Spectre 3D

There's something special about old games popping up on iPhone.

But, like photos in a dusty old album, it's only when you see them in the cold light of day that the faults come into focus.

Spectre 3D – comprising the nearly 20-year-old Mac classic Spectre and its follow-up – makes no real attempt to hide its age, but its straightforward approach is a breath of fresh air.

No plot, no cut-scenes, no fancy graphics – just tanks, guns, and a whole lot of black space.

Roaming around this black space, which is sparsely populated by random cubes, triangles, and a whole assortment of shapes, your aim is to collect the assortment of flags dotted around each stage before the tanks guarding them have a chance to take you out.

Movement is handled by a virtual analogue stick, which allows fairly good progress throughout each stage – despite the odd hitch when close to scenery. Shooting and jumping are assigned to a pair of buttons on the left side of the screen.

Spectre 3D is flexible, though. The analogue stick controls can be switched for a joypad, for instance, which plants eight D-pads on the screen to handle movement.

The view can also be traded for one of two other setups: an over the shoulder view, almost like a racer, and a more manageable top-down 2D approach.

Dotted around the grid like floor are bonuses that give you full-on air time for a set period, as well as those that offer up a shield or boost your health. Though seemingly dropped at random, each and every object in play is marked on a radar – though in fairness you need to have good eyesight to fully appreciate it.

The whole thing is brilliantly uncomplicated and feels alien when compared to modern shooters. You just don't see games like this anymore.

Not that the title has been left behind by technology. Spectre 3D sports what could be one of the most consummate online arenas of any shooter on iPhone. Via wi-fi or Bluetooth, four modes of play are offered with the most obvious – capture the flag – included in the mix.

The game also compensates for what will be an inevitable dearth of human competitors in the early weeks by allowing bots to take their place when needed. It's an option that can be switched on or off by whoever is hosting the match.

All in all, online Spectre 3D has as many settings as your average console shooter. For a game essentially rising from its 20 year grave, that's not a bad way to keep up with the new kids.

It is what it is, however. Spectre 3D's simple play does feel somewhat odd in 2010 and it isn't without fault. Some of the level design is frustrating, and the fact you can only shoot dead ahead – particularly annoying when you're flying – doesn't show the game in its best light.

Regardless, whether such chinks in its armour prove too much to bear depends on just what you're after. Its retro appeal is hard to resist, even if it could stand some polishing.