When a video game adheres to reality, but is modeled on it by adding different dynamics or actions, it is called augmented reality. Ingress is a game released a year ago, co-produced by Google, which puts players inside an RPG to be played in real life, using information that is generated by the game and distributed via an Android mobile phone.
Ingress is a free application open to all that allows us to enter a parallel universe, an MMO game connected to the real world .
In practice, to play you really have to move, go around with your legs and smartphone in hand, to achieve goals, collect objects and interact with other players.
Ingress tells of a war between two factions, the Illuminati and the Resistance, who do not agree much on what to do with a new energy source discovered.
When registering, a team must therefore be chosen: "The Illuminati" wants to use the power of this energy, "The Resistance" is fighting instead to defend humanity.
The unique feature of Ingress is that you can't play while sitting on the sofa but you have to really move and wander the streets of the city.
You have to find and physically approach the portals indicated on the map on the smartphone screen that uses GPS and positions the player on the game map, real but virtual.
Players use objects called "resonators" to claim a portal, bring it to their team and protect it from enemies.
To take control of a portal, players must use their energy to destroy all enemy resonators and put their own.
The portals are indicated on the map with green colors if they are Illuminati, blue are those of the Resistance, gray those not claimed.
Portals are often associated with Google Maps landmarks such as monuments, shopping malls or other recognizable buildings.
the density of the portals is higher in larger and more populous cities.
This means that it is much easier to find portals in a city like Rome than in a quiet suburb of Parma.
The ideal is to play Ingress by moving on foot, checking if there are portals to be conquered nearby, perhaps moving in a square in the center or in a park.
By playing then you accumulate experience and you get better into the dynamics of this particular game, not complicated, but still demanding.
Ingress uses the internet connection, GPS, the screen on and therefore consumes a lot of battery even on powerful smartphones such as the Samsung Galaxy S4 or in Nexus 4.
Players can also meet to join forces against a common enemy, although it will be difficult to find active players nearby.
Basically, as a game it is really worth trying, even if after having played a bit, it will probably be uninstalled with few good intentions to return in the future.
The end result is not that of a boring game, but rather a game that is a little inconclusive, interactive at the highest levels, but that makes us feel a little impotent and that strains the phone a lot.
Google tries to make it more interesting with the Niantic Project, a website linked to the game with images, documents and video clips that have to do with the general history of the game.
Also on the Google+ page there are many useful information even if in English.
Now that the game is open to all, perhaps the story will be able to evolve and the audience of players from all over the world will grow, seeing the map increasingly populated.
The Ingress game is free and available on Google Play to all Android smartphone owners .
