iPhone Roundup Review

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Brothers in Arms: Hour of Heroes

• Publisher: Gameloft
• Price: GBP 5.99
• Download size: 81.6MB

It was always going to be a tall order trying to translate the Brothers in Arms gameplay to the underpowered confines of the iPhone, and so it has proven.

Played out from a third person perspective, it controls rather like a typical action game, with a touch-based d-pad nestling in the bottom-left of the screen for movement, and your right index finger dictating the aiming and firing duties. At first it's all a bit confusing to get your head around, but with an excellent tutorial helping to show you the ropes, you're soon pulling off headshots with the sniper rifle, lobbing grenades and taking out enemies with aplomb.

But that's the problem. Hour of Heroes doesn't offer much in the way of a challenge, with weak enemy AI, and a succession of incredibly short, linear levels making progress all-too straightforward. Within an hour you'll have romped through most of the 13 levels, and been bored by most of them. It really is elementary stuff.

Worse still are the horrendously blocky 3D graphics, which look like they've been parachuted in from an early PSone game, rather than coming anywhere near fulfilling the promise of the iPhone's "near-PSP" capabilities. Animation is poor, character models are as chunky as we've seen in years, and the environments are spectacularly ugly, with dreadful texturing. This sort of thing might have been deemed as acceptable on the mobile scene in the past, but this does little to sell the iPhone as a viable gaming platform. Save your money.

4/10

Guitar Rock Tour

• Publisher: Gameloft
• Price: GBP 4.99
• Download size: 149MB

Can we say rip off? Yes we can! But it hardly matters when someone comes along and makes a 'tribute' version of Guitar Hero that's as much fun as this. Gameloft has essentially lifted the beloved rhythm-action formula and presentation wholesale and adapted it for touch-screen controls with a minimum of fuss. Featuring decent cover versions of 17 much-loved rock classics, including "Message In A Bottle", "Heart-Shaped Box" and "Beat It", you can play it on guitar or try your hand at touch-screen drumming. No one will judge you when you're playing it on the train (although they might mug you - depends on the train).

The guitar mode is simple and intuitive, and works exactly as it does in Rock Band and Guitar Hero, with note patterns running down the chart to the bottom of the screen. As notes appear, you're tasked with tapping them at the right time or holding them for sustains. Hitting enough consecutive notes builds up a score multiplier, and hitting enough star notes builds up a star meter. Once it's full, you drag a little lever down to activate Gameloft's equivalent of star power. It really couldn't be much more like Guitar Hero. Even the animated groups and the load menus look familiar.

If you're put off by the derivative nature of the guitar-playing, then perhaps the slightly simplified drum mode will pique your interest. The lower right portion of the screen becomes your kick drum, while the right side is the snare/tom tom, and either side of note chart is the cymbals. You keep the beat by pressing on icons as they reach the bottom.

There's not an awful lot more to Guitar Rock Tour, but for the price it hardly matters. The touch-screen controls work well, the choice of tracks is excellent, and the presentation is spot on. With three skill levels and a career mode to get stuck into, it's a great handheld game in its own right - and great for those pining for rhythm-action kicks on the move.

8/10