrong and the planet Earth goes missing; it is up to Charlie to discover what happened to everyone and save the world.

Seropian’s studio Industrial Toys has put a lot of effort into “Midnight Star,” the company’s first game. A free graphic novel set in the game’s universe is available for download and features a story by John Scalzi, along with art from former “X-Force” and “Thor” artist Mike Choi. The interactive comic titled “Midnight Rises” is a prequel to the main game’s story and gives the player loot after reading through it. Serj Tankian, the leadman for popular band “System of a Down,” provides the music for the game.

Seropian recently talked to Gamespot about the game. "We're breaking new ground on everything, from the visuals to the story to the ongoing support, we'll provide in the way of content, events and player involvement," he explained.

One of the more touted aspects of the game, according to Eurogamer, is that it was built from the ground up, specifically for mobile devices. Everything from the controls to the graphics was specifically done for the benefit of the mobile gamer, plus it’s free to download and play.

While many mobile gamers roll their eyes to the term “free-to-play” since it usually leads to the “pay-to-win” tactic, an early review from Pocket Gamer stated that the game can actually be completed without paying for anything. The review also gave the game a very solid score of 8, as it supposedly does a much better job at mobile shooting than previous games released for iOS devices. If anyone is curious to try it out, simply click here and start shooting some aliens.

Midnight Star - Launch Trailer (Credits: YouTube/Machinima)

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