Foursquare checks onto the battlefield in iPhone's foursqWAR

“Why be a mayor when you can be a general”, asks Project Zebra, developer of FoursqWAR.

Bloody good question. This iPhone game transforms the social check-in service Foursquare into a competitive, land-grabbing battlefield, with wars, military takeovers and missions.

The game has you checking in to different locations to mark them as your territory, and you must assign some soldiers and units to that place - be it McDonalds or Starbucks - to defend it.

Then, you can take some excess military units and try and wrangle some enemy locations from your pals.

As you take over more of the city, you rank up in stature from private to general and earn achievements through Apple’s Game Center.

Plus, you’ll rocket up the leaderboards, both showing off your check-in prowess and enticing some would-be generals to take on your might empire.

It all sounds rather fun, and a unique spin on the well-worn idea of checking in. With the popularity of these services waning (location based services are already on the decline in America), maybe something wacky is needed to get people checking in again.

FoursqWAR is available now on iPhone (you’ll need 3G, so iPod touch users needn’t apply) for £1.19 / $1.99 / €1.59.