Developer Reliance Big Entertainment has released the official Pacific Rim mobile game, just as the eponymous Warner Brothers film opens in US cinemas and garners rave reviews from critics and movie-goers alike.

Pacific Rim is a science fiction film directed and written by Guillermo del Toro and starring Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba, Charlie Day, Rob Kazinsky and Ron Perlman, among others. The movie premiered in London earlier this month and then landed in US cinemas on 12 July.

Pacific Rim is set in the 2020s, when Earth is under siege by alien monsters that have emerged from a portal hidden in the ocean. The iOS game obviously draws upon the film's storyline, as it features a Story Mode with more than 30 levels and a Survival Mode that allows users to safeguard "humanity from an endless wave of Kaiju".

The giant aliens in the movie are the Kaiju, whereas gamers assume the role of robot-like defenders - also featured in the movie - known as Jaegers. Other game facets include the ability to command up to five different Jaegers, upgrade Jaegers and weapons and increase armor, power and speed.

The game will even explore the Pacific Rim universe and new events, Jaegars and Kaiju not revealed in the film. Pacific Rim for iPhone and iPad is now available in the App Store for $4.99 (£3.30).