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Flick Soccer! [99¢] by Full Fat Games is a penalty-shooting soccer game. Games like this feel like mini-games. The type of thing you wouldn't necessarily play for hours, but might jump on for 10 minutes of casual game-play, while waiting for something.  This game has nice graphics of the pitch, goal and stadium, complete with a cheering crowd and a goalie who does warm up exercises. And it opens with a surprisingly  decent rock song complete with vocals.

To shoot at the goal, you simply swipe across the ball in the desired direction, with short swipes to keep the ball low, or longer swipes to aim high.  You can curve the ball with a curved swipe, or do a second swipe while the ball is in-flight to add after-touch. These curved shots are useful for confusing the goal-keeper, swerving around defenders,  trying to correct a bad shot or for targeting with more accuracy. And it definitely feels great to curve your shot perfectly between the goal keeper and defender for a perfect bulls-eye!

There's five different modes of play, with game center rankings for each mode plus 25 achievements. In Quick-shot mode you try to hit a target within the goal-mouth, which features a bulls-eye with two surrounding bands. You earn extra game-play time, depending which part of the target you strike. In this mode the goalie keeps improving, so it's best to make your initial shots count. The longer you survive, the higher the level you reach.

You're given three balls in Endurance mode, but each time you miss the target, you lose that ball. You get extra balls back by striking the bulls-eye. The goalie is not alone in this game, as some defenders will stand between you and the goal, wisely covering their privates for protection. And power-ups float across the goal-mouth, which can be stuck by the ball to earn extra points or extra balls.

Challenge mode is a slower-paced game, with emphasis on accuracy rather than speed. You get exactly five shots to achieve the score required for bronze, silver or gold medals, which unlock the next skill level. The aim is to gain promotions from 'Trainee', through the ranks, right up to 'Superstar'. This mode helps increase the replay value, as it's tempting to strive for the promotions.

The worst mode is definitely Crossbar mode, which requires constant long swipes to hit the top crossbar of the goal repeatedly, over and over and over, again and again. This mode requires less skill and quickly becomes repetitive and boring and could potentially lead to an iOS hand injury.

The final mode is Smash It, which is all about kicking the ball into panes of glass, positioned around the goal mouth, so they shatter. The most notable aspect of this mode is that the glass panes each display advertisements for the developers (FullFat) or their games. I didn't mind the product placements when they displayed their advertisements on every single banner in the background stadium and on the scrolling electronic billboards around the pitch, and on the loading screens, and on the pop-up which intrusively appears when the game starts and requires a click to remove, but… also placing their advertisements right there on the targets, in the very center of the screen as part of the gameplay, seems a bit cheeky, since we've paid for the game.

There are tons of flick-style soccer penalty-shot games in the AppStore, such as Flick Football [99c/Lite], Flick Kick Football [99¢/Lite], and even Full Fat's own Dead Ball Specialist [$5.99/HD], which has gotten rather pricey with the recent App Store pricing adjustments. These are 3 of our favorites in the genre, and Flick Soccer! is another solid – though not groundbreaking – entry if you're looking for something new and can put up with the somewhat obtrusive cross-promotion advertising.

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If you've never heard of Ragnarok Online, I'd have to assume that you've been living under a rock since about 2002. The popular Korean MMORPG came to American shores in 2003, but by that time it already had a rabid fanbase among Korean gamers (50 million players worldwide to date). The game originally started as a Pay To Play title, but a Free To Play version came along later down the line, which only amped its popularity. What more could you ask for from a fun little MMO like this? Why, to make it portable, of course … and with Ragnarok Violet [Free], that's just what you've got.

In Ragnarok Violet, you will play the young hero who hopes to become a knight and eventually gets drafted to stop the Dark Lord from reawakening. Okay, I know that that doesn't sound particularly new or creative, but hey, it's an RPG. Sometimes you just have to breathe your way through the cliches and get on with the gameplay. Speaking of, the game goes with the good old top down format that you'll fondly remember from so many Super Nintendo RPGs of old.

