Rock Band

Developing the mobile version of a game intended to be played with a plastic toy instrument was always going to be an uphill struggle.

The most obvious problem is that the hand motions are more in tune with dialling up your mum than thrashing out a riff.

The second is that the MIDI bleeps that 'sort-of-kinda' sound like the song in question are never going to get you tapping your toes, let alone encourage an impromptu bout of air guitar.

Both of these issues have been somewhat side-stepped by recent editions of Guitar Hero by either chucking in bonus mini-games, upping the presentation around the fretboard, or just by keeping the note-tracks tight.

Rock Band unfortunately does none of these things, and as a result fails to match its closest rival.

For those three people who haven't played or seen a Guitar Hero or Rock Band game before, the objective is to hit notes as they drop down a virtual fretboard (or horizontal stave if you're the vocalist) in time with the music.

As is the norm with mobile entries in the rhythm-action genre, there are just three notes to press as opposed to the six on home consoles.

The hardest difficulty level still manages to be tough, though, by adding awkward rhythms and chords (multiple notes) into the mix.

If you were hoping for a large track list and no rubbish leafleting in-between songs, then you’re in luck.

The game’s Career mode follows the bigger console versions almost note-for-note, with each location unlocked by performing well on a certain selection of songs.

Unlike the bigger brothers, however, Rock Band on the mobile doesn’t suffer from ‘repetitive song syndrome’ quite so badly, which means each new stage is genuinely pleasing to reach as there will always be something new to play.

However, when it comes to actually playing the songs, Rock Band hits too many duff notes.

The game starts with a calibration screen for both visual and audio settings, which should set alarm bells ringing for those that have played the automatically calibrated Guitar Hero games.

This fear isn't misplaced. Despite spending a considerable time adjusting the two settings I never once reached the point in which I felt comfortable with the synchronisation.

Even worse, the audio tended to drift more out of sync depending on the number of missed notes, basically making a dropped intro on 'hard' impossible to recover from.

Played with the audio off, Rock Band is a solid and entertaining entry into the mobile rhythm-action genre.

However, the inability to play the game properly with the sound on is far more damaging to its enjoyment than playing without a plastic toy.