Overview
Hero Of Sparta is an epic third person hack ‘n slash game that gives you control of King Argos, a Spartan. Your mission? Kill pretty much everyone and everything you come across. And while you’re at it- find some power stones too, because no video game is complete without having the inane task of finding power stones. (Even Marvel Super Heroes, a f*cking fighting game, had you collect stones. What’s the deal with that?!)
Features
Press and move around a control stick on the left side of the screen to make your little Spartan move around in 360 degree environments. On the other side of the screen are attack and block buttons, used to attack and block, respectively. At various times in the game, and extra button will appear on screen above your attack button. The button might make you jump or do a focus kill on a boss. Just look at the pretty pictures I’ve included.
Just like in real life, your Spartan encounters many Greek Gods and famous “mythical” creatures like snake people, giant scorpions and even a Cyclops. One level even takes you to Atlantis, which if you remember, sank into the ocean in a single day and night of misfortune after the Atlanteans failed to invade Athens. (Isn’t Greek mythology so much more interesting than other, later mythologies that would spring up?)
Breakdown
The Good:
I’m always amazed out how good some of the games on the iPhone look. And Hero Of Sparta is no exception. The game looks amazing. (The cut scenes more than the actual gameplay- but that’s always the case, isn’t it?) This game will rival most games you’d find on the DS or PSP. Seriously, I’m really impressed in the amount of time and effort that was clearly put into this game. My proverbial hat is off to the good folks at Gameloft.
I was afraid Hero Of Sparta would play like Kroll, but fortunately the controls actually allow you to have… huh! Free movement! Whoa! That beats the hell out of two arrows to move forwards and backwards like in Kroll. (Although I did like how you could choose which attack you were going to do in Kroll, but that’s the only compliment that game is getting from me).
My first time playing Hero, I had fun. I was enjoying the new experience, getting used to the controls, and just taking in the excitement of killing bad guys with a giant sword. I remember thinking, “this game is going to get a very positive review. But after about 10 minutes into playing, I started to wonder that dreadful thought… how many levels is this damn thing? And are they all going to be like this?
The Bad:
I guess it’s from the 20+ years of playing Nintendo/console games, but I’m not a huge fan of the virtual controls on this puppy. Don’t get me wrong- I got the hang of it and was able to get around and murder fools, but I didn’t have the control I’d have with a controller. The virtual analogue stick can’t move the way a real one can.
Most of the time I felt like I was just mashing the attack button until the bad guys disappeared. And because of this, it can get a little repetitive after awhile. Guys pop out of the ground, you push attack and kill them. It’s not an advanced PS3 type of a game where you can do tons of combo attacks to add a little variety to it.
I wouldn’t compare this to God of War like the iTunes store page does. I mean, the themes/visuals are similar, but that’s about it. I mean, it’s like comparing a Ferrari to a Yugo. Sure, they both have four wheels and a steering wheel, but that’s where the similarities end.
Verdict
10 bucks for a game on the iPhone will always be too rich for my blood, especially for one as repetitive as this game. Not being able to do much more in a battle than repeatedly hitting attack and hoping to not die isn’t terribly fun for me. The graphics are incredible, the sound, not so much- but overall… I’d only recommend this if you’re a ‘300’ fanboy hurtin’ for a Spartan game where you get to kill people in the same fashion over and over and over again.
