I've always been a fan of sniper games. Some of the most fun I've gotten out of the Grand Theft Auto series has been to find a nice hideout and snipe at unsuspecting passersby, raising my wanted level higher and higher. Likewise, the stealth and sniper aspects are what drew me toward the Splinter Cell games. Now you can take your sniper attacks on the go, with Contract Killer for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch.

Gameplay in Contract Killer is simple. You have a city map with contacts and locations noted by icons. The contacts give you hit contracts, which you go to the locations to execute. There are five different rendered locations with different vantage spots you gain access to as you gain levels. Once there, you use your scope to find your enemy and take care of business according to the appropriate details. Sometimes the mission requires you to only execute the boss. Other times you are expected to take out the boss and all of his men. Along the way, you'll encounter a storyline for your assassin that involves hits gone wrong, betrayal, and revenge, as well as enhance your wallet with cash from side jobs, offered by contacts with such telling names as "John Smith."

The game's controls are pretty intuitive for the iPhone or iPad's touch screen. Slide your finger to move your reticule around, aiming at specific targets. Once you've found what you're hunting for, you hit the scope button to look through your rifle's scope, with the ability to zoom in farther depending on the weapon. Finally, you can either use the game's "Fire" button to shoot, or you can change a setting so shooting is done by tapping the screen. Personally, I found the "Fire" button unwieldy, plus its proximity to my scope's zoom controls made it easy to accidently fire when I meant to zoom in. At the same time, you get a dirty screen or oil on your fingers and you might accidently tap the screen and shoot anyway. I guess you can justify this by saying the life of a contract killer requires precision and caution, because carelessness will just cause your mission to fail. Luckily, failure just means trying the mission over again.

As with most games, you have the ability to improve your character as you move forward in the game. Missions provide experience, which you use to level up. There doesn't appear to be much benefit to leveling up other than gaining access to new locations or vantage points, but still it's there. Missions also provide money, which you use to restock your supply of ammunition and medkits, or use to purchase new weaponry which ranges from pistols and shotguns to upgraded sniper rifles and even a tranquilizer gun, for missions that require you to take the target down, but not out.

Contract Killer's gameplay is simple and intuitive and the story might leave something to be desired, but is interesting enough to keep the player moving forward. My issue with the game is neither of these things. Instead, I take issue with the basic construction of the game. You see, for a game that you play on the iPhone or iPad, Contract Killer is designed as if it's a Facebook game. You have the multiple forms of currency like Mafia Wars or Dragon Age Legends - money that you earn in game and credits that you purchase with real money (or earn by downloading other apps from the developer). You have an energy supply that is drained with each mission, which means this isn't a game you can play in extended bursts. When your energy supply runs out, you can no longer complete any missions until energy is regained. I want games on my mobile device that I can play at my own discretion, not a game that limits my amount of gameplay by making me recharge.

However, this game does something very cool that takes advantage of its mobile platform. Each time you get a mission from a contact, there is a "cooldown" period before that contact will give you another mission. If you move out of the game, Contract Killer will "page" you to let you know you have a new mission. Imagine my surprise as my iPhone buzzed as if I had a text message and when I checked it the message was, "John Smith has another contract for you." It's a very cool way to draw players back into the game, provided they didn't stop playing because they had run out of energy (the game also sends a message when your energy has refilled).

Contract Killer is a fun little game for those who prefer the stealth and sniper modes of games like Grand Theft Auto or Splinter Cell. It's easy to play and provides a lot of fun as you scope out targets and take them down. You certainly can't beat the price, with the game being a free download, although I'd happily pay for a version that involves less advertising and removes the Facebook elements of the game: the currency you have to pay for and the energy pool that limits how much you can play in a sitting.

Final Score: C