Hands on Preview: Hero of Sparta II for the iPhone

When in Paris, we also got to see Hero of Sparta II from Gameloft. And I must admit, I wasn't originally all that interested in it. While I know that Hero of Sparta was a very good selling game for Gameloft, it didn't really click with me. I didn't see anything wrong with it, it just wasn't for me. So you must understand that when I took a look at Hero of Sparta II, I was surprised when I was completely blown away. Hero of Sparta II was the hit of the night. This is one killer game.

Hero of Sparta II is a third person hack and slash game, much like the first one. The difference is that we've had 18 months since the first one was released and the iPhone platform has matured immensly since then. With that maturity, game studios like Gameloft have the ability to put more resources into creating killer games. And that shows in Hero of Sparta II. This game has great gameplay, an amazing look, and very refined engine. Throw in an interesting story and multiple tasks to accomplish along with the main storyline and I'm guessing this will be an even bigger seller for Gameloft than the first.

Hero of Sparta II picks up after the first episode ends. King Argos is sailing back to Sparta, his homeland after escaping Hades. He will of course have to pay for this and will face 12 new levels set in 8 different environments once he reaches home.

There are three levels of difficulty you can play the game at, easy, normal and heroic. You must complete easy or normal to unlock heroic. The good thing about heroic is that all of your weapons are with you from the start. The bad thing is it's really really hard. There's also a special mode called the Arena, outside the main story line that you can unlock, if the game thinks you are good enough. Not really sure how this will work, but I'm intrigued.

To help King Argos in his quest, he has 5 different weapons he will gather along the way. He starts out with the sword and shield, then come the wings, flaming claws, meteor crown, and the lightening spear. Each of the weapons are upgradeable by gathering items during the game. In addition, each weapon has a special unique attack that you can use once enough energy has been charged.

Hit the jump for a video walkthrough of the first few minutes of the game and more details.

Thanks to Slide To Play who were at the event as well for the following video. We ran out of time and didn't have a chance to shoot any. The video gives you a walkthrough of the first bit of the game and gives you an idea of the quality.

The controls on this game have progressed a bit from the original as well. You still have the same movement stick on the left part of the screen. But the attack control on the right is a bit different. You can tap the right control to attack, but you can use different attacks by swiping the right control up/down/left/right. To initiate the special weapon attack mentioned earlier, just hold down on the attack button. A good use of a right stick and an innovative attack control. In addition, you can attack while jumping, something that was missing in the first version.

Let's talk about the graphics a bit. The graphic quality of this game is absolutely amazing. We previewed the game on an iPhone 3GS for which this game is enhanced. If you have a 3GS you will see better lighting effects and better textures in the game. If you have an older device, don't worry you'll still see a fantastic game, but it will be turned down a notch.

Hero of Sparta II should hit the App Store any day now. But we don't know an exact release date -- we'll let you know when we see it.