Beowulf

Back when we were at school the prospect of reading Beowulf – the Anglo-Saxon poem written sometime around 700AD – figured right up there with algebra and repeatedly poking ourselves in the eyes with a compass.

Being a bit more appreciative of historic events and heroic poetry nowadays, we can recognise Beowulf's importance. Namely, that it's inspired the film out this month directed by Robert Zemeckis (who did the Back to the Future films) and starring Angelina Jolie.

Okay, we're being derisive. But never mind the poem, because much as we loath it and fear its cinematic outing, Gameloft's game is actually pretty good. That's assuming you like leaping around platforms, crashing hammer-wielding barbarians with giant rocks and dodging the hungry mouth of a 150-metre sea serpent. Frankly, who doesn't?

Playing as the sort of real man that seems to be lacking in modern day society – the kind with long hair, a loin cloth and a big axe – you face a series of challenges on your journey to hero status. The biggest is undoubtedly the streams of armed barbarian sorts who keep blocking your path.

Being Beowulf though, you fortunately have plenty of moves to sort them out. Press '5', for instance, and you pull off a straightforward sword attack, while holding it down charges a more powerful slash. Jumping then pressing '8' triggers a power smash, which is the only move that effectively disposes of later hammer-wielding foes, whereas '*' throws your hammer for a range attack.

Want more? Well, you can always hit '0' for a special rage offensive, a powerful move which only works when you've accumulated enough rage in your handy onscreen gauge. (Our wait for the first game to convey your character's rage level by having him screw up his face and go all red instead of using a meter continues.)

Beowulf is very much a hack 'n' slash arcade-style game, but it's also one that's keen to offer a little more, thanks to equal doses of platform jumping and the odd button-mashing puzzle. As well as surviving fights, levels need to be navigated using a variety of vine climbing, rope swinging, spike dodging and ball rolling.

Yes, ball rolling – as in useful giant circular rocks you often come across, which you can push to smash through crumbling walls and crush enemies flat. There's also the odd lump of rock you can pick up to swing at enemies, further increasing the brutal fun at your disposal.

So far, so good, and we ought to point out that all of this is seamless to play. There are very few sections that feel anything other than engrossing and the control system (either through a thumbstick or nub) is particularly advanced, with jumps in any direction supremely easy to pull off in.

The game's numerous boss fights have been nailed, too. There's a variety of bad guys, all with life bars that need whittling down in various ways. For example, expect to be dodging dragon fire while whacking a giant catapult to fire rocks at the creature before leaping onto the face of a sea serpent and following onscreen button pushes to repeatedly stab it.

Where Beowulf lacks hero status though is its length. Beowulf the ancient poem was over 3000 lines long. That makes it less of a poem and more of a medieval joke aimed at 21st century schoolchildren if you ask us. But it's not a feat Beowulf the game has tried to match with its 14 levels. It might sound a reasonable amount, but some involve little more than a few minutes of jumping and slashing. Others do require some trial and error, especially in the boss battles, but they're not much of a strain.

Not helping matters is the fact that the generously placed checkpoints mean you seldom have to play more than a few seconds' worth again after dying. Of course, a game that sends you back at the start of a level for failing, especially when it's a death that might happen a few times before getting past, is one that quickly loses its appeal, but when the levels are as short as they are here, things can be too easy.

So Beowulf lives up to its heroic name in many ways. It looks gorgeous and many sections completely surpass similar mobile games with such seamless jumping and swinging and a comprehensive combat system. But enjoyable as it is, it's a short-lived adventure and one you can complete without actually putting too much effort into – surely something the real monster-slaying hero Beowulf wouldn't approve of.