Hero of Sparta – Review
By App Type: Uncategorized
Our rating: 
By: Hero of Sparta
Version #: 1.0.0
Date Released: 2008-12-03
Developer:
Price: 9.99
User Rating:
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[This review is being simultaneously posted on Just Another Mobile Monday and WhatsOniPhone]
The truth is: graphics are just not supposed to look this good on a mobile device. I mean, really, when you think about mobile games, you think cartoons, stick figures, and even simple animation. But really, who do these people think they are with their 3D animation and crisp cut scenes. This is a graphical quality which is usually reserved for more powerful gaming systems. Impressed?
You bet…and then some.
All right, well let’s start with the premise of the game. You are a King of Sparta, shipwrecked on a mysterious island. As you explore the island, you are visited by the spirit of woman, trapped deep within. She begs for your help in freeing her body…and of course, you are happy to oblige. Of course, the other thing you are going to find on this island are creatures…and lots of them. Hope you are ready for a fight. And not just any fight, but one which will lead you into the farthest reaches of Hades.
Fortunately for you, although you will face swarms of creatures, each stronger than the last, there are also plenty of things on this island which can help you on your quest. Along your way, you can find new weapons and armor, which will make you more powerful in each fight.
The other item you need to watch out for are diamonds. You’ll notice on the screen, you have a blue line and a green line. The green line is your health (when it runs down, you will die), while the blue line is your special ability. Each weapon comes complete with a pretty nifty special ability. So, along your quest your will find green and blue diamonds. Complete a set of five green or five blue, and the corresponding line will increase in size. In other words, these diamonds make you even more powerful.
The other way for you to to grow stronger is by…well, by killing things. That is pretty much the name of the game here. Well, technically the name of the game is Hero of Sparta. But it also could have been called Hero of Sparta Killing Monsters! Anyway, when you kill things, they will release green, blue, or red orbs. Green orbs replenish your health, blue replenishes your special abilities, and red will go into your upgrade pot. You can use the red orbs to increase the power or special abilities of any of your weapons…which can be quite handy.
OK, so this game can’t just be running from one killing zone to the next…can it? Unfortunately, as I have found with many similar games on the iPhone, most of the action is contained in the battles.
Typically, a game like this should have three basic elements: exploration, agility, and fighting. In the case of Hero of Sparta, almost all of the action is limited to the battles. Sure, you can control your Hero’s movements, but there is rarely an opportunity to make a decision or take a wrong turn. On a few occasions, there are obstacles to avoid, or puzzles to solve. But, for the most part, the game is pretty well guiding you down the lone path through. not much of a maze or a challenge.
More upsetting to me, however, were the lack of agility obstacles. Since the Dawn of Time…or at least my original Nintendo, it has been well known that jumping from one edge of a cliff to the next can be a tricky proposition. One false move and you will plummet to your death. Hero takes away this element, however. Sure, there are plenty of treacherous passes and bridges, but they pose no danger to you. Just run to the edge and boom…perfect jump, every time. and don’t even think about what would happen if you fell off the edge of a high cliff or building. You simply won’t. The game will not allow that to happen.
I can live with the lack of exploration, but the lack of agility play really hindered my experience. I think this could have been a significantly more complicated and challenging game if the jumps were not automatic, and running off a cliff could actually plummet you to your doom.
Without those elements, however, the game was left only with fighting…which had better be good. And it was. In fact, the fighting elements were fantastic. You will need to be quick with the sword as creatures – many of whom you may recognize from Greek mythology – spring up from the ground around you. And watch out when you get close to killing one. You can use your coveted finishing move on him. Each creature has a different finishing move, which offers some really cool animation, and a huge bonus of those little orbs I told you about.
I did think it would have been nice if the creatures, especially the more powerful ones, had status bars of there own, so you would know how you were doing…especially in a crowded room. But really, once you got into a fight, there was not much time to look at that anyway.
Controlling the game worked pretty well. There are three things you need to worry about. Your sword button (obviously) attacks. What is a little less obvious is the shield button, which is not really used defensively as you might expect. Instead, is is used for special attacks. Finally, that green circle on the left is a virtual joystick. Pretty cool stuff there. Move it around to move your character. It took a bit of getting used to, but the controls really worked well…and did a fantastic job of showing off the multi touch screen.
The final thing I wanted to mention here is the game difficulty. There are three levels, but only the first two are available when you start the game. Finish any level, and the Heroic game will be unlocked. In Heroic, the enemies are unforgiving and relentless, however, you will keep all of your weapons and abilities…so have fun.
The developers also did a nice job of protecting your game. Each level is chock full of checkpoints, so when you exit the game (or die), you can restart at the last checkpoint you passed. Additionally, at any time, you can go back and replay any level which you have already completed. This is a great way to find any diamonds you may have missed, or just pick up a few more power orbs by killing those creatures.
This is probably one of the best games I have played on the iPhone. The storyline was extremely engaging, and the graphics…oh those graphics. Simply amazing, While I did think there were a number of elements, such as exploration and agility play, which got short changed, the graphics and gameplay certainly warrant the (high for the iTunes App Store) pricetag of $9.99.
What I Liked:
- Amazing graphics
- Exciting gameplay
- Well written games
- Frequent checkpoints and saves
What Needs Improvement:
- More exploration and agility elements
- The game seemed a bit on the short side.
Developer: Gameloft
Price: $9.99
O U R T A K E . . .
