Never Gone is an old-school 2D beat-em up that's set within a gothic styled world where humans; vampires and demons co-exist. The three are constantly waging war against one another, trying to seize control. Play as Blood Knight or Dark Sister to face an indomitable challenge to restore balance back to the world and win glorious rewards. Craft and upgrade over 200 weapons, equipment, items, and even skills, as you explore the war-torn lands...

It's odd, but only the other day I was bemoaning the fact hat there's little originality in iOS games of late - and even when there is they only hold your attention for a lazy weekend. And then Never Gone landed in my inbox. It's a good old fashioned 2D scrolling beat-em up mixed with roleplaying mechanics that allow you to equip or create new weapons and armour as well as increase your magic skills.

Controls are simple. The game can only be played horizontally and the left hand side of the screen has a circular control icon that acts as your joystick to allow movement of your character. To the right are buttons which control attack, jump and defence.

You can also learn combo attack moves that will help defeat your enemies. These moves are essential as even on the early levels simple constant hacking away at the bosses via the standard attack button is almost a guaranteed recipe for failure.

The early levels act as a tutorial (with many aspect of the game remaining locked until you've gained a certain level). This helps greatly to ease the new gamer into the experience without bombarding them with information. It's also done well enough that if you're a fan of the genre you won't feel like you're just going through the motions until you can stride out on your own.

After you've completed a level you return to your base where you can access the Lapidary (where you can upgrade your skills as a gem cutter); Blacksmith (where you can upgrade your blacksmith skills and forge new items); Magic Furnace (where you can dismantle or merge equipment); My Chest (check out you warehouse and inventory); Merchant (buy new items); Intel Missions (engage in new missions); Sacred Tree (buy chests that contain rare/random gems); and World Map (your main game story mode). Other elements are opened as you progress through the levels.

The graphics are impressive and the story is entertaining enough that it will keep you coming back for more.

This is another one of those games where you can spend real money to progress quicker. While we were sent a code to give us free goodies, I didn't redeem it. I wanted to play the game through without cutting corners. But if you want to progress quicker and buy more powerful weapons and armour then you have the option to do so.

If you're a fan of the genre, this could be the best 79p you spend all year. But if you really don't enjoy hack and slash games you will probably find it a little repetitive

9

Nick Smithson