Akira Hero
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| Akira Hero

Here's a clever tactic. If you think your game's a bit short on the old excitement factor, just give it a name that it will make the punters think of something that's really, really cool.

We're not suggesting anything like that happened with this title – we haven't a clue, to be honest. But certainly, for mobile gamers over a certain age, Akira evokes images of the iconic manga film of the late '80s, set in a post-apocalyptic future Japan, where gangs on beefed-up motorcycles raced through the neon-lit streets of downtown Tokyo.

"Now there's a great idea for a game," you may be thinking.

We thought the same until we realised that this Akira, or Akira Hero, to give the game its full title, is in fact nothing to do with the anime classic, but rather a new platform game from Orangepixel where quick reflexes and careful jumping are the order of the day.

In tried-and-tested platform style, as Akira your job is to battle past an assortment of enemies, unbecoming terrain and the usual obstacles. The motivation behind little Akira doing all this is to save a stricken princess. (Isn't there always a girl involved when a lad's willing to risk life and limb?)

You guide Akira through the levels, jumping on platforms, over enemies (or on top of them to instantly kill them), and collecting jewels, which are scattered across the terrain and hidden in secret rooms. Gather up 50 of these sparkly stones and Akira will gain an extra life.

These extra lives will become vitally important to you. Especially when you realise how quick-fingered you need to be to make any progress in the game, as you try to jump over flaming chasms or ball-firing archers.

You see, the essence of Akira Hero is all about timing and reactions. And in this regard it can be very tight, very unforgiving and, all too often, very frustrating.

Iit's difficult to get accustomed to jumping at the right time when using the thumb stick, certainly on our K750i test phone. However, we were much more at home when we decided to use a second thumb on the '3' (the diagonal jump button) for the leaping, while overall control remained with the thumb stick.

It's possible to get some decent momentum going this way, but there's still very little room for error, as your smartly animated character struggles to stay alive across the fairly detailed yet largely uninspiring levels. Jumping from one platform to another while fireballs erupt from pools of molten fire from beneath you has seldom been so unappealingly tough.

Your ears don't have much of a fun time either, with a few notes of a tune at the beginning of the level and when you enter a secret room – and that's it. There are no sound effects and no theme tune, which, for 2007, is a bit poor.

Akira Hero could have been a cute, fun platformer but its lack of story, shallow sound and most importantly its unforgiving nature quash most of the enjoyment there is. Even the ability to duck would have been a massive benefit, but the fact that you feel its absence is indicative of a game that's perhaps not been as fully thought out as it should have been.

If you've got the inclination to ride out the frustrations and hone your skills further, you may well get a little more from this average platformer. However, the vast majority should look elsewhere for their run-and-jumping fix.

Akira Hero

The basics are in place, but uninspiring levels, needlessly frustrating control, and a general lack of polish make this hard to recommend
Score
Chris Maddox
Chris Maddox
Liverpool fan, Chris, loves to watch the mighty Redmen play. In between matches however, he's an avid mobile games reviewer for Pocket Gamer. Chris has assured us that he only thinks about Liverpool FC a mere 80 per cent of the day.