Starfront: Collision HD

Played any PC strategy title in the last 20 years? If so, welcome aboard the good ship Starfront: Collision HD - where originality is in short supply but, for just a few quid, you still get a pocket warzone packed with shock and awe.

Yes, the game is Starcraft 2 by numbers, but - with Blizzard showing no interest in mobile gaming beyond Netbook-friendly graphics options - getting such a full-fat RTS experience on your Android is an astonishing achievement.

Where Gameloft’s title most succeeds is in its intuitive controls.

Keyboard shortcuts and deft mouse clicks are the well worn tools of strategy gamers, so scepticism that they could be replicated on touchscreens is entirely healthy.

Yet after just a couple of missions into Starfront’s brief but beneficial tutorial, it’s clear the publisher has found a system that is both comfortable and responsive.

Everything, from ordering soldiers to upgrading bases, is handled by tapping directly on the unit and then either moving it with another tap or assigning an action using contextual menus at the side of the screen.

Selecting squads requires you to create boxes around them by sliding two fingertips across the screen and, once gathered, they can easily be assigned individual squad numbers to help you give quick orders later on.

There’s a handy mini-map in the corner for keeping track of all your units, and flashing icons will zoom you quickly to areas where battles are raging off-screen.

It all feels very natural, and while the basics of the finely-tuned controls are quick to get to grips with there’s still a lot to master over the course of the generous story.

We’ll admit that the sci-fi trappings of Starfront’s invading aliens plot are hardly the stuff of the Battlestar Galactica reboot, but the generic sci-fi tropes do keep you pushing through the epic campaign.

Plus, in true StarCraft-style, you get to experience the story from the differing perspectives of three distinct factions - the gruff space marines of the Consortium, the insectoid Myriad, and the mechanoid Wardens.

Stretching across a meaty 20 missions, there’s a rich variety of challenges to overcome - from full-on assaults to rescue operations and siege-style enemy invasions.

Levels generally rely on the ebb and flow of base-building and exploration, with management of the game’s twin resources - electric power and Xenodium crystals – used to top up your armies with reinforcements and vital weapon upgrades.

There’s nothing seasoned strategy veterans haven’t experienced before, but gameplay remains varied and challenging throughout.

Starfront’s well-rounded package also offers a raft of customisable skirmishes to hone your base-building and enemy assaulting skills on before taking a deep breath into launching into the online multiplayer.

With a dynamic ranking system, 1v1, 2v2, and free-for-all matches, there’s a game type to suit anyone bolstered by Gameloft’s typically reliable online servers.

Be warned, though: there’s a steep learning curve against more experienced players, so be prepared for few humiliating defeats before you get used to the frantic pace.

Taken as a whole, Starfront: Collision HD offers a generous, well-paced and satisfying strategy experience that all hinges together beautifully on its well-configured controls.