If you love grinding, leveling your character, boosting stats and doing the whole fight in the fields/go back to town schtick, Ragnarok Violet's got you covered. You'll be given quests right off the bat and soon be on your way to exploring. The control scheme works just fine, although the D pad on the left bottom corner of your screen is a bit large and will impede your vision on occasion. Slots for quick spell access on your right bottom corner are particularly handy and make it easy to start using those skills you're racking up.

Fighting is … well, it's pretty standard hack and slash stuff that consists of hitting the same button over and over. Leveling happens pretty quickly, which means you can start getting comfy with the stat and skill point systems. Unlike many of the retro titles that likely inspired it, Ragnarok Violet doesn't torture you to get your character stronger in the beginning, which is a blessing as far as I'm concerned. Who wants to be murdered by a slime before you even hit level three? That does not make you feel like a hero, I can tell you that.

Ragnarok Violet does feature one thing which most RPGs don't, and that is a pet system. You can tame these guys at a pet shop in town and they will offer little benefits to your quest, such as aiding HP or gathering items, as long as you remember to keep them fed. They also offer chatty commentary and are just generally cute. No doubt this feature is a great hit with fans of ultra cute characters in RPGs (in other words, all of Asia), but let's face it: If  you're playing Ragnarok Violet in the first place, you obviously already have a soft spot in your heart for cute stuff.

You can earn money in-game to buy stuff to beef up your arsenal, or you can hit a little shop button in your top right corner and make In-App Purchases with real money. A lot of the stuff is just for fun, like hats for your pet, but there are also useful items for sale like instant revives. I'm not a fan of buying items in games personally, but if you are, I think you'll find there's a decent selection of fun, inexpensive things to choose from.

There are a few major weaknesses in Raganarok Violet. Firstly, the skill tree is just kind of sad and underdeveloped-looking, and doesn't offer a lot of exciting skills to get. I also found the minimap more or less useless, as it just looks like a tiny sprite map with an icon of your head on it and does not really point you in the direction of any destination you might need to find. Lastly, the dialogue hovers somewhere right below average, and on occasions is downright awful. It feels really rushed, and I spotted a lot of misspellings. Also, our hero has an attitude that makes me want to kick him into next week, but that's just my opinion, mind you.

Regardless of any weaknesses, however, fans are sure to go rabid for Ragnarok Violet, even if it's based just on the nostalgia factor of having played Raganarok Online in the past. Although it has its flaws, it still offers a huge world to explore and plenty of solid (if not terribly innovative) gameplay. Some of that might make you pause and consider whether it's worth your hard earned dollars, but wait — it's free. No reason to hesitate now, yes?

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Since its debut in 1995, the Heroes of Might and Magic (HOMM) game series has been synonymous with deep, turn-based strategy gameplay. While some may argue that the more recent titles have somewhat strayed from their roots, none will argue with the general appeal and sheer depth of the classic titles in the series.

The multi-platform Palm Heroes series looked to capture and recreate the gameplay of older HOMM titles in portable form, and managed to succeed to some degree. Now, with Palm Heroes 2 Deluxe [$4.99/HD/HD Lite], it looks like the definitive version of classic HOMM gameplay has finally arrived on iOS. Featuring a ton of missions, factions, as well as a hot-seat multiplayer mode, Palm Heroes 2 Deluxe will satisfy any strategy gamer’s appetite for quite a while.

For those unfamiliar with the HOMM-style games, Palm Heroes 2 Deluxe is a game of resource management, military prowess, and tactical superiority. Players control heroes that in turn command a wide variety of creatures under their banner. In addition to moving about the overworld map and collecting resources, fighting baddies, and gaining experience for the hero, players also can capture cities which bestow a wide variety of benefits. Using the resources generated by the cities and captured on the field, players can then build additional structures in the city which either bestow abilities on the hero, generate new resources (which can then be used to build more structures) or recruit new creatures that can be assigned to heroes out on the field.

