Wolfmoon

Undead creatures are a complicated bunch when it comes to remembering their weak spots. Vampires tend to stay away from holidays in the Mediterranean, what with all the sun and garlic. Zombies avoid shotgun marksmen like the plague. As for werewolves, well they just plain don't like silver bullets. Or is that Dracula?

It's so confusing, we wonder if the idea that these beasts can only be killed by the very finest cone shaped silverware is a myth that the creatures themselves propagate in order to get an advantage on their adversaries? (An advantage besides being a super-powered supernatural being, that is.)

What isn't so unknown is that plot-heavy action adventure titles on mobile are rarer than full moons. Not only are mobile phones technically constrained as a platform for such entertainment, but seeing as the most popular mobile games are usually typified by quick bursts of play, there are few studios willing to put the money and development time into long-run titles when the same resources could yield two much simpler games.

Which is what makes Rovio, the developer behind innovative games like Darkest Fear, such a unique mobile developer. With its latest title, Wolfmoon, it has tackled the genre head on and executed a fine title with aplomb.

You play detective Janet Cain. After being sent to Wade Creek to examine an alleged serial killing, Janet is bitten by a werewolf and almost lynched by locals. She retreats into the howling wilderness, but with a full moon approaching she has to find a cure or never return.

Rovio has taken the brave step of telling this story in a first-person perspective where the world is presented to you frame-by-frame as you steer Janet through the foggy Canadian flatlands. You use the thumbstick or keypad to move. Pressing up (or '2') moves Janet in the direction she's facing, while pressing left and right ('4' and '6') turns her around.

You can keep track of your relation to objects, creatures and geographical features via a small map in the top right hand corner of the screen representing your immediate surroundings in grid form. Pressing '3' calls up a larger map and the '1' key enables you to look at your messages and objectives. It's a forward thinking approach to orienting the player that works intuitively.

The '7' and '9' buttons are assigned to cycling through Janet's inventory, with the '5' key deploying the selected item, although items are context sensitive and can only be used in specific situations. As the plot unfolds you will collect an array of objects, weapons and clues that in true adventure gaming style have to be stashed away and used in specific situations in order to carry the narrative forward.

Another bright idea is the way in which health functions. Your health bar, which consists of 100 units, depletes by one bar every time you move one step on the grid. This introduces a tactical element, as you will need to be economical with the health packs and food that you collect on the way to ensure that you always have enough health to continue through the obstacles.

Combat is frequent, and you need to know when to flee as well as fight the various hunters, paranoid locals, wild dogs and werewolves that crop up throughout the game. This is handled with a simple 'choose weapon and fire' mechanic, with the number of foes and the type of weapon selected determining if you'll best your opponents unscathed or take damage.

Visually, Wolfmoon is a triumph of style and ambition in the face of hardware limitations. The environments are richly detailed and speckled with incidental animations – birds flying past in the background and water twinkling in the sunlight add a thick layer of polish to the proceedings.

A special mention also needs to be made of the sound, which is amongst the best we have ever heard in a mobile game – there is context sensitive music for the various different situations, as well as well timed howls and other sound effects. It all adds immensely to the atmosphere.

In Wolfmoon, Rovio has shown a masterful ability to craft a grade A title full of both innovation and classic game design, with weaknesses that are much harder to spot than those of the mythical beast it features. From the option to save anywhere in the game to the genuinely engaging plot that is experienced rather spelled out for you, Wolfmoon is a mobile game of rare calibre, one that leaves lazy rival developers with no excuse for blaming the shortcomings of their titles on restrictive mobile hardware.