Ben 10: Alien Force

“The sooner we stop talking, the sooner you can rescue her.” Even Ben 10's own characters seem bored by the dirge of text that surrounds the game's levels.

The problem is, while such dialogue is entirely apt - the action can't start nearly soon enough - things never actually get going. Ben 10: Alien Force might present itself as an all-conquering action fest, but in reality it's a slow, tame, and entirely unoriginal Breakout clone, and one suitably undeserving of your time.

Alien encounter

The actual play model is simple enough and will be entirely familiar to anyone who has played the original Breakout or any of the unofficial wannabes that have graced mobiles over the years.

In short, you control a pad at the bottom of the screen and use it deflect a ball towards a pack of blocks, clearing them from the board without losing too many balls at the bottom.

Ben 10: Alien Force replicates this set-up to the letter, starting off with an incredibly slow moving ball and power-ups aplenty (transforming Ben into an assortment of aliens, or adding extra balls or an extra life, for instance) littered in the blocks above.

Some of the blocks take a few hits before they smash, while bomb blocks take out those around them upon contact.

In need of a hero

Boss battles also sandwich play, moving targets having to be taken out within a set time limit. But while this adds a much needed sense of variety, it doesn't give Ben 10: Alien Force the spark it needs to distance itself from being an awkward Breakout replica.

Almost paralysed by the game's need to reference its source material, endless and frankly banal conversation between Ben 10's cast of characters undermines gameplay lifted straight out of the arcades that could and should feel fast and exciting.

It's an awkward and ill-advised marriage, one that neither does justice to Ben 10 nor offers up a decent snapshot of Breakout for newcomers. An all-action man Ben may well be, but this is one disaster he just can't rescue.

Ben 10: Alien Force

Breakout for Ben 10 fans, Alien Force neither adds much to the old formula nor shows the TV series in the best light
Score
Keith Andrew
Keith Andrew
With a fine eye for detail, Keith Andrew is fuelled by strong coffee, Kylie Minogue and the shapely curve of a san serif font. He's also Pocket Gamer's resident football gaming expert and, thanks to his work on PG.biz, monitors the market share of all mobile OSes on a daily basis.