Exclusive preview: Hero of Sparta for iPhone

We have two problems with Apple's current 'iPhone and iPod Touch are better than DS and PSP for gaming' rhetoric.

First, Apple's devices are about more than just PSP/DS type games - there's some great stuff being done on the casual side too. And second, there aren't yet the games to really back up those DS/PSP comparisons.

Or, to put it another way, how many current iPhone games have the production values AND gameplay depth of the best DS and PSP titles? Not many.

It's all about potential, so we need to see some games that back up Apple's boasts. And having played it, we can say that Gameloft's Hero of Sparta will be one of them.

It is stunning.

The cinematic trailer was released last week, but we sat down with product manager Helene Queriault in Gameloft HQ to get hands-on with the game.

It's set, as you'd guess, in ancient Sparta, with you playing a hero who starts out in a pretty confused state. "You wake up one day on the beach, you don't know who you are, where you are, or what will happen," says Queriault. "The game is all about finding these things out."

The obvious comparison on iPhone is Kroll, which has a similar setting. But the two main criticisms of that game were the way it was side-scrolling rather than fully 3D movement, and its relatively short length. Hero of Sparta tackles both of those issues head-on.

So, it's a fully 3D game, in terms of graphics AND movement. You control your character with a virtual analogue stick at the bottom left of the screen - not a four-way D-pad, note - with two more buttons at the bottom right for attacking and defending.

"You can perform combos," explains Queriault. "So four taps on the Attack button performs a special attack, or you can tap Attack then Shield for another, or drag your finger from the Shield button onto your man for another."

Meanwhile, bloodthirsty gamers will enjoy the Mortal Kombat-esque finishing attacks. When an enemy is seriously wounded, a little blue button pops up, and if you tap it then tap a couple more buttons that appear on-screen, you execute, well, an execution move.

We liked the one where you clamber onto a minotaur's head and spike him through the snout.

What more to say? You start with a simple sword and shield, but find four other weapons as you progress through the game: Damocles's Sword, the Axe of Ajax, an Apollonean Bow, and Ishtar's Tears - with the latter being twin blades.

Once you've acquired them, you can switch between weapons whenever you like, and each has its own special attacks. Oh, and you upgrade their power by collecting orbs released when you kill enemies, so they become more destructive as you progress.

"We have 15-20 different enemies in the game," says Queriault. "There are gorgons who can petrify you, harpies, minotaurs, and then the big bosses like the Cyclops. The finishing moves are different for each type of monster, too. For example, with the gorgons, you cut off their head so they can't petrify you."

The game has eight levels, including set-piece boss battles, and Queriault reckons it'll offer 6-7 hours of gameplay. If you're thinking 'God of War on PSP', well, Hero of Sparta is certainly heading in that direction. It's a genuinely exciting game for Apple's nascent platform.

It should be out in early December, depending on how fast it travels through Apple's approval process.

We can't wait to play the whole thing through, but for now, check the first screenshots of the game at the top of this feature, and click the 'Track It' button for an alert when we review it.