Bruce Lee Dragon Warrior HD

There's no arguing that touch controls are better for certain games than others.

Point and click adventures and strategy games have the advantage over first-person shooters and beat-'em ups.

That isn't to say that the latter can't be successful, only that it's more difficult and more compromises are required compared to the purity provided by keyboard and mouse or arcade stick.

Yet, thanks to its previous experience working on the ONE brawler for Nokia's N-Gage phones, Spanish developer Digital Legends knows all about dealing with limitations. Indeed, that's the reason it was selected by publisher Indiagames to make Bruce Lee Dragon Warrior.

Based around the legendary fighter's early life in Hong Kong, the game's main mode has you fight through the various gangs and low-lifes inhabiting the 1950s British colony, unlocking playable characters and moves in the process.

Thanks to the motion-captured animations of fighters trained in disciplines such as Jeet Kune Do, Kung Fu, Karate and Thai boxing, the fights are fast, smooth and visually impressive.

Control breaks down to a four-way virtual directional pad (or optional joystick), and a pair of kick and punch buttons on the right. It's not the most advanced set-up, compared to Street Fighter IV's four action buttons for example, but it is backed by a combo system.

Stringing together flicks on the directional pad with punches and kicks triggers special moves, and if you're close enough to your opponent, grabs. If you manage to stun your opponent, there are also special finishing moves. These are shown using short pre-canned animation sequences so you get the full graphical bang for your efforts.

There are five locations, playable in day and night forms, and as well as the subtle 3D camera panning that happens during each bout. These feature neat environmental effects such as falling leaves, swaying lanterns and birds to give a feeling that you're really there.

The characters are also fairly detailed, with sweaty shader effects and dynamic shadows, although the models themselves are slightly blocky on the big screen. Characters' facial expressions when they win a fight - particularly those of Bruce Lee - are frankly a little scary.

Much more important in terms of playability is the collision detection - there are occasional glitches - and the audio feedback of attacks, measured by the subsequent groans when your hands and feet connect with your opponent.

Combined with the fluid character animation - the drunken style of Shen Lo is particularly impressive - and despite being a beat-'em up, Bruce Lee Dragon Warrior is one of the better iPad-only launch games.

It can't be considered a hardcore fighting game however.

Button-bashing will get you through the early levels, and even when you're working your way up through levels 30 and 40 to the ultimate level 50 in Story mode, your opponents are never very aggressive. The lack of moves - there are only four special moves, two grabs and one finish per character - is limiting the further you get into the Story mode.

Replay value is provided by additional modes. In these - Arcade, Time Attack, Versus and Survival - you gain the rewards you've unlocked in the story as you can select which unlocked fighters and locations you want to play.

There's also a training option where you can practise as well as customise the moves that your default Bruce Lee character uses by swapping in moves you've unlocked from the other characters.

Of course, the omission of multiplayer is surprising. It's something that means the game can't be as thoroughly recommended as we would otherwise wish.

Still, as a single player game, Bruce Lee Dragon Warrior HD is an enjoyable experience and one that encourages you to step up from basic button-bashing, while giving you a good time even if you don't.