Black Shark

If one is able to glean anything from the bloody, gore-filled annals of human history, it's that mankind likes to destroy things. War may be abhorrent and cruel – mercilessly robbing families of loved ones and wiping out entire generations of promising young individuals – but we Homo sapiens can't seem to help ourselves.

If we're not out in some crater-filled desert trading blows with rebels that inhabit mud huts, then we're sat indoors playing something equally destructive on our home entertainment systems (or mobile phones, as the case may be).

Which brings us neatly to Black Shark – Herocraft's latest hi-octane blast-a-thon. Assuming control of the heavily armed KA-50 'Black Shark' attack chopper – which bristles with so many weapons it would cause even the mighty Airwolf to tremble in fear – you are tasked with clearing out ten different war-torn levels of terrorist hostiles and restoring order to the world once more.

Well, until the next group of mentalist undesirables show up, anyway. Not terribly original, granted, but damn good fun all the same.

Black Shark represents your typical side-scrolling 2D shooter and unless you've been under a stone for the past 20-odd years, you'll find few innovations here. The play area scrolls from left to right and is dotted with different obstacles and terrain. Hiding amongst these are several nasty-type soldiers, gun emplacements, radar stations, tanks and (most importantly) tactical nuclear missiles.

Should you allow one of the latter apocalyptic harbingers of doom to reach the top of the screen, the game ends instantly as the world is enveloped in the kind of nightmarishly dreadful scene you'd normally associate with a weekend at Butlins.

Like all good aerial killing machines, your shiny chopper needs a constant supply of fuel to keep it airborne. Fortunately, each stage features conveniently placed fuel canisters that should be snagged on sight.

The Black Shark is sturdy enough to withstand a few bumps and bruises here and there but once your armour is entirely depleted it's wise to expect an impromptu appointment with terra firma. In a demonstration of terrifying real-world accuracy, collision between helicopter and hard, cold earth also results in instant flaming death.

On a brigher note, successfully eliminating terrorist scum does more than just make you feel good about yourself – it earns you cash which can be spent between levels on various weapon and hardware updates. Upgrades include increased firepower, missiles and additional fuel capacity, all of which make your mission of 'peace' that little bit easier.

All of this makes for a game that has a surprising amount of depth to it. It's certainly challenging – at times the screen is simply awash with enemy flak and it can be quite a task getting through some of the levels in one piece. Also, the added responsibility of ensuring the nuclear warheads don't launch successfully introduces a welcome level of tension that is usually absent from games of this type.

Graphically, Black Shark is hardly the most impressive game you'll ever play, but it's not ugly by any means, merely 'functional'. The enemy sprites are nicely drawn and animated well, but the titular helicopter looks a little underwhelming. The levels themselves are nicely rendered, if a little bland – the lack of variation in this regard is somewhat disheartening.

Mobile phone games often suffer when it comes to sound but thankfully developer Herocraft has succeeded in bucking the trend somewhat. There's no in-game music – instead, you get some delightfully punchy sampled explosions to accompany the on-screen carnage. These brilliant spot effects, combined with the neat 'screen shake' that occurs whenever anything goes up in flames, lend a really dynamic feel to proceedings.

Alas, there are some minor niggles. The collision detection can be a little off at times, which becomes exasperating when you're delicately trying to manoeuvre your chopper into a tiny crevice (oo-er!) to obtain a crucial replenishment of fuel. The excellent sound effects are sometimes undermined by their erratic synchronization with on-screen events, although this is possibly a technical issue and may present less of a problem on other handsets.

Given the depth and challenge shown here, it's hard not to recommend Black Shark. It represents superb value for money and isn't a game you will complete in the space of one session. Even when it has finally surrendered all its secrets, you can always attempt to beat your previous high-score (which it thankfully saves to memory). Furthermore, the added appeal of collecting all the possible weapon upgrades also delivers incentive to revisit the war-torn battlefields.

Which effectively is another way of saying that blowing things up – officially mankind's number one pastime – has never been so much fun.