This is…. iPHONE SPARTA!
For years we’ve watched the cell phone industry grow in technology. More bandwidth, the ability to download better wallpapers, even video, but when the iPhone emerged on the scene it changed the cellular phone industry forever. With that came better games. With a touch screen, which allows you to do five touches simultaneously, the skies were the limit. Add that to the fact the graphics chip and processor inside the iPhone rivaled the DS and PSP and you were seeing this beautiful formula ready to bubble over for the game developers of the world.
So here we have Hero of Sparta, a very good game from Gameloft. It’s a simple action game, nothing more, which makes it fun to play. The main character is a warrior with a very large sword that’s ready to hack and slash enemies. There’s nothing really new to the formula here that you haven’t seen before in the likes of a Golden Axe or Gauntlet.
Here’s the good part of the game. It’s simple enough to pick up and start playing instantly. You don’t need much instruction, much thought, you can just dig right into the action and start taking out the bad guys (or whatever they are). You have directional arrows that lead you through this linear game, which takes you on a one-against-the-world adventure. This is what you like and what you need to blow off stress. Along the way in the game, you gain crystals that provide you with power-ups, such as getting more life. You’re also provided with a God of War type action system, where onscreen indicators want you to push buttons at a certain time in a certain way to perform death-dealing blows that take out gigantic enemies. Again, it’s fun, it’s simple and it’s just so much goodness.
Here’s my biggest complaint. I cannot stand the joystick control. It’s an onscreen virtual joystick that works well. The only problem is that it actually gets in the way if you have chubby fingers. When you read our Brothers in Arms review tomorrow, you’ll see the same complaint. I find myself, or rather my thumb, slipping on the screen. Add to that the fact that my thumb also, as it slips, begins to cover up a portion of the screen and we’ve got a bit of an aesthetic problem.
This is my only complaint about the game, or my own legitimate complaint, as it truly is just fun action otherwise.
It’s on a cell phone, how good could it really look?
You would be surprised the presentation. The system, while young at heart, can rival that looks of the best DS game. The characters are obviously built from polygons and some decent modeling. The environments are enormously, but uninspired. Regardless, the game is impressive and leap up from cell phone games from the last five years.
As for the value, I think there’s a lot to be had here for $5.99. You’ll get an hour or two at a time from the iPhone’s battery, which will lead into about five hours at the most of straight gaming. This depends on how much diligence you have when it comes to hack and slash, as eventually you’ll need to use the ‘block button’ sometimes.
Now because of this amount of time and the game’s genre, it may affect your fun for the game. Personally, I’m a fan of games like God Hand and Final Fight, so this works out well. Much like those two games, you’ll find yourself in impossible odd situations and have your back up against the wall. The game, which allows you to continue, but at checkpoints, will be unfair at times and unforgiving. Luckily, you’ll be able to keep playing until you conquer and you’ll find points in the game where you’re just trying to get to a checkpoint before you die. That’s completely okay in my book, it’s still progress. Also, the similarities between this and God of War might appeal to that type of gamer. Again, I like the game, I think it’s good. It holds my attention, but it doesn’t hold it long enough to drain out my iPhone battery. I want a game like this to pass the time or to take out some stress after a intense phone call. It’s perfect for that type of gamer.