Traplight Games on saving the world in iPhone side-scroller The Hero

With Superman lying low, Batman on break between films, and the X-Men still reeling from that last stand, it's up to you to save the world.

"You're the hero and your task is to save the world."

Traplight Games founder Riku Rakkola describes his upcoming game, The Hero, in simple terms, though this surprisingly polished side-scrolling adventure is hardly basic.

The game mashes aerial action and superhero mythology together for frantic world-saving gameplay.

You take on the titular role of the hero. Across a 15-mission campaign, you're called in by the local police chief to stop alien invaders, mutant spiders, and terrorists from wreaking havoc. Eliminating these enemies isn't enough, though, as you must also earn notoriety by ensuring citizens aren't harmed and property isn't damaged.

"It's all about keeping your fame high," explains Rakkola. A fame meter striped across the top of the screen waxes and wanes with each heroic or infamous act you undertake. Lose all fame and a level is lost.

"I've always liked old skool games where you fly around," he says. The two-man team at Traplight Games feels The Hero evolves that formula on iPhone, introducing more sophisticated action and taking advantage of the accelerometer for new controls. "The D-pad is becoming default on iPhone, but I personally prefer the tilt controls."

The game includes both.

Nine months have passed since development started on The Hero, much of that time spent on fine tuning elements like the controls. "We're kind of perfectionists - we want The Hero to be perfect."

Rakkola admits having made major changes to the game throughout the process with the goal of crafting the best game possible, while at the same time broadening its appeal to potentially attract a wide audience.

The original goal was to create an extremely hardcore action game, but after evaluating the difficulty Rakkola and his partner decided to add in features to improve accessibility.

The default Normal difficulty is one such addition: the original game only had one extremely tough level of difficulty. Touch controls, which are also set as default, were added after the conclusion was reached that not everyone would feel comfortable with the accelerometer.

Major changes to the game are behind Rakkola as the game nears submission to Apple, though that doesn't mean his work is done yet. "If we get good sales, we'll definitely be open to developing new content down the line."

Additionally, he anticipates creating an optimised iPad version. "I'm interested in making an iPad version that is distinct from the iPhone release. The graphics would translate very well and I'd want to add in new special effects and such."

When asked about controls on the bigger iPad, Rakkola seems less enthusiastic, "It'll be tough because I'm not sure how well they will fit."

For now, Rakkola is content with thinking about the upcoming release. "Everyone should play until the end," he says. We certainly will when The Hero becomes available for iPhone and iPod touch within the next few weeks.