When trying to review an iPhone game I’m always faced with numerous objective quandaries. Do I rate a game based on its own individual merits, or compare it to a traditional videogame on the larger more conventional consoles? Should I score a game according to its own heavily discounted price-point relative to a full packaged release? If a game only costs £0.59, does that mean it can get away with delivering mediocre graphics, a lack of longevity or ropey controls? And should I ever give a game the benefit of the doubt for being decent enough ‘for an iPhone game’?

Unfortunately none of these issues will ever go away as games reviews are always, and will continue to be inherently subjective; opinion-based and will vary from person to person. But I found it hugely refreshing that Angry Mob’s Guerrilla Bob manages to answer most of the above questions both positively and perhaps most importantly, almost totally objectively.

Judged on its own merits, Guerrilla Bob is a delightfully charming and surprisingly addictive twin-stick-shooter. And while most games in this over-subscribed genre focus solely on survival and achieving as high a score as possible, with its multiple levels, modes and mission objectives, Guerrilla Bob bucks the trend and does so with favourable results.

Levels generally scroll from bottom to top with the occasional bit of horizontality (yes it’s a real word, I checked) thrown in to hide power-ups and the medal awards that are scattered throughout. The game’s enemies are multiple and varied, and range from the typical foot soldier tpyes who prove to be little more than cannon fodder, to the larger and much more resilient mini-gun wielding mini-bosses. The comic-book style intros to each newly introduced character also add a great deal of charm to proceedings and it’s all delivered in a very tongue-in-cheek manner.

Guerrilla Bob’s graphics are also top-notch and in my opinion look as good as early PS2 games, with the character and level design of a consistently high quality. Overall, it definitely leaves a lasting impression of being a fun game that the developer quite evidently really enjoyed making, even if it’s not particularly original or revolutionary.

Aesthetically and stylistically it’s very similar to Mountain Sheep’s MiniGore. And the comparisons are more than just coincidental as the deliberately ridiculous plot sees the game’s main protagonist eventually face-off against John Gore from the aforementioned title.

With a price-point of £1.79 it’s certainly a relative bargain, even for an iPhone game. And while the game’s overall length is fairly short, with multiple game modes, secret areas and hidden power-ups, there’s still plenty to discover even after completion. It also helps that at the conclusion of each level, you’re awarded a grade for your performance throughout which encourages multiple play-throughs. And, at only 2-5 minutes’ play per level, depending on your ability, it never feels old or tedious and you will relish multiple play-throughs.

One gripe I did have with the game (and it’s not alone in suffering from this criticism) was that there were odd occasions when the game’s frame-rate suffered slightly due to my 16GB 2G iPhone’s apparent lack of power. The unveiling of the 3GS iPhone led many to suspect a splintering of the market would occur as titles favoured one device over the other, and while the slight stutters are never prevalent enough to be considered game-breakers (unlike Team 17’s Worms), when they do happen they’re all the more noticeable.

So to conclude, Guerrilla Bob proves itself to be a hugely enjoyable experience that’s reminiscent of classic games like Ikari Warriors and Commandos. As ever, like the vast majority of iPhone games, the controls take some getting used to at first and the lack of any physical feedback occasionally proves itself to be slightly frustrating. But with acceptable concessions made in order to balance this out, it’s never too taxing.

Guerrilla Bob really is an astonishingly high-quality release, and if this is the future of iPhone games, then at such bargain prices we’re in for a future of being spoiled rotten. Bravo.

- £1.79

 

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