Up until now, iOS gaming has mostly consisted of simple 2D cartoon games such as Angry Birds or Tiny Wings. This is no longer the case. With Modern Combat 3: Fallen Nation, Gameloft has taken portable gaming to a whole new level. Simply put, Modern Combat 3 is the most realistic looking and best executed shooter to date on iOS.

While the graphics and effects look great for a mobile device, the storyline is probably its weakest point. It follows a special ops soldier named Walker and his squad, as they attempt to stop a stereotypical madman bent on the destruction of America. The story takes the player to many exotic locations, from LA to Siberia to a Korean aircraft carrier in the Pacific. As with all cookie-cutter war games, Walker and his squad manage to stop the impending nuke countdown just in time and save the world as we know it.

While the story definitely has a strong cheese factor, let’s be honest, people don’t play iOS games for their insightful narratives. They play for the coolness factor, and Modern Combat 3 doesn’t disappoint. Exploding bridges, collapsing buildings, burning suburbs and nuclear explosions sound pretty far-fetched for an iPhone game, but rest assured, it’s all there. The game looks fantastic as well. It’s the simple things that make the big difference. Water reflections, bloom effects and surprisingly high quality textures make this a leap forward in mobile game development and will shape our expectations for these kinds of games for the foreseeable future.

Modern Combat 3: Fallen Nation is definitely a new benchmark in iOS gaming. It sets the standard for what games will and should look like. Although the story has a bit of a cheese-factor, Gameloft serves up an entertaining ride. And while it is obviously a Modern Warfare 2 clone, it gets the job done.