Most mobile-based war shooters tend to go with a 3rd person or top down perspective, so it's always interesting to see a game that forgoes this in favour of a first person view on the format.
Set in Afghanistan in the late 70s and early 80s, Heroes of War is basically a rail shooting FPS, as your control is restricted to aiming and firing your weapon. Clear out a range of enemies in one area, and then you'll automatically walk on to the next, where further bad guys will attempt to shoot you down from behind cover.
There are two aiming modes available to you, which can be switched between using the right soft key on the phone. While the precision aiming mode makes it easier to hit your targets than in the standard mode, it also makes the movement a little more sluggish, thus increasing your chances of getting hurt while moving between targets.
The chances are that you will get hurt a fair few times though, as the enemies will emerge from behind cover in a pattern. Usually it will be one enemy from the left, one from the right, but this isn't always the case, and will more often than not lead to you taking a fair bit of damage. If health is running low, you can press the Hash key to use a health pack, but these are in limited supply.
As a result of this, it's likely that you'll die quite a few times, even on the opening level, while you slowly learn the patterns of the enemies. It can also sometimes be hard to tell whether you've killed one particular enemy, so you might wind up looking back to their location, only to find that you're getting shot from another direction. The slow reload speed of your weapon will also put you at risk of taking mega damage too.
All this death does sap a whole lot of fun out of the game. Let's face it, if you're presented with 7 missions to play on, and you find yourself repeatedly dying on the first, it'll be tough to find the motivation to carry on, especially if you're not that big a gamer. It's a shame really, because aside from a spot of texture pop-up as you move between positions, it's certainly one of the better looking games on mobile right now.
Neat graphical touches like your vision getting darker as your health runs low add to the atmosphere, while the sound effects of the guns are authentic and well-used. Admittedly, the menu music sound unusually like it might be more suited to a sci-fi based game, but it doesn't feel completely out of place.
Sandstorm has a lot of good factors going for it, and if it weren't for the incredibly steep learning curve, and apparent inaccuracies in the shooting, it would truly be an excellent mobile game. As it is, it can only really be recommended to those with ultra quick reflexes or the combined patience of two saints and a nun.
Please ensure you've read all instructions carefully. Your mobile phone must be Java capable. Delivery requires a short WAP connection for which your mobile operator may charge at your normal rate (your network provider can set up WAP if it isn't activated). At peak times there may be a delay in delivery. Screen shots may be from a different handset. Please check compatibility before ordering. *Replacement mobile game guarantee only covers compatibility.
Heroes of War - Sandstorm is compatible with all of the following Motorola Mobile Phones
Razr Maxx, Razr V9, Razr2v8, Rizrz8, Rocket, Rokr E2, Rokr Z6
Heroes of War - Sandstorm is compatible with all of the following Nokia Mobile Phones
2630, 2660, 2760, 2865, 2865i, 3109 Classic, 3110 Classic, 3120 Classic, 3155, 3155i, 3250 Xpressmusic, 3500c, 3600 Slide, 3610 Fold, 5000, 5200, 5220 Xpressmusic, 5300 Xpress Music, 5310 Xpressmusic, 5320 Xpressmusic, 5500 Sport, 5610 Xpressmusic, 5700 Xpressmusic, 6085, 6086, 6110, 6111, 6120, 6121 Classic, 6125, 6126, 6131, 6133, 6136, 6151, 6165, 6230i, 6233, 6234, 6255, 6265, 6265i, 6267, 6270, 6272, 6275, 6275i, 6280, 6282, 6288, 6290, 6300, 6301, 6500 Classic, 6500 Slide, 6555, 6630, 6680, 6681, 6682, 7210 Supernova, 7310 Supernova, 7370, 7373, 7390, 7500 Prism, 7510 Supernova, 7610 Supernova, 7900 Prism, 8600, 8800 Sapphire, 8800 Se, 8800e Arte, 8801, E50, E51, E60, E61-1, E61i, E62, E65, E66, E70, N70, N71, N72, N73 V3xx, N75, N76, N77, N78, N80, N81, N81 8gb, N82, N90, N91 8gb, N91 Music, N92, N93, N93i, N95, N95 8gb, N96, N98, Noke71
Heroes of War - Sandstorm is compatible with all of the following Samsung Mobile Phones
E210, G800, J600, L760, P910, P960, U700, U900 Soul, Z140, Z360, Z400, Z500, Z510, Z540, Z560, Z630, Z710, Z720, Zv40, Zv60
Heroes of War - Sandstorm is compatible with all of the following Sony Ericsson Mobile Phones
C702, C902, C905 Shiho, D750i, F500i, G502, G700, G900, J300i, K200i, K220i, K300i, K310i, K320i, K500i, K506i, K508, K508i, K510i, K530i, K550i, K600i, K608i, K610i, K618i, K630i, K660i, K700 / K700i, K750i, K758, K770i, K790i, K800i, K810i, K850i, K858c, M600, P1i, P900, P910i, P990i, S500i, S600, S700i, S710i, T250i, T280i, T650i, V600, V630, V640, V800, W200i, W300i, W302, W350i, W380i, W530i, W550i, W580i, W595, W600 / W600i, W610i, W660i, W700i, W710i, W760i, W800i, W810, W830, W850i, W880i, W888, W890i, W900i, W910i, W950, W960i, W980i, Z250i, Z310, Z320i, Z520i, Z525i, Z530i, Z550i, Z555, Z558, Z610i, Z710i, Z750i, Z770i, Z780i, Z800i
Most mobile-based war shooters tend to go with a 3rd person or top down perspective, so it's always interesting to see a game that forgoes this in favour of a first person view on the format.
All this death does sap a whole lot of fun out of the game. Let's face it, if you're presented with 7 missions to play on, and you find yourself repeatedly dying on the first, it'll be tough to find the motivation to carry on, especially if you're not that big a gamer. It's a shame really, because aside from a spot of texture pop-up as you move between positions, it's certainly one of the better looking games on mobile right now.