The end goal of every scenario is to conquer all the opposing heroes and conquer all enemy cities. For newcomers to this type of gameplay, the learning curve may be steep, as there’s a lot of gameplay elements to monitor and control. Also, while tutorials do exist, they only scratch the surface. If all this sounds complicated, that's because it is. But, that’s exactly what makes games like Palm Heroes 2 Deluxe incredibly compelling.

I’m amazed at the fact that Palm Heroes 2 Deluxe manages to cram all the gameplay into playable form on the iPhone. When fighting other heroes, combat is performed on a hex grid which would, at first glance, seem to be hard to control on the iPhone’s small screen. Yet, the developers took the time to implement iPhone specific controls to make sure that every move on the field is done correctly and accurately. An iPad only version of Palm Heroes 2 also exists and, in my opinion, controls better than the iPhone version. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that iPhone-only users can’t enjoy the game just as well.

For experienced HOMM gamers looking for those classic epic battles that take hours to complete, Palm Heroes 2 Deluxe features scenarios of all sizes and will certainly satisfy everyone’s tastes. In fact, the only complaint I have is the lack of a cohesive campaign mode. Instead, every map is self-sustaining and not part of an overarching story (if the map even has a story). This shouldn’t make a difference for most fans of this genre, as the gameplay itself is the compelling element and not necessarily any background text. But for some, I imagine it’s a disappointment. Also, while I’m grateful for the hot-seat multiplayer, I really wish some sort of online multiplayer could have been built in, as much of the fun in these types of games was in participating in long term epic matches with other people.

In addition to the twenty maps included in Palm Heroes 2 Deluxe, the game also offers a built-in store that offers over 100 different maps available as IAP. While some will inevitably argue that the extra content should be free, I think the game does a fair job of offering a decent amount of content while providing the opportunity of buying more maps at a reasonable price. In addition, a free iPad “non-deluxe” version of Palm Heroes 2 also exists, but it only comes with two maps, doesn’t offer as many maps on its in-game store, and it actually charges more for the maps that are on there. If you’re looking to preview the gameplay, I suggest checking it out. But, if you plan on making an investment into Palm Heroes 2, I highly suggest picking up the Deluxe version.

At its core, Palm Heroes 2 Deluxe does an amazing job bringing over classic turn-based strategy gameplay to iOS. Some folks may look at the simplistic graphics and immediately turn away, but they’ll be passing on one of the better strategy titles on the App Store. If you have any love at all for turn-based strategy games, and you're looking for a game that has enough content to keep you occupied for a good deal of time, check out Palm Heroes 2 Deluxe, you won’t be disappointed.

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Let’s face it, SnakeRace [$0.99] isn’t going to impress you with any graphical flair or with particularly astonishing production values. However, it doesn’t need to. SnakeRace takes a classic premise, tunes it to its own personality, and then attempts to create a simple game with enough content to pull you back in. While I don’t think that every gamer is going to be particularly impressed with what it has to offer, it certainly does succeed for those looking to take a chance.

At its heart, SnakeRace is a simple vertical scroller that has you navigating a snake on a diagonal pathway through a variety of mazes and barriers in order to get to the eventual finish line, all while collecting various gems to improve your score. Your snake can only move up diagonally, and a quick tap on the screen switches direction. Your snake’s length indicates its life, which goes down every time you hit a barrier (typically rocks of varying strengths).

Interestingly, hitting a blockade does not mean instant death – if you expend enough life hitting it you can actually plow through, possibly opening up a new path. However, don’t expect to live long smashing into barriers without picking up some yellow gems, which increase your snake’s length (and thus its life).

Since earning as high a score as possible is the primary motivator in SnakeRace, there are a variety of ways within the game to try and improve your score. At the beginning of each level, and at subsequent checkpoints, you have the option of steering your snake onto icons that either speed up or slow down the overall speed of the map. You can try and play it safe by slowing the game down in the hopes of finishing the entire race.

