Hancock: The Mobile Game

Superhero stories are all good fun, and we all like watching a couple of improbably-clad titans lobbing cars at each other, but the appeal tends to rub off a little as you get older. Reality, rent and relationships kick in. But perhaps the main reason our interest cools is because of the heroes themselves – they're usually pretty dull people.

Let's face it, which of us hasn't watched a Superman film and thought of the numerous very un-heroic ways in which we'd use the powers given the chance. Stuff fighting crime, we're off to Tobago for a jolly, popping by Tokyo for some sushi on the way.

The latest Will Smith vehicle Hancock presents us with a slightly more believable super-powered character. Possessing Superman-like powers, but with plenty of very human hang-ups and failings (he's an ill-tempered alcoholic) he's as much of a hindrance as a help.

Of course, that simply makes for a more interesting story. When it comes to the gaming iteration, Gamelion needed to capture the empowering sensation of being a superhero. And it has succeeded, to a point.

It's tough to make a satisfying game from a Superman-level hero – how do you create challenge and threat when your hero is invulnerable and can fly over or through any physical object? Fortunately, Hancock comes with its own ready-made answer built into the fabric of the film. In place of a health bar you have a PR bar. Smash into a building and you won't lose health, you'll lose face with the public. Take out a crook, on the other hand, and you'll increase your standing with the man on the street.

These actions are achieved very simply. Each level sees you, as Hancock, automatically flying through a side-scrolling city environment. You use '2', '4', '6' and '8' to manoeuvre our washed-up hero, avoiding edifices and signs and steering into bonus-hiding nooks and crannies. If you spot a fire, you can pick up a water barrel and lob it to put it out using '5'. Criminals can either be flown into or you can throw a barrel at them to put an end to their mischief.

This format makes up the bulk of the nine missions, with two slight variations. At around the half way point and during the very last level you'll find yourself chasing vehicles, attempting to bring them down with barrels. The fiction breaks down a little here as you find that getting shot by the occupants of these vehicles lowers your PR bar – a sign that it really is a thinly disguised health bar after all.

Regardless of this, these levels represent some welcome variation and a welcome step up in challenge. Which effectively shows up the game's two key flaws: there's not much to get your teeth into and what there is isn't really sufficiently varied.

The short running time is countered slightly by the inclusion of achievements, which reward you for reaching certain milestones. Defeating 15 crooks lands you a 'Vigilante' badge, for example. Completists will want to replay each level to reach each of these targets, so such people can discard criticism of the game's brevity to a certain extent.

Unfortunately, replaying the game will only emphasize the other issue of repetitiveness. Perhaps some smaller but more free-roaming and combat orientated levels could have been thrown into the mix to keep things fresh. Alternatively, a level where Hancock flies off to Tobago on a jolly would have been fun. But perhaps that's just me.

Regardless of these issues, the Hancock formula makes for a neat twist on the usual superhero fare. Ultimately it's a worthy and well thought-out accompaniment to a summer blockbuster. And that's not something that can be said too often.