This week the Prof and Brian HAVE THE POWER!  They’re reviewing He-Man: The Most Powerful Game in the Universe.

    

“Hello, I’m Professor Kelvin Harris, the resident scientist for Codec Moments.  This is my lab assistant Brian.â€

“Hello.â€

I’m here in my favourite coffee shop, to enjoy a foamy beverage; Brian’s here because I can get a free drink with my loyalty card today and it’s much safer than leaving him unattended in the laboratory.â€

“Last time I was listening to Gilles Peterson and he played a song by ‘Spanky’ called “Acid Bassâ€, how was I supposed to know that mixing them was nee a good idea?â€

“Cue a release of noxious gas and a massively exothermic reaction.  That’s why Gilles Peterson is now on the list of radio shows you can’t listen to in the lab, alongside Jo Wiley, JK and Joel and Gardener’s Question Time.  Together Brian and I are on a mission to identify games that will enlighten or entertain you at home, on your way to work, or even during your coffee break, which cost less than your daily cappuccino  This is ‘Cost of a Coffee’.  This week’s ‘Cost of a Coffee’ game is He-Man: The Most Powerful Game in the Universe on iOS and Android.â€

“I loved He-Man when I was little Professor.  I used to stand outside Rumbelows to watch it ‘cos my Mam said that anybody that had furry pants wasn’t welcome in our house; that’s why Uncle Colin never came over.â€

“Disturbing…   He-Man: The Most Powerful Game in the Universe, from Chillingo and developed by the fantastically named Glitchsoft, is a hack and slash based on the classic 1980’s cartoon/Mattel toy advert, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.  The game is great stroll down memory lane, featuring He-Man and She-Ra as playable characters with help from the Sorceress, Orko and Man at Arms, against Skeletor and his Evil Horde.  Now we’ve all held our Sword of Power aloft and yelled…â€

“By the Power of Grayskull, I have the Power.â€

“…and the game doesn’t disappoint in that respect.  One of the power-ups allows you to do just that, granting temporary invincibility, whilst another summons Man at Arms to provide some longer range fire support.  You can also upgrade He-Man and She-Ra’s attacks and abilities using the gems you collect as you bash and smash your way through the enemies of Eternia.  Sadly earning gems is as slow as a chemical reaction, with an incredibly small rate constant; meaning that unlocking these more powerful moves feels like a grind.  When you combine that with the clunky movement and slow attack animations… when you can’t turn in mid jump, or swipe quickly enough to stop a slow moving robot, you really appear to be more ‘Prince Adam’ than mightiest man in the universe.â€

“So is it worth the ‘Cost of a Coffee’ Professor?â€

“Well despite the flaws, the game is charming.  It has its own unique cartoon style, which invokes but doesn’t exactly imitate the original 80s incarnation. It’s also delightfully self-referential, especially moments of the She-Ra expansion.â€

“Sadly the game does not feature Cringer/aka Battle Cat, and Princess Adora’s horse Spirit, which turns into a flying unicorn with rainbow wings, called Swift Wind.â€

“At £1.99 the game is similarly positioned to a caramel macchiato and I’m sorry to say that on this occasion I’d keep the coffee.  The game itself isn’t the most striking example of mobile hack and slash available, not compared to the likes of Double Dragon or Fist of Awesome; He-Man: The Most Powerful Game in the Universe has nostalgia appeal, but that could be obtained on the move as easily by watching old YouTube clips of the animated series.â€

“Cost of a Coffee is a production of Codec Moments, for more information why not visit CodecMoments.com.  If you can recommend a game that costs less than a cappuccino, you can e-mail the Prof at prof@codecmoments.com, or tweet him using the twitter thing @CodecMoments.  You can also find us on Facebook and Google+ by searching for Codec Moments.”

“See you next time.”

The Good: More camp nostalgia than reminiscing about being a boy scout in the 1980s.

The Bad: Clunky controls and slow gem earning potential detract from the experience.

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