Or, on the other hand, you can speed the game up as fast as possible too, as the faster the game goes the faster your score increases (and the more gems are worth). In addition, there are a wide variety of paths that can be taken through each level. Some are pretty open and provide some leeway for mistakes, but don’t feature as many gems. Meanwhile, you can also take the riskier paths, which reward you with a much higher score (assuming you survive).

The availability of these options is what makes SnakeRace compelling. Sure, each individual level has set patterns and gems, but there are so many different paths and tactics, that you’ll find yourself wanting to replay them over  in order to refine your approach and see if you can squeeze a few more points out before the end.

If high scores aren’t your thing, each level has a multitude of objective-based missions to unlock and complete, which are also necessary if you want to unlock later (and far more complicated) levels. Also, once you get tired of the included levels, an additional five are available for purchase as IAP. Personally, I would have liked to have seen more of the IAP incorporated into the base game, but there are certainly enough levels and content to be entertaining for a while.

SnakeRace is a game between you and the environment. There are no enemies, weapons, or any sort of action-oriented gameplay. As such, not everyone will be interested in taking it for a spin. However, if you’re looking for a simple, fast-paced game that doesn’t pretend to be more than what it is, I’d recommend checking out SnakeRace.

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In this week’s episode of the TouchArcade Show, the cast and crew manage to stay on the topic of “new games” for quite awhile. Never you fear, though, because somehow, someway, conversations about message board rage, shed repair, the look of constipation, podcast production, and other random subjects crop up. Oh! And we also dig into more next-next-next generation console tin-foil hat talk. You know you love it.

Anyway, to give us a listen via streaming or direct download, click on the link just below. We’re also available on iTunes and Zune Marketplace, and we encourage all of you to subscribe to us in those places.

iTunes Link: The TouchArcade Show
Zune Marketplace: TouchArcade.com Podcasts
RSS Feed: The TouchArcade Show
Direct Link: TouchArcadeShow-012.mp3, 39MB

As you’ll notice, listener Aarni threw us some official Kitty Korner music because he’s awesome. Everyone should thank him for his sacrifice! Also, while we’re on the subject of e-mail deliveries, we’re still on the search for great e-mails to feature on the show. If you’ve got a comment or dating advice, send us a mail at podcast@toucharcade.com

Now, for the show notes:

GAMES

JARED'S KITTY KORNER

• Sushi Cat [$.99]

FRONT PAGE

• What's the point of these next-gen consoles?
• Nintendo investors want Nintendo to turn to iOS

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After what seemed like an eternity of waiting as we followed the iControlPad's development, we finally got our hands on one not too long ago. We mentioned a few issues that we had with the device which mostly were due to the way the current iControlPad firmware handled sending controls to the iPhone compared to how the iCade works. (This was all detailed in the previous article.) However, one of the strong suits of the iControlPad is that it seems to have an infinitely updatable firmware, and the developers behind the device recently released an update to make the iControlPad behave a lot more like the iCade– Potentially alleviating most of the issues we had with the device's functionality.

To get the firmware update, head on over to the support section of the iControlPad site and follow the instructions. Alternatively, if you prefer watching a tutorial video to reading, the guys behind the iControlPad have got you covered on that front too:

Once you've got your iControlPad all flashed to the new firmware, it should behave just like a iCade and allow you to use the iControlPad when playing the various iCade-enabled games. This new firmware option might also quicken adoption of the device, as now developers can focus on one standard across both the iControlPad and the iCade instead needing to deal with one or the other (or both).

In light of this update news, they've dropped the price of the device to $49.99 for TouchArcade readers. To get in on this deal, order through this link. This special pricing will be good until Monday, at which point it will return to its normal price of $74.99.

