Classic point and click adventure games are back. Spearheading the effort is the original Beneath a Steel Sky, an oldie leading the new charge. Simple controls, story driven, and entertaining. The game delivered it all back in the day but does it hold up on the iPhone and iPod Touch? Read on to find out.

For those of you too young to remember, Beneath a Steel Sky was originally released on PC in 1994. A sci-fi/post nuclear apocalypse adventure featuring a young orphan raised in the outback and brought back to the big city by a few stormtroopers. After the stormtroopers nuke your outback family and drag you as prisoner to the big city, you survive a helicopter crash with your robot buddy Joey and now must figure a way out from under the steel sky and maybe figure out why you were taken prisoner in the first place. Recently the “Remastered” version was released to the App Store containing some new comic book style animation sequences and remastered soundtrack. Under the new coat of paint the fundamental game has not changed at all as the graphics and storyline are all the same as the original.

Some people may moan about the outdated graphics but on the iPod screen it really isn’t noticeable. It’s actually quite nice, almost refreshing, to have a game in which the graphics aren’t over the top. You can clearly identify everything needed on screen which is in part a nice testament to the original visual style and to the interface implemented on the iPod remastered version. While a touch screen lends itself to a point and click interface, there are the challenges of not being able to see through your fat finger and on such a small screen touching very specific sections. These problems are overcome with blue circles appearing when you touch the screen, showing what parts of the environment the player can interact with. As a player you can now focus on the story and not be worried about clicking on that switch that actually doesn’t do anything. Big plus for me as this also doesn’t impact the puzzles in way. If you are into your old age and can’t quite remember how to master all the puzzles (or you are young’in that only knows how to blow stuff up) there is an excellent hint system to help you along.

It’s a well written story with solid dialog. Coming from the same time period as the LucasArts adventure classics Beneath a Steel Sky draws on a similar blend of story, humor, and strong characters. There are a few flaws to nitpick at such as the Australian setting with few Aussie accents. The main character, Ben Foster, and his robot buddy Joey have an American accent, which is odd given this game was made by a UK studio. The fact that the Steel Sky doesn’t play a massive physical role in the game was a bit of a let down, but by the end of the game you will understand what was intended. That’s IF you follow the extremely fast paced climax and resolution of the last 15 minutes of the game.

After taking a brief minute and enjoying the final cut scene as it wraps up the loose ends you are left satisfied. A solid adventure, plenty of comic relief, and all pocket sized for GBP 1.79. It’s great for commutes and nostalgia. Classic Adventure Gaming in top form. If you don’t want the game as portable it is already available as freeware using ScrummVM.

4 stars. Solid.