Previews

GDC '09: Hands on with Thor on iPhone

Electric slide

GDC '09: Hands on with Thor on iPhone
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| Thor

Hammering out games based on films is no easy task, but new developer On The Rocks believes that Thor will hit the nail on the head. During the Game Developers Conference we went hands on with the side-scrolling adaptation to the forthcoming animated motion picture that has the potential to zap negative expectations of licensed titles on iPhone.

Casting you as the Norse god of lightning, Thor takes you on a side-scrolling adventure spanning four distinct worlds. Each world comes with a set of four bite-sized levels that have you collecting lightning bolts and overcoming a variety of obstacles; moreover, expect to face a boss at the end of each world.

On The Rocks wouldn't divulge much of the game's plot for the sake of preserving the surprise for the upcoming movie, but needless to say there's motivation behind Thor's bolt collecting.

Movement is handled automatically, with Thor propelled forward through the 2D stages. You're job is to collect lightning bolts scattered about each level with a swipe of your finger.

There's a certain number of bolts per level. In the earliest levels, bolts are arranged in easy lines. However, more complicated layouts that are more difficult to grab in one swipe crop up as you advance farther into the game.

You also have to contend with a series of obstacles littering the ground, from fallen logs to fiery pits and massive boulders blocking Thor's path.

Since your daring deity automatically moves forward, you bypass these obstacles by tapping them with your finger. Hopping over a log, for instance, involves tapping the log itself at the right time. Do so too early and you stumble onto the log, whereas tapping it too late causes Thor to trip over it.

Special powers such as the ability to destroy any obstacles on the screen give Thor an edge when faced with some of the tough challenges. Another power, which we weren't able to test first hand, allows Thor to temporarily slow down for additional time to circumvent obstacles.

Beautifully crafted artwork serves as the backdrop for all of the levels, the first of which we played was entitled "Chapter 1: World of Men." Traipsing through the countryside was made all the more authentic by a line of trees in the background and nicely-painted cottages in the foreground.

Visual effects add nice touches, from the sparkle of collected lightning bolts to the blurring effect of accidentally grabbing a bad bolt.

Despite being a licensed from a motion picture, Thor looks enjoyable. Thoughtful use of the touchscreen combined with intuitive movement ensure easy play. That said, there's plenty of challenging gameplay to be had.

Balancing bolt collection with obstacle manoeuvering is difficult, particularly when tackling the obscenely hard god level of difficulty. Expect to see it on the App Store around the film's debut.

Tracy Erickson
Tracy Erickson
Manning our editorial outpost in America, Tracy comes with years of expertise at mashing a keyboard. When he's not out painting the town red, he jets across the home of the brave, covering press events under the Pocket Gamer banner.