Mobile Games

Rock out with your phone out

With the likes of X-Factor, American Idol and the rest tended to favour the pop side of music, it's about time that the rockers got their chance to shine. Could Rock Idol provide that chance for head-banging wannabes everywhere?

Rock Idol is a small collection of mini-games that (and this may surprise you) seems to work more like a virtual pet game than anyone else. So, if you were expecting a cheap knock-off of Guitar Hero, then you'd best think again.

The first thing you need to do is name your rocker. It can be a boy or a girl (but not both, for all you budding Marilyn Mansons out there), and named however you like (provided it's no more than around 9 or 10 characters). Once done, it'll be time to set their look, although the amount of choice on offer for costumes isn't particularly substantial. At any point during the game, you can return to the wardrobe and change their outfit, hairstyle, etc. Characters take on a cartoonish, cherubic look, which cannot be altered.

Outfit choices affect one of the numerous meters on offer in the game. These are stardom, rhythm, happiness and ego. Most of these you want to raise as high as possible, with the exception of ego, which does need to be kept as low as possible for the most part.

To boost your stats, the first thing you need to do is play one of the mini-games on option. As mentioned, fiddling with your wardrobe will get you some small boosts, but if you really want to get things going, you'll need to head out onto the dance floor and show off your moves. This constitutes a simple rhythm-action game, where you have to press the designated button on the numeric keypad when it moves into the correct place on the screen.

As you progress through the song, the button presses become more frequent, and you'll need to have fast fingers to keep up. Admittedly, the song used for it seems like it would be more appropriate for a game called Salsa Idol, but it's harmless enough. A good performance should allow you to earn plenty of coins, as well as give those attributes a healthy raise.

The other main mini game takes you close to the stage, but not quite onto it. Your aim in this mode is to run around the crowds, trying to find the rest of your band members so that you can lead them to the stage before time runs out. Picking up green cans as you go will increase the amount of time you have remaining, while picking up red cans will cause your controls to be reversed. Again, successfully getting all band members to the stage in time will earn you extra money and stat points.

Money earned can be spent in the RockZone area of the game, buying things such as food, clothing and other luxury items, all of which can be used to give temporary or permanent boost to those ever important attributes. Some of these will be equipped automatically, while others you'll have to apply yourself.

When you feel ready, you can place yourself in front of the Rock Idol judges to see what they have to say about you. Each judge will inform you as to where you need to improve, or whether your ego is starting to get a little high. You can also view your overall statistics here, as well as how long you've been playing for overall.

That, really, is all there is to the game. You'll repeat the aforementioned sections over and over until you get tired of doing so. It's not particularly substantial, but what's on offer is quite good fun, although likely to get a bit dull after it has been played through several times. Had there been a bit more to do (some actual rocking out would have been nice) it could have been a great game, as it is, it's merely an okay one.