Google’s Ingress is a fascinating example of what Apple’s chief mobile OS rival can accomplish when it puts its mind to making a game, and now the folks at Mountain View have decided to extend the app to the Apple faithful. iPhone owners who have wanted to play have had to content themselves with a closed beta that’s been around since 2012, but it’s available for all of us as of today.
The move comes a little more than half a year after Google released it for its own Android platform back in December. Google bills it as an “augmented reality” game that sorts people into either the Resistance or the Englightened factions, who then “battle” for control of “Exotic Matter” in real-world locations.
That means, yes, literally wandering over to the place you want to capture (usually a prominent landmark), and then taking control of it through the use of tools like bombs and keys. The social potential inherent in the app means it’s not uncommon to bump into someone else who might be playing in larger cities, and players have been known to hold meetups in key locations with hundreds in attendance.
And that’s likely why Google’s bringing it to us now — the more, the merrier. If you’re interested in seeing what all the fuss is about, it’s completely free on the App Store. You can get a better idea of what the actual gameplay’s like by checking out the video above.
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