The Green Hornet
The slowest super hero car ever!
Posted January 14, 2011
Releasing games timed with movie releases is common in the console world, but they can also be used to create hype about an upcoming film on mobile platforms if the game is good enough. (Speaking of which, you should check out our theatrical review of The Green Hornet on DVDTalk) Sadly, the majority of these releases are typically throwaway titles that only serve to increase brand recognition. Enter The Green Hornet: Wheels of Justice for the iOS platform. This driving game is a crippled free download on the app store playable on the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. I say crippled because only five levels are free and the remaining 10 are sold for 99 cents to increase the levels and unlock capabilities of the Green Hornet’s Black Beauty. There’s nothing in the way of presentation to digest beyond a static menu screen and a level selector that walks you through the capabilities of the car.
This is basically a driving combat game, yet it doesn’t excel at either. Driving is controlled by either tilting the Apple device or using the virtual on screen thumb-pad in the left corner to control the Black Beauty. Sadly, the car doesn’t control very well at all and seems extremely sluggish for a supercar. You will find yourself running into buildings and unable to navigate away from them very fast. It’s similar to the control issues that plagued GTA: Chinatown Wars for the iPad, but much worse due to the slow, boring vehicle.
Your mission is simple; blow up bad guys and lose the cops in the process. You can fire away with the machine gun, arguably the best weapon, or send off a few rounds of Kato’s goodies like missiles. Enemies are simply stupid though and easy to destroy. I never died throughout the entire game due to the moronic A.I. In addition to driving, the latter levels will bring up an instanced Kato fighting game that’s easy to get past by tapping the screen at the correct times. As you complete levels, you will unlock comic book style art of scenes from the movie. That’s probably the coolest part of the game, but it’s a terrible reward for having to play through this drivel.
There’s no variety to the city and it’s easy to get lost in the repetitive environment. The on-screen radar does give you a good indication of where the enemies are on the map, but the physics engine controlling the car is painful to use. Some of the explosive and smoke effects are neat to see in action, but the game is fairly lifeless otherwise.
The sound effects are pretty annoying when using headphones. It actually sounds better though the Apple speakers. However, a nice nod to Sony for getting Seth Rogan to record voiceovers for the app. Seth’s voice pops up during the levels to offer hints. The music is really repetitive though and does nothing to help the game.
You can blow through all 15 levels in about 30 to 45 minutes and there’s honestly no reason to replay any of the levels. Of course, that’s if the game actually works for you. The game constantly locked up on my iPhone 4 and forced a reboot of the device to continue. There’s nothing in The Green Hornet that’s worth investing any time in, especially not with much more accomplished driving combat games on the marketplace. I can’t imagine that Sony was successful in promoting the Green Hornet with this game unless they want to think that the movie stinks as much as the app. The only thing it really does is reminds you that Seth Rogan is in the movie. Don’t both with this iPhone app as it isn’t worth the time it takes to download it.
Discuss This Game on Our Official VGT Forum
This is basically a driving combat game, yet it doesn’t excel at either. Driving is controlled by either tilting the Apple device or using the virtual on screen thumb-pad in the left corner to control the Black Beauty. Sadly, the car doesn’t control very well at all and seems extremely sluggish for a supercar. You will find yourself running into buildings and unable to navigate away from them very fast. It’s similar to the control issues that plagued GTA: Chinatown Wars for the iPad, but much worse due to the slow, boring vehicle.
Your mission is simple; blow up bad guys and lose the cops in the process. You can fire away with the machine gun, arguably the best weapon, or send off a few rounds of Kato’s goodies like missiles. Enemies are simply stupid though and easy to destroy. I never died throughout the entire game due to the moronic A.I. In addition to driving, the latter levels will bring up an instanced Kato fighting game that’s easy to get past by tapping the screen at the correct times. As you complete levels, you will unlock comic book style art of scenes from the movie. That’s probably the coolest part of the game, but it’s a terrible reward for having to play through this drivel.
Graphics
There’s no variety to the city and it’s easy to get lost in the repetitive environment. The on-screen radar does give you a good indication of where the enemies are on the map, but the physics engine controlling the car is painful to use. Some of the explosive and smoke effects are neat to see in action, but the game is fairly lifeless otherwise.
Audio
The sound effects are pretty annoying when using headphones. It actually sounds better though the Apple speakers. However, a nice nod to Sony for getting Seth Rogan to record voiceovers for the app. Seth’s voice pops up during the levels to offer hints. The music is really repetitive though and does nothing to help the game.
Conclusion
You can blow through all 15 levels in about 30 to 45 minutes and there’s honestly no reason to replay any of the levels. Of course, that’s if the game actually works for you. The game constantly locked up on my iPhone 4 and forced a reboot of the device to continue. There’s nothing in The Green Hornet that’s worth investing any time in, especially not with much more accomplished driving combat games on the marketplace. I can’t imagine that Sony was successful in promoting the Green Hornet with this game unless they want to think that the movie stinks as much as the app. The only thing it really does is reminds you that Seth Rogan is in the movie. Don’t both with this iPhone app as it isn’t worth the time it takes to download it.
Discuss This Game on Our Official VGT Forum