R-Type

GAME REVIEW:7 cert, IREM, iPod Touch (also iPhone, iPad) **

So, this arcade classic has finally arrived on hand-held Apple products, some two decades since it first appeared in arcades. I don't want to begin to think how many hours I spent playing R-Typeon the Commodore 64. The game is a side-scrolling shooter, pitting your small ship against countless aliens, robots and spacecraft. The power-ups include a small shield that floats in front of your craft, ricocheting lasers and missiles. It's been a good year for the side-scroller, so the time is ripe for a genuine classic to return to reclaim its crown.

The new touch-screen format does it no favours: as you touch the screen to move the ship, you’re forced to obscure your own view, making for countless unfair deaths and a frustrating gaming experience. In other ways R-Type has aged well; it certainly looks good for a game born in the 1980s. But in this format, it will only be enjoyed by masochists and retro-game fanatics.