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The hardest thing about reviewing Pigs in Trees [99c / HD] is deciding which part to praise first, because there's just so many things I like about it. Launching the app leads into a delightful animated trailer which introduces the family of pigs who reside in a tree and the woodpeckers, who (obviously) like to peck on wood.  Did you spot the tension there? (Hint: They both want the tree.) This game from PAN Vision and Tactile Entertainment represents a role reversal from Angry Birds [99c / Lite] as the pigs are the good guys and the aggressive birds are the nasty villains.

Pigs in Trees will easily draw comparisons to Flight Control [99c] or Harbor Master [$1.99], since you use your finger to draw the flight path for a vehicle, from a top-down 2D perspective. In this game, the piggy fighter-pilot is trying to eliminate the noisy incoming woodpeckers, before they reach the pigs tree-nest. One of the thread users described the line drawing controls as "smooth as silk" and that sums up my impression too. It's a pleasure to draw swooping lines and have the plane follow the path, while shooting at the tree-craving woodpeckers. The controls are spot on.

The combo system is clever, because once you lock onto a bird, by terminating your flight path on it, any secondary kills along the way earn combo points. Your combo is highest if you kill the strongest enemy last, which encourages you to choose both your target and approach carefully. Also, although the targeted bird remains targeted even though it's moving, the surrounding birds can move away from your line, so you need to swipe in front of the surrounding birds, as you head towards the target, for maximum accuracy and points. Or, just play casually.

The power-ups are cool as well. When a power-up icon appears, you tap it so it moves into your power-up slots at the bottom of the screen. You can then activate the power-up, when you choose, by tapping that slot, or save it till the end of the level, to refund for extra points. The power-ups include plane repairs, speed bursts and dynamite, but I won't give away the rest of them, as they're fun to reveal, although some are shown in the gameplay trailer:

The woodpeckers have a few tricks too. They come in different varieties, each with different sizes and strengths. Some can only be attacked from the front or back, while others must be approached from the side. There's little birds that drop bombs and others with a shield stuck on their beak! Pigs in Trees does an outstanding job of explaining the various enemies and power-up's by displaying a tutorial message when they first appear, at which point you can scroll back through all the earlier hints, if you need a reminder.

There's currently three campaigns (Summer, Fall and the snow-covered Winter campaign) with the Spring levels "coming soon."  That's a total of 45 levels. The campaigns are locked initially and become available once you earn enough medals, based on your scores in each level. Game center provides rankings and 26 achievements.

So let's see: The controls are excellent, the graphics are cute, the sounds great, the game-play is constantly engaging and interesting and it's  super enjoyable to play. The only negatives are that it's not universal and, like many games, the iPad version is more expensive, which is a common practice so there's no point dwelling on that.

Pigs in Trees only has one mode, based on a simple concept, but this drawing arcade game is so well delivered, that it deserves to be successful. We're already looking forward to the Spring levels.

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While NyxQuest [99¢/Lite/HD/HD Lite] may be new to iOS platforms, it is not a new game. Chillingo's greek-themed platformer has already been praised in its WiiWare incarnation, and it's also been available for PC and Mac via Steam since late last year. The question we have been mulling around since the game first popped up for discussion on our forums was an obvious one: Would we get a beautiful translation of the game for our portable devices, or would it merely end up being a shabby port?

For those of you unfamiliar with the game, you take on the role of Nyx, a winged woman who has come to earth to seek out Icarus, a mortal man who used to spend his every moment by her side. A terrible spat between the gods down on earth has left things in a bit of a shambles, and it's up to Nyx to find her way around and figure out what has happened to Icarus.

If you played the atmospheric WiiWare launch title Lost Winds, you will certainly think of it at least once while playing this game. Also a sidescroller with a distinctive look, NyxQuest will have you moving back and forth and flying your way through beautiful levels in search of your friend. Movement is simple and controlled by sparely placed buttons — all you need is a forward and backwards arrow to move and a button to jump (or if you hold it down, you can float). The simplicity is lovely, and I found myself quickly immersed as I lost myself in the music and the puzzles that stood in my path.

No greek-themed game would be complete without encounters with the gods, and NyxQuest is no exception. As Nyx progresses, she will be granted new powers that will allow her to progress by dudes you may have heard of (like Zeus. You know, that guy). Soon you'll be moving blocks thanks to his almighty gift, and the puzzle solving becomes slightly more complex. Luckily, there are many checkpoints in each level, and you never have that classic retro-flavored frustration of being returned to the very beginning of the level to do it all over again.

NyxQuest provides a decent level of challenge, but I never found myself agonizing over any of the puzzles, so I wouldn't call it a head scratcher. In fact, its actually a relaxing gameplay experience thanks to an absolutely gorgeous world rendered to perfection and a memorable musical score that really lends to the game's dreamy feel. My only complaint is that I wished that the game was longer. The addition of new skills as you progress helps to freshen the gameplay and keep you going. Twelve stages are available, and by collecting a series of the Gods' relics, you can unlock a thirteenth. That seems like a lot of levels when I type it, though … maybe I'm just being greedy because it's a great game.

For the price, this is one hell of an adventure, and the gameplay experience is just about as refined as can be. Players in our forums seem to be digging it as well, so pull on your winged sandals and get in there. You need to track down this Icarus guy before the Gods get any angrier, and heaven known we don't want to incur any more of their wrath!

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The Let’s Golf series is no stranger on TouchArcade. We enjoyed Gameloft’s initial outing on iOS, and fell in love with the eventual sequel. Gameloft looked to continue this tradition of being the premier iOS arcade-style golf experience with Let’s Golf 3 [Free] while dabbling with the freemium model for the first time in the series.

The good news is that, at times, Let’s Golf 3 does manage to successfully marry a freemium structure with classic Let’s Golf gameplay. In addition, Gameloft manages to expand on everything we loved about the previous two titles and provide a ton of content to work towards. The bad news is that the framerate is extremely erratic and can become so choppy that it actually interrupts the gameplay and causes miscues.

For those of you that have played Let’s Golf 2, Let’s Golf 3 should look rather familiar. Again, there are 108 holes to play through spanning six visually gorgeous regions, and a wide variety of clothing and props for your character to wear, most of which change your golf attributes in some form. In addition, the classic Let’s Golf gameplay remains intact, with very little change to the core game mechanics. If you enjoyed playing through the previous games in the series, you’ll most likely enjoy Let’s Golf 3, as it’s essentially more of what made the previous games great.

However, there are some major differences with this sequel, the most significant being the removal of set characters to choose from while playing. Instead, players are taken through a character creation screen upon launching the game for the first time. Let’s Golf 3 also incorporates an experiencing/leveling system for character progression, with experience being primarily earned by playing through holes. Also missing are the ‘super powers’ that were prevalent in Let’s Golf 2, although many of them return as disposable special golf balls that can be purchased in the freemium market.

For many fans of the series, the decision to move to a freemium model will most likely be the deciding factor as to whether they even bother playing Let’s Golf 3. While I think that overall Let’s Golf 3 does a decent job of implementing the freemium model, the fact remains that it’s still a freemium game and you’ll quickly get to a point where your choices are to wait or pay. Freemium is implemented with the ‘Energy’ currency, which is used every time you play a hole of golf. Energy can either be passively earned once an hour, or can be purchased with in-game ‘Cash’ (which in turn can be earned by playing well or bought with actual money).

While I think that being able to earn cash (and thus, energy) by playing well is a good gameplay mechanic, the fact that you can only passively earn one unit of energy per hour is ridiculous. In other words, if you’re not that good at the game, you’re going to be punished rather harshly by either having to wait a long time for energy or shell out money to play.  Meanwhile, someone that’s better at the game might be able to play significantly longer (and level up faster) by earning more cash in-game and converting it to energy. I personally had no problem scoring birdies and earning enough cash and energy to continually play, but I just think that the energy cool down is way too long for most gamers. It’s definitely going to alienate a lot of players who simply don't have any in-game cash and aren't going to pay or wait an hour to play one hole.

Despite my concerns above, I’d be willing to overlook the freemium system if the rest of the game was top notch. Unfortunately, the framerate certainly prevents Let’s Golf 3 from reaching that point. Basically, the game will randomly stutter during both cutscenes and gameplay. It even occurs during the swing mechanic, which can in turn significantly impact play. Force quitting apps and hard restarting your iOS device does alleviate the problem, but eventually it comes back. Even more bizarre is the fact that this framerate issue is worse on the iPad 2 than the iPhone 4. Considering that each hole of golf costs precious energy to play, the fact the stuttering framerate can ruin a score becomes even more significant.

Let’s Golf 3 is an incredibly frustrating game to play. I still enjoy the core gameplay, and I absolutely love the custom characters and huge variety of things to buy for my character. However, the freemium mechanics and poor framerate just keep interrupting the experience that I know it can provide.  While I’m certain that the stuttering will eventually be fixed, it’s obvious that its freemium underpinnings are here to stay. It's certainly become a topic of discussion on our forums. Whether or not that model makes the game worth investing time and effort into is a question that will have to be answered by each individual player.

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I don't often reflect on why I want to progress in a game. The journey is usually enough — tell me that the hero wants the MacGuffin, and I will do what it takes to get him to it, no questions asked. Not so with Loopycube's Pickpawcket [$0.99]. Our stealthy feline protagonist wants to reclaim the classic paintings stolen from the cat art show, and dammit, so do I.

Not that the journey isn't fun — its stealth action puzzles are quite entertaining. But the paintings awarded by completing each of the game's 60 levels are a great motivator. Loopycube painstakingly recreated 60 classic paintings, one for each level, and then filled them with cats. Impressionist cats, dadaist cats, renaissance cats, pop art cats: you name it, and it's probably in there. The paintings range from neat — I'm particularly fond of The Kitty Night, a rendition of Van Gogh's The Starry Night — to disturbing, like the anthropomorphic take on Alphonse Mucha's "Dance." How do you put a game down when the next level holds a reward like that?

To earn your reward (conveniently wallpaper-sized on iPhone), you'll need to sneak a cat burglar into a guarded gallery, snatch the painting, and get out. Guard dogs are arrayed to stop you, and entering their field of vision means an instant level reset. Luckily, these dogs are pretty much blind. This is a puzzle game, not Metal Gear. You can see their range of vision at all times — all you have to do is stay out.

This is, of course, easier said than done. There are three type of guard dogs (schnauzers, bulldogs and pugs), and they each have their own pattern of movement and range of vision. In a given level you're likely to encounter several dogs, each following a set patrol route. Memorizing those patrols will get you through most of the early levels.

As you make your way from the Metrodogitan to the Doggenheim, Pickpawcket introduces more complex puzzles. The dogs get lasers, walls and doors, and the cat gets dog disguises, televisions and other distractions. These allow you to complete the levels with a bit of finesse — while following patrols relies on rote memorization, knowing when to trigger a television takes timing and precision. At around the game's midway point it also introduces stuns, and gives you three per level. You're better rewarded if you can do without them, but providing the option allows the game to get much more complex without leaving players too stuck.

It was in these later levels that the game's controls started to fail me at times. Pickpawcket offers two control methods. You can tap and hold to move, or you can turn on a virtual joystick. I found the joystick control abysmal, but some portion of players may prefer it. The tap control, on the other hand, is quite good – but there's no way to avoid occasionally having your finger block your view. Once you reach a certain point in the game, what you can't see definitely can kill you.

But that's a small inconvenience in a large, fun game. Pickpawcket succeeds where it counts, with challenging gameplay that rarely dips into frustration. When it does, knowing that something interesting (or hilarious) awaits you at the end of the level will keep you pressing onward. Check it out, and post your impressions in our discussion thread